Apps now emphasizing happiness, mindfulness

think that’s when people start feeling disillusioned,” said Jamie, a board member of the UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, which is working to reduce the health and economic impacts of depression by half by 2050.

“Happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them,” she said.

“What we’re waking up to is that happiness is not an achievement, like, ‘Oh, when I get that car, when I get that house,’ but a shift from external validation to internal fulfillment.”

Given that her 2016 TEDx talk, “Addicted to Likes,” explored a psychologically destructive socialmedia culture, an app might seem an unlikely platform.

“We’ve got to accept that, in our world now, we’re integrated with technology,” Jamie said. “How do we make sure that our technology is helping us feel better rather than worse?”

Below is a look at her newly released happiness app, as well as a few others — all free to begin with. challenge history.

This app, developed by psychologists and educators, is a nonprofit aiming to make mindfulness accessible to everyone, including children as young as 7.

Meditations are offered by age group and audience. Examples include Adults, Sport, Mindfulness in the Classroom, Mindfulness in the Workplace. Prompts such as “How do you feel?” encourage checking in with oneself.

Perk: With Family Sharing, as many as six family members can use the app.

The most popular free meditation app on Android and iOS stores, Insight Timer — home to 4.5 million meditators — offers in 25 languages guided meditations, talks and podcasts by mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and meditation teachers on depression, grief and other topics.

Perk: Practitioners of all levels seeking community can see how many meditated “with” them, send direct messages and join discussion groups.