![](/system/files/styles/large/private/art/54951/redmond_achieving_mindfulness_final.jpg?itok=IhFG9ayX)
After being inspired by the Surrealist artwork we observed this year, I decided to depict myself (and my deeper self) having an anxiety attack. I deal with manageable anxiety and depression, but some days it feels like this anxious liquid is seeping out of my head, flooding my unconscious self and its “limitless” dreams. My usual coping mechanisms for anxiety felt like “suffocating acceptance”; though these thoughts are overwhelming, you should accept them in order to understand them. The blue background juxtaposed against the crimson red are colors that I associate with my conscious self and my unconscious self. I wanted the red to feel like liquid, so I used a varnish to illustrate a “watery” texture. The hands that emerge are like the support I receive; figures that are very crucial to my journey with anxiety. The subjects are expressing an emotion of understanding. Anxiety is not a response I should be afraid of, or one I should judge; so achieving mindfulness is the best way to consciously cope. As this constant blue liquid floods my limitless unconscious mind, support and understanding will aid in achieving mindfulness.