Olivia Hagimont is a cartoonist, comics blogger and painter.

How can you make people laugh and communicate a positive message with a subject that is not only not funny but also handicaps very many people: panic disorder? But that is what this psychological comic book brilliantly succeeds in doing. With distance and wry humour, Olivia Hagimont illustrates the panic attacks that created havoc in her life for a time. The reader follows her funny, ultra-feminine character through various stages as the disorder develops: de-socialisation, confinement in a psychiatric hospital, medical treatment (plus side effects) and the therapy that finally enabled her to recover. Her experience offers a real message of hope: it shows that patients suffering from panic disorder can overcome their fears through cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). And what better way to talk about the disorder than with a light, humorous touch? Drawn in the style of “girly” comic books, Hagimont tells the story of her character’s struggle and cure.
In addition to the graphic story, the book includes an insert, co-written with Christophe André, offering advice on how to overcome panic attacks, the keys to understanding how fear is triggered and the therapies that work.

• A comic book, in the popular “girly” style, which gives an alternative slant to psychiatric disorders and CBT.
• Psychiatric disorders are still often taboo but the comic-book format allows a humorous, distancing approach.
• A positive message delivered through laughter and a non-dramatic approach.