Fighting the Stigma?

As I write this post I am printing the images from my depression project (title still to be determined) in preparation for Wednesday’s Mid-Quarter Critique. Some of them are hard for me to look at on this big computer screen; my pain is blown up before my eyes, and I have to minimize some of the images while they print because I can’t stand to look at them. I am suddenly acutely aware of who is around me. Who else is looking at these images? What do they think of them? What do they think of me for making them? I feel the strong urge to post a disclaimer next to my computer explaining the project in its entirety for anyone who may pass by and glance at it. I strategically stack the finished prints so that the least provocative ones are on top. I now realize how much importance I have placed on the explanation behind my work. My peers have commended me for my bravery in sharing such a vulnerable body of work, but am I really being that brave if I can’t stand to have this work seen without being accompanied by in-depth descriptions? I have already shared my work publicly via Instagram, but each post has been captioned with a statement about the project the images come from. Why is it that I feel the need to explain myself? I believe this desire is rooted in the stigma that I am trying to fight. I don’t want to be seen as someone who is “crying for attention,” as the type of person who tells the world their problems and makes everyone uncomfortable in the process instead of simply confiding in a few close friends like we are told we should do. In a way this is contributing to the stigma I am trying to fight—I don’t want to be seen as “one of those people,” and, in that, I am stigmatizing “those people.” Despite my intentions in doing this project I still cannot break away from these social norms that have become so deeply engrained in me.