Posted on February 20, 2022
| 9:00 a.m.
The Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness [email protected] team has joined a statewide collaborative project administered by the California Mental Health Services Authority to offer free Headspace meditation apps for the community, available in English and in Spanish.
Headspace is a technology application created “to improve the health and happiness of the world.” Reaching 70 million users in 190 countries, Headspace was one of the first meditation apps in the world and is a leader in mindfulness and mental training.
Globally and nationally the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of many and created new challenges for people already suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders.
Through the community mental health survey process, more has been learned about the pandemic’s mental health impact locally. Nearly 61% of survey participants reported worse mental health due to COVID-19.
In addition to reports of increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, nearly 27% reported feelings of tiredness and low energy, and more than 24% said they had experienced trouble sleeping since the start of the pandemic.
Moving forward from the significant disruption the pandemic has played in people’s lives, taking care of one’s mental health is critical for self-care and building resiliency as individuals and as a community.
Headspace offers meditation and mindfulness through its app and can provide relief from stress, help with increasing movement, sleep, and focus, Behavioral Wellness reports.
“Behavioral Wellness is thrilled to be offering 5,000 Headspace apps for our community members at no cost,” said Antonette “Toni” Navarro, director for Behavioral Wellness. “[email protected] team members are available to assist with providing education on using Headspace and how to enroll.”
Sign up for Headspace here. For more on the [email protected] Headspace project, contact Maria Arteaga at [email protected]
For more onSan ta Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness visit http://countyofsb.org/behavioral-wellness.
For help accessing Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness services, call the 24/7 toll free Crisis Response and Services Access Line, 888-868-1649.
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/behavioral_wellness_offers_meditation_app_to_community_to_soothe_mental_hea