My whole life, I have struggled with anxiety, but since 2023, it has taken over large parts of my life. Now, it is so debilitating that it affects both my daily life and my job, and at times, it is all-consuming.

In an attempt at self-therapy, and due to a lack of necessary healthcare, I picked up my drawing equipment during panic attacks and waves of anxiety, trying to approach these (very) uncomfortable feelings.

This resulted in dozens of sketches, created over several months. When I was in the midst of an anxiety attack (to the extent that I was able to draw), I tried to focus on how it felt inside my body. The movements, how it shifted, how I sensed the uncontrollable forces beneath the surface. I also put a lot of emphasis on colors. «What color does this feeling have?». Then, I tried to visualize what I felt inside.

The sketches represent moments before, during, and after certain episodes of anxiety.

I then selected five of them and shaped them to represent a part of my “inner world”; forming them into a circle, where it looks like they are about to explode at any second. Like a bubble, ready to burst. Everything that happens within this circular shape is what happens inside me. Additionally, the round shape can symbolize a “vicious cycle.”

Another anxiety-related issue I have struggled with is claustrophobia. The circular form also symbolizes this claustrophobic feeling. The barbed-wire frame around it symbolizes that it is being forced to stay inside, while also suggesting that the bubble could burst at any second.