“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Let’s add Bitcoin to that, and even Bitcoin isn’t more important than one’s health. If there’s an argument about it, I would lovingly counter it.

Anyway, allow me to open up a bit about the personal struggle I’ve been through, which has probably left me so drained that I speak a lot of nonsense these days.

So, what happened wasn’t a sudden decline, but rather a gradual one. Yes, the two panic attacks I had on the night of February 14 this year were sudden, but the foundation for them had been laid a long time ago, I’m just not sure exactly when.

I still wonder: was it when I retired from work three years ago? Was it when I decided not to eat eggs? Was it because I was under a lot of stress due to my sister frequently being ill, or because my brother’s marriage broke down?

I can’t conclude, and neither could my doctor.

As it turned out, I went under a lot of stress, and my stomach started eating itself.

Alright, for those who couldn’t relate to that last line: I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that attacked my belly. I couldn’t eat because I didn’t feel hungry. It seemed like the world had ended for me. There was pain and distress inside and outside.

I had thoughts that only a dying man could think of.

Those who know me know that I became a father in October 2024, and most of the distress was about the future of my kid. I even made some very bad decisions in my gloom, like buying a fixed deposit investment for her instead of buying more Bitcoin.

I hope you all can pardon me for this. :)

While I was going through all of this, my doctor was just hilarious with me and almost rejected everything I told him. I told him that I had continuous pain in my chest, and he just laughed. What a man!

I was curious about everything, but he laughed out everything.

Because of the autoimmune condition, my B12 and Vitamin D levels had fallen to critical levels. So, I was having weekly shots of both for about two months.

Then the doctor told me to come back a month later for the same injections. I had to reach him after only 15 days because I thought my condition was worsening.

As usual, the doctor laughed, gave me a sweet Ayurvedic pill, and asked me to come back as scheduled.

This time, when I went to him, he gave me the injections, and I asked him, “I won’t be taking these for the rest of my life, will I?”

He replied, “Yes, you can’t, because I won’t be giving you these for the rest of your life.”

He also counselled me almost like a psychologist, although he’s just a physician and a radiologist.

He performed an ultrasound, which came back clean, and told me to start exercising.

I said, “I walk a lot.”

He said, “Walking isn’t an exercise. Do something like cycling or jogging.”

That was a question completely out of syllabus for me.

I had been athletic all my life, but because my energy levels were so low, I couldn’t even think about running, jogging, or cycling. Even sitting caused pain in my waist, back, and belly.

However, his words struck me.

And even if the B12 shots were only an artificial boost, I felt that perhaps they had started helping my body rebuild itself. My initial blood report showed that my red blood cell distribution width was almost twice the normal level.

But because I couldn’t start running, jogging, or cycling, I turned to some yoga exercises I used to do:

And believe me, I’ve been doing them for more than two months now.

I’ve reduced myself to a single multivitamin pill, and the autoimmune condition seems to have gone away. I can breathe into my belly normally again.

Okay, so now that I’ve bounced back a bit, I’ve assessed what went wrong with me.

First of all, I’ve been a vegetarian, occasionally eating eggs and curd — with no other significant source of B12.

Secondly, I don’t remember getting midday sunlight in many years before these days.

Apart from yoga, I’ve started doing a little jogging now. I’ve increased my weight by 2 kg, I’m eating healthy, having two boiled eggs and one bowl of curd, going to the gym three times a week, and it looks like my life is still on.

And there’s a lot more left in it.

Those gloomy thoughts were perhaps just the intermission in my mid-30s.

Thank God, and thanks to my family too.

Also, I broke the FD and bought half a Bitcoin for my daughter’s future at about $67,000!

Cheers — life is enjoy!