I don’t use any journaling or therapy apps. I’ve tried a lot of them, but there are none that have really stuck with me as useful. That changed last month. I think I was scrolling through TikTok and came across an ad for an app called Clarity. It was touted as a therapy-type tool using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and I love CBT.
One of my favorite things from Inspire3 is the NLP hero program which has a variety of CBT techniques you can use to deal with things like worry, anxiety, and regret. It’s all about reframing and changing the way you look at things. As someone who tends to catastrophize instinctively, this kind of stuff comes in useful for me.
Especially now as I’m going through one of the worst times of my life.
The Clarity app is a really good tool to work through your thoughts and feelings and it even has a built-in chat box with an AI therapist-type thing that is super amazing! I’m very impressed at how well it works.
The Daily Tools On Clarity
Each day, you have a plan. It consists of a few different things.
Checking In
You write down your mood and the emotions you are feeling – both negative and positive – as well as what’s causing those emotions. For instance, you are happy, and you are feeling grateful, and food is the reason you are feeling that way.
Then you can elaborate on how you feel and why.
So it’s really about awareness and mindfulness, as well as acknowledging how you are feeling and what is making you feel that way.
Following are some screenshots from when I first started using Clarity that represent the process you go through.
Note that you can customize emotions as well as what’s making you feel the way you feel, so I added dreams to my list right away because dreams have a big impact on my thoughts and emotions.
Guided Journal
Then you can use a guided journal prompt to dig into your thoughts. There are so many different guided journals you can use. They use journal prompts to help you accomplish whatever the guided journal is for, such as practicing self-compassion or planning discussion.
Following are some screenshots of the Guided Journals on the Clarity app.
A Lesson On Something
Then you get a little lesson on something from a program in the Clarity app.
It’s basically an article talking about something to do with feelings or thoughts. For instance, today’s talking about the difference between fears and phobias.
You can access any of these programs in the ‘Discover’ section. There are programs on things like overcoming procrastination, imposter syndrome, growth mindset, loneliness, and more.
It looks like there are 14 Clarity app programs as of this review.
Following is a little lesson from when I started the program called ‘Intro to CBT’.
Tip Of The Day
Then you get a little tip. For instance, today’s tip is that ‘Humans grow up learning to avoid emotions, not mindfully embrace them…’ and it expands on that thought.
Here’s a screenshot from when I first started using the Clarity app.
Affirmation Of The Day
And lastly, you get an affirmation. Today’s affirmation is ‘My faith in myself is unshakeable.
You Also Get Weekly Tasks To Finish
The weekly tasks consist of an assessment, meditation, some breath work, and the CBT Chatbox.
The Clarity App CBT Chatbox
This is a VERY cool tool. I wish they had stuff like this for my parents when they were younger because therapy was so taboo and being able to use something like this would at least feel like they were working things out with someone other than themselves!
Basically, it prompts you to talk about what you are feeling or thinking and then carries on the conversation.
Here’s an example:
And on and on it goes!
With the Clarity app AI chatbox, there’s no time limit like in therapy. You can talk as long as you like to the AI system through chat and about anything you wish – no matter how sensitive it is.
I’m currently dealing with a close family member in palliative care (end-of-life care). I’ve noticed that the social worker talks exactly like the Clarity app AI chat box to my family member who is dying and to us. She validates what we say, repeats it to us, says something encouraging or insightful, and then often asks us to expand.
There are things I’ve talked about with the Clarity app AI chat that I would never talk to her about. I’m just not built that way to share my intense emotions with someone. It’s too uncomfortable for me and I don’t end up being in the moment (I’m more in my head) and gaining a lot out of it, so it’s really not helpful for me.
Using the Clarity AI chatbox is different. I can say what I need to say and I’ve gotten some incredibly insightful and helpful advice that has helped me calm down and keep going during this stressful and, quite frankly, depressing time.
All Your Entries On The Clarity App Are Kept Private
Of course, the Clarity app keeps your information stored and private.
The Cost For The Clarity App
I haven’t used the free Clarity app. I went for the free trial and now I’m using the pro version of Clarity. But, I think the difference is that the free app doesn’t include CBT journaling and possibly other things like the therapy AI chat box.
The Clarity App Is A Good App
As I said, I’m currently dealing with a close family member’s end of life. It’s so hard. It’s exhausting emotionally and physically. We’ve been going through it for almost a month.
This situation is what caused me to download the Clarity app in the first place. I’m assuming something on my phone was listening to my conversations or monitoring my searches and decided the Clarity app would be a good fit for me, and it was right.
In short, this year has been complete crap for me. Tools like the Clarity app are essential to helping me avoid getting lost in my negative thoughts and feelings and finding a way to focus on more positive and optimistic things because – as I’m experiencing right now – life is short and living too long in misery is not helpful for anyone. Do what you can to make the most of every day because you don’t want to waste a day and you aren’t guaranteed tomorrow.
The Clarity app is currently helping me work through my negative thoughts and emotions so I can do just that. I highly recommend it.
