A glitch in the system. How it started
The story behind Temporary Malfunktion article 2 of 3
The concept of a glitch in a computer system (article 1) just seemed to align perfectly with what I was experiencing with anxiety and panic attacks. However outside my experiences I had no knowledge of the issue, looking for answers I started research.
What is a panic attack ?
A panic attack is a feeling of intense fear, that comes on very quickly for no apparent reason. They can be very scary and intense, It can feel like you are having a heart attack, however cause no physical harm.
Symptoms can include: breathlessness, and or feeling like you are struggling to breathe or chocking, a racing or pounding heartbeat, feeling sick faint or dizzy, feeling very hot or cold, nausea, pain in your chest or stomach, shivering or shaking, sweating, tingling fingers, feeling detached from your body. (mental health foundation)
So why do they happen?
Anxiety, fear and panic all play a vital role in being a living being, without these emotions we wouldn't be able to sense danger and act accordingly in order to survive.
The limbic system is the part of the brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses, especially when it comes to behaviours we need for survival. The amygdala within the limbic system is primarily associated with emotional process. This part of the brain activates the fight or flight response.
This response can help people in immediate physical danger react quickly for their safety. When the amygdala senses danger, it signals the brain to pump stress hormones. Preparing the body to either fight for survival or flee to safety.
For early humans, the fight or flight response was vital as the threat of physical harm was very real. Today the response is more likely to be triggered by emotions such as anxiety, fear, stress, aggression and anger.
During a panic attack the brain ignites this response and rushes stress hormones through the brain, like it should when you're in danger, however you're not in a fight or flight situation you're in a normal, usually calm every day, day to day situation. This is known as an amygdala hijack.
Why are they so frightening ?
It is still unknown exactly why a person would be experiencing frequent panic attacks or even a random panic attack with no presence of danger. However the intensity of the experience has been described as liquid terror, the body’s adrenaline levels can spike to 2 and half times more. Explaining the seemingly physical symptoms. Once in the blood stream adrenaline:
binds to receptors on liver cells to break down larger sugar molecules, called glycogen, into a smaller, more readily usable sugar called glucose; this gives your muscles a boost of energy
binds to receptors on muscle cells in the lungs, causing you to breath faster
stimulates cells of the heart to beat faster
triggers the blood vessels to contract and direct blood toward major muscle groups
contracts muscle cells below the surface of the skin to stimulate perspiration
binds to receptors on the pancreas to inhibit the production of insulin (healthline)
With this new knowledge on the concept of glitches occurring and anxiety I began to explore how I could combine the two to visually represent anxiety and panic attacks. Using this as the inspiration to Design my graduate collection — Temporary Malfunction (studying Fashion Design and Manufacture 2019).
I had created lots of these print designs some of which i wasn't going to use in my final collection or portfolio so i decided to print some on T shirts and run a small event to raise some money for samh (a Scottish based mental health charity). But it wasn't until late 2020 when started developing this concept into its own design house.
t.b.c
