ANXIETY

My work explores how having an anxiety disorder can affect your perceptions of reality. Those with anxiety have their fight or flight response triggered when there is no “real” danger present. So, their experiences of reality aren’t something that others are necessarily aware of, since there is no actual danger to be afraid of and nothing outside their bodies to show the reality of what they feel. However, inside their bodies, the hormones cortisol and adrenaline are released, so there is a physical reality to their experiences, even if it isn’t noticeable to others.

From my own experiences with anxiety, I know that it can cause feelings of being unsettled & overwhelmed. Miranda Dickinson describes it like this:

It feels as if the world is rushing at me. Noises become very pronounced and it makes my head swim. Sometimes I can find it difficult to focus, sometimes I feel disoriented. My heart rate soars and I become very aware of my breathing. (4)

I wanted to convey these feelings with a “real” audio and visual presence—something that is detectable and felt by others—so the existence of my anxiety is no longer purely something within my body but something that can inhabit the space of reality that others experience.

(4) Miranda Dickinson, “It feels as if the world is rushing at me,” in 25 Stories of Panic Attacks and Living With Anxiety, ed. Robyn Wilder. BuzzFeed, 22 Aug. 2014, 1:55pm, www.buzzfeed.com/robynwilder/panic-attack-experience?utm_term=.ouvVGLBgR#.hj8WLVgqP.