НовостиМощный арт-проект меняет отношение к «невидимым» заболеваниям

Элли Кэшел и Эрика Лупиначчи недавно запустили проект «Suffering the Silence», призванный оказать психологическую поддержку людям с заболеваниями, о которых не принято говорить, у которых, как правило, нет заметных внешних проявлений и которые нередко вызывают у сторонних наблюдателей непонимание и ужас. В школьном возрасте у обеих девушек диагностировали хронические заболевания: у Элли — хроническую болезнь Лайма, а у Эрики — волчанку. С помощью своего фотопроекта девушки надеются обратить внимание общества на «невидимые» заболевания и состояния и бороться с их стигматизацией. 

Героями проекта помимо самих Кэшел и Лупиначчи стали еще 9 человек, у которых диагностировали ВИЧ, сколиоз, болезнь Крона, астму, гемофилию, эндометриоз, диабет, ревматоидный артрит и язвенный колит. На снимках герои проекта закрывают себе рот рукой, на которой краской написано название их болезни. Фотографии сопровождают цитаты участников проекта, рассказывающих о своих состояниях и о том, как они живут с ними.

Introducing SUFFERING THE SILENCE: PORTRAITS OF CHRONIC ILLNESS. Eleven people broke the silence surrounding #chronicillness by showcasing their diagnoses and sharing insight into what it's like to live with their #disease. Click the link in bio to see the photos by @amcrommett and find out how you get get involved. Here's @alliecashel's quote: For a long time I was terrified to tell people about my illness experience because I was scared they wouldn't believe me. I needed to become an advocate for myself, especially in conversations about my controversial diagnosis. I had doctors tell me I was having a mental breakdown and needed to find the strength to tell them otherwise. It hasn't been easy by finding my voice and sharing my story had been an incredibly powerful tool in my healing process.

Фото опубликовано Suffering the Silence (@sufferingthesilence) Июл 24 2015 в 11:16 PDT

Every day I'm trying to learn how to love a body I can't control. The unpredictability can be the most painful aspect of this disease. I get scared that my body will keep me from living the life I envision but I've also decided I won't let that fear hold me back. I'm incredibly passionate about my life and am dedicated to making my very big dreams come true. Fighting #lupus had helped me truly understand the extraordinary power of believing in yourself. -@ericaloops #lupus #lupusawareness #spoonies #chronicillness #chroniclife #sufferingthesilence JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Фото опубликовано Suffering the Silence (@sufferingthesilence) Июл 24 2015 в 12:20 PDT

The biggest thing, especially with #endometriosis, is that so many women go undiagnosed for so long because they've never heard of it. The problem I had with my doctor was that I would go in complaining of pain and he said "Everyone goes through this, it's called a period." It took me a good six years before I finally got diagnosed. Although on the outside it may look like every now and then I get period pains, you don't realize that no, it's an every day thing and just because I don't want everyone to know I'm in pain-I am. -@tatystweets #sufferingthesilence

Фото опубликовано Suffering the Silence (@sufferingthesilence) Июл 24 2015 в 4:05 PDT

Ninety percent of people with #hemophilia contracted #HIV and/or Hep-C in the late 80s/early 90s because of the Blood Contamination Crisis that is one of the most unfortunate events in American health history. On the converse, today we have the medicine to live very normal lives. I'm a part of the first fully healthy generation of people with Hemophilia and yet 80% of the world still doesn't have access to the medicine or care that we do, that allows someone like me to live to see beyond the age of 3 or 4. The history is dark and the people who lived through it still feel the effects of that. It's a very conflicted community. It's strange to look and feel normal but be a part of something that is very specifically complicated - @patrickjameslynch #sufferingthesilence

Фото опубликовано Suffering the Silence (@sufferingthesilence) Июл 25 2015 в 7:20 PDT

There is such a stigma around #HIV, people automatically disable you and don't think you can do anything else. Just because I have something like this doesn't mean that I still can't go out and sing and do the things that I am meant to do. It doesn't mean that I can't date, that I can't love, it doesn't mean that I can't do any of those things. I'm still a person, I'm still human. -Ty #sufferingthesilence JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Фото опубликовано Suffering the Silence (@sufferingthesilence) Июл 28 2015 в 9:42 PDT

Элли Кэшел и Эрика Лупиначчи призывают всех желающих присоединиться к их проекту и выкладывать в социальные сети свои снимки с хэштегом #sufferingthesilence, сопровождая их небольшим рассказом о том, каково им жить с болезнью. Кроме того, 8 сентября в продажу должна поступить книга Элли Кэшел «Suffering the Silence: Chronic Lyme Disease in an Age of Denial», в которой она рассказывает не только свою историю, но и истории других людей, столкнувшихся с болезнью Лайма.

Узнать о проекте больше вы можете на его сайте.