How to Find the Best Mental Health App for a Bipolar Person

Choosing the best health and wellness app among thousands available online can be challenging...

Bipolar Disorder
March 21, 2025

Choosing the best health and wellness app among thousands available online can be challenging.For anyone dealing with mental health issues, a wellness app helps in several ways.It is beneficial in providing support for bipolar disorder and other mental health conditions, building one's meditation skills, providing valuable health and wellness information, and helping one lead a healthy life.Thus, choosing the right mental health app is crucial.Here are a few things you should consider to find the best mental health app for a bipolar person.To start with, you can find an app that lets you keep track of things.People with bipolar disorder often experience mood changes and frequent emotional highs and lows.So, finding an app that allows you to track your mood swings and other bipolar-related symptoms is essential to your treatment and recovery.Also, a mental health app with a sleep-tracking feature is vital for bipolar patients struggling with maintaining a good sleep pattern.As a bipolar person, getting quality sleep will help you reduce stress, regulate your mood, and maintain a healthy physical and mental state.In addition, consider going for a mental health app that is easy to use and understand.Difficulty operating or understanding an app can trigger stress and anxiety for bipolar patients.You'll need a mental health app with a clean interface, simple design, clear privacy policy, and user-friendly tools.Read on to learn five important things to consider to find the best mental health app for a bipolar person.

Mood Tracking Feature

Most people with bipolar disorder experience extreme mood swings, which spiral into a cycle of emotional highs and lows, thus affecting their ability to function properly.Therefore, when looking for the best mental health app for a bipolar person, find one that helps you keep track of your mood.There are several apps that make mood tracking easier.To narrow down your options, find one that allows you to document daily symptoms, keep a journal of your feelings, and will display it in an understandable visual way.Some apps display changes or patterns in your daily moods with line graphs, word frequency charts, pie charts, etc.–so choose whichever you can understand.Getting daily stats on your mood patterns increases your self-awareness and helps you identify warning signs of oncoming mood swings so that you can be prepared.In essence, mental health apps with mood-tracking features serve as an excellent resource for understanding changes in mood, collecting data on them, and identifying problem areas. ‍

Effective Sleep Tracking Feature

One of the core symptoms people with bipolar disorder experience is sleep disturbance.According to researchers, a sleep disorder in people with bipolar is often associated with occurring mania and hypomania episodes.Hence, when looking for the right mental health app for a bipolar person, find one that helps track sleep.Sleep issues vary among people with bipolar disorder.Some experience a decreased need for sleep, while others have excessive daytime sleepiness.Either way, a sleeping problem coupled with bipolar disorder is not a good mix.Fortunately, a mental health app with a sleep tracker can help you keep both in check.Sleep trackers effectively detect sleep duration, quality, and phases which helps you understand your sleep pattern and identify opportunities for improvement.It can also help you understand how your mood changes and daytime habits impact sleep quality.Furthermore, many mental health apps with a sleep tracking feature contain exclusive meditation techniques, mood trackers, and relaxation music that helps ease anxiety and stress and prepare you for a good night's sleep.

Clear Privacy Policy

Another vital thing to consider when looking for the best mental health app for a bipolar person is the privacy policy for the app.Mental health apps offer help to users in several ways.Some may provide guided meditations, therapy chatbox, or connect you with a licensed therapist.Along the way, you may be asked a series of questions about your mental health symptoms and personal information, and the data you provide is often used to fine-tune the app to help with your symptoms.However, as you use the app's features and input personal information, the data may not necessarily be secured or treated as confidential by the law or the app developer.Unfortunately, loss of personal privacy around mental health data is common due to security breaches, data sharing practices between app developers and third parties, and the use of data for targeted ads.This can have significant consequences for the user as it could harm their health or reputation.Thus, to find the best mental health app for you, look for a clear privacy policy, the ability to switch your profile details from public to private, and also the ability to delete user data if you wish to do so.

Ease of Use

When looking for the best mental health app for a bipolar person, it is essential to find one that is easy to navigate and understand.The app should have a clean interface design, a simple setup, and user-friendly tools.Also, you want to ensure the mental health app you are going for doesn't have reports of crashing issues, bugs, or technical glitches.While the app developer can solve certain issues like excessive code, errors and exception handling, inadequate testing, and software development lifecycle, users can also play a part in eliminating crashes by ensuring device compatibility and stable network access.Similarly, it is essential to keep in mind that some mental health apps will only allow full access after a paid membership.Pricing is, therefore, another vital factor to consider before choosing a mental health app.You want to ensure you get high-quality mental health resources that fit your budget.Mental health apps that are not easy to use can trigger mood swings for a bipolar person, which counters the effect of a mental health app.So, look for an app that helps with user-based customization, a visually appealing interface, simple installation and updates, high performance, simplicity, easy accessibility, and security.  

A display of apps on a mobile phone.

Medication Reminder Feature

When looking for the best mental health app for a bipolar person, consider one with a medication reminder feature.For most people with bipolar disorder, prescribed medications are critical in the recovery process.Although there's no known cure for bipolar disorder, medications go a long way in managing anxiety, stress, mood swings, and other bipolar-related symptoms.Interestingly, most apps with the medication reminder feature are not only helpful in sending digital reminders to take your medications at appropriate times, they also have a health tracking feature that will help in tracking measurements like body temperature, blood glucose levels, and blood pressure.You can then send these measurements to your doctor for proper monitoring and documentation of your health.In addition, some medication reminder smartphone apps can sync your app data to your family member or whoever you choose; if you miss a dosage or don't respond to repeated notifications, they will be notified.

Conclusion

Are mental health apps effective?

The simple answer is yes.

Mental health apps support bipolar disorder patients by helping track symptoms, manage mental health, provide helpful health resources, and lead healthier, happier lives.To find the best mental health app for a bipolar person, consider one with a mood-tracking feature, sleep-tracking feature, clear privacy policy, ease of use, and medication reminder feature.

Resources

https://www.healthline.com/health/bipolar-disorder/top-iphone-android-apps#cbt-thought-diary

https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/best-mental-health-apps/

https://healthinsider.news/9-best-mental-health-apps-anxiety-challenge-en/#How_to_Choose_Mental_Health_Apps

https://natashatracy.com/mental-health/finding-right-mental-health-app/

https://www.bphope.com/bipolar-buzz/5-helpful-apps-for-people-with-bipolar-disorder/

Author
Jennifer Luttman, LPC, ACS

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, and owner of Overcomers Counseling. I'm dedicated to helping individuals find strength and healing through life’s challenges. With a deep understanding of mental health and years of professional experience, I specialize in fostering hope and resilience while equipping her clients with tools to thrive. Passionate about empowering others, she creates a safe, supportive space where everyone feels seen, valued, and capable of overcoming obstacles on their path to well-being.

Common Questions about Bipolar Disorder

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