The Science Helps You Get Settled

(Photo by Sergiy Barchuk/WSJ)

In our there's-a-pill-for-everything culture there are worse medications than propranolol:

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1967 to treat symptoms of cardiovascular disease, propranolol has become the go-to pill for dealing with all sorts of stressful situations, from public speaking to first dates. Prescriptions are on the rise, up 28 percent from 2020, according to the most recent data from IQVIA, making propranolol—a generic drug that is relatively inexpensive—the fastest-growing pill in the category. By slowing down heart rate and lowering blood pressure, the drug can reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety, though it has not been approved by the FDA to treat the condition. Most people take it situationally; musicians and actors, for instance, have long relied on beta blockers like propranolol before performing (“I took a beta blocker, so this is going to be a breeze,” the actor Robert Downey Jr. said during his 2024 Golden Globes acceptance speech). Now a new generation of stars is spreading the gospel.

I have never taken the drug but can't be too judgmental: if my livelihood depended on being cool in stressful situations I may well be using propranolol all the time.

Where other beta blockers focus on specific parts of the body, propranolol “affects beta receptors in the heart and everywhere else in the body, including the brain,” according to Dr. Nassir Ghaemi, an academic psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine.

“The effects on the brain are the effects that cause the decrease of anxiety,” Ghaemi says.

Compared to benzodiazepines, such as Xanax or Valium, propranolol is considered nonaddictive and is among the “mildest variety of anti-anxiety medication,” he says, but it is not without risk. Because propranolol works to reduce blood pressure and heart rate, if you reduce it too much, the person could faint.

The Mayo Clinic lists the "more common" side effects:

Chest tightness

cough producing mucus

difficulty with breathing

Anxiety

dry mouth

hyperventilation

irritability

restlessness

shaking

sleepiness or unusual drowsiness

trouble sleeping

unusual dreams

None of the above side effects appear particularly dangerous, so users are probably not gambling with their long-term health by taking propranolol or other beta blockers. Speaking as a baby boomer who witnessed some work colleagues taking prescriptions and illegal drugs (cocaine, marijuana) 40 to 50 years ago without apparent ill effect into their golden years, the rewards outweigh the risks, so you won't hear tsk-tsks from me.

Embracing the Suck

(SCMP photo)

Many trends start in Asia, but I hope this one doesn't gain purchase here.

Stressed adults rely on pacifiers to soothe themselves

Once a niche quirk, the silicone soothers are supposedly now big business on Chinese e-commerce giants like Taobao and JD.com, where they are priced anywhere from a budget-friendly 10 yuan ($1.40) to a luxury 500 yuan ($70).

They’re sold as sleep aids, stress relievers, even smoking-cessation tools — and shoppers are gobbling them up. Some online sellers move thousands each month, according to the South China Morning Post.

And the fans aren’t shy about why. “When I’m under pressure at work, I feel a sense of safety from childhood,” one Chinese buyer said, as reported by the outlet.

In the U.S. sucking on a pacifier is ripe for mockery, and I suspect that facing-the-public workplaces will ban the behavior. However, we have also seen frowned-upon practices become acceptable, as long as they don't cause harm to others. Nevertheless, I don't see pacifier-sucking being embraced, because many women will be turned off by guys who do and vice versa.

A Dog Knows

(Image from pet poo skiddoo)

Acting calm before a threatening dog won't fool it if you're fearful inside. A dog knows: [bold added]

Dogs are champion sniffers, equipped with 100 to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses—compared with a mere 6 million in our own—and an olfactory cortex 40 times as large as ours. They can be trained to detect disease in human beings, including cancer cells, a latent epileptic seizure, or a Covid infection, just by sniffing—no blood samples, biopsies, MRIs, antigen or PCR tests required.

In a study published in September in the journal PLoS One, Ms. [Clara] Wilson and colleagues tested whether dogs can read and respond to our emotional states, without the benefit of facial expression, tone of voice, or social context...The results offered overwhelming confirmation that dogs can smell psychological states as well as physical ones. On average, the four dogs picked out the stress sample 94% of the time, with individual dogs ranging between 90% and 97% accuracy.

A barking dog can smell your fear. Acting lessons won't help you, and neither, probably, will psychological self-trickery (e.g., meditation).

As for me, I plan to have liquid courage close at hand.

Hair Tells the Story

Gray can look good though (CNN photo)

The coronavirus has caused death, unemployment, mental depression, weight gain, and isolation from friends and family, but let's not forget something that matters to thousands of people, namely premature graying: {bold added]

Across the Bay Area, residents are reporting an invasion of gray hair — with whole patches growing out of their parts, seemingly overnight skunk stripes, and even beards that have grown almost completely white. The phenomenon has also coincided with another physical effect reported by many: hair loss.

For the many people who have skipped regular hair care or salon appointments during the pandemic, the presence of gray hair may be simply what was hidden underneath, said Dr. Shadi Kourosh, a dermatologist at Harvard Medical School. But widespread graying is also happening for those well below the ages they would normally expect to see gray. Hair is generally said to gray prematurely when it happens before the age of 20 in people of Caucasian descent, 25 in those of Asian descent and 30 in those of African descent.

...A team of researchers at Harvard found that in mice, stress activated nerves that triggered the fight-or-flight response, which then caused damage to stem cells that differentiate to create specialized cells called melanocytes, which produce the color we see in our hair. The study, published in Nature, found that stress caused those cells to deplete, and the effect was permanent — and resulted in gray.

