36"x60" - Acrylic on cardboard. "Spinning Hands" represents what the artist believes anxiety feels like when life’s questions spin around one’s mind so forcefully that it could suspend you above the ground if the force was physically real. Symbolically, the swirling momentum of the painting represents life’s turbulence. The two hands represent one's ability to weigh decisions. The candle flames represent the life experience people endure and ultimately gain. Anxiety is a serious mental illness that significantly impairs functioning and limits daily activities. Individuals with mental illness typically have a shorter life expectancy compared to the general population, often due to preventable physical illnesses that are the result of poor mental health endured for too long. There is a social stigma associated with mental illness, which can lead to increased isolation and a need to conceal one’s condition to fit in socially. This stigma also poses barriers to receiving mental health care, particularly in work environments. Similarly, seeking mental health care can be seen as stigmatized in certain cultures that value independence, or fear intrusion by regulatory systems (“Big Pharma” for example). Cultural sensitivity is necessary to ensure accurate access to care for every American.
