Faeth
18-08-08, 10:55
Does anyone have good tips for convincing yourself you're not going to die of something horrible?
I have recently been diagnosed as having anxiety/panic attacks and put on beta-blockers by my doctor, having had tests for heart problems and thyroid issues.
Initially I found that the diagnosis was a comfort in itself, but of course now my stupid brain is alternately convinced that either they were horribly wrong and have missed something about my heart, or because I smoke, I actually have undiagnosed lung cancer and I seem to spend too often thinking I'm going to go to sleep and just not wake up again.
What makes it worse is that I usually prided myself on having a pretty rational brain, and had the ability to think through and reason away irrational worries (well apart from my fear of flying which I've never managed to figure out) - but somewhere in my head these days is this irrational hypercondriac (sp?) who keeps taking over when I'm not watching and I've no idea when I managed to invite her in....
Also the beta-blockers have dropped my heart rate to around 80 - but my doctor says if a person is fully beta-blocked it should be around 60, so we may have to up my dose - does this sound about right to others here?
I have recently been diagnosed as having anxiety/panic attacks and put on beta-blockers by my doctor, having had tests for heart problems and thyroid issues.
Initially I found that the diagnosis was a comfort in itself, but of course now my stupid brain is alternately convinced that either they were horribly wrong and have missed something about my heart, or because I smoke, I actually have undiagnosed lung cancer and I seem to spend too often thinking I'm going to go to sleep and just not wake up again.
What makes it worse is that I usually prided myself on having a pretty rational brain, and had the ability to think through and reason away irrational worries (well apart from my fear of flying which I've never managed to figure out) - but somewhere in my head these days is this irrational hypercondriac (sp?) who keeps taking over when I'm not watching and I've no idea when I managed to invite her in....
Also the beta-blockers have dropped my heart rate to around 80 - but my doctor says if a person is fully beta-blocked it should be around 60, so we may have to up my dose - does this sound about right to others here?