Gut Reactions
Gut Reactions was my senior capstone project. It is a photography and poetry book that showcases the consequences of chronic illness, more specifically, functional gastrointestinal disorders. The book is 37 pages with 18 spreads of content. It is split into three sections, physical, mental, and social symptoms. The photography and poetry on each spread connects to the symptom it is representing.
Project Defining
When beginning my capstone research, I knew I wanted to focus on a topic that was important and personal to me. I originally had two different ideas, but ended up choosing to focus on the topic of chronic illness. The topic of chronic illness came relatively easy to me. I have struggled with chronic illness for years, and have seen firsthand how they can affect one’s life. I knew I wanted to increase awareness of chronic illness, but wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to focus on.
I wanted to narrow it down to a group of more specific chronic illnesses, even though the content would still be relatable to different forms of chronic illnesses. I eventually decided to focus specifically on functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), which are a group of disorders characterized by chronic gastrointestinal experiences without a definitive cause. I chose to focus on these disorders because I have the most experience with them, and I wanted it to be more personal and expressive of a project rather than scientific and educational.
Development
Research
To begin primary research, I created two surveys- one for people with IBS/GI conditions, and one for family/friends/loved ones of people with these conditions. For people with GI conditions, I asked questions such as the types of symptoms they have, what they wish their loved ones understood about their condition, and learned that they most wished for their loved ones to understand types of pain and effects on mental health. For the loved ones survey, I asked questions such as what symptoms they are aware exists for GI conditions, and how much they personally know about GI conditions. From these surveys, I learned that most loved ones do not understand these types of disorders and aren’t aware of the vast symptoms they can have. Thus, within the content of the book, I will focus more heavily on explaining symptoms and feelings than explaining ways that loved ones can help and be supportive.
