‘Once you’re labeled as mentally ill, and that’s in your medical notes, then anything you say can be discounted as an artefact of your mental illness.’

Hillary Mantel

Over the past few months I have been thinking about artefacts, pieces of life with a mental illness – positive or negative, subtle or overwhelming, funny or distressing – and what these mean to people with a diagnosis. But also for those in a period of quiet, of blessed remission.

Hillary Mantel suggests that these artefacts can count against us, that once someone has the label of mental illness they are immediately consigned to a lesser, diminishing realm. And to a large extent this is true. I feel, as do others, that when you have a diagnosis it becomes part of the framework of how you feel and how others feel about you. These don’t just come as a result of the medical notes that follow you around from service provider to service provider, it comes from those who hear only the words ‘mental illness’ and baulk at the very idea of even being in the same room as you. When we are part of the wider world, having a mental illness often counts against you: stigma is hard to shake, even when you have not been ill for several years; stigma is also about what we carry with us and what can be revealed about us. But it is not just about stigma. It is about family, friendship, support, understanding and above all the absence of judgment. These are artefacts of love in all its multitudes.

So, with this in mind, I began to wonder about how other people who have a diagnosis of a mental illness might see and experience the world around them. In the past I have only focused on the artefacts of my own life, understandably, but being unwell (or well) is not the same for each person. And this intrigues me. Life is all about interpretation and we live in a bubble of our own making. This bubble, however, sets us apart from others, contributing to the mystique and fear surrounding mental health. I want to change this.

The Project:

The aim of Artefacts of Life is to encourage people to share their experiences of life with a mental illness and in so doing allow me to take these a step further. My task is to try and translate these moments and feelings into something visual. The result will be a photo project, an anthology of life with a mental illness. I am asking people to share whatever they would like (within the 140 characters): memories, anecdotes, thoughts, feelings, questions, hopes or fears. Anything –positive or negative. My goal is to try to take these and turn them into a collection of abstract pieces that convey what living with a mental illness might be like.

How to participate:

Using the hashtag #ArtefactsofLife share whatever you want about what it is like to live with a mental illness

• This is also open to carers, friends, family and even colleagues of people with a diagnosis (using the hashtag #carer #friend #family #colleague etc.)
• If you are willing to share your diagnosis, please feel safe to do so. Part of the project is to open up the whole spectrum of mental health.
• Anonymity is entirely up to you. If you are happy to have your twitter handle or name attached to a piece then that’s great, but there is no obligation to do so.

So, let’s do this!

I hope to hear from you all and we can start this project together!

All my love,

Emma Jones

Twitter: @ecrjones

Blog: http://gulliverunravelled.com