British cartoonist Gemma Correll, known for her cutesy yet poignant illustrations of mental health struggles, has released a new memoir titled Anxietyland. The book chronicles her experiences with depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and alcoholism, blending personal narrative with her signature doodles.
Correll, 42, gained a large following on Instagram around 2010 by sharing cartoons about overthinking, phone anxiety, and bed-rotting. Her work resonated with millennials who saw their own struggles reflected in her light-hearted depictions. Today, nearly one million people follow her online, and her drawings appear on greeting cards, calendars, and T-shirts.
In Anxietyland, Correll uses metaphors to illustrate mental health challenges: a panic attack is an endlessly looping rollercoaster, social anxiety is a House of Horrors, and work-life balance is a game of whack-a-mole. The book also includes real-life moments, such as a crisis hotline operator advising her to “sit back and relax with a cup of tea.”
Correll attributes her success to honesty and relatability. “Everything I draw comes from personal experience,” she said. “A lot of people experience those things – and it can be a relief to see it depicted in a way that’s a bit light-hearted.” The pandemic gave her the space to finish the memoir, which took ten years to complete.
