hugging anxiety

leashing the black dog: understanding depression and what to do about it

brett mckay, the founder of the art of manliness, hosts an excellent podcast i recommend to almost everyone. it covers everything from stoicism to style to strength training, all wrapped in thoughtful conversations about what it means to be a good man in the modern world.

but beyond the confident voice and well-groomed mustache, mckay has shared something more personal: his experience with depression. in his short book leashing the black dog, he gets honest about what that looked like for him and what helped him manage it.
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lexapro and dreams: why they’re so vivid and what it really means

ever wake up from a dream so bizarre, so vivid, you’re not sure if it actually happened or you just watched an intense indie film in your sleep? if you’ve started taking lexapro and suddenly your dream life is popping off like an hbo drama—well, you’re not alone.
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phone anxiety is real, and you’re not alone: here’s how to deal with it

once messengers became popular and everyone had an iphone, i noticed something: i wasn’t calling anyone anymore. at first, that seemed totally fine—why call when you can just text, send a voice note, or shoot a quick meme?
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is 5mg of lexapro enough for anxiety?

i’m a male, 170 pounds, 5’10”. my doctor prescribed me 5mg of lexapro for anxiety. naturally, i went down the internet rabbit hole after seeing people say that 10mg is the “minimum therapeutic dose.” but i already started noticing some effects from just 5mg. is that just a placebo? or is 5mg actually enough?

turns out, it’s not that simple—and that’s exactly what makes this topic worth exploring.
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what is time anxiety, and how to cope with it?

first time i heard the term “time anxiety” was in the book of the same name by chris guillebeau. and i immediately understood what it was about.

you’re sitting on a beach, the sun is setting, everything seems great… but instead of soaking in the moment, your brain’s somewhere else. it’s thinking about the emails you haven’t answered. the big life goals you should be working on. the slow crawl toward the inevitable “not enough time.”

that creeping, restless feeling? that’s time anxiety—a sneaky, modern-day monster that makes you feel like you’re always behind, even when everything’s technically fine.
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third week with lexapro

not sure if it’s because of lexapro or my poor food choices, but for a few days i had a stomachache and felt pretty off for most of the days. on the other hand, i gave myself a chance to relax and actually do nothing. and i feel calm about it, which is awesome.
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second week with lexapro

it seems that the second week was even more chill than the first one. i almost didn’t have any low days and overall felt much happier than i had in a long time. the only thing that was quite weird—sometimes i felt e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y exhausted. like, for real. and even though i’m not a huge fan of coffee, there were days when i was drinking 3–4 cups. and it kind of helped.
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first week on lexapro

ok, i got out of CVS with my first monthly supply of lexapro and an instruction to take 1 tablet a day (5 mg) every morning by mouth for 30 days. after that, i’ll discuss with my physician whether i need to increase the dose or not. i feel pretty weird and scared since i’ve never taken any meds for my mental health before. but my therapist and physician both think it will help with my anxiety and constant suicidal thoughts. i have no other choice but to trust them and give it a try.
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