Is there a worst case scenario??
Posted , 5 users are following.
so many create these "anxiety rules" to protect themselves against their definition of a worst case scenario. Im really curious to know how leading a self inflicted caged in life filled with panic attacks and fear is more acceptable. Maybe thats for the fear of getting help or medicines if you cant even function from the disorder. Which happens to some people.
is there a way maybe to help each other..what is the worst case scenario anyway?
at some point isnt this it!? Because at some level it isnt living at all. Its barely surviving so whats worse? What? Then living each moment in fear of the next? Waing for the pretend heart attack or brain tumor to engulf you? Fainting? You get up? Dieing..honestly are you even living?
Im trying to really understand this. I have ailments so i differ i guess in some ways but i without doubt understand fear and anxiety and panic attacks. Im just very confused in what a person even feels is a worst case scenario that has formed a thick, horrid wall between stuck and moving forward to challange this all. The is a rotten disorder that flourishes in fear.
and i know its a disorder. Thats not the point. Maybe if people all write down their actual worst case scenario everyone can help them and each other to dismantle the thought.
You So to take one step forward.
Almost like forum cbt?
just help each other. So..what is the worst case scenario anyway? Cause i feel like living in fear of fears of fear is basically it. So its only "up" from there.
3 likes, 91 replies
Anxietysufferer lisalisa67
Posted
Well, you're right about the whole "fear of a fear of a fear thing" and you have a good point about living in fear. But my worst case scenario is just dying unexpectedly. This is because my stupid self would read all of those stories where people would get the same symptoms like chest pain, confusion, dizziness, heart flutters, and all that. They would get misdiagnosed for having ANXIETY but then later on they find out they actually have something serious. In my situation, i keep thinking that my anxiety could be a possible "warning sign" for sudden cardiac arrest. Some people would experience dizziness and nausea before falling. This is why i freak out when i experience these symptoms. And there have also been stories where people would collapse and meanwhile they had structurally normal hearts. Only to find out later that they have long qt (which is often unknown by the people who have it) brugadas or wolf parkinson white.
The scary thing about these genetic disorders is that although they are quite rare.. They are often asymptomatic. And the first symptom could be DEATH. I was scared that i had long qt.. And my parents keep telling me that we dont have that. But my mind is always like "but you never know until you go to an electrophysiologist right?" But !!! Ive read again that even though a genetic test may come back negative doesnt mean the mutation isnt there 🙃 Its like we cant win here! According to the internet NO TEST is correct. Its a crazy vicious cycle.
Long qt syndrome can cause pvcs to become dangerous because it could lead to torsades de pointes and maybe ventricular fibrillation. This is why im really scared. Although the cardiologist told me my heart is normal, im praying to GOD that i dont have long qt because the qt intervals could change everyday. This is why i was scared earlier about 5 ecgs missing a prolonged qt interval. My main root for the cause of my fear is this, sudden cardiac arrest is my biggest fear right now.. And it apparently happens to people who are seeminly healthy!! They run they cycle they swim you name it! They do everything right! But then they end up dropping dead and then its like "why they were so healthy?" A lot of people tell me im the picture of health especially doctors. They tell me things like "you're perfect! Everything is fine stay off the internet and stop worrying!" But what scares me is something as small as an electrical malfunction in the heart could lead to v fib. What if the pvcs are a sign of lqts you know?
Worst case scenarios are different for everyone. And ever since i was a little girl i would think the worst. What if my dad dies in a car accident? What if my mom drops dead today? ( she has hypertension ) what if someone walks into this restaurant and shoots up this place? You know? So i could say that something like thinking the worst has been with me for quite some time.. And my mother says i get it from my father who does exactly the same. It is very hard to believe that you are ok when you here all these people die even when they appear healthy. Thats not something that should happen right? But it does unfortunately. I just dont want to be one of those people who thinks they're ok, doctors think is ok who everyone thinks is ok but then i drop dead later on.
In these stories, people get misdiagnosed for having anxiety when they actually have a blood clot or a heart problem and stuff like that. And these tests miss what could be a potentially serious health condition like an electrical instability in the heart. So even though it sounds very typical, sudden unexpected cardiac arrest is my main fear.
lisalisa67 Anxietysufferer
Posted
Anxietysufferer lisalisa67
Posted
I think so. My mom took AP psychology in high school, so she told me that all these thoughts is kind of like a tree almost.. The main tree trunk is the thought that i think something bad is going to happen to me and then the branches are the diseases that could cause death like a blood clot, long qt, ventricular fibrillation and yada yada . So she said the key is to try to get over that main thought thats triggering all these other thoughts. But its something thats easier said than done. As mentioned before, it a crazy vicious cycle. One moment you could be happy go lucky and then the next its like you're on the floor panicking. Its goes from 0-100 real quick.
tess33005 Anxietysufferer
Posted
Sorry, Cristina, but can I point out that you have seen ten doctors, had six ECGS, seen a heart specialist who told you there was nothing wrong with your heart, and you STILL believe you have LQTS.
You haven't. One ECG would show it easily.
Now, your comment to Lisa proves my point.
