CBT Thought Diary vs DayGram

I am a psychologist and I have been in therapy on and off for a lot of years. I was having trouble finding a therapist that did anything but psychotherapy. While that was beneficial in the beginning of dealing with my ptsd it became harmful later because I was just repeating the same stories , both literally and figuratively, and not moving forward. It was keeping me stuck. I needed a tangible way to change unhealthy thought patterns and not just reinforce them by talking about them. This app has helped me more than the last decade of therapy has. Not only does it help me change my thought pattern and habits it allows me to do it in the moment when it’s happening. Not after the fact and the damage is done. I know this sounds dramatic but it really has made a profound difference in my ability to change course and deal with stress and unhealthy thought patterns and helps me avoid those thought rabit holes all together. I am grateful for this app and am hopeful more people find it and get themselves out of negative and unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It is a game changer for sure.

- serendipity889004

Self-therapy is important too and this app helps to make that statement a reality. It’s a shame more people don’t know about CBT and how many of us are unaware how it can help us out of suffering and raise us from the deep pits of ANTs. So if your one of the people that have gained insight to what it is and how to use it to heal your mind, body, and soul, GET THIS APP. I downloaded this app when I was on a verge of a breakdown. My therapist was not available but her notes were and in them I saw “CBT,” did a little more research and stumbled upon this app and my life has been steadily improving. I’m able to notice what triggers terrible moods and what makes me feel good or bad. I can easily write my negative thoughts down and confront them in this app with easy to understand definitions of the types of negative connotations that have been paralyzing me. After using it awhile I have been able to utilize the practices of the app in real time, and identify exactly what negative cognitive behaviors are trying to take over. My brain, my body, and my soul has improved dramatically because of this app. It’s not a fix it all, let everything be gone type of thing, but it is a VERY VERY POWERFUL TOOL. It’s worth the money as well! I feel fortunate that I get to track my life and see what is causing me misery for such a low cost. This app is amazing and I only gave it four stars, because the app can only get better even though it’s already really great.

- VConscious

I wish this app existed a decade ago. CBT is a great tool but when you have low energy/motivation because of depression/anxiety, finding the will to write out thoughts and dissect them can be a bit burdensome. This app removes barriers and invites the user to follow a few simple prompts and before you know it - you’ve dissected your thoughts! Another great feature is the wealth of information available on various aspects of CBT. The content for each subject is brief but covers enough to give you a sufficient understanding of a theory or the reasons why an exercise works. When you’re suffering, the last thing you need is a 20 pager — you need the Cliff Notes. My last comment is a recommendation: a scratch pad to jot our thoughts so we can pick out the “hot thought” or to understand what we’re thinking in the first place. Yes, we could use the notes on our phone but I think keeping them in the app makes sense as a one-stop-shop for anything related to CBT.

- hachster81

This is more practical than conventional paper diaries, just because you can find and access to all your notes in a timeline, place time stamps automatically, and it keeps it very simple. But it would really make it better than using conventional diaries if we could attach images to our entries, maybe voice notes... Those are a big plus that really changes the game and would take conventional diaries users to using this app in my opinion. This is the only app that I’ve used and haven’t deleted it because it’s overcharged, good point for you guys, but the feature of adding pictures or voice notes wouldn’t necessarily ruin your minimalist style and I find that it is actually useful.

- Alexandra Chang

There is an elegance to DayGram. It allows me to have the timeline benefits of a "journal" without running into a plethora of interface distractions. It can be backed up via iCloud and Dropbox. Journal apps blare with statistics; how many entries, how many today, options to add hash tags, share to social media, add photos. I don't need all that. With DayGram I get a date stamp, a time stamp option and a blank page, thank you. DayGram lends to writing minimalism—often a simple snapshot of the day or an event, but longer entries are just fine. In the rare case an image is desired, the option sits innocuously at the bottom right of the page as an almost invisible icon. --- The two things DayGram lacks are a "dark mode" for nighttime writing and, at least, a couple more font options. I'd pay to have these options added. The holy grail, personally, would be the option to add a custom font. --- In terms of the In-App purchase: I would point out that almost no one wants "themes" that involve generic stock photography backgrounds. That may have been true 5 or 6 years ago. Now most people prefer to add their own image—if they even want one BEHIND their writing. This strange option is the only place DayGram really goes off the rails of its elegant minimalism.

- Tao-ish

I have been writing about this problem for some time now. I have been using this app for years (since 2018). It crashes every single time I try to do a search. Certain letter combinations will crash it when searching. There are only a few that won’t. It was updated 3 weeks ago but it isn’t fixed. It crashes on my iPhone 13 Pro. I tried it on my old iPad and it does the same thing so I know it’s not the new phone. I NEED this function because I use this ALL THE TIME! Are you seeing this review? Please help!

- Batman2287