My concept came from the fact that I was struggling myself with anxiety. It had intensified more than ever within the past year. My first ever panic attack scared me. I didn’t know how to deal with it or what really was going on. Speaking with friends, I soon realized that I wasn’t the only one dealing with this on a daily basis. So many others experience anxiety, whether that be in similar forms or not, we all know what it’s like to be in that dark and lonely space that comes with anxiety.

After my research, I wanted to give myself and others a chance to speak on how anxiety affects our lives. Hardly anyone knew of my experience with anxiety and panic attacks before I started the research into it. The purpose of the short film was to give others a voice as well. I wanted to make sure those who participated had the chance to get in that space, to really feel it, and understand what it does to them. The only way to cope with it is by addressing and fully understanding it. With this project comes the acknowledgement that anxiety is not one’s entire life. Meaning, yes, anxiety can consume us at any given moment, but we cannot let it consume us for more than that very moment. One must find light in the darkness.

Nydianna Torres is a graduate of Western Connecticut State University. As a member of the DIMA program, she has created works that speak on the concept of anxiety and how it affects herself, as well as college students as a whole.

For the DIMA 2020 Online Exhibit, she has created I’m Not the Only One. The short film allowed for herself and other college students to speak on their anxiety in a deeper sense. Nydianna has also exhibited work in The Wrong Biennale: Polychromal online exhibition.