On March 8th, Women’s Day, an exhibition of photographs “Women of Anxiety” was held at the supermarket MEGA in Lithuania. This exhibition featured portraits of women who experienced before or still experiencing anxiety disorders.
The author of the project, Rasa Dautartaitė, says that speaking about these disorders in our society is still taboo. So the project aims to encourage ancient women to search for help or inspire and encourage each other on their own disorder example.
“At a time when I needed most to know what was happening with me, I did not find the right help and information. It was hard to find and read anywhere because all the signs of the diseases seemed to fit me.”
She visited various doctors and found nothing bad. Rasa felt both – good and bad. She had no illness but there was something she could not crawl and who could control her body and mind. It lasted for a year. “When I came to the hospital for help, I realized that I still had the strength to overcome it. At that time I really did not expect to recover, but I wanted to no longer feel afraid,”- Rasa.
“I want to show with this exhibition that all our stories are the same and different. All of them are full of anxiety, fears, and new rules of life that make it easier to survive the day, work, and ourselves. Every anxious woman who has survived a panic attack knows what it means to almost die, “Rasa shared her memories.
According to the author, the hardest is for families and the environment because it’s not easy to tell what’s going on. When you do not know what a person is fighting with, it’s hard to help.
After two years of anxiety disorder in life, I have not said goodbye to the disease. I think I will never do it. Perhaps this illness was a snow avalanche, a roar, or a car accident in our lives, but at the same time, she was the straw that gives a new, happier life.
