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cardiophobia

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meli4319
meli4319

hey everyone

I am a girl and I am 19 years old.

To put you in context, I've had anxiety since I was 16. I was diagnosed with ocd, generalized anxiety disorder and recently depression.

Since September I have some kind of palpitations, it's not frequent (maybe once or twice a month), especially during the night. Sometimes I wake up with heart palpitations. It's not too fast, maybe 110 bpm, usually it calms down in a few minutes. but it's still scary. A month ago I had a violent anxiety attack, which sent me to the emergency. That night I was very, very scared. They gave me an EKG and told me everything was normal. But that my mental health was worrying, in fact I rarely go out of my house, I haven't played sports for 2 years I think. And now I'm scared, I check my pulse all the time, I avoid things that can make my heart race. I'm afraid to go for a walk outside, yet it's normal to have a fast heartbeat when you walk. In short, I live in fear. I start panicking if my heart starting go fast, so that makes me even more anxious. it's a vicious circle. However I do not drink, do not smoke, but I maybe have a problem with my thyroid (hypothyroidism).I don't know what to do, have other people gone through this? Do you have any advice? please i need answer

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • jan34534
    jan34534 meli4319

    Posted

    I’m sorry this is frightening you. What you are going through is very, very common! I also have anxiety. as well as millions and millions of people around the world. One of the most common sensations is the racing heart. I’m glad that your testing was normal. A racing heart does not necessarily mean that something is wrong with your heart. With anxiety, adrenaline is sent out, which increases the heart rate. that is completely normal.

    I am way way older than you, and I learned a lot of things along the way. One of those things is when you live in fear that this is going to happen again, you are actually going to cause it to happen again. That’s because you are telling your brain that you are scared, and that something is wrong. So the brain sends out adrenaline to prepare you for fight or flight response.

    It is perfectly fine to exercise. I exercise when I have several anxiety sensations, including a racing heart! after I am done it actually calms the heart down.

    you are going to be OK!

    What I would suggest, for you would be to get on YouTube and practice some of the breathing exercises for anxiety, which can actually slow the heart down! The breath is the key to slowing the heart down. And relaxing.

    There are also some great meditations for anxiety on there.

    somehow you need to not panic when your heart goes fast. That will keep it going fast.

    Living in fear is not the way to live. I have been there and it’s miserable!

    actually, you really have nothing to fear because you are OK. What needs to happen is anxiety management. Do you have a counselor? That would be a great thing to do. I hope you feel better soon. private message me anytime.

    • meli4319
      meli4319 jan34534

      Posted

      thank you for your message! it reassures me not to be alone, anxiety and fear are really the worst things.. I will try to do breathing exercises, I would really like to do physical exercise but I don't know where to start , to walk ? I'm trying to find a psychiatrist but it's not really easy

  • jan34534
    jan34534 meli4319

    Posted

    Start with going for a walk. It doesn’t have to be vigorous. Everybody’s heart rate increases during any kind of exercise. But that’s OK. That’s what it supposed to do. Just always remind yourself that you’re test was normal. You could see a psychiatrist but that’s basically for medication. What I do is speak with a therapist virtually once every couple of weeks or so. It really helps to vent to somebody who can help manage anxiety.

    • meli4319
      meli4319 jan34534

      Posted

      I'm going to try, otherwise I think I really need to see a psychiatrist, because it seems I have ptsd too so it's better to heal and treat my traumas. huhh i just hope i feel better once and for all

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