Feeling Out of Sorts | Mixed Media Project

Have you ever been caught between feeling healthy and feeling not so healthy, but not really ill enough to label it being sick? When asked how you're feeling, you can't explain it. You just know that you don't feel right.

It's called Malaise.

And I have plenty of experience in this area. My doctor explained it, but I still don't quite understand the concept. It entirely different from exhaustion.

You can't figure out the reason, you just feel "out of sorts" as they say. An uneasiness. About what and why eludes you. You know something isn't quite right, but you can't pinpoint the specific reason or a specific part of your body or mind as the culprit.¹

Sometimes I feel like pulling my hair out because I can't figure out what's wrong. I sleep in short segments, then fell refreshed for an entire cycle, so if I sleep during the day, I can't sleep well at night.

Experts define Malaise as when you just generally feel unwell. The feeling falls between the spectrum of feeling healthy and sick. You don’t feel well enough to say you’re in good health, but you don’t have symptoms or feel sick enough to say you have an illness. <

I discovered that nearly everyone experiences malaise at some point in their life. But it’s typically because of minor conditions or issues. It’s often vague or hard to describe. It’s usually not serious when it happens on its own and isn’t something you experience frequently.

I've always wondered what causes Malaise. According to the Cleveland Clinic's article, Malaise can happen on its own. In other instances, it may occur during or after an illness. Conditions such as heart, blood, or sleep disorders, infections, and generally taking numerous medications.

My condition usually appears before I experience a migraine. I can tell when a migraine is just around the corner when I start to feel different than normal.

People with Malaise often describe feelings of unexplained discomfort, ill but can't tell what is occurring, feeling unwell or poorly, just not feeling great or not quite right. feeling off or off-color, tired, uneasy, or weak.

In addition, Malaise may accompany other symptoms, such as fever, disoriented or being in a fog, headache, nausea, or vomiting, and lethargy. A person may also experience fainting. If symptoms persist, though, its advisable to consult a physician to ensure that nothing serious is occurring.

I discovered from my doctor that Malaise itself is untreatable. Instead, treatments focus on whatever condition is causing it. I can't prevent my underlying medical conditions such as migraines, sinus infections, heart issues, Type 2 Diabetes, and Thyroid, so treating them as best my medical team can help my Malaise.

But in some cases, healthcare providers can’t find a cause. In those instances, Malaise isn’t treatable.

Finding out you may be affected by a condition that you can prevent and is untreatable is disconcerting. This is because experts aren’t sure exactly how and why Malaise happens, and it often happens unpredictably. That means it isn’t preventable.

¹ Source

For my current mixed media project, I wanted to attempt to put into art form my feeling I've had lately related to malaise. This condition has visited numerous times over the years that leaves me feeling as though I'm in a bubble surrounded by fog, and it won't burst and allow me to escape. I hope my design captures this feeling. I'm being held together by a slender thread.

Below are my steps in which I utilized Canva, my design program, to blend the different type images which began with a blank, white canvas. I then added layers of elements to assist in the blending process.

I include here the images used in my design.

^{Female looking down Abstract orange and black tunnel ~ Abstract yellow and brown geometrical shapes ~ Bohemian drawing ~ Purple abstract waves ~ Leaves and circles ~ Pure Fractal titled "Circles in Orbits.}