by Shannon Jayde Peck, reporter

It is estimated that a quarter of all students will experience mental health issues with depression, anxiety, and eating disorders being the most common according to YouGov.

With the funding cuts to the NHS and mental health services, mental health Apps are now growing in popularity in the UK, especially among those that are waiting for therapy or are unable to attend centres due to anxiety and depression.

Here are four of some of the most highly rated free apps available:

Youper: your emotional health assistant. This app has over 100 thousand downloads and is an interactive mental health AI, it helps you track your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours to help you identify what your triggers are. It has useful information on thinking patterns and exercises to combat them. This AI learn about you from your patterns and can give you tailored advice to suit your needs.

7 cups – anxiety and stress chat: This App has over half a million downloads and offers confidential conversations with their trained ‘listeners’ and therapists. There are thousands of listeners to choose from, all have been trained so you can sift through and chat with someone who meets your needs to offer emotional support 24/7. The Tinder of therapy apps.

Moodpath– is mental health assessment app, it is fairly new and is well on its way to 200 thousand downloads.  It helps to screen for anxiety and depression through tracking you emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing to then send you a personalised mental health assessment that you can discuss with GP’s and therapists. In this app you undertake a two-week depression screening by using the app each day at different times, it can be used as a journal and mood diary while you learn about psychotherapy and mental health.

Headspace: meditation and mindfulness – Headspace has over 10 million downloads and focuses on mindfulness and meditation for anxiety and stress relief. Meditation has been proven to improve focus, sleep, and mood, and with these guided meditations you’ll easily have a place to start. This app uses meditation ‘packs’ to help you choose what you want to work on, everything from anxiety relief to pain management.

If you are struggling with any mental health issues it is always recommended that you go and see your GP first for early intervention.