Melbourne’s new CBD store tackles anxiety, the ‘monster that feeds on doubt’

As part of the program, artists, designers and entrepreneurs are filling vacant or closed stores in Melbourne City Council neighborhoods to “revive the city and support small businesses,” the council said.

Mr Glorie says his concept is in part inspired by a London-based pop-up project called This Grief Thing – a traveling booth and online store that sells merchandise and hosts grief-themed talks.

In The Anxiety Shop, cartoons of Mr. Glorie on the wall and on playing cards show how anxious people can ruminate and argue.

A man wearing Speedos and a hat and holding pink pom poms tells himself to “try to be normal”, and as a reward he can get a packet of crisps.

A grasshopper describes anxiety as “living with a monster that feeds on doubt and steals your time.”

Sketches for sale depict social anxiety by showing a man holding a glass of wine at a party, his tongue hitting the ground because he cannot speak, and a llama with an overly long head that collapses On the ground.

The mugs say “Whoosh,” which means feelings can rush and make you panic.

Mr Glorie, who lives with obsessive-compulsive disorder, said what helped his recovery was expressing his feelings in his art and talking to other people in the same boat.

He said someone can buy a card in the store and use it to share with friends how they are feeling, when they can’t express it in words.

The products in the store could also reassure them “that there are other people with similar experiences to you”.

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“Because that’s when you feel completely alone in your experiences, you may start to fear that you are going crazy,” he said.

Mr. Glorie does not claim to be a counselor and says he will refer people in distress to an anxiety resource center.

He says running a boutique in Melbourne’s CBD with the public criticizing your art in front of you can also generate anxiety.

“But it’s worth it,” he said. “Learning to live with anxiety is like saying, ‘I’m not going to let this false alarm signal that my brain is preventing me from doing what I want with life.’ “

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The Anxiety Shop, at 89 Bourke Street, will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting in January. Mr. Glorie is hoping the concept can continue after that pop-up ends, whether in real life or online.

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