How the Elves App Helped Me Become Less Anxious

Oh, anxiety! How you manage to come creepin’ on literally anything I do and make sure that I feel absolutely scared to do it. Just because I said scared, it doesn’t mean that I don’t do what I was planning on doing. In fact, I mostly do it all, I just feel fucking afraid  in the process — like something bad is going to happen, but it never does.

Via GIPHY

I was watching The Good Place the other day and one of the characters said something that really resonated with me. He said, “You know the sound a fork makes in a garbage disposal? That’s my brain all the time.” That’s pretty much how it feels to live with anxiety.

For the longest time, I’ve walked through this Earth not knowing that I had anxiety. I just assumed that this is how everyone’s thought process was. Thanks to people now being slightly aware about mental health, I now know that I not alone and what I go through is something that is completely normal. But that’s not why I’m here, I’m here to talk about Elves.

The helpers at Elves posing for a picture

What’s that, you say? Elves, or Your Personal Little Helper, is an Egyptian app that does exactly what it says it does: helps you. Upon downloading the app that is available for iOS and Android users, you get assigned an elf (who is actually a real life person). That helper will communicate with you in the same way you communicate with your friends via Messenger or WhatsApp, except in a more productive manner.

As a person who suffers from anxiety, being on the phone or basically talking to people is something I always try to postpone or avoid, which then tends to accumulate and I find myself stuck in a web where I can’t perform the simplest of tasks. With Elves, however, I didn’t need to worry or stress about this as much as I used to do. For example, I have always wanted to get my eyes checked and get myself some fabulous prescription glasses. With my busy work schedule and crippling anxious ways, I never find myself wanting to call the optician to make that appointment after my working hours — and this is exactly how Elves came to my rescue. All I needed to do is text my helper that I needed to book an appointment and an hour later she (my elf is called Aby) got back to me with the date. It was wonderful.

The message my helper sent me about the optician

The possibilities are endless with Elves. You could utilize them to do literally anything. If there’s a book you want but can’t find, ask your elf and they’ll look for it and let you know where you can get it. If you’re too lazy to go pick it up, your elf can pick it up — or anything else for that matter — for you. Hell, they can even book flights, hotels, and pretty much whatever your heart desires, for you. Kudos, Elves, for creating this beautiful app that has honestly made my life and mental health a lot better.

Click here to know more about Elves.

Kurt Galalah

A Filipino-Egyptian hybrid with an unhealthy obsession for floral printed shirts. When he's not busy being the Editor-in-Chief of 925 (which he always is), you'll find him at one of Cairo's hole-in-the-wall Korean restaurants gorging on kimbab or Netflix and crying with his eight cats at home.