Highland reaction and depression and anxiety

  People who have been to the plateau have experienced or heard about the phenomenon of plateau reaction. Common symptoms of acute plateau reaction include headache, palpitation, chest tightness, shortness of breath, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, weakness, and in severe cases, dullness, emotional disturbance, insomnia, mental arousal, slow thinking, memory loss, hallucinations, etc. Floaters, shock or cramps may occur, and in more severe cases, even loss of life due to pulmonary edema or cerebral edema.  It is no coincidence that clinical depression or anxiety often have similar symptoms. So, is the same mechanism hidden behind the similar appearance?  As we know, the cause of altitude sickness is the natural physiological reaction of the body after reaching a certain altitude to adapt to the changes in air pressure, oxygen content and dry air caused by altitude. Generally, when the altitude reaches about 2700 meters, there will be plateau reaction.  If plateau reaction occurs due to reaching a certain altitude, what is the altitude of depressed and anxious people?  Among the many visitors, I often find that they are the best in all walks of life and in all regions and units. On the one hand, the performance they create is the envy of people around them; on the other hand, the pain they suffer inside is not understood by their families and friends.  Asking myself, I often feel that if I were a visitor, it would be difficult for me to do what they are doing. Therefore, I always have respect for these visitors.  The reason for their suffering, I also deeply understand, is closely related to their strong, sensitive, worrying and burden-carrying personalities and their unwillingness to let others share the burden. They are like the summiters on the Everest of the human spiritual world, constantly pushing to one height after another, unwilling to show weakness and eager to achieve.  Their successes have blinded them to the limitations of their bodies and minds. In fact, all these uncomfortable symptoms, like an alarm, reminding them: can no longer be so overdrawn their bodies and minds. However, they feel remorseful and self-critical, not feeling the same spirited and energetic self as before. The initial motivation for their visit is often just to find their old self, not to let go of their overburden.  I have a deep compassion for such visitors and hope that I can use what I have learned to give them a sense of stability and ease in their future lives.  Thank you to those visitors who have let me into your lives, it is your trust that has made my experience what it is today. I am so happy to see the changes in you and am doubly proud to have been a part of it. Your faces and smiles are in front of my eyes right now. Deepest thanks and blessings! May you, and your families, be happy and well! Not just this day, not just this year, but hopefully this lifetime!