Swirls

A swirl looks like this A swirl feels like this I feel helpless, worthless, hopeless I have no energy, no purpose, I feel isolated I feel overwhelmed I am in despair and afraid I am in a space devoid of hope Panic is constantly with me Something is agitating my body and my mind, and I am anxious.

They are connected, but he is alone, and is disconnected. Robert is on his way to meet Erica. He has no idea if she is interested in him. He is in danger of slipping into doubt and despair. What's going on in his head? Something like this... Distress and despair rule him, and there is a black hole He is caught up in a swirl.

One possibility is an early childhood experience lacking in affirmation or expression of loving feelings. If one cannot ask for what one needs (as a child) then thinking and feeling are badly affected. So the individual is forced into a space of minimal agency where there is no way to negotiate daily life. This is about not having a voice of one's own, instead always hearing someone else's actual or imagined critical words. Someone else holds the initiative and this feels shameful, and so leads to the swirl experience.