Since the election I have been in a number of group chats where people are despondent, fatalistic, and disengaged. One on one conversations are even more to the point. People are trading anti-anxiety strategies.
Having some degree of hate group attention on me since 2010, I am both hardened and reactive. That does not mean I’m immune. Let’s take a look at symptoms … and solutions.
Attention Conservation Notice:
This will be another self-care scolding. Mostly it’s me getting scolded, but you might benefit …
Symptoms:
When the pandemic started I weighed 176 pounds. Today my scale is in storage for a pending move, but my belt buckle tells me I’m at least forty pounds heavier. Some of that is due to my mid-year move. I’m just a lot less active here and there’s nobody to blame but me. And I don’t have agoraphobia, but there’s definitely a paranoia angle to the reduced time outside.
If you’ve noticed the flow of articles about the evils of processed food recently, I did, too. Once I started paying attention, the craving angle became obvious. 800 calories of confections a day wasn’t helping.
I’ve noticed is that my entertainment consumption dwindled to nothing. I used to have a 43” TV and a nice recliner, now I’ve got a 12.9” iPad and a stand that lets me use it in bed. Where once I would watch a couple episodes of a series, now I’m liable to stop a five minute YouTube video in the middle. Some of this has to do with screen proximity and ease of context changes, but there’s a solid psychological angle to the problem as well.
When you deal with chronic pain, it’s normal to tune out what your body is saying. I spend most of my time alone and I have to get way down before I’ll notice. The Garmin Fenix 6S on my wrist helps with that, but overall I realize I’ve been … elsewhere … for much of the last several months.
Recognizing you have a problem is the first step …
Solutions:
A friend got a step counter for Christmas, we talked about it in a group chat, and now there’s a little middle aged walkers cabal. I have a folding bike for the train and I recently got a headlight/taillight set so I can go out at night with a reduced chance of ending up someone’s hood ornament. Of course, the weather has been such that I’d rather walk than ride, but today it hit almost 70. There’s no excuse for me not to be out and about. And after Cardiapocalypse Averted back in October, why I had the trouble I did might be neurological in origin, but being more active would make everything better.
I swapped a 24” FHD monitor for a 32” Samsung QHD last month. I just have a 48” desk here, my 72” folding table is in storage, so the new monitor is on my waist high dresser. It’s been here for three weeks, with a Raspberry Pi5 and a pair of speakers connected. I have watched precisely nothing on it. Some of that is due to the 7x24 activity around here, disturbing the sleep of others is a faux pas. But the rest is purely me - I’m kinda stuck in that “human doing, rather than human being” place.
There are a variety of OTC supplements in my medicine cabinet. These are what work for me, your mileage may vary.
Magnesium glycinate is nature’s tranquilizer.
Time release 5-HTP is a serotonin precursor.
L-tyrosine is a dopamine precursor.
L-theanine is the active ingredient in green tea.
Kava kava is a harmless, natural alternative to benzodiazepines.
Ashwaganda is a natural adaptogen.
Noopept (Omberacetam) is a BDNF precursor.
I’m a week away from being thirty years sober, so alcohol and marijuana have not been on the menu since the nineties. I did try delta-8 THC, but I don’t like how it feels, and I always have a demon headache the next day. I’ve been caffeine free roughly twelve of the last twenty five years, and after October I am again in one of those periods, perhaps for good this time.
I can’t say enough good things about Noopept. It’s literally been a game changer for me, crushing a large portion of my post-Lyme malaise. This is a research chemical in the U.S., but in Russia it’s a common post-stroke treatment that enhances neural plasticity. They also give it to anyone who is older and slowing down a bit. If you’re going to do this, get the powder and take it sublingually, swallowing capsules is a waste of money.
Join The Resistance:
There’s an enormous amount of chatter about JTR, but what I see is …
The usual suspects, polished and presentable …
Building their mailing lists and seeking donations …
Without a coherent plan of what they’re going to DO …
And with little to no vetting efforts in place …
I could go on, but you get the picture. Since the Ukraine invasion I’ve met people from all over eastern Europe. Having lived through the Soviet Union’s repression, they’re the only ones that have the right moves for what our future holds.
I’ve participated in every major social movement in this country over the last sixteen years. Here’s what I have been suggesting
Understand What Hunts You?
Avoid Vicarious Trauma.
Avoid Telegram, Twitter & Thee.
Develop Snitchuational Awareness.
Unless you have the experience to spot on the fly a dilettante, a psychopath, or an informant, now is a great time to stand back and just observe. Effective guard dogs are rare in such environments, if you’ve been reading here regularly, you just might be a candidate for that role.
Conclusion:
The hospital visit in October was a jolt to me, an indication I needed to pay less attention to the world, and more attention to me. That has helped in many ways, but the zeitgeist is what it is.
Anxiety and depression will be our lot in life for the foreseeable future. You can avoid induced paranoia with a mixture of sharpening your observation skills and picking up a bit of tradecraft. PTSD will be rampant; this one you reduce by not looking at things you have no power to change.
When the yellow oxygen masks pop out, you put yours on first, then you can try to assist others. This year will have the usual 365 days, but it’s going to feel much, much longer. So pace yourselves …