This project, a maze-like photo installation of exit signs, seeks to raise awareness regarding the difficulties that emerge in the aftermath of trauma.  The exit signs are displayed in a way to distort their original purpose of providing a way out, and to invoke a sense of anxiety and hyper-vigilance, with the intention of overwhelming the viewer. It is also a commentary on how difficult it is to change learned behavior, especially in a culture focused on labels and quick fixes.

Close to one in three people will experience an abusive relationship or sexual assault in the United States — a number that is almost certainly underreported and is even higher for minorities. Of those, almost a third of women report experiencing PTSD symptoms, while only 5% of men report such aftereffects.

Add these numbers other common causes of trauma, including gun violence, car accidents, suicide, addiction and medical crises, and a significant portion of the U.S. population are at risk of experiencing PTSD at some point. And yet, PTSD is incredibly misunderstood.

PTSD is an amalgam of symptoms that can appear relatively quickly— within months— or over time, even years after trauma. It is often left undiagnosed. Time passes between trauma and onset of symptoms, and the causation is less discernible. Today, the majority of fundraising and awareness campaigns for PTSD and trauma-based anxiety are focused only on people affected by war and combat, despite the obvious need for additional support elsewhere.

Treatment can be difficult for those with limited access to therapeutic services. Even those undergoing therapy can be misdiagnosed or treated ineffectively as research is relatively new and applied to a narrow sample population. And yet, even with limited treatment, some 80% of those diagnosed with PTSD experience remission of symptoms and the remaining 20% experience a reduction in symptoms. In other words, 100% of those receiving treatment improved.

In the meantime, living with PTSD can be difficult, with the symptoms themselves appearing and disappearing, with the recurrence and discovery of various triggers, with the label itself announcing an experience that is perhaps better left behind, if only it were so easy.

This is what it's like to chase ghosts.
This is what it's like when seemingly simple options suddenly become overwhelmingly complex, each action spiraling off into great and final consequence.
This is what it's like when you have to realign your sense of the world, when everything uncertain and difficult.

In our instant-gratification world, this installation is a reminder that true change and healing is a long, patient process, but that the journey itself is instructive towards the fact that no label has to last forever.