Constantly checking my pulse!

Hi everyone, I know what I've been doing is very common with people who suffer from HA but its driving me crazy...I've become obsessed with checking my pulse. I'm a 25yo male, very active, don't smoke and occasionally drink but somehow I've conviced myself there is something wrong. If I feel tired I check my pulse and then I freak myself out because its low (45-50bpm) but then when I feel anxious, I check my pulse and then it feels fast so I freak myself out. I'm literally driving myself crazy....I also suffer from white coat syndrome so everytime I get my blood pressure taken I get extremely nervous and my pulse can go as high as 130...any advice?

This sounds familiar! My problem too with the bp. If you are very active, your pulse is low because you are fit-Lance Armstrong's is 32!! So please don't get into a state about that. If you want to stop the obsession, think of something you can do every time you find yourself checking your pulse. It might be have a drink of water, go for a walk, phone a friend, doesn't matter what it is, as long as it changes what you do. If you do this often enough, your pattern will change and you will stop obsessing about it.

been tehre done that also ... I also purchased a heart rate watch from e bay ... showed my heart rate to be up to 456 bpm lol!!!

Done that too. Constantly. I also bought a heart rate monitor but as it was a cheap one I had trouble getting it working and couldn't trust the bpm. As my anxiety subsided (it was very much related to work stress this time around) my heart rate checking has gone down as well although I do still check it every now and again but am not really freaked out by it.

I used to wake up in the middle of the night as had sleeping problems and would immediately take my pulse. I still do occasionally have problems with sleep but don't feel the immediate urge to check my heart rate. I bought a hypnotherapy app and it has been quite good, and breathing techniques help as well.

From my experience I would say you definitely can overcome this, some support might be good but the main thing is to believe that this will all pass and you will come out feeling stronger in yourself. It is still early days for me but there was a point I could not see any light at the end of the tunnel - be kind to yourself and remember you are not alone.

Take care and all the best. Marj