When Standing Still Feels Like Climbing a Mountain: Life with POTS

Ever stood up too fast and felt your heart race or the world spin a little?

Now imagine that feeling every single time you stand up.

Imagine your heart pounding like you’ve just run a marathon—while doing something as basic as getting out of bed or walking to the kitchen. That’s not just being “out of shape.” That could be Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS.

So, what exactly is POTS?

POTS is a form of dysautonomia—a disorder of the autonomic nervous system (aka the system that handles everything your body does automatically: heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and more).

With POTS, when a person goes from lying down to standing up, their heart rate spikes abnormally—usually by 30+ beats per minute (or more than 120 bpm total)—without a significant drop in blood pressure. This leads to a whole range of symptoms like:

• Dizziness or lightheadedness

• Heart palpitations

• Extreme fatigue

• Brain fog

• Nausea

• Shaking or sweating

• Feeling like you might faint—or actually fainting

And no, it’s not “all in their head.” These symptoms are real. Debilitating. Often misunderstood. And life-altering.

The invisible weight of an invisible illness

One of the toughest things about living with POTS? Most people look completely fine.

But the reality is often a day-to-day battle of managing energy, carefully rationing movement, drinking an absurd amount of electrolytes, and explaining—over and over—why they can’t “just push through it.”

They might cancel plans last minute. They might need to sit down frequently. They might have trouble concentrating. It’s not flakiness—it’s a constant balancing act between doing enough to live life and not overdoing it to the point of collapse.

Who does POTS affect?

While POTS can affect anyone, it disproportionately impacts young women (especially those aged 15–50). It’s estimated that 1–3 million people in the U.S. alone may have POTS—yet it remains vastly underdiagnosed and often misunderstood even in medical circles.

Sometimes, it shows up after a viral infection, surgery, trauma, or even pregnancy. Recently, more people have been diagnosed with POTS following long COVID, leading to a new wave of awareness.

Living with POTS: What helps?

There’s no one-size-fits-all cure, but management is possible.Most people improve with a combination of lifestyle adjustments and medical support, such as:

• Increased salt and fluid intake

• Compression garments (yes, even leggings have superpowers)

• Elevating the head of the bed

• Tailored exercise routines (often starting with recumbent workouts)

• Medications to manage heart rate and blood volume

But perhaps the most powerful support of all? Understanding.

So, why does awareness matter?

Because too many POTS patients go years being misdiagnosed with anxiety, panic disorders, or “just being stressed.” Because young people—especially women—are often dismissed when they say, “I feel like something’s wrong.”

POTS may not be a terminal illness, but it takes a toll on quality of life, relationships, careers, and mental health. Simply knowing it exists—and recognizing the signs—could help someone get the diagnosis and care they need years earlier.

POTS isn’t about standing up too fast. It’s about standing up—every day—despite it all.

So here’s to the warriors who keep going.

To the ones who sit when they need to, rest when they must, and explain their condition for the hundredth time with grace.

To those who aren’t “lazy” or “dramatic”—they’re just living life on hard mode.

Let’s raise awareness. Let’s listen when someone says they’re not okay.And let’s stop calling invisible illnesses "just in your head."