Happier: Meditation Ratings and Reviews

I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder two years ago, and was told that I’ve probably been suffering from it much longer than I realized. Fast forward to 2020 - I became a first-time mom at 38 years old, suffered from postpartum depression, and just when I was starting to find my footing, the world was immediately hurled into the COVID-19 pandemic. The stress wreaked havoc on my body. Everyday I felt like I was physically drowning; my chest was cramped, my muscles ached, I was permanently exhausted but couldn’t sleep, and my brain was foggy. I tried taking anxiety medication and it made me extremely nauseous, which further triggered my anxiety. I thought I was doomed; I felt so helpless. Then I read Dan Harris’s book, 10% Happier, and I figured if meditation helped him, maybe it would help me. Now I use the app daily, in conjunction with a daily routine that involves yoga, reasonably healthy eating, supplements as recommended by my physician, and continued communication and collaboration with my support net of friends and family. It’s part of a bigger picture, and it has made a world of difference. Physically, the chest tightness and muscular tension have decreased significantly. And mentally I find myself much more resilient in the face of stress, especially the kind induced by the intrusive irrational fears that come with GAD. Thank you to the 10% Happier team. In my case, “10% Happier” would be an understatement.

Wow - thank you for sharing your journey with us here. I'm so glad mindfulness meditation is helpful to you managing your anxiety and thrilled that Ten Percent Happier can help. We know it takes real work and commitment to stick with mindfulness meditation and your effort is a meaningful contribution to well-being - both your own and, in turn, to that of those around you. Thank you - Clea at Ten Percent Happier

I dare say if you were able to quantify how much “bang for your buck” you can get out of any app out there - This has to be #1. I can’t even begin to describe how effective this little gem has been at helping me learn the basics of meditation, manage my stress, learn more about myself as a human and increase my overall well being. I purchased this in May of 2019, it is now January 2020 and I will without a doubt renew next years subscription. I have a very stressful but rewarding job and was in the verge of burnout. Now, I feel in control and have been more productive than ever. I just found that taking time each morning for the practice lead to a better day. I am now taking a beginners meditation class with a group at a Dharma center and it’s lead me down a path I didn’t even fully understand I needed and could use but I’m glad to be on it. The hardest part for me was getting in the habit of using this daily. Luckily they have SO MANY ways to integrate meditation and mindfulness into your daily life and tips to help you do it. The videos are wonderfully produced, sound quality is top notch, the teachers are very knowledgeable diverse and insightful. They are also funny and relatable and not just all a bunch of “new-agey woo-woo!” I have my favorites and you will too. This was the best app investment I’ve ever made. I highly recommend.

Hi Dr. J-Mo, Thank you for this lovely review, sharing your story and talking about how mindfulness meditation has worked for you. We're so happy that we've been able to support you! Wishing you well - Clea at Ten Percent Happier

I find this program to be rich with workable options and opportunities to learn about (and manage, bit by bit) my mind and entrenched mental habits. It has helped me in several ways, maybe because it gets straight to a point without any pseudo-spiritual “fluff”. It is not about stopping thought. Rather, I see it as helping users to notice and learn about one’s habitual thoughts, emotions and responses. For example I notice feeling less scattered, and less reactive since starting 10%H a year+ ago. It is a subtle vs dramatic shift.
The speaker/guides are racially and culturally diverse and have very different styles and approaches to choose from.
10% H coach Joshua has enhanced my ability to navigate the sessions with timely, personal, practical suggestions. The app keeps developing as a work in progress which I like.
10% Happier is a realistic name for this app. I hope it is increasingly available to folks who have different kinds of devices other than iPhones. I recommend it highly. Thank you Dan Harris, Joseph Goldstein, Joshua and all of you who design and teach this practical approach to meditation. You have made a very positive difference not only for me but also for others to whom I have gifted your program.
Well done.

Hi there - Thanks so much for sharing your appreciation of the app here! We're delighted to hear the positive impact it is having for you. Thanks again for your thoughtful note, and for sharing the app with others in your life! We look forward to seeing you in the app! Best wishes, -Joshua

I work in healthcare and have taken advantage of your generous free trial. I can’t thank you enough for the gift! I have found the app immensely helpful in recalibrating mental well-being on tough days and in bolstering my baseline resilience during this pandemic. I would say the free app has turned out to be my personal “silver lining” during the pandemic.

