Anxiety is an everyday struggle, intrusive voices, and a life of constant fear. Characterised by an unrelenting cycle of worry, it leaves a person with a feeling of apprehension, panic, and nervousness accompanied by a host of autonomic and somatic manifestations. While we have all experienced anxiety to some degree in our lives, for many, its crippling intensity holds a tight grip on their daily reality. The invisibility of mental health and the stigma associated with it lead to fear and negative self-image.

The Funny Thing about Anxiety is a web-based playable story that attempts to change this narrative by sharing experiences through drawing, creating a deeper understanding of our anxiety.

The project uses avatar creation, interactive storytelling, and humorous gameplay to create a conversation between a player and their anxiety. The goal is to approach anxiety with self-compassion and self-empathy rather than avoidance and rejection.

Players externalise their anxieties as self-drawn avatars. This digital incarnation gives shape to the invisible, and the story creates a new relationship between self and anxiety, rooted in science but shared and experienced through play.