Graphic Medicine Novels: Thin Slices of Anxiety

Thin Slices of Anxiety begins with the question, “Are you anxious?” In the following pages, Lepage provides an insightful collection of images that creatively display what it’s like to have anxiety. Topics covered include: what anxiety feels like, potential triggers of anxious episodes, the appeal of risk, and quotes to remember.

Thin Slices of Anxiety reads like a poem. Accompanying the author’s musings are strategic illustrations that convey what words cannot, like an athlete putting his own head in a guillotine, ready to pull the ropes, while accompanying text reads “setting goals too high.” Lepage utilizes a mixed methods approach to the artwork, including paintings, sketches, and cut-outs.

Lepage provides several examples of how anxiety affects a person. She states that when she experiences anxiety, she freezes and becomes completely indecisive. In this state, she not only sees the good and bad aspects of a situation but every other nuance in between. Through images, we also get a sense of the restlessness and fatigue she must be feeling. A particularly-telling set of panels features two human faces, one healthy person, who is looking out at the world, alongside an anxious person, whose eyesight is directed back into his own brain.

Lepage documents habits that trigger anxiety: getting too tired, repressing emotions, setting goals too high, and accepting too much responsibility. She wonders why she keeps falling victim to these behaviors, especially as she knows they produce uncomfortable results. In this way, she demonstrates how little control a person can have over their own anxiety.

This book provides an artist’s interpretation of what it’s like to live with anxiety disorder. It is easily digested and will appeal to many individuals who experience anxiety themselves.