The rainbow colours two Swedish athletes painted their fingernails in support of gays and lesbians sent a clear message and brought a swift rebuke from a Russian star, perhaps even a glimpse of whats to come at the Sochi Olympics. Speaking at the world championships, pole vault gold medallist Yelena Isinbayeva condemned homosexuality and criticized the Swedes for their gesture critical of Russias new anti-gay legislation. The law, which bans gay "propaganda," has drawn sharp criticism and led some Western activists to call for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in the Russian resort. Isinbayeva won her third world title Tuesday before a boisterous home crowd, and drew even louder cheers Thursday when she received her gold medal. But before accepting it, the woman who will serve as "mayor" of one of the Sochi Olympic villages spoke in favour of the anti-gay stance. "If we allow to promote and do all this stuff on the street, we are very afraid about our nation because we consider ourselves like normal, standard people," Isinbayeva, a two-time Olympic champion, said in English. "We just live with boys with woman, woman with boys. "Everything must be fine. It comes from history. We never had any problems, these problems in Russia, and we dont want to have any in the future." Swedish high jumper Emma Green Tregaro, who won a bronze medal at the 2005 worlds, and sprinter Mao Hjelmer sported rainbow colours on their fingernails for events at Luzhniki Stadium, which also hosted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. "The first thing that happened when I came to Moscow and pulled my curtains aside was that I saw the rainbow and that felt a little ironic," Green Tregaro said in a video posted on the website of the Swedish newspaper Expressen. "Then I had a suggestion from a friend on Instagram that maybe I could paint my nails in the colours of the rainbow and that felt like a simple, small thing that maybe could trigger some thoughts." Isinbayeva said it was wrong for the Swedes to make such a statement while competing in Russia. "Its unrespectful to our country. Its unrespectful to our citizens because we are Russians. Maybe we are different from European people and other people from different lands," Isinbayeva told reporters. "We have our home and everyone has to respect (it). When we arrive to different countries, we try to follow their rules." Russias new law does not explicitly ban participation in gay pride parades or promotion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality online, but anyone wearing a rainbow flag on the street or writing about gay relationships on Facebook, for instance, could be accused of propagandizing. The IOC and FIFA have asked the Russian government for more clarification. It remains unclear if the new law will be enforced during the Sochi Olympics or World Cup. The IAAF, the sports governing body, said the opinions of all athletes should be respected. "The IAAF constitution underlines our commitment to principle of nondiscrimination in terms of religious, political or sexual orientation," IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told The Associated Press. "Allied to this is our belief in free expression as a basic human right, which means we must respect the opinions of both Green Tregaro and Isinbayeva." The International Olympic Committee declined to comment. "You will understand that at this stage we cannot comment on reported opinions/comments," IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said. American middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds was shocked by Isinbayevas comments. Symmonds won a silver medal in the 800 metres at about the same time that Isinbayeva won her pole vault title. "Oh, my god. I cant believe she said that. Its bad," Symmonds told the AP. "For Yelena to come out and say we are normal, standard Russian citizens -- Im paraphrasing here -- and we dont stand for that. "I want to say to Yelena, You understand a very large portion of your citizens here are gay and lesbian people. They are standard people, too. They were created this way. For you to tell them that theyre not normal and standard, thats what were taking an issue with. Thats why we have to continue to demonstrate and to speak out against the ignorance that shes showing." Symmonds said he dedicated his silver medal to his gay and lesbian friends, as he said he would in a blog entry for "Runners World" before the championships began. "While I was here, I wanted to focus on athletics. I wanted to win a medal. That was my job," Symmonds said. "Now that Im done doing that job, if theres something I can do, if this gives me a platform to voice my opinion and speak out about the atrocities that Ive seen here, thats what Id like to do." Isinbayeva has set 28 world records and won seven major titles, including gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, but she said this week that she plans to take a break from the sport to have a baby. She was part of the team that helped Russia win the right to host the 2018 World Cup. Asked by Russian TV if she had any intentions of becoming a politician, Isinbayeva said: "I have blabbed so much today and, as usual, everything was turned upside down." Fans cheered when Isinbayeva entered the stadium to receive her gold medal and roared their approval when she stood on the top step of the podium, thrusting her arms in the air and jumping with glee. IAAF treasurer Valentin Balakhnichev of Russia put the gold medal around her neck and kissed her cheeks, and when the Russian anthem began, Isinbayeva started singing but soon broke down, burying her face in her hands. She quickly regained her composure and kissed her medal while the anthem played on. 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See me on the subway platform, head down, oblivious; or on my couch, attempting to read a book, but stopping every paragraph to refresh Twitter; or at dinner, asking a friend to repeat herself because I was reading an email; or at my desk, convincing myself Ill write after reading one more news article.Or right now, writing this, fighting the urge to Google some random factoid -- any random factoid -- to avoid the discomfort that comes with actually thinking, with actually being -- with creating instead of just absorbing. Theres long been a link between absorbing and creating (first comes one, then the other), but these days, Im rarely doing the other. Im like a sponge that never gets wrung out.The bottom line: Im concerned about the future of my brain. Im also concerned about other peoples brains -- including, potentially, yours.Theres no news hook that exists, nor one reason why readers should care about this right now, staking this storys rightful place in the news cycle. These thoughts exist not because of the news, but in spite of it. Im writing this because I need to. Its all I think about. Which means that, maybe, other people have also thought it -- even if the thought is buried beneath the rubble of text and Twitter and the endless stream of headlines.***I have long struggled with anxiety, but its usually only attached to work -- specifically to doing TV or speaking in public. Anxiety has never just buzzed inside me all day long. Usually, if a steady and persistent thought swims in my mind, I know I must sit down and write. Writing helps me process emotion. Whenever I felt confused or like I had something to say, I knew I could work through the feeling using just pen and paper.For me, deep thinking feels like going for a run. Its a kind of detox.But lately, Im feeling clumsy. The good thoughts feel farther and farther away, and if I do manage to grab one, its slippery and impossible to hold.My view used to seem expansive. Now it feels claustrophobic.And now Im feeling like I can no longer control my anxiety. Its become my companion. Perhaps the scariest part is that this endless scrolling distracts me from the anxiety, even as it feeds it.Consider the cyccle: When Im lonely and anxious, instead of sitting with the feeling, trying to process it, I launch my phone in hopes of dulling the sensation.dddddddddddd And it works -- temporarily. But Ive done nothing to cure the underlying loneliness and anxiety. So, an hour later, or a day later, the feeling will come back stronger. And how will I fix it that next time? And the time after that?I think we both know the answer.This cycle is an addiction masked as productivity, as connecting. When I was playing basketball at the University of Colorado in 2000, I didnt yet have a cell phone. And during my first year on campus, I had a reckoning of sorts: I wanted to quit and give up my scholarship. Did I even love basketball? Why was I unhappy? 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