Do you spend your entire day looking at a computer screen? Everyday, there’s a new deadline to meet and time seems to be slipping away from the palm of your hands? You might be stressed out. And doing something you love does not excuse you from the stress. No matter how much I like writing, after a 5000 word session, I’d be burned out.
Calm Down Now is an app made by June Tomaso-Wood, a psychotherapist with over 30 years in practice. This app is the manifestation of everything she has learned working with her clients dealing with panic attacks and anxiety. The app provides you with different ways to deal with panic attacks and stress. You’ll find scripted audio clips with a soothing background noise, pages full of techniques to conquer your mind and a collection of relaxing nature sounds you can mix and match. The panic attack script felt a bit over the top, but then again, I wasn’t having a panic attack while listening to it.
The app has three features I can see myself using everyday. The visualize calm script, 2 minute meditation and relaxing sounds.
The visalize calm script takes you out of your physical space and helps you focus your energy inward. You’re asked to visualize your happy place, the warm sand on the beach, the wind hitting your face. It’s a good escape from real life.
The 2 minute meditation clip is something I hope I’ll be using everyday. I’ve been trying to work on my concentration and focus and everyone tells me meditation is the way to do it. The idea of sitting down, detached from everything sounded intriguing but I never did do it. At least this way I’m using my iPhone to calm myself. Sounds like a win-win.
The app comes with a lot of relaxing sounds. You’ll find the usual suspects here easily. There’s waves, wind chimes, flute, rainy day and river. But then there’s also monk, cat purring, electric fan, clock, music box and sitar. A quick overview of all the relaxing sounds tells me that no matter what calms you down, the peace of a riverbed or the immediacy of a ticking clock, this app has you covered. You can also set a timer for the sounds.
Other than the counterproductive name – Calm Down Now – the app has a lot going for itself. The only way that name can be calming is if it was song by Iron & Wine. And for some reason, the audio scripts don’t stop playing once they are done. I’d hardly call it 2 minute meditation if the audio plays in an infinite loop. The app’s UI is bright violet, not something you’d call minimal. But it manages to look good while providing a valuable service. I look forward to using this app everyday to slow myself down. Clam Down Now is available on the App Store for $1.99.