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Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

joshuaweissburg.com

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Re: Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

#211

Post by ksk »

RealityVoid wrote: post #199
ksk wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All I know is that the streets are just as crowded, people are still going out and businesses are still open. There are plenty of news reports showing that. There is no known method of stopping the spread of this disease. Even if you flatten the curve, without a vaccine, the area under the curve remains the same.

> Even if you flatten the curve, without a vaccine, the area under the curve remains the same. Not necessarily. The higher the social distancing at the peak, the lower the percentage of infection needed for herd immunity to kick in. Ergo, in effect, lower number of cases. If you drop your R0 by half, your her immunity percentage necessary halves as well! Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity Look unde…

No, even in your hypothetical case, the disease still continues to infect when you lift the social distancing and the economy re-opens. That is not herd immunity.

Re: Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

#212

Post by ksk »

joe_the_user wrote: post #209
ksk wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's never ever going to be enough antibody kits for everyone in the world. Same with the PCR test, its impossible to make so many. The only discussion is going to be about the definition of "wide-spread". Whats yours?

Why wouldn't there literally be enough antibody tests for everyone in the world? The world is full of factories producing a wide variety of things, including biological material. These factories can certainly gear up given time.

Because there isn't enough raw material (e.g. reagents), and even if we did have them and the planets supply chain is messed up.

What makes you certain that it is possible to manufacture billions of tests?

Re: Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

#213

Post by vanniv »

cableshaft wrote: post #162
vanniv wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was younger, I was like you describe. I'd lay awake nights kinda freaked out that I would die some day. I remember looking up life expectancy and comforting myself that I had more than 75% or whatever left. When that wasn't enough, I'd think about how far away I was from graduation, and how, even after that, I'd have whatever-percent left. I knew it didn't work that way, and it was irrational, but it helped me…

I started getting what I now think are probably anxiety attacks a few years ago. I have asthma and now some GERD symptoms, so every once in awhile, I get symptoms that mirror the online warning symptoms for heart attack: numb left arm, tingles throughout my body, lightheadedness, skipped heart beats, chest tightness, chest is painful to the touch, etc. I'd go to urgent care and they'd always be like "well you have a…

Yeah, it can be hard, I know for sure.

Real anxiety with potent physical symptoms is very much not "all in our heads"

Anxiety can be debilitating when it strikes. On top, it can create these crushing feedback loops.

I mentioned above the common-ish version in severe agoraphobia -- where fear of having an anxiety attack becomes powerful enough to cause them all by itself. That is the usual root cause of those stories you occasionally hear about people who lock themselves away for 10+ years, never going outside or being with anyone, except maybe one or two "safe people"

It sounds like you ended up like me with a version where the feedback loop is anxiety -> palpitations -> health-anxiety -> major panic -> health panic.

I have read hundreds of detailed descriptions of the symptoms of all manner of serious diseases over they years, looking for the clue that I might not be dying. Not because I "really thought" that I was, but because I was having self-perpetuating anxiety over it.

It's not the same as hypochondria, because I don't really rationally think that I have the condition in question, I just persistently fear that I do.

It's nice to talk to someone who understands. I'm glad you are coping OK for the moment. I am too.

We will make it, somehow.

Re: Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

#214

Post by vanniv »

anonymous_panic wrote: post #191
vanniv wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was younger, I was like you describe. I'd lay awake nights kinda freaked out that I would die some day. I remember looking up life expectancy and comforting myself that I had more than 75% or whatever left. When that wasn't enough, I'd think about how far away I was from graduation, and how, even after that, I'd have whatever-percent left. I knew it didn't work that way, and it was irrational, but it helped me…

I just wanted—anonymously, sadly, because mental health issues are still stigmatized—to let you know that you’re not alone on this one. I also had a combination of a vasovagal episode and a panic attack, and it has taken years to mostly get over the resulting panic disorder. (It wasn’t helped by the fact that, during one trip to the ER for panic, a nurse performed an EKG incorrectly and I was misdiagnosed with a hear…

Thank you for replying! It is good to hear from other people who really understand!

It's hard sometimes, because even people who are sympathetic and want to help just sometimes really don't understand.

It's like "I know I'm not dying. That doesn't have any bearing on the fact that I'm currently having a massive panic over feeling like I'm dying!"

It's been 15 years since that first attack, now. I still have a few every year -- and things that used to scare me a bit sometimes now break me unexpectedly. I've just learned not to be too embarrassed by it, and I've learned how to explain it to whoever happens to be with me when I melt down, and I've learned (through experience) that those feelings are just my anxiety, and not impending doom.

Most people who know me well know about my anxiety, but if you let me casually, you wouldn't know.

Except when I get sick, I function quite well these days. When I had what I still think was the coronavirus back in February, I became a wreck again, (symptoms of shortness of breath are probably the top trigger, since they'll start the anxiety, which then makes the breathing worse, which is the anxiety spiral all over again) but I recovered after two weeks, and am actually holding up well in my locked-down world.

