Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the most misunderstood mental health disorders. This disorder is often portrayed in the media as simply liking things clean or organized; however, as an artist who was diagnosed with severe OCD at the age of 17, I know that these portrayals are false. OCD is an extremely difficult and devastating disorder because living with OCD is living in constant fear. Therefore, this work is to display what it actually feels like to live with OCD.
As a lot of OCD happens internally, it can be difficult to visually capture the truth of living with this disorder. Therefore, I specifically restricted myself to staged and exaggerated photographs that convey the internalized feeling of constant fear. This diptych titled, Living with OCD – Intrusive, visually depicts the “Obsessions” or “intrusive thoughts” which are the constant fear-evoking thoughts that OCD brings into your brain.
