How are you feeling today?
What's going on?
Pick whatever's closest. This just points the next step in the right direction.
More
Everything else, in one place.
Mental MOT Quick Check
Seven quick questions about how the system's running today. No typing, just tap what fits. About a minute, start to finish.
The Recalibration Check
For when the dashboard feels like it's set too high. Notice what's there, name what the thought is doing, then choose what happens next.
Logbook
Run a Quick Check or Recalibration and the certificate will show up here.
Service stamps
Every bit of upkeep in the garage counts towards a stamp. Each one comes in four grades, so there's always another to work towards.
Settings
Mental MOT check-insHow often your Mental MOT is due. The app shows when it's time, and each on-time check adds a stamp to your Full Service History.
When your next MOT is due
Every Monday and Friday
Easier to read. The app will look slightly different and some pages may need a little scrolling.
Keep a copy, or move to a new phone
My safety plan
A plan you write while things are calmer, ready for the times they're not. Fill in as much or as little as you like. It saves as you type and stays private on this phone.
What tells me things are getting harder?
What helps me feel even a little better?
Where can I go, or who can I be around?
Things I can put away, or ask someone to look after, when I'm struggling.
The people, plans and things that keep me going.
CBT basics
The thinking behind a lot of the tools in this garage.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based talking therapy that helps people understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviours. It teaches practical skills to manage common mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, stress and low self-esteem.
CBT is commonly used to help with anxiety, depression, stress, panic attacks and phobias.
Some simple CBT techniques you can try
Notice your thoughts
Pay attention to thoughts that arise in difficult situations and ask yourself, "Is there evidence for this thought? Is there another way to look at it?"
Challenge unhelpful thinking
Replace overly negative or self-critical thoughts with more balanced, realistic ones.
Keep a thought diary
Write down the situation, your thoughts, emotions, and a more balanced response to help identify patterns.
Behavioural activation
If you're feeling low, plan small, enjoyable or meaningful activities, even if motivation is low. Action often comes before motivation.
Problem-solving
Break overwhelming problems into smaller, manageable steps and focus on one step at a time.
Graded exposure
If anxiety is causing you to avoid certain situations, gradually and safely face those situations in small, achievable steps.
Best planned with a therapist, who can help you set the steps at the right pace.
Relaxation and grounding
Use breathing exercises, mindfulness, or grounding techniques to help reduce physical symptoms of stress and anxiety.
Want to try CBT with someone?
Free on the NHS. If you live in England and are 18 or over, you can refer yourself without seeing your GP first, and you don't need a diagnosis. Your GP can also refer you.
Outside England, ask your GP about talking therapies near you.
Guide
What each part of the check actually means.
Support & resources
If you need support right now, or things feel like more than this app can hold.
Call 116 123, free, any time, day or night. For anyone who needs to talk.
Text SHOUT to 85258, free and confidential, 24 hours a day.
Call 111 and select the mental health option for urgent, non-emergency support.
In Scotland, call NHS 24 on 111 or Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87. In Northern Ireland, call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000.
Call the Infoline on 0300 123 3393, 9am–6pm Monday to Friday, for information and support on any mental health problem.
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)
Free, anonymous helpline 0800 58 58 58 and webchat, 5pm to midnight, every day.
Your GP
A good first stop for ongoing support, and can refer you on to further help.
The scrap yard is never the choice.
Upgrades
Small changes. Better direction.
Upgrades are earnt, not given. No one fits new parts before the repairs are done. Every Mental MOT and Recalibration you log moves the needle, and unlocks the next stage when you're ready for it.
Get out of your head
For the times your back seat driver won't quieten down, and you need something else to hold your attention for a minute.
Look around you
Find something that's round.
One calm minute. Follow the circle: in for 4, out for 6.
Snow foam, two buckets, wax on, wax off. Take a filthy car back to a showroom shine, one panel at a time.
A proper distraction. Steer, brake, and reverse your way into the bay, cones and all.
Score sheet
The Trophy Shelf
We're not always good at naming our own wins. It can feel like showing off, even in private. This isn't that. No one else ever sees this page. Big or small, if it mattered to you, it belongs here.
Can't find the words? A photo works just as well.
Pull something back out and read it again.
THE BOOK
THE MIND GARAGE™
You were never given the manual.
Every idea in this app comes from somewhere. The Mind Garage is the full book behind it: the mechanic, the driver, and twenty-one chapters that turn the everyday language of cars into a plainspoken map of stress, self-talk, rest, and resilience.
- 21 chapters, one unfolding story
- The full Mental MOT checklist and service record pages, in print
- Practical exercises at the end of every chapter
- A logbook to pass the book on to its next reader
About
Written and designed by Marc O'Shea, the author of The Mind Garage. This app is a companion to the book, built around the same Mental MOT and Recalibration Check found in it.
This app is a self-help tool. It is not a substitute for support through official channels: a GP, a therapist, or the services listed under Support & resources. If you're struggling, please use those too.
The podcasts and accounts named in Upgrades are not partnerships or endorsements of any kind. They're simply this author's own opinion on who might help with mindset. Nothing more.
Stored on this device only. Nothing is sent anywhere.