The Worst Part “The worst part is feeling like everyone just think you’re lying…”
_____________________________________________________________________
About Message in A Bottle Project:
This project focuses on collecting authentic narratives by people living with chronic illness or disability. Participants were invited to take their prescription medication bottles, censor all of the information they did not want to share, and put a message that would describe their personal experience with their illness or their medication. The use of the bottle as a container alludes to the isolation felt by those who are ill or disabled, as if trapped on a desert island. Moreover, the topic of illness is somewhat taboo in our society, and those who are suffering are expected to keep their struggles to themselves, in essence “bottling up” their feelings and experiences.
The goal of this project is to have more open and honest conversations about illness, whether physical or mental, in order to shatter stigma and allow people to be their authentic selves. Far too many suffer in silence, afraid or ashamed to ask for help, or simply unaware of the fact that help exists.