Some people refuse to believe that there is nothing wrong with them.
lisalisa67 Anxietysufferer
Posted
I see where you are coming from. I personally think we do not get the control over life and death. But i know many arent soiritual, not even talking about religon at all, so for me i know as humans we dint get to make that call.
on a good note you have the knowledge your heart is healthy. Im sure many havent had that many tests ever. So keep that as a variable in your rational thoughts so you can allow yourself to be happy. Love, we are just animals, humans but animals and if your walking this earth it just "feels" better to "feel" joy. Im not sure what this anxiety disorder does to our brains, im not sure so i am not judging anyone. Lol preachy at times because im older and maybe wiser from my own experiences and schooling and such but only trying to help.
Noone helped me, there were no intenet, no nothing. You know what we had the news who ignored everything but who killed who and a little red merck manual book that you needed a dictionary to understand lol.
thank you for sharing
tess33005 lisalisa67
Posted
A very interesting hypothesis and something that I have been thinking deeply about recently.
I don't know the answer. I wish I did. But I am knocked sideways every time I come to this forum and find yet another person who has visited ten doctors and still believes they have all missed the fact that the person actually has a serious heart condition.
Apart from that, it's a waste of resources. In the UK, anyway, health care is free, although it comes out of our taxes, but that isn't the point.
I have seen so many descriptions here by people who believe they have brain tumours, and who are (eventually) given an MRI simply to shut them up, if I'm frank - and of course it comes back with 'NORMAL' stamped all over it.........I could go on but what's the point?
And all these people who monitor their blood pressure and pulse every few minutes.................aaaaagggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Sorry, but it drives me nuts. I would love to see this forum become its own area where CBT is given and received but unfortunately I doubt if the Health Anxiety people would be able to cope with it. Some of them are very self-obsessed and wouldn't be able to spare the time to help anyone else.
I wonder what others think? That I've been too harsh? Sorry. That's how I feel just at this moment. I will always try to help people, but there are people whom it is not possible to help.
lisalisa67 tess33005
Posted
from what i have read on here the resources in the uk are very weak in the area of mental health. Which is very scary by the way. I think thats a huge problem.
i think world wide it is evident mental health systems all should be stronger. They should all include a full exam, some standard testing then off for the help they need. But if it doesnt exist, or costly, or in shambles then the person is left to their own vices.
I dont have all the answers. No one person does at all.i myself get anxious and worry.. Thats why this forum is good. But to use it as a resource... an open mind is helpful.
tess33005 lisalisa67
Posted
lisalisa67 tess33005
Posted
tess33005 lisalisa67
Posted
Well, it isn't, in any way, human.
Or humane.
We are failing all these people.
What a dreadful state of affairs.
Anxietysufferer lisalisa67
Posted
Tess is sort of right about the lqts thing.. Lqts could be present in hearts that seem structurally normal and healthy. Thats the problem. I come on these forums to vent out everything that im feeling. Try to connect with others and etc. This fear of having this genetic mutation is starting to take over my life and i honestly dont know what to do with myself anymore. Because its like all these tests are inaccurate according to the internet. People who have long qt syndrome have reported that they had normal ecgs, the doctor would dismiss them and then later they drop dead and turns out they DO have long qt syndrome. ( no im not suicidal ). I cant go to an electrophysiologist because its too expensive and i dont want to put so much pressure on my parents with all the medical bills we already had to face. I try my best to try to forget about this.. But its really not easy.
tess33005 lisalisa67
Posted
Excuse my interruption, but Cristina still thinks she has LQTS. She does not believe the ten doctors and the heart specialist.
So there's no use you saying to her, 'you know your heart is healthy' etc, Lisa, because Cristina is still convinced she has Long Q-T Syndrome.
helen20833 tess33005
Posted
EmeraldLion helen20833
Posted
When I was having fears of heart problems, along with the fear of having a seizure, stroke, and other things, a simple EKG test coming back normal got that heart problem fear out of the way... Now it's just the other stuff.
But I can kinda understand. Our bodies and mostly our minds in response to what our body is saying are telling us something is wrong while doctors are telling us nothing's wrong. Of course, one would think you'd trust a professional over yourself, but like I said... Body & mind telling us something is wrong versus a doctor telling us nothing is wrong will definitely cause disbelief among some. But as I've told Cristina before, it's best to just trust your doctor; mind over body.
helen20833 EmeraldLion
Posted
I can understand you. There are common illnesses out there that we all fear. Cancer, MS, Parkinsons, Strokes and so on and so forth. We might not even be aware of what triggers our fears. But once they are present they are hard to shift
But whereas you had the EKG which came back normal then your fear of heart problems were eradicated.
So why were you accepting when others cannot?
There is a part of acknowledges that the symptoms of AD are so dreadful it is hard to be convinced there is nothing seriously amiss with us.
But...the part that concerns me is the stubborn disbelief. The refusal of the mind to accept. There surely must be some psychological reason for this?
No one wants to be ill. That's the bottom line. The only scenario I can summon to make me understand is if, the AD being as horrendous as it is, the need for test after test, reassurance after reassurance, is the sufferers feel "safe " when in the prescence of medics.
But whatever entrenches that disbelief, it is unutterably sad because then they are literally stuck in the cycle of fear/anxiety/panic
Horrible, truly horrible