Photographer uses camera to cope with mental illness

When Karissa Clark first started taking pictures, she never imagined herself photographing on a college campus. Now a student at ETSU, she is living out what she thought may never be possible.

From a young age, Clark suffered from anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder that caused her to pick at her skin, line things up and periodically go through obsessions. After finding solace in her camera and stepping outside of her comfort zone, Clark now wants to tell her story and raise awareness about mental illness.

“I feel like there aren’t enough stories out there being told about mental illness because there is a lot of stigma,” Clark said. “There’s a lot of people who try and hide it and cover it up. I used to do the same thing.”

As a high school student, Clark said her severe anxiety almost stopped her from going further with her education.

 “It almost stopped me from going to college,” Clark said. “I didn’t even think about going to college in high school because I was so comfortable in my space at home.” 

Part of dealing with her mental illness was how it affected her confidence. Clark said she never thought that going to college would turn this around so drastically. 

“I think it definitely tore down my confidence in myself a lot,” she said. “There’s always people out there that will bring your confidence up and college definitely has done the opposite of what I thought it would.” 

Clark explains that she has always used cameras to help with her anxiety. As time went on, Clark continued to take pictures to put her mind at ease.  

“I’ve always been very fascinated with camera lenses and camera buttons since I was a toddler,” Clark said. “I used to click them all the time when I was anxious, and that’s kind of what I used to cope. As I got older, I would go out and take pictures to get my mind off of something and put it on something better.”

Looking through the camera lens transports Clark into another place where she can forget her worries and concentrate on something positive in her pictures.  

“It’s like a different story inside the camera,” Clark said. “It’s a different perspective. Sometimes it’s just good to step outside your comfort zone, take a breath and go into a different world for a while.”

Because of the support she has receive at the university, Clark is thankful to the ETSU community for helping her in her journey of dealing with her mental illness. 

“I have a wonderful support system here,” Clark said. “I just want to thank a lot of people here that have been my support system.”

She also worked last semester as the photographer and videographer for the Marching Bucs.

Clark encourages anyone battling with mental illness to reach out and get the help they need. 

“I want people to know that they’re not the only one,” Clark said. “We all struggle.”