Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 to connect with a trained counselor, or visit the 988 Lifeline website.
Haley Weaver has always been anxious.
When she was 5 years old, she worried that her parents wouldn’t come back home after hiring a babysitter and bit her fingernails until they returned.
Her coping skills evolved as she grew up, sometimes for worse (lying to impress middle school friends) and sometimes for better (taking long walks for clarity). Eight years ago, she started drawing a doodle a day to calm her anxious thoughts and channel her feelings into something productive.
She shared her daily drawings on her now popular Instagram account @haleydrewthis to have a creative practice outside her draining day job and to create connection with others who might be feeling the same way. Now, all this art has turned into her new graphic novel, “Give Me Space but Don’t Go Far.”