Those melanocytes naturally die off in the aging process, experts say, but it seems stress can sometimes speed up the process. Scientists have long pointed out the link between stress and other ailments, including inflammation, weight gain, insomnia or even overactive immune response.

Hair tells the story of my year: mostly
intact with a few streaks of gray

The year-long lockdown has been detrimental to everyone, but to introverts like me the stress (whisper) has actually gone down.

Not having to get dressed up to go to a meeting (Zoom meetings are much more casual), not fighting traffic, and having fewer appointments on the calendar make for a more pleasant daily routine.

Don't misunderstand--I do want things to get back to normal--but life during the lockdown had a few upsides.

Filing, Finally

Peanut M&M's helped during the ordeal.

On September 30th we mailed in our 2019 tax returns, a couple of weeks before the October 15th extended deadline.

By July 15th we had done 99% of the work. However, we filed the three-month extension to scrounge for more charitable and business deductions in the pile of credit card receipts.

After a few hours I quit, since at most I would be able to come up with a couple of hundred dollars of tax savings.

I did take the time to fill out Forms 2210 and 5805, the estimated-tax underpayment worksheets for the U.S. and California, respectively. The 2019 balances due on July 15th were sizeable, but our income was skewed to the 4th quarter, not smoothed throughout the year which is the default assumption for the underpayment penalty.

If taxpayers receive a lump of income in the fourth quarter, they couldn't have been expected to know ahead of time when making earlier estimated-tax payments, so the tax code allows them to pay as they go. (There is an estate-tax joke in there somewhere.)

I've been enjoying the feeling of relief from the burden. Next week I'll start compiling the information for the 2020 returns.

Don't Fight It, Embrace It

(from sherylcrow.com)

In 2006, 13 years after she became an international star, Sheryl Crow was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. It caused her to re-assess her life.

The best lessons in life are the ones that stop you in your tracks. I was staring down a beast in the mirror, and it was saying, “You need to start changing some things.”

She let go of her belief about the way life's supposed to be ("You fall in love, you have a great relationship, and then you have children") and adopted two sons. She also embraced her age.

In the past 10 years, once I let go of trying to be younger and needing to have a pop-radio career, I’ve found the space to write about things that really matter.

Accepting one's age is different from determining what is the perfect age: [bold added]

Researchers like Dr. [Jay] Olshansky are trying to understand the mysteries of longevity and at what ages we feel our best and why. They measure worry and stress levels at different times in our life and peak years for having fun...

If people could live forever in good health at a particular age, it would be 50, according to a 2013 Harris Poll.

There are also arguments for 70 ("when people are less anxious but still healthy") or 30 ("when they are at their physical peak or have the most friends"). Of course, the answer will vary according to individuals' preferences, e.g., wealth, physical attractiveness, mental acuity, etc.

Maybe Sheryl Crow has the right attitude. Accept how you are now for maximum happiness.

On the Friday Before Christmas

No reservations necessary

On the Friday before Christmas
And all through the gym
Not a creature was working
To look fit and trim

Those who had friends
Or family to see
Long ago had skipped town
Except for poor me.

I still had cards to write
And gifts to shop for
And FedEx was late
Delivering to my door

I have Holiday stress
But for me do not weep
When Christmas arrives
I'll catch up on my sleep.

They Don't Have to Be There

Politics was the leading cause of stress in 2014 (outsidethebeltway)

The seeping of politics into the workplace causes stress that is harmful to health, writes Deepak Chopra. [bold added]

talking about politics has become the norm. Critics may complain that outrageous behavior from the White House is being normalized, but at a more hidden level, stress is being normalized too...the vast majority of lifestyle disorders, from heart disease and stroke to type 2 diabetes and probably cancer, are incremental diseases that take years or decades to develop before symptoms appear. The two main culprits of this are low-grade inflammation and chronic stress.

Deepak Chopra has helpful suggestions about reducing workplace stress brought on by politics:

Focus on one thing at a time. Don’t multi-task. For example, don’t read political news while you’re working on a difficult project.

Keep your focus relaxed instead of tense, which begins by working without interruptions in a quiet environment.

Lose physical tension by standing up once an hour, preferably combined with a few stretches and a short walk.

When a situation gets tense—especially if it’s a political argument—walk away as soon as you can.

Take downtime three times a day when you can be quiet and alone. Take some deep breaths and center yourself.

Maintain contact with the people who matter most to you for at least an hour a day, combining phone calls, texts, emails, and best of all, personal engagement. Don’t talk about politics.

Stay away from the people at work who create pressure, show no regard for the comfort level of others, and force their politics on you.

Football and religion---for some people it's the same thing!---used to be a refuge. No longer is that true in the NFL. My church isn't one either; the majority of resolutions to be decided at the Diocesan Convention in San Francisco are political (in bold):

Resolution 1: Repeal of Mandatory Retirement Age for Priests and Deacons
Resolution 2: Becoming a Sanctuary Church
Resolution 3: Becoming a Sanctuary Diocese
Resolution 4: Church-Wide Paid Family Leave Policy
Resolution 5: Task Force on Paid Family Leave
Resolution 6: Climate Change, Carbon Tax
Resolution 7: A Just Peace in the Holy Land
Resolution 8: Supporting Transgender Access
Resolution 9: Climate Change, Corporate Governance

Mr. Chopra said to "stay away from the people at work who create pressure, show no regard for the comfort level of others, and force their politics on you."  Football fans and Episcopalians are following that advice, especially because, unlike work, they don't have to be there.