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Mental illnesses aren't exactly what you might call doodle friendly. Plus, it's the kind of darkness most like to shove under the carpet. Yet, we tug at it and now and then and hope that more like Deepika Padukone come forward to speak with rare honesty about their struggles.
We can now add Mumbai-based illustrator and artist Pranita Kocharekar's new series Is That You? to the list. It takes us into the minds of the deeply anxious, with a touch of humour. “Anxiety in an early stage is very controllable but if not acknowledged can lead to other mental illnesses. I spoke to a lot of friends suffering through minor anxiety and illustrated our conversations,” says the 24-year-old artist. “Instead of sharing an article about anxiety, I wanted to express it as purely and genuinely as possible – so people could relate to it and acknowledge it,” says Kocharekar who's inspired by Gemma Correll's funny and affecting illustrations on mental illness. Check out Kocharekar's 15-day Instagram project below:
Remember when you started with a simple Google search about the flu, but somehow ended up convinced you have hyperthyroidism?
Einstein's theory of relativity suddenly makes sense.
Friendly reminders.
The circle of life.
No matter what they tell you, clowns and butterflies are not your friends.
The longest five steps you'll ever take.
10 am is too early to contemplate existential questions.
Do people not take fire safety seriously anymore?
Every. Single. Time.
When your imagination works stronger than The Conjuring 2.
All fun and games.
When yoga fails you too.
And on the ONE good day...
Same. Except also in trains, buses, restaurants, on the way to the loo and back.
When you realise there's no justice in this world.
Photographs: Instagram