I think they’re intertwined. The first few episodes definitely felt like they were triggered by my nervous system, beginning with the sensation of being washed over with a terrifying sensation of anxiety. But subsequent heart palpitations, rapid heartbeat and overall feelings of a weak or exerted heart are definitely physical manifestations. Only months ago, I was able to crank out 100 push-ups (four sets of 25 reps) in the morning. Today, I’m lucky if I can do 50 without feeling like I’ve overdone it.
In the wake of the shootings in Texas, what do you think about the need to focus on mental health? Did the medicines you took help?
A focus on mental health was necessary long before the massacre in Texas. Unfortunately, we have a taboo around it, especially for men, who are expected to be Spartans who can handle their issues and emotions without any help. Look at where we are. Clearly that doesn’t work. I’m brand-new to this myself. My default setting is loath to admit I need help, let alone ask for it. But I had to acknowledge that I needed help, and then take steps to actually get it.
I’ve just had my third session with a therapist, which has already been very helpful. I wish I’d done this sooner. With respect to meds, I started 2022 with only ibuprofen in my medicine cabinet. Now, I’ve got medications for anxiety, another one for cholesterol, and a beta blocker. Aside from professionals and prescriptions, a lot of relief has come from meditation, breathing exercises, physical exercise and staying connected with people. Isolation is the enemy.
Are doctors receptive to what you are describing or do you get better information online?
Back in February, the first doctor I saw about this, as well as a cardiologist, set me up with stress tests, in which my heart seemed to perform fine. They weren’t necessarily dismissive of my claims of physical issues, but they didn’t seem to see an urgency. When I was in the emergency room in Cleveland in early May, the doctor basically gave me Ativan for the anxiety, correctly emphasizing it was just a Band-Aid.
But articles I’ve read online about post-Covid symptoms of panic or anxiety along with cardiovascular problems support almost identically much of what I’ve been experiencing. My primary-care doctor understands that whatever is happening with me is very real and multilayered. As far as solutions and definitive answers, it seems that the medical community is still gathering data.
Musk Pokes Fun at Twitter
Twitter agreed to pay $150 million as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice over how it used private information like phone numbers for years. “Twitter obtained data from users on the pretext of harnessing it for security purposes but then ended up also using the data to target users with ads,” the commission’s chair, Lina Khan, said in a statement. “This allegedly deceptive practice potentially affected more than 140 million Twitter users, while boosting Twitter’s primary source of revenue.”
