WiseMind Companion: free grounding and DBT skills app for Android

A small companion for hard moments.

Need someone right now? Call the Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0800 567 567, or 112 for emergencies.

WiseMind Companion is a free Android app, made in Cape Town, that keeps grounding tools, DBT skills, South African helplines and Western Cape NA meetings together on your phone. It needs no account and works offline.

What WiseMind does

WiseMind home screen: what would bring you calm right now?
WiseMind meetings screen listing today's meetings
01

Grounding in seconds

Paced breathing, urge surfing and cold reset ready immediately on your phone when anxiety or cravings peak.

02

Evidence-based DBT skills

Practical Distress Tolerance and Emotion Regulation skills from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, explained in plain words.

03

Local meetings & helplines

Western Cape NA meetings and verified South African crisis lines, accessible anytime with one tap.

04

Zero tracking & 100% offline

No login, no account, no tracking. Works completely offline in the mountains, during loadshedding or in flight mode.

CLOSED TESTING OPENJoin the Android Beta →

Testing is open now. Keep it installed for 14 days to help WiseMind launch publicly.

We'll only ever email you about WiseMind, starting with the day it's on Google Play.

Grounding tools

When you are overwhelmed, it is hard to think your way out. These tools start with something simpler: your breath, your heartbeat, a splash of cold water.

Breathe out longer.

Paced breathing makes each out-breath a little longer than the in-breath. It is one of the gentlest ways to tell your body it is safe to slow down.

  • Inhale 4s
  • Hold 4s
  • Exhale 6s
12:30
Paced breathing timer mid-cycle

Ride the wave.

Urge surfing treats a craving like a wave: it rises, peaks and passes, usually within 15 to 20 minutes. The timer keeps you company while it does, so you can let it pass without acting on it. How urge surfing works.

  • Wave progression
  • Body check-ins
  • Prompts every 30s
12:30
Urge surfing timer following a wave

Thirty seconds of cold.

Cold reset uses cold water on your face to set off the dive reflex, which slows your heart within seconds. It is the T in the DBT skill TIPP, and the app counts you through it.

  • 30s immersion
  • Dive reflex
  • TIPP skill
12:30
Cold reset countdown

Skills for a tired mind.

The DBT skills library has STOP, TIPP, Wise Mind and more, written in plain words and broken into small steps you can follow when thinking is hard. How the STOP skill works.

  • 13 skills
  • Offline
  • Step by step
12:30
Skills library
12:30
The STOP skill
12:30
TIPP skill with practice prompt
12:30
Wise Mind check-in

A room, whenever you need one.

Sometimes what helps most is being in a room with people who understand. Meetings lists NA meetings across the Western Cape, in person and online, with directions one tap away. For AA, it links straight to AA South Africa's own meeting list and helpline. How to find a meeting in Cape Town.

  • In person
  • Online
  • Directions
12:30
Meeting detail sheet with time, venue and directions

Kept simple on purpose.

If you open WiseMind in the middle of a panic attack or a craving, every extra screen gets in the way. So it keeps to four rules.

No account

No sign-up, email or password. You open it and it is ready.

Nothing about you is kept

The app never asks who you are and does not save or send anything about you. No analytics, no cloud.

Works offline

Every timer, skill and meeting address is inside the app, so it works in airplane mode and during loadshedding.

A direct line to help

112 and the South African helplines are one tap away from any screen.

One place for all of it.

The skills you learn, the people you can call and the way to a meeting tend to end up scattered: a worksheet, a screenshot, a number you can't find when you need it. WiseMind keeps them in one place.

It is for anyone in Cape Town who wants their support close, and for people passing through who need a meeting, a breathing exercise or a helpline in a city they don't know yet. It is free, and it will be open source from the day it lands on Google Play.

WiseMind Companion is made and published independently by Dean Norman, a software engineer in Cape Town. The tools are the simple, widely taught ones: paced breathing, urge surfing, a cold reset and DBT skills in plain words. Meeting details come from the public NA Western Cape list and helpline numbers from SADAG. If something is out of date or wrong, email adhdezpz@gmail.com.

Made in Cape Town by Dean Norman.

When you need a person.

WiseMind keeps these free South African lines one tap away inside the app. They are here too, as listed by SADAG.

If talking is too much, SADAG's Cipla Mental Health WhatsApp chat is on 076 882 2775, from 8am to 5pm. Numbers checked against SADAG's list on 26 September 2026.

Questions

Why does it start with breathing, not words?

When you are flooded, the thinking part of your brain goes quiet, and it is hard to reason your way down. Slow breathing and cold water work on the body directly. Once you have settled a little, the skills are much easier to use.

Is WiseMind a replacement for therapy or medical care?

No. It is a pocket companion for the moments in between, not treatment. It works best alongside a therapist, a doctor or a fellowship. If you are in danger, call 112 or the Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0800 567 567.

Where do the tools come from?

The skills come from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), developed by the psychologist Marsha Linehan. Urge surfing comes from Alan Marlatt's work on relapse prevention. Cold water on the face sets off the dive reflex, the same reflex that slows a swimmer's heart underwater, and DBT uses it as the T in TIPP. WiseMind puts these in plain words. It does not replace learning them with a therapist.

Where does the meeting list come from?

NA meetings come from the public NA Western Cape meeting list, refreshed before every release, and the app shows the date they were fetched. AA South Africa publishes its list only on its own site, so WiseMind links you there and to the AA helpline instead of copying it. Nothing in the list is made up.

Why do I have to join a Google Group?

Google requires testers to be in a Google Group during closed testing before allowing access to the Play Store download. You will not get spam or emails from the group; it is solely used by Google to authorize your account for testing.

How do I give feedback?

You can email thoughts, bug reports or ideas directly to adhdezpz@gmail.com. Every message is read and appreciated.

Do I need an internet connection?

No. Everything is inside the app, so it works in the mountains, during loadshedding or in airplane mode.

What data does the app collect?

None. There is no sign-up and nothing to type in, and the app does not send anything anywhere. The only thing it saves is whether you chose the light or dark look. The privacy page has the details.

Join the Android beta.

WiseMind is in closed testing on Google Play right now. We need at least 12 testers who keep the app installed for 14 days so it can launch publicly. Testing is open in South Africa now, with more countries coming soon.

Step 1

Join the tester group

Join the Google Group with the same Google account you use for the Play Store on your Android phone. Google requires this to authorize downloads. You won't receive emails from the group.

Join Google Group →
Step 2

Opt in & install from Google Play

Open the testing link, tap “Become a tester”, and tap through to install from Google Play. If the listing doesn't appear immediately, wait a few minutes and try again.

Become a tester on Google Play →

Already opted in as a tester? Open in Play Store

Keep it installed for 14 days

Google requires at least 12 opted-in testers over 14 continuous days before approving the app for public release.

Android only

There is no iPhone or iOS version yet. WiseMind is designed specifically for Android phones and runs completely offline.

South African crisis lines

WiseMind is built in Cape Town. Its crisis lines and fellowship meeting lists are South African. If you are testing elsewhere, please use your local emergency number in crisis.

Prefer to wait for the public release?

Leave your email below and we will let you know the day WiseMind launches publicly on Google Play.

We'll only ever email you about WiseMind, starting with the day it's on Google Play. You can ask us to remove you at any time. See privacy.

WiseMind home and meetings screens