TRANSCRIPT:
Panel 1:
Sam: (A person wearing a pale grey, collared shirt, with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, a blue vest, and dark grey trousers, who is looking directly at the viewer. Eyebrows are raised, mouth is open, and one arm is bent forward at the shoulder and up at the elbow, its hand open, palm facing just in front of Sam’s face.) I get anxious a lot.
(There are eleven bubbles, each with a different drawing inside and caption below.)
(Bubble 1: Sam’s eyes, one closed, and both full of tears. The caption reads:) Things going in my eyes.
(Bubble 2: Sam, with hand on forehead, sweating. There are two zig zags by Sam’s head. The caption reads:) Hot houses.
(Bubble 3: A slug, with a trail behind it. The caption reads:) Touching slimy things.
(Bubble 4: A person with arms spread wide, and Sam running away. The caption reads:) Hugs from strangers.
(Bubble 5: A building with “Mall O Doom” written on the front, and a stick figure in front of it. The caption reads:) Shopping malls.
(Bubble 6: A rat’s butt and tail. The caption reads:) Rats’ tails.
(Bubble 7: A container labelled “Cream” pouring its contents on an apple. The caption reads:) Dairy mixing with fruit.
(Bubble 8: Two people, who have speech bubbles with indistinct contents. The caption reads:) Revisiting high school trauma.
(Bubble 9: A stick figure standing near the edge of a cliff. The caption reads:) Heights.
(Bubble 10: An indistinct mass of people. The caption reads:) Crowds.
(Bubble 11: A small black bug. The caption reads:) Ticks
Panel 2:
Sam: (A person who is looking directly at the viewer with lowered eyebrows, and an open mouth, which has downturned edges. Both arms are bent up at the shoulders and forward at the elbows, with hands near Sam’s head, palms open, but fingertips scrunched over.) I get all locked up inside my head & begin to imagine all the bad things that could happen.
(There are nine bubbles, each with a different drawing inside.)
(Bubble 1: Sam’s eyes, one closed, and both full of tears. The open eye has been stabbed by a pencil, it’s bleeding a little.)
(Bubble 2: Sam’s forearm, with a tick on it, and hand.)
(Bubble 3: Sam, in a collared shirt, with damp patches all over it.)
(Bubble 4: The word “AAAAH!!”)
(Bubble 5: A cream covered apple, with an open mouth, displaying its sharp teeth.)
(Bubble 6: A stick figure that has jumped off the cliff, and is now falling.)
(Bubble 7: A rat’s tail in the shape of an “M”.)
(Bubble 8: A big fire.)
(Bubble 9: Two stick figures running, one with a pitchfork, and the other with a flaming torch.)
Panel 3:
Sam: (A person who is looking directly at the viewer, with raised eyebrows, which are pushed together slightly, and eyes are full of tears. Mouth is open, with slightly downturned edges, arms are bent up at the shoulders and elbows, and hands are on the sides of Sam’s head. Both Sam, and Sam’s speech bubble are covered in ticks and slugs.) Sometimes it gets a little out of control and I feel bad about how crazy I can be.
(The background is a huge, smoke belching fire, which is filled with cream covered fanged fruit, rat tails, stick figures running with a pitchfork, and a flaming torch, and the word “ARRGH!!”.)
Panel 4:
Sam: (A person who is sitting on a chair, at a table, and facing away from, but looking directly at, the viewer. Eyebrows are raised and mouth is open, with upturned edges. One arm is bent forward at the elbow, its hand open, palm facing up. The other is holding a pencil to paper, which is covered in bright colour. There are ribbons of every colour in the rainbow leaping out of the paper.) Which is why it’s important to remember that while imagination has its drawbacks, it’s also pretty awesome too.
(Surrounding Sam, the chair, table, and ribbons, are stars, circles, triangles and swirls in every colour of the rainbow. There are drawings of Sam’s head, and Joe’s, both with open mouths with upturned edges. There are also a number of stick figures.)
cutest one yet.
like!
The timing for this one is fantastic for me. THIS is exactly what’s going on in my life at the moment. Thank you, for putting it down. I don’t feel so crazy now.
Oh yay that’s really cool! It’s such a nice feeling to write it down to try and make myself feel better, but then sooo much nicer when other people say things like you said and I don’t feel as weird or freaky about it.
I like to use the term mad, as a really productive and creative thinking and being space – one that definately embraces anxiety and going with the flow. Other people however don’t seem to get it when I embrace it proudly, nor seem to understand how it can help me work. I think it’s all about engaging in the things which make us unique rather than all the rules we fail to conform to 🙂
Mad is one of my most favourite-most-underutilized words. I will have to make an effort to integrate it into my vocabulary. I definitely understand that feeling of embracing something that people look at you weirdly about: Joe and I quite often call each other creepy, which often gets us strange looks. All power to engaging with uniqueness and not feeling bad about rules we fail to conform to.
Me and a couple of my friend refer to our ‘crazies’. It’s an all encompassing term that seems to cover most things that we suffer from.
I have anxiety too and one of the hardest things I’ve found about it is trying to explain to people how it affects you. I know that my fear of phones is a bit irrational but that doesn’t help me answer them! For me it’s not something that I ever ‘get over’ it’s something that I ‘battle’ and so days it’s just easier to win! 🙂
I like ‘crazies’ too! And, yep, totally to feeling at a loss as to how to explain it – eesh. I’m still trying to come to terms with the idea of the fact it probably won’t go away, but will be something I just gotta manage or battle with.
I’ve suffered from bouts of terrible anxiety so this comic really really rings true for me! I also blame my imagination, although I never forget that I love it as well, it’s a wonderful thing when used correctly.
<3!
panel 3 spoke too well to me. with permission (though i’ve already taken the liberty) this week’s comic is my wallpaper. thank you for this!
Ha! Cool! Permission approved 🙂
I just wanted to say that my best friend, who I fully consider my brother, is a transguy here in the states and I love your blog, it resonates greatly with the things I’ve watched him go through. Its nice to know he’s not in this alone and its nice to get a humor break from the tough stuff. He’s trans, I’m androgynous, and we’re both little anxious nutters a lot of the time. 😛
Yay thankyou so much. I definitely think it’s important for me to have space to laugh at the funny stuff and look at the light-hearted side of it all. Little anxious nutters are my favourite type of people 🙂
This is me, 100%. Always good to know when someone else feels the same way.
KNOW IT!!
Oh my, I think we’re the same person. Things going in my eye, hot houses, hugs from strangers….these are all things that make me feel very awkward. I would hug you….but I don’t want you to feel anxious.