I was probably no fun to talk to during my illness, so I owe thanks to all my friends who listened to my panicked whining for two solid weeks

Re: Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

#215

Post by ubercow13 »

steveeq1 wrote: post #206
ubercow13 wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that even matter? If the best estimate of fataility rate is what it is now, surely that is what any response should be based on. The media is reporting various figures from scientists, not making them up. If you don't calibrate your response based on such figures, what do you calibrate it based on? A gut feeling that everything will probably be fine?

No, the media tends to report the most sensationalized numbers, not the most accurate numbers. I rely on World Health Organization type stuff, not "the news".

The same WHO that Trump just defunded for spreading “all sorts of false information about misinformation and mortality”?

Re: Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

#216

Post by kerkeslager »

steveeq1 wrote: post #189
kerkeslager wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you remember swine flu? The media storm died down as experts gathered more information and made recommendations. Note how with Covid19, the information has changed over time, but not enough to change expert recommendations, which have remained fairly consistent.

No it's not, the infection fatality rate keeps going down. This is just media hype and the risks are being overblown due to the many biases in human judgment (availabiltiy bias, survivorship bias, social bias, etc).

> No it's not, the infection fatality rate keeps going down.

Which is why I didn't say the infection fatality rate is staying the same.

Re: Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

#217

Post by ilaksh »

cableshaft wrote: post #162
vanniv wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was younger, I was like you describe. I'd lay awake nights kinda freaked out that I would die some day. I remember looking up life expectancy and comforting myself that I had more than 75% or whatever left. When that wasn't enough, I'd think about how far away I was from graduation, and how, even after that, I'd have whatever-percent left. I knew it didn't work that way, and it was irrational, but it helped me…

I started getting what I now think are probably anxiety attacks a few years ago. I have asthma and now some GERD symptoms, so every once in awhile, I get symptoms that mirror the online warning symptoms for heart attack: numb left arm, tingles throughout my body, lightheadedness, skipped heart beats, chest tightness, chest is painful to the touch, etc. I'd go to urgent care and they'd always be like "well you have a…

Havw you ever had a scope or scan/x-ray at the time of the attack? If it's that serious then it sounds like you may have a very significant hernia at those times.

There are surgeries that can help with hernias (which can come and go like that).

Another thing, have you tried Nexium? For me that has been really useful to reduce symptoms (although I do still have some serious symptoms). But it sounds like you have a more significant hernia.

Re: Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

#218

Post by ilaksh »

Enginerrrd wrote: post #87
mikekchar wrote: post #25

I've been struggling with health issues for the past 3 years. My heart races. My blood pressure spikes to dangerous levels. I get heart palpitations. I get pains in my chest. When it happens it's alarming and it's easy to fall into fear. I've gone to the hospital a few times absolutely sure I'm having a heart attack. But it seems that my heart is fine (as far as anyone can tell). I have a host of other problematic sy…

I hate to be that guy on the internet, especially since this is so unlikely, and since your description is also very consistent with anxiety/psych which is much more common... ...but particularly because you mention that this is a recent issue and not a lifelong deal, have you had a doctor rule out a pheochromocytoma? It's really unlikely since they're rare, (~1000 cases per year in the US) but they can cause the sym…

I hate to be that guy but did you read his full comment? Towards the end he reported a test that confirmed he had a very serious medical condition.

Re: Fear and beauty: two weeks living with Covid-19

#220

Post by cableshaft »

ilaksh wrote: post #217
cableshaft wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started getting what I now think are probably anxiety attacks a few years ago. I have asthma and now some GERD symptoms, so every once in awhile, I get symptoms that mirror the online warning symptoms for heart attack: numb left arm, tingles throughout my body, lightheadedness, skipped heart beats, chest tightness, chest is painful to the touch, etc. I'd go to urgent care and they'd always be like "well you have a…

Havw you ever had a scope or scan/x-ray at the time of the attack? If it's that serious then it sounds like you may have a very significant hernia at those times. There are surgeries that can help with hernias (which can come and go like that). Another thing, have you tried Nexium? For me that has been really useful to reduce symptoms (although I do still have some serious symptoms). But it sounds like you have a mor…

I've had chest X-Rays at the ER each time, usually. They have yet to mention anything about a hernia. The one that seems most likely is a hiatal hernia, considering the symptoms, but that should show up on a chest x-ray, especially with as many as I've had.

Also, I used to take Prilosec, but usually now I'll just give up all caffeine, soda, fatty foods, most tomatoes and citrus for two weeks, and that seems to put me back in a state where I can tolerate it again. Until I push the boundary again. I've heard some worrying things about long-term use of some heartburn medicine, so I try not to take it.

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