Digital devices needn’t always be our undoing.

Let’s admit it. We spend a good chunk of our daily lives feeling stressed to the max. We troll for ways to numb and self-soothe our collective anxiety, frustration and general angst. And the ways we cope aren’t always healthy. Scientific research confirms what many of us know from experience: that when our fight-and-flight response is chronically revved, our Paleolithic hardwiring drives us to grab comfort food, which never seems to include kale. Instead, we turn to the “hyperpalatable” foods – refined and processed sugary, fatty, salty products. “Desserts” is, after all, just “stressed” spelled backwards. Thus, our national girth control dilemma.

Eating food that’s bad for us is just one way we self-soothe. There’s a whole spectrum of easy-to-access, stress-induced, self-destructive behaviors from which to choose. Witness the 2-pack-a-day nicotine habit, thrice daily venti macchiatos, bigger-than-your-head cookies and enormous cupcakes, alcohol binges, street drugs, social withdrawal, dark moods, shopping until you’re beyond broke, workaholism and losing ourselves in the cyberspace.

Weary of the ruthless, brain-draining vicious cycles and desperate to find a solution, we haul our sleepy souls out of bed while it’s still dark outside, cram in a meditation if we’re lucky and then race to a spin or barre or yoga class for the promised relief. Then we pray that whatever endorphin-charged magic we experience will stick with us for the rest of the day. But more often than not, as the day marches on, we find ourselves overwhelmed again. Where’s that help when we need a loving nudge, an encouraging voice – that anchor when we feel like a rudderless boat tossed around by waves of stress?

When you can’t dash off to yoga or go for a bike ride and you feel stress taking over, what can you do? Enter a new member of your stress-relieving A-Team: your digital device. Wait a minute, you say. Aren’t I supposed to turn it all off to de-stress? No. You just need to be smart and strategic about how you use technology to support your journey. At your fingertips, you can use your computer, tablet or smartphone to help guide, coach and heal what ails you throughout the day. So stop looking at your devices as just business or communication tools. They’re also here to help support the health and well-being of your mind, body and spirit as well.

Behold the emergence of techno healing.

The rise of digital technology has occurred at blistering speed. Consider the time it took for the following communication devices to reach 50 million U.S. homes:

• Radio: 38 years
• Television: 13 years
• Internet: 4 years
• Social networking: 16 months
• Smartphone apps: 9 months

Research now points to the valuable role apps and devices play in our lives as we strive to achieve optimal mind and body wellness. And it’s not just about tracking physical activity or nutrition. We’re talking about a wide spectrum of wellness, coaching and healing resources that are now available. We have to learn how to utilize, and not overuse, this technology to our benefit.

Let’s say your boss just dumped a mountain of urgent projects on your desk. As you stare at the bulging folders and feel internal tension rise, instead of heading to the employee kitchen to scarf a pile of leftover doughnuts, you grab your phone and click onto any of these apps to experience techno healing:

• Stress Less
• My Health Coach
• Heal Your Body A-Z
• Relax Melodies
• Buddify
• Omvana
• Take a Break!
• The Mindfulness App
• Calm

To go deeper, you can also try these apps:

• Advanced Vibrational Healing
• Self-Healing
• The Aromatherapy App
• Mercola

Addicted to every screen you own? Sleeping with your devices? Stop the techno insanity by using your own digital devices to control your daily digital use! Hop onto Checky or Moment. Feeling a bit down and struggling to stay positive? There’s an app for that, too. Try Happier, Positive Thinking or How are You.

If you find sleep a challenge? Click onto Sleep Cycle or Deep Sleep to map out refreshing naps and rejuvenating nighttime sleep.

Spirituality is integral to the healing process. Connect with communities and get reminders to take the time for a prayerful moment or two from apps like Pray!; Prayer Prompter; PrayerMate; and Pocket Prayer Pro.

What if, during your busy, crazy day, you could get stress relief by simply grabbing any device and, with a click, get lost in jaw-dropping, mind-blowing, time-lapse photography of flowers opening, while in the background you listened to hopeful, calming, joyous music playing softly? Well, it’s coming. I’m presently studying the effects of this kind of digital intervention on people’s moods and behavior by teaming with acclaimed director and producer, Louis Schwartzberg, who is also a world renowned time-lapse cinematographer. His “Nature. Beauty. Gratitude” TED talk has garnered over 3 million views. Experience your own techno healing by watching his “Flowers” video.

Techno healing is a resource that exists as one more option you can use to help you navigate in everyday life. It doesn’t take the place of real human interactions, your spin class, a walk in nature, smelling a fragrant bloom, quietly journaling, playing with your pup or enjoying a delicious meal. But life is challenging, so we can certainly use all the help we can get. And sometimes, that help is sitting right in the palm of your hand.