Procrastadabbler

I’m still in NYC and going crazy. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old. Maybe it’s just my mood this year. For whatever reason I’m having a hard time adjusting to the city. It’s the noise really. I can handle the crowds. I can handle the visual over stimulation. I can handle the high prices. But the noise, oh the noise. The constant beeping horns and sirens and construction. There is no peace.

Recently I reading about research from the field of endocrinology that shows how the body reacts to stress by creating high levels of cortisol. And then you can get stuck in a do loop. The more cortisol you have, causes more anxiety, which causes more cortisol to be created. Studies have also indicated that children of poverty have higher levels of cortisol in their system than do children of the middle class or above. I’m wondering if there is a correlation between cortisol and urban living. The constant noise (mostly) combined with the other overstimulated senses has raised my sense of anxiety. I keep telling myself to just chill and go with it. Adapt, etc. But I wonder if on a physiological level I am experiencing raised cortisol levels. Also, do those levels drop off as one acclimates. Does one ever really acclimate or is acclimation really just a getting use to those high levels of cortisol. Is that why people are always blowing their horns and being impatient? Their levels of anxiety are high, but it’s normal to them?

Maybe I’m naive, but I really don’t get what blowing one’s horn does, except may release some of one’s frustrations. It certainly doesn’t make the traffic move any faster.

Ahhhh, here come more sirens. I feel like adding to the cacophony by screaming!