Anxiety Series

"Veil" May 2018

Even though I have been talking about anxiety more, it still feels uncomfortable. Anxiety is all in my head. I physically feel it, but rarely let it show in front of people. When I started drawing up ideas for this series last December I was terrified of opening my mind and letting people see in. I pushed forward because I know I'm not alone in dealing with anxiety. I know there are others out there who like me struggle to explain what anxiety is like. 

"You are not floating alone in this awful void" - Levi the Poet

This was actually the last photo I shot. All the photos that made it into the series were preplanned except for this one. I wanted at least one where I got out of my head and just created solely based on how I felt in the moment. The idea that I was about to reveal all these photos and openly talk about anxiety online was weighing on me. I felt as though I was about to take off the comfortable layer that the world sees and reveal what I normally try to hide.

Over the couple years that I have been creating and sharing my work with others I have found that being vulnerable, although scary, can be quite rewarding. It reminds me that I'm not alone in this. It brings connections with others that I wouldn't have had otherwise. While sharing with the world might not be the answer for everyone, I do encourage that if you struggle with anxiety please don't struggle alone. Find at least one person to talk to about what's going on. Opening up to others helped me feel more "in control" of what was going on.