Who has gotten over Racing Heart Fear?

[Gryphoenix]

I don't know what it is, but I've been having a bad go of it lately with this fear. Actually I think I do know what it is, and it's lack of exercise. I work a lot and do homework and sit my butt on the computer desk half of the day. But even with some spots of active walking here and there and stretching to rev my heart up on purpose, I'm still getting this horrible racing heart fear.

Ever since I got a nasty scary ectopic during a session of real bad adrenaline surges I keep thinking something bad will happen if my heart keeps beating fast for a long period of time.

Which is silly, cause I KNOW NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN! I've been through all of this before, been through hard exercise and even during that scary ectopic episode my heart was racing ridiculously for a few hours later cause I was at a concert and I wanted to see them so bad I fought through the anxiety.

I don't drink caffeine so this isn't from that. I only have decaff coffee and that's during the week when I feel fine.

I just can't seem to force myself to ACCEPT this fact and I can't force myself to ACCEPT THE RACING HEART feelings for any length of time. I think of how hard it is to exercise fighting panic at the same time and I just shudder in fear. I don't know if I'm just being subconciously lazy or what...

I keep thinking that I'm going to have those adrenaline surges and they won't go away and they will keep going and I will have them forever and I'll blow my heart out. An absolutely silly thought, but it seems to be making its presence felt. The thought is: "WHAT IF these surges don't stop?" Which causes more surges. Which causes the heart racing. Which causes ectopics on some days.

I had a real good strenuous walk today though. No ectopics even with the ridicuously revving heart. I was getting bad panics but I decided to ignore them, but this IDEA is still in my head and has been nibbling at my heels all afternoon even with this victory. I've got a nasty feeling in the back of my head saying, "You can't get rid of me, I'm still here!" I've been feeling real anxious and down about my weight lately (I'm about 160 lbs) and maybe this is manifesting itself.

So has anyone had this fear and can help me get over it?

[joannap]

hi - i used to have this fear and have got over it. my heart used to beat so fast i thought i was going to have a heart attack - i once ran out of work and ran home convinced i was going to die!

i learnt to ignore the attacks - i used to think - well - so what if i have to go to casualty - its not nice - i sometimes get them still but not very often and i just distract myself - go on the computer, get the hoover out etc and they do calm down. :hugs:

[Bill]

Hello Golden Phoenix:hugs:

I was thinking about you tonight because Dr. Who was on!!! lol I bet you'd love to get in the tardis and escape things....I'd join you! lol

I must confess your posts always make me smile Golden Phoenix because you always answer your own questions but you can never seem to be able to believe in your own answers! :)

"Dear" Phoenix, you're a deep thinker and so like most of us you do enjoy over-analysing everything! I bet when you sneeze you immediately start thinking you're coming down with a cold...or maybe it'll become flu...then what if you have to stay in bed...how will you cope etc...........when you just sneezed because of some dust!:D

It's what we do. We love to worry about "natural" things and always worry they're far worse than they actually are!

Dear Phoenix, you Know why you're having the palpitations and you Know they will go in time if you forget them so.........try not to dwell on the thoughts, chill out by taking some time out to enjoy yourself and Stop over analysing. Focus on enjoying life and not on every symptom caused by stress. Try watching some Dr. Who or Star Trek..especially Mr. Spock who will remind you to be "logical" rather than to focus on the "irrational".

You'll be Fine Phoenix because I Know you will be....that's why you're the golden phoenix because from the ashes you Always remember how to fly again!!! Just learn to believe in yourself more as I always have in you! :bighug1:

Ermm.....didn't you post this tonight Golden Phoenix???

Remind me.........what does this say???.............

..
"""""""""""I just ignore them, even though they are scary. (Easