Dark Side Of POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)

This biro pen drawing is my representation of POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), a condition that turns something as simple as standing into a battle between body and gravity.

The figure appears unstable, caught between states, as if the moment of rising has been frozen. There is a visible tension through the body, a sense that balance is not guaranteed, but constantly negotiated. The posture feels fragile, as though the body could give way under its own weight at any moment.

The lines become erratic and uneven, mirroring the unpredictable nature of the condition. They pulse and distort, reflecting the racing heart, the sudden shifts, the way control can slip without warning. What should be automatic becomes conscious, effortful, exhausting.

There is a disconnect between the intention to move and the body’s response. The figure leans, falters, caught in a cycle where standing still can feel just as overwhelming as movement. The internal struggle is not always visible, but it is constant.

The head lowers slightly, suggesting the quiet fatigue that follows, the aftermath of something as simple as being upright. It is not dramatic, but persistent, a daily repetition of imbalance.

This piece is not about weakness, but about endurance. About navigating a body that resists its own functions, and continuing anyway.

This captures that fragile equilibrium, where every moment upright is an act of persistence.