Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults ages 18 and older, myself included. Create Calm is an app that provides a space for finding calm when one is suffering from anxiety, through the process of creating. The app contains multiple art journal exercises and prompts for the user to participate with in the psychical sketchbook that pairs with the app. Additionally, within the app, one will find other calming techniques, breathing exercises, a progress tracker, and uplifting quotes to help ease the mind. The user would buy the sketchbook that pairs with the application in a bookstore and then receive a code to download the Create Calm app when they open their sketchbook. 

I have always found the process of drawing and creating art to be therapeutic and calming, especially when I am having anxious thoughts or an anxiety attack. The idea for the creation of this app and sketchbook is the result of wondering if sketching and drawing could be incorporated into a meditative and relaxation app. Currently, art therapy utilizes this idea, and Create Calm draws from art therapy’s foundations within a smaller and personal space. The simple stroke of a pen or pencil while creating art is a repetitive action that can help an individual to focus and calm their mind on simple tasks. Those that suffer from anxiety often enter an intense state of concentrated attention, so by shifting that intense focus to something positive and physical such as creating art, they can Create Calm.  More About the Project Here