Accept Okay

I have an anxiety disorder, and that is okay. One in four people everyday are living with a mental illness. Anxiety is part of me, but does not define who I am.

When approaching this project, I felt I needed to reach out to others living with mental illness. I wanted my project to be interactive and allow people to speak out about what sometimes can be hard to communicate to others around them. Mental illness is a serious thing, sometimes it can be silenced by the stigma that surrounds it. The way to spread awareness is to end the silence. When reaching out to others and letting them know they are never alone can sometimes be the best thing to do for someone living with a mental illness. Sometimes all we need is to allow ourselves to accept being okay, that when living with a mental illness we may feel there is not a way out, that your illness is something to be ashamed of. My mental illness allows for me to be more empathic and I care about people more then myself, but I allow it to make me stronger and it is a part of me that makes me who I am. It is never a thing to be ashamed of.

For those living with a mental illness being okay is a powerful thing. I wanted to collect and share stories of others to affirm we are never alone. This project was to express that everyone has stains and hardships, and sometimes we can not wash them away. This makes us all human. Thoughts of fear and worry cannot be washed away; they are never really gone. If you feel you may have a mental illness you are never alone.