Although I have dabbled in mindfulness and meditation a little bit over the years, neither really “clicked” with me, even after trying other related apps. This app is different. The variety of teaching formats has made a crucial difference. For instance, the videos that show how meditation and mindfulness can change the brain really helped me, the ADD skeptic, better understand and accept the practice of meditation as legit. I also love the way Dan interacts with his guests and brings his personal experiences to the table.

I have found the meditations that have science-related informational nuggets sprinkled throughout them the most helpful, I think because they engage multiple aspects of my brain, thus holding my attention better. I also really like being able to listen to the app’s “Talks,” as an alternative to meditating. I have learned so much!

Hi Anne - Our thanks go out to you for everything you're doing during the COVID-19 pandemic and we're glad to be able to support you and other frontline workers in this way. Thanks for sharing the parts of our approach that are working for you and taking the time to leave this lovely note. Wishing you ease and health - Clea at Ten Percent Happier

Hate the new Home screen. I have been using this app for a couple years now, and have used Balance and Headspace before. Ten Percent became my favorite, because it was so easy to just jump into a meditation. Loved how there was curated content right when you open the app. It helped with the decision fatigue I faced with Headspace, where there is just too much to choose from.
Now when opening the app you are forced to go through a quiz monthly. You must complete the quiz before you can do anything else in the app or open any meditation. Honestly one of the most irritating features I’ve ever seen in an app. Who thought this was a good idea to force a user to do something they never asked for?
The recommendations that are curated for you after doing the quiz are so limited also. I got three meditations to choose from after completing all of the (annoying) questions. Overall it’s a nice-to-have feature, but it shouldn’t have completely replaced the Home screen.
Please bring back the old design.
Besides the terrible app update, the meditations on the app are really fantastic. They have helped me to sleep better more than anything. And the variety of types of meditations to choose from is great. Would love to see more Sleep meditations. I have listened to 85% of them and need something new.

Thanks for sharing your feedback! If you want a quick and easy single meditation, try adding the Daily Dose widget to your iPhone screen. We're glad you find the teachers and meditations helpful and I hope you enjoy the new content too. Keep practicing! We're practicing too.

The 10% Happier book was recommended to me as I was struggling deeply with anxiety and depression. I started reading the book but, as I am an extremely slow reader, at a certain point in the book (once you realize that it’s meditation that makes Mr. Harris 10% Happier), I wanted to know how to utilize it in my life. At that point, the thought of being left alone in silence in my own head seemed like a terrifying idea. “I already spend too much time in there,” I thought. However, I decided to do the 7 day free trial and see what it was all about. I was told that this app might be better received by men, but I’m a young woman that prefers this app over others that I was told would be geared more toward women. I LOVE the fact that every session has an intro video for the person to hear about the meditation they’re about to practice. I’m so happy to report that the hype in my head that this would be a scary experience, was in fact wrong. This app has become my GO TO for relaxation, acceptance of my feelings, and the tool to help me process my thoughts and emotions. It seems a little spendy at first, but when you break that year subscription down by month, it’s really not bad and also, worth every penny!

Hi There - thanks so much for taking the time to write such a kind review! We're really glad you're finding the app helpful and that the format and presentation is resonating with you. Please keep your thoughts and feedback coming - we're here to help! Clea@TenPercent

I have never been one to “imagine myself by the ocean” or find any use of guided imagery and guided meditation was always the same. I found myself getting more and more stressed with work, 2 small children, and my own high expectations. A friend mentioned this app, so I said I would try it, knowing that I probably wouldn’t. She asked one day how I liked it and I lied and said it was great. She then asked if I had just gone through my course or jumped into any of the other content as well. I didn’t know what to say so I said i had to run and i would catch up with her later. I decided the only way to get myself out of this mess was to actually download the app and give it a go. I completed the first two sessions of my course that morning and went on to explore the other content and found myself enthralled in this app for more than an hour. There were so many topics and stories that I saw that I knew I needed to hear. The meditation is actually TAUGHT and not just “guided”. I truly feel like I am learning to regulate myself and my days have never started so well and relaxed. Do yourself (and your friends and family) a favor and get this app. You won’t regret it.

Hi Jess - Thank you for being vulnerable here and sharing your experience with us. We're so glad you ended up downloading the app and enjoying learning and practicing mindfulness meditation with us. We wish you lots of happiness - Clea at Ten Percent Happier

I really like this app for several reasons. The first being that many of the foremost teachers are represented. Also, two things relating to content and presentation. One, there are apps out there that boast about ‘40,000 free meditations’. The problem is that some of them sound like they were recorded on my father’s cassette recorder from 1967, from across tge room. Poor sound quality is difficult to excuse in 2020, as are noise from traffic, conversations in the distance, air conditioning etc.

Unless you need the digital waterfalls, digital birds cirping, cavernous reverb on the teacher’s voice and the like, you might prefer-as do I- the simple, minimalistic presentation and crystal clear recordings that are the hallmarks of Ten Percent. To me, that other stuff starts out as a distraction and quickly becomes an annoyance.I sort of think of guided meditations as training wheels anyway, something that gets you started. Ultimately, you might want to meditate in a circle with other people or without recorded guidance, at least some of the time. Try meditating without the overproduction for a month and see what you think. Lately, it’s either 10% or a simple timed meditation for me. Recommended

Hi there - Thanks for this review of our sound and our approach to mindfulness meditation. We really appreciate it and you're right, we work hard on our production. I hope you continue to enjoy the guided meditations that get rolled out regularly and congrats on your own, unguided meditation time! In case you haven't used it yet, meditation coaching is included with a paid subscription and they're a great resource if you'd like to go a little further with your unguided meditation time or get some advice on guided meditations that address an experience or issue you're having. You can reach them by tapping 'Ask a Question' under the profile tab. Thanks again for your review - Clea at Ten Percent Happier

After 1 week, I am sold. Simply taking a few minutes out of my day to reflect and focus my thoughts has made for an interesting experience. When I first started, I couldn’t see past the restlessness I felt inside; I found myself focusing too deeply on the back and forth rocking sensation I felt as my heart beat, and was surprised by how much motion was still occurring beyond my control as I intentionally attempted to be still and clear my mind. Today, I am finding myself more aware of many other sensations going on inside me — the rocking motion, I can still feel but only as I focus my awareness on my heart beating instead of my nostrils flaring or my wandering thoughts. I’ve been so impressed with meditation, I’ve convinced my wife to give it a try as well, and now we both plan time before bed to be guided through the basics of meditation. Now she’s hooked as well! I know this is only the beginning, but I’m very excited to see where this leads. If I can feel this way after only a week, I can only assume the benefits of making it a regular practice. So very glad I was introduced to this app, and I highly recommended it!

Hi - We're so glad you found our app as well! And thanks for taking the time to share your experience with others here. We sincerely hope you're continuing to find value in the app these days. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us at support@10percenthappier.com or through the in-app coaching feature if we can be of any further assistance with your meditation practice or experience with the app. Best wishes! -Joshua@10%

This app has changed my life! I found myself slipping into a dark place shortly after our schools shutdown in March of 2020. My purpose in life was slowly dying. I was overwhelmed with teaching Kindergarten remotely, trying to contact uncooperative parents, recording videos of myself each day while battling the “comparing mind,” not ever really unplugging from work, and simultaneously helping my three children do their own schoolwork through a new platform none of us were accustomed to at that time. I found this App through the podcast 10% Happier which I listen to faithfully! Dan has high quality guests that he interviews with insightful topics. I love his sarcasm, sense or humor, and devil’s advocate role Dan plays to shed light on the doubters. It has helped me become more equanimous, practice self compassion and loving-kindness. Thanks to Dan Harris and the gang at TPH, I am about 10% Happier, and a little nicer to others, especially my husband, children, & my students! I would highly recommend the app to anyone in need of a tool to help juggle life and feel more at peace with oneself and the world around them!

Wow, thanks for sharing a bit of your story with us. We deeply appreciate hearing from you and we're grateful you took the time to write this review. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the podcast episodes. If you ever have any comments or questions please reach out at support@tenpercent.com! - Kaitlyn at Ten Percent Happier