Pulse checking. How many of us do it?

[peter34uk]

Ive had HA about my heart for about 6 years now. I get sinus tahicardia everynow and then...which means my heart rate goes over 100 i think.

Basically i have adrenaline in my stomach and chest when im anxious which is most of the time so im conciously checking my pulse almost OCD style.

whenever it goes beyond 80 im checking and checking and checking till it drops a bit and i relax a bit.

BUT i wanna stop cause im sure its whats causing my anxiety. Im afraid to get my heart rate up etc....

Anyone else been able to stop the checking?...if so, how cause its real hard, esp when anxious

[cupcakes2009]

hi, just to let you know i do the same, my heart rate is always in the 90's it was 111 on friday and i was terrified, and the more i thought about it the more it happens and gets quicker :( Ive stopped thinking about it today and its ok. I told my doctor about it and he said its all anxiety and a heart rate resting can be anything between 80-100 and do not worry.

Easier said than done, as i get high bloog pressure to and im only 27 so im convinced im going to die soon i feel ill today been in bed most of the day.

Try and set yourself a goal to maybe only check it 5 times in a day and go from there, it may work.

take care

[pollyanna]

I used to do this all the time, and of course the more i did it the higher my heart rate would go., i still do it from time to time, i cant really remember when i stopped doing it so much, i think it happened gradually, the more i relaxed , the less i was aware of my heart rate/pulse, and then less i did it.
Plus the fact that my whole family where aware that i did it all the time, and were forever giving me into trouble if they thought i was doing it. this made me do it less too. lol..

cupcakes has has a good suggestion, set your self a goal, and day by day, do it less and less, it couldnt hurt to give it a go.

good luck

P x

[peter34uk]

cheers guys...ill give it a shot.

[itoldyouiwasill]

Crikey I think the 4 P's get a visit all the while for the health anxiety sufferer

Pulse
Pupils
Piss
Poo

Not necessarily in that order...lol

[DavidJ85]

I always checking mine constantly. If I feel something in my check I push my fingers or thumb into my neck to see how fast my heart rate is.

If it's too fast I worry and then it gets faster and faster and I end up in a full blown panic attack!

[shaz01]

Hi folks, I wonder if Im weird cos I am terrified to check my pulse rate, I went to a gym where you had to check your pulse and I just couldnt do it, I know my pulse rate is mega fast sometimes and Im currently getting monitered by the GP for my bp, however i think im abnormal cos I just cant take my pulse, I also hate it if im lying down and can hear my heart, I have to turn over DOH lol x x

[Sambapati85]

When i am in my health anxiety phase i check my heart rate constantly. Like you if i sense it is too fast i freak out.. when i am laying down sometimes it seems as though it skips a beat and then i really get concerned . I try and keep my mind off of it ..

[Alisonj]

Before I had surgery my pulse was very low in the evening and I would panic. Now that it is in the 70-80's and I can actually feel it, it makes me panic and check it that much more. Plus I worry because its much higher than it was.

[countrygirl]

My pulse is most accurate reflection of my anxiety- when I am resting and absorbed in something mentally it is 60-65bpm but as soon as I start to worry without moving a muscle! it goes up to 80-90bpm. If I have to visit a Dr of any descritpion or I am in panic about symptoms it goes up to 120bpm. On a couple of occasions when I have had to have hospital tests its gone up to 140bpm and they have done ecg on me!!!!!!!!!!
I have also had benign ectopic beats for over 20 years at times very bad like every 3rd beat so I can safely say my heart is super sensitive to my anxiety level and I so wish I could do something about it.
My Dr has given me some diazepam to take before anything medical and that does slow the heart a bit.
I am wondering if hypnosis is worth a try????