3 free months of virtual anxiety help now available for all Arizonans

PHOENIX — Three free months of virtual help fighting anxiety is now available for Arizonans.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona has teamed up with digital health company Sharecare with the goal of helping all Arizonans better manage stress, anxiety and burnout.

With an increase in worry among Americans due to the coronavirus pandemic, now more than ever this help is needed.

All Arizonans now have 90 days of free access to Sharecare’s Unwinding Anxiety app.

Unwinding Anxiety was created by Dr. Jud Brewer, the director of Research and Innovation at the Brown University Mindfulness Center.

Unwinding Anxiety is an app-based digital therapeutic program designed to help break the cycle of worry through guided exercises, daily check-ins, and access to experts and a community of people also working to reduce their own anxiety.

Dr. Brewer’s scientific research of mindfulness-based training has helped create a virtual and easily accessible platform to teach people how to calm their minds, uncover what triggers their anxiety, and identify their “anxiety habits.”

“Inside every single one of us lies the ability to build resilience, and the more we understand how our minds work, the more we can work with our minds,” said Dr. Brewer.

“Particularly when we have the self-awareness to acknowledge our individual triggers and reactions, we can ground ourselves in the present moment to get our thinking brains back online and work toward an anxiety-free zone.”

Brewer is hopeful the app will bring comfort and a better understanding of how to cope with anxiety to Arizonans, especially during the pandemic.

“These short daily trainings through videos, animations and in the moment exercises will help people learn how their minds work,” Brewer said. “They can use these exercises as they go to bed at night if they have anxiety that keeps them awake or throughout the day when they feel anxiety coming on.”

Download Sharecare and redeem three months of Unwinding Anxiety for free here.

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