High Tech Apps That Help Boost Mood

BOSTON (CBS) - Let's face it: January can be a tough month in New England. The parties are over. The bills start to arrive. And it often seems like winter is never going to end.

A high tech approach to improving mood is growing in popularity.

Preet Anand wakes up every day to soothing music and inspirational message. It arrives on his smartphone via the Rise App.

"I love the pick me up. I think we can always use little things that bring smiles in our days," explained Anand.

There are a growing number of apps with the intent of improving or monitoring our moods.

Happstr allows a user to press a button whenever they are in a place that makes them happy. The app then builds a 'happiness map' of sorts.

Success Wizard creates self-improvement plans to help users regain their passion and purpose.

Happify gives the user tasks to perform each day to try and get to a happier place. It claims to be based on the science of positive psychology.

The iMood journal allows users to rate their moods and tracks them over time.

Moodpik shares data on social media. It plots a person's mood by color and let's friends see it. Neil Smith is the company's co-founder.

"These apps exist because you have more people that are seeking happiness, that are finding some way, some tool, some technique, to get themselves to a happier place," Smith said.

Smith added, "Our particular is looking to align ourselves with doctors and psychiatrists, to be a tool for them to monitor their clients."

Psychologist Nekeshia Hammond believes these apps can be a good for a person to learn more about themselves.

"For some people, they're not really sure like, 'Why is my mood fluctuating so much?', and then you get to kind of see over a week, and observe what is it that sort of triggered that mood for you," Hammond said.

Dr. Hammond cautions these apps are not a substitute for counseling or medication. She says to think of like a self-help book.

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