THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I WORKED MYSELF INTRO THE HOSPITAL AND I SERIOUSLY DON’T KNOW HOW TO STOP (PLEASE HELP ME)

“This is the second time I worked myself into the hospital and I seriously don’t know how to stop (please help me)” extends a series of self-portraits initiated after the 2020-2021 lockdowns. The installation incorporates MRI scans of my body and handwritten notes from friends and family, which I saved after key milestones such as graduations, premiers, and exhibitions.

The work addresses my ongoing struggle with recognizing and enforcing personal boundaries, despite a prior hospitalization for burnout in 2018. Growing up in an environment where my needs were often dismissed as secondary or irrelevant, I find it difficult to navigate the process of reclaiming these boundaries. This personal narrative intersects with broader academic discourse on the pressures of modern life, particularly the intersections of mental and physical health under conditions of societal expectation.