Shanelle Chinnery Panic & Anxiety; How to visually soothe it

Panic and Anxiety Panic and anxiety go hand in hand Anxiety Disorder: A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, most likely concerning an event with an uncertain outcome Panic Disorder: debilitating anxiety and fear arise without reasonable cause Despite their similarities, there are major differences: Panic attacks are much more physical and random, whereas anxiety attacks have similar symptoms but is less tense and is caused by a specific event

Processing Processing is the medium I am going to use to fulfill my design. Processing is a flexible software sketchbook and a language for learning how to code within the context of visual arts. Originated in 2001.

Libraries Libraries extend processing beyond its visuals and graphics into audio and video. The most important library I will be incorporating into my project is Minim, which is an audio library –Primary code that will be used is beat detection, which detects the beat of an audio file The second library I plan to use is combinatorics, which generates combinations, variations and permutations.

My Idea Just like the image below, I aim to generate something using smaller shapes. I want to create the human mind using smaller shapes since anxiety and panic takes place primarily in the mind I want to use beat detection to detect the sound of a normal heartbeat because when having a panic and/or anxiety attack, it’s beating at a much more rapid pace and hearing a normal heartbeat or seeing the beat of one will help soothe the person.

Inspiration: Daniel Rozin Artist, educator and developer. Interactive designer that creates installations and sculptures that change depending on the point of view of the viewer. I hope to incorporate his ability of using smaller things and turning them into a bigger image

Goal To provide immediate help to people who are going through a panic attack / anxiety attack at said moment. Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the U.S, affecting 40 million adults. I am one of these people and I want nothing more than to help people like me get through this disorder.

Works Cited “Daniel Rozin Interactive Art.” Daniel Rozin Interactive Art. Web. 12 Nov “Are Anxiety and Panic Attacks the Same Thing?” About.com Health. Web. 12 Nov “Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA.” Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. Web. 12 Nov. 2015