When I was nineteen years old, I was so dissociated from my body that I couldn't drive my car. This was due to a disorder that I had at the time called Depersonalization Disorder, which was caused by a prolonged period of isolation. At this time in my life, I spent hours upon hours sprawled out on my bed, staring at the ceiling, obsessively analyzing my identity and life itself to the point where I didn't even feel real anymore. I roamed around life feeling untethered from my body with a mental state that I can only describe as abstractly scattered. I tried to explain to people what I was experiencing, but due to the abstract nature of this disorder, it wasn’t until years later that I was able to name what I was experiencing. The time leading up to this realization left me feeling incredibly isolated and in a state of despair. I am now twenty-three years old and I have finally cultivated a state of mind that is grounded and tethered to reality with the help of mental health professionals. I have emerged from the instability that was my period of derealization with a sincere determination to help others who feel trapped in a similar situation through my passion for visual storytelling. Since I have experienced this disorder firsthand, I believe that I can create visuals that mirror how reality felt to me during my experience and can therefore help others feel less alone in their experience. My new-found vision is to help those who feel invalidated and helpless due to this dissociative disorder through the power of motion picture, which communicates truths beyond language and reason. Not only would these visuals and stories help heal others, but would have also helped heal me.

When I was nineteen years old, I was so dissociated from my body that I couldn't drive my car. This was due to a disorder that I had at the time called Depersonalization Disorder, which was caused by a prolonged period of isolation. At this time in my life, I spent hours upon hours sprawled out on my bed, staring at the ceiling, obsessively analyzing my identity and life itself to the point where I didn't even feel real anymore. I roamed around life feeling untethered from my body with a mental state that I can only describe as abstractly scattered. I tried to explain to people what I was experiencing, but due to the abstract nature of this disorder, it wasn’t until years later that I was able to name what I was experiencing. The time leading up to this realization left me feeling incredibly isolated and in a state of despair. I am now twenty-three years old and I have finally cultivated a state of mind that is grounded and tethered to reality with the help of mental health professionals. I have emerged from the instability that was my period of derealization with a sincere determination to help others who feel trapped in a similar situation through my passion for visual storytelling. Since I have experienced this disorder firsthand, I believe that I can create visuals that mirror how reality felt to me during my experience and can therefore help others feel less alone in their experience. My new-found vision is to help those who feel invalidated and helpless due to this dissociative disorder through the power of motion picture, which communicates truths beyond language and reason. Not only would these visuals and stories help heal others, but would have also helped heal me.

When I was nineteen years old, I was so dissociated from my body that I couldn't drive my car. This was due to a disorder that I had at the time called Depersonalization Disorder, which was caused by a prolonged period of isolation. At this time in my life, I spent hours upon hours sprawled out on my bed, staring at the ceiling, obsessively analyzing my identity and life itself to the point where I didn't even feel real anymore. I roamed around life feeling untethered from my body with a mental state that I can only describe as abstractly scattered. I tried to explain to people what I was experiencing, but due to the abstract nature of this disorder, it wasn’t until years later that I was able to name what I was experiencing. The time leading up to this realization left me feeling incredibly isolated and in a state of despair. I am now twenty-three years old and I have finally cultivated a state of mind that is grounded and tethered to reality with the help of mental health professionals. I have emerged from the instability that was my period of derealization with a sincere determination to help others who feel trapped in a similar situation through my passion for visual storytelling. Since I have experienced this disorder firsthand, I believe that I can create visuals that mirror how reality felt to me during my experience and can therefore help others feel less alone in their experience. My new-found vision is to help those who feel invalidated and helpless due to this dissociative disorder through the power of motion picture, which communicates truths beyond language and reason. Not only would these visuals and stories help heal others, but would have also helped heal me.

When I was nineteen years old, I was so dissociated from my body that I couldn't drive my car. This was due to a disorder that I had at the time called Depersonalization Disorder, which was caused by a prolonged period of isolation. At this time in my life, I spent hours upon hours sprawled out on my bed, staring at the ceiling, obsessively analyzing my identity and life itself to the point where I didn't even feel real anymore. I roamed around life feeling untethered from my body with a mental state that I can only describe as abstractly scattered. I tried to explain to people what I was experiencing, but due to the abstract nature of this disorder, it wasn’t until years later that I was able to name what I was experiencing. The time leading up to this realization left me feeling incredibly isolated and in a state of despair. I am now twenty-three years old and I have finally cultivated a state of mind that is grounded and tethered to reality with the help of mental health professionals. Having emerged from the chains of this debilitating disorder, I now realize that there is so much that needs to be done to help those struggling with mental health conditions, including raising awareness about less commonly known disorders such as this one. I believe something as simple as creating short films that highlight how it feels to experience different disorders can help validate people and therefore prompt them to seek the help that they need. Using the unmatched power of visual storytelling, which communicates truths beyond language and reason, could not only help heal others but would have also helped heal me.

When I was nineteen years old, I was so dissociated from my body that I couldn't drive my car. This was due to a disorder that I had at the time called Depersonalization Disorder, which was caused by a prolonged period of isolation. At this time in my life, I spent hours upon hours sprawled out on my bed, staring at the ceiling, obsessively analyzing my identity and life itself to the point where I didn't even feel real anymore. I roamed around life feeling untethered from my body with a mental state that I can only describe as abstractly scattered. I tried to explain to people what I was experiencing, but due to the abstract nature of this disorder, it wasn’t until years later that I was able to name what I was experiencing. The time leading up to this realization left me feeling incredibly isolated and in a state of despair. I am now twenty-three years old and I have finally cultivated a state of mind that is grounded and tethered to reality with the help of mental health professionals. I have emerged from the instability that was my period of derealization with a sincere determination to help others who feel trapped in a similar situation through my passion for visual storytelling. Since I have experienced this disorder firsthand, I believe that I can create visuals that mirror how reality felt to me during my experience and can therefore help others feel less alone in their experience. My new-found vision is to help those who feel invalidated and helpless due to this dissociative disorder through the power of motion picture, which communicates truths beyond language and reason. Not only would these visuals and stories help heal others, but would have also helped heal me.

When I was nineteen years old, I was so dissociated from my body that I couldn't drive my car. This was due to a disorder that I had at the time called Depersonalization Disorder, which was caused by a prolonged period of isolation. At this time in my life, I spent hours upon hours sprawled out on my bed, staring at the ceiling, obsessively analyzing my identity and life itself to the point where I didn't even feel real anymore. I roamed around life feeling untethered from my body with a mental state that I can only describe as abstractly scattered. I tried to explain to people what I was experiencing, but due to the abstract nature of this disorder, it wasn’t until years later that I was able to name what I was experiencing. The time leading up to this realization left me feeling incredibly isolated and in a state of despair. I am now twenty-three years old and I have finally cultivated a state of mind that is grounded and tethered to reality with the help of mental health professionals. Having emerged from the chains of this debilitating disorder, I now realize that there is so much that needs to be done to help those struggling with mental health conditions, including raising awareness about less commonly known disorders such as this one. Since I have experienced this disorder firsthand, I believe that I can use my passion for filmmaking to create visuals that mirror how reality felt to me during my experience and can therefore help others feel less alone. My new-found vision is to help those who feel invalidated and helpless due to this dissociative disorder through the power of motion picture, which communicates truths beyond language and reason. Not only would these visuals and stories help heal others, but would have also helped heal me.

When I was nineteen years old, I was so dissociated from my body that I couldn't drive my car. This was due to a disorder that I had at the time called Depersonalization Disorder, which was caused by a prolonged period of isolation. At this time in my life, I spent hours upon hours sprawled out on my bed, staring at the ceiling, obsessively analyzing my identity and life itself to the point where I didn't even feel real anymore. I roamed around life feeling untethered from my body with a mental state that I can only describe as abstractly scattered. I tried to explain to people what I was experiencing, but due to the abstract nature of this disorder, it wasn’t until years later that I was able to put a name what I was undergoing and finally get help. The time leading up to this realization left me feeling incredibly isolated and in a state of deep despair. I am now twenty-three years old and have finally cutivated a state of mind that is grounded and tethered to reality with the help of mental health professionals. I have emerged from the instability that was my period of derealization with a sincere determination to help others who feel trapped in a similar situation through my passion for visual storytelling. Since I have experienced this disorder firsthand, I believe that I can create visuals that mirror how reality felt to me during my experience and can therefore help others feel less alone in their experience. My new-found vision is to help those who feel unable to pinpoint what exactly it is that they are experiencing due to this dissociative disorder through the power of motion picture, which communicates truths beyond language and reason. Not only would these visuals and stories help heal others, but would have also helped heal me.