Endometriosis: This is how a life with the disease feels

For the photo project “Endometriosis – the chameleon in my stomach”, photographer Jasmin Breidenbach portrayed 15 women with abdominal disease. “Affected people often endure severe pain, unwanted childlessness, exhaustion and some other symptoms,” says Breidenbach. “They are confronted with the fact that their symptoms are not taken seriously by the people around them because they are not visible on the outside.” Although endometriosis is quite common and estimates one of ten women, there are still people who have never heard of suffering. It is not uncommon for several years to be diagnosed and adequate treatment.

Breidenbach is suffering from endometriosis. With the photos, she wants to give those affected the opportunity to make the disease that often takes place in hidden, and thus promote more understanding. The photographer developed the image ideas in conversation with the women. The recordings reflect personal disease history, emotions or concrete experiences.
The picture shows Hannah (name changed). She only received the diagnosis shortly before the photo shoot. “She felt overwhelmed and lost through the disease,” reports Breidenbach. “As if she could no longer feel the lightness of life.”