Heart Anxiety.. still

[OGNinjaDon]

So long story short, I am aware anxiety causes all kinds of symptoms and I have come to terms with that and doesn't bother me much any more, though there are still a few things that make me worry when I know I shouldn't.

After watching a few TV shows and seeing a few news stories my biggest worry is the feeling of 'surprise' causing things like heart attack.

You see films and alsorts where people get shocked, grab their chest, and keel over. It really makes me worry that it could happen to anyone at any time.

Is this fear realistic? Or is that sort of thing only likely to happen to people with on-going heart issues, or are overweight etc?

Can it really happen to anyone? Or at 24 is this something I shouldn't even be thinking about?

[Sam123]

Something you shouldn't ever be thinking about. It's a negative thought, a negative 'what if'.

You will not have a heart attack and die from a surprise, if the surprise is a big shock your heart will probably start to beat very fast as this is a natural response so your body gets more blood around it, to enable you to run if needs be. It's the fight or flight response.

How about 'What if i never have a heart attack and i live to be very old and die peacefully in my sleep'. That is a positive 'What if' and is far more likely than yours.
I know how anxiety makes us feel and behave irrationally, have you thought about therapy for your anxiety? It's highly unlikely to just 'go away' on it's own, you've developed anxious and negative thoughts regarding your health.

[OGNinjaDon]

Thanks again Sam.

That was a big help, I know it's irrational thinking and I'm generally doing very well at the moment, a lot of meditating and positive thinking has helped massively. Just every now and again I see something in the news or on TV where it happens, and I think, wow that was easy, maybe it could happen to anyone?

I have seriously thought about it, though I am not in a position to get time off work at the moment. I have also been through CBT with depression, though it was targeted at something different, the methods and thought process is still the same so I think I have a lot of the tools now to continue through this on my own.

I'm in the process of finding a new job, which is desperately needed, and I think when things start going in the direction I need them too my body/brain will stop giving me signs that it isn't happy.

Nice one again, you always help!

[Sam123]

Meditation sounds great and that's good if you think you can do this on your own, i;m currently doing CBT myself too.

I am the same, well used to be regarding news stories and television, or anything i read actually. They like to scare, and that's what they do, half of the time it is completely not factual and very over exaggerated, as you said these people would have had heart issues.

Someone posted something quite re-assuring yesterday, i will try and find it and copy it here for you.

Hope you find the right job for you and everything starts moving forward :)

[OGNinjaDon]

OK sounds good, would love to read it!

Hope CBT is going well for you, do you feel you are making progress with it?

[Sam123]

I can't find it :roflmao: there's too many posts on here!

I will keep looking though because i'd like to copy it to use for others, basically it was something about how the heart works and that during a heart attack the vessels close up, whilst with anxiety when we get palpitations or a fast heart beat the vessels actually widen so it's polar opposite to that of a heart attack.

Yes i've come on leaps and bounds, understanding how anxiety works, and negative core beliefs has helped so much. Still work to be done but feeling very positive. :)

[OGNinjaDon]

Ohh I see, yeah I heard something about that. It's not so much the worry for me that when my heart races I will have heart issues, it's more than instant surprise that can cause things to happen if you get me?

That's awesome, really happy for you, have you spoke about the mind working in 3 parts and trying to live in the 'being' mode, that was one thing I always understood but struggled to use for myself.

[colinmckee2]

I think we both know more about our hearts than anyone our age bud. I'm only 20
And am plagued with the thought of cardiac arrest. Mum
Getting better now but I understand how you feel. I think if you sat down before a doctor and got him to explain how these deaths occur and whoa
Are prone to them then you'd be able
To distance yourself from those who have heart conditions and electrical
Problems in the heart. When we read online that a symptom of a heart attack is chest pain,
We both associate this with any tiny pain in the chest, that is not the pain the online articles are talking about and I know from
Experience that these pains are just wind and gas or muscular as I can often just burp
Them
Away. A bit trickier to though whenever you're in panic mode. Do you agree?