If you need someone now
Nerea is a self-help tool, not a crisis service, and it cannot reach anyone on your behalf.
In the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any hour of any day. For an emergency, call 911. Outside the US, findahelpline.com lists free crisis lines by country.
You can also reach these numbers from inside Nerea by tapping the star in the corner of any screen.
Common questions
How do I change my anchor technique?
Your anchor is the technique the home screen opens when you tap it. Open the More tab, then Settings, then Change anchor. You can also star any technique from the Techniques list.
Can I see the intro again?
Yes. Settings has an option to replay the intro. It won't erase anything you've written.
What does connecting Apple Health do?
With your permission, Nerea reads heart rate, sleep, and exercise data so it can show what your body was doing around a session. It's optional, and everything stays on your device. You can turn it off any time in the Health app under Sources, or in iOS Settings.
How do I get my journal out of the app?
Open the Journal tab and choose Export. You can export a single day, a week, a month, everything, or a custom range, as plain text, as a PDF, or straight to Apple's Journal app.
Journal doesn't appear when I try to send an entry to it.
The first time, you may need to switch it on in the iOS share sheet. Tap More at the end of the app row, then turn on Journal. It will be there from then on.
Where is my data stored? Is it backed up?
Everything you write is stored on your iPhone and nowhere else. The one exception is the Resources screen, which loads its list of articles and helplines from Nerea’s content file so new resources can be added without an app update. That request sends nothing about you.
Storing everything on device means it is private. It also means it is not synced or recoverable if you delete the app or lose the device. If your journal matters to you, export it now and then and keep a copy somewhere safe.
How do I delete everything?
Settings includes an option to erase all Nerea data. Deleting the app removes everything too. Nothing is kept on a server, so there is no copy left behind.
The animations are too much.
Nerea respects the system Reduce Motion setting. Turn it on in iOS Settings under Accessibility, then Motion, and the moving water settles down.
Is Nerea really free?
Yes. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads, no trial that ends. It was built by someone who lives with panic disorder and generalized anxiety, and the intent was that nothing should stand between a person and the thing that helps.
Something is broken, or something is missing
Nerea is made by one person, and email comes straight to me. Bug reports and suggestions are genuinely welcome, and they shape what gets built next. Write to michael@vastocielo.com. If something isn't working, your iPhone model and iOS version help me track it down.
A note on what Nerea is
Nerea gathers breathing techniques, grounding exercises, and guided reflections that many people find helpful. It is not therapy, not medical treatment, and not a diagnosis. It works best alongside real care, not instead of it. If anxiety or panic is affecting your life, a clinician can offer things an app never can.