By Louise Stevenson, Co-Founder of WorryTree
I attended Lucy Sheridan’s 2020 Closing Ceremony last night and it inspired me to take a look back at this year (what a year!) and actually what we’ve achieved at WorryTree in the past twelve months. This can feel to me a little bit self-indulgent, but if we don’t celebrate our successes and achievements then who is going to? This year, which has been so difficult for many of us, perhaps it’s more important than ever to look back and pat ourselves on the back, even if it’s just for getting through it.
If you haven’t come across Lucy in your travels around the internet, she’s the world’s first comparison coach, and she focuses on helping people who find themselves comparing themselves to others often and holding themselves back. I would definitely recommend taking a look at her work. Last night’s session was all about taking a look back at 2020, its ups and its downs, finding some release and making plans for the next season we’re about to enter into.
I have a tendency to downplay my work and achievements, I hate talking about myself and will always maneuver conversations onto other people and their achievements but as I worked through my 2020 electronic diary, I came to realise just how far WorryTree has come this year.
Real people in the world who have recorded and problem solved their worries with WorryTree
By the end of December 2019, WorryTree had been downloaded 7,500 times and was averaging around 100 people recording their worries on a daily basis. As of today, 15th December 2020, just short of 40,000 people have downloaded WorryTree with 5,000 worries being problem solved and resolved every month. I receive emails from people around the world on a daily basis explaining how WorryTree has helped them. It is awe-inspiring to know that something small that I have created has made a real difference in some people’s lives.
WorryTree is now featured on the NHS Digital App Library
At the end of March 2020 and after months of working closely with the NHS Digital Team, WorryTree was added to the NHS Digital App Library. I personally worked through several months of compliance to make sure that WorryTree had the right levels of clinical evidence, data security and accessibility to enable it to be listed and it was a real exercise in persistence and commitment which paid off a thousand times over. Since our listing on the app library, many other websites have listed WorryTree too, including being categorised as the ‘best app for overcoming fear’ by Marie Claire in October.
WorryTree Plus was launched
Back in April we were also able to finally launch WorryTree Plus, our premium subscription service. For just £9.99 a year, subscribers receive an extra suite of CBT and worry management tools including gratitude journaling, uncertainty practice, working on negative thinking styles and the ability to connect WorryTree to your electronic diary for scheduling worry time and problem-solving activities. I’m working over the next few weeks on adding even more features to WorryTree Plus, which means that we can keep the worry management tools free for everyone, and advert free as well, forever.
These are my big three for 2020, the things I am most proud of at WorryTree. And we have so much more in the pipeline. We’ve been working with a new team of specialists in marketing and social media who are helping us spread the word about WorryTree even further around the globe. We’re working with our developer to add new features to WorryTree Plus and a whole new set of features for new users to help them navigate their way around the app.
We’ll also be continuing all of our usual day-to-day practices. I’ll continue to personally respond to every single review and feedback email that I receive about WorryTree and take all of that feedback into account in planning our next developments.
And so here’s where I want to thank you, our WorryTree community who have been so supportive and given us such amazing feedback this year. Without you, WorryTree wouldn’t be helping so many people take control of their worries and feel empowered to manage their anxiety better.
Thank you, Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating it, and stay safe for the rest of 2020 and beyond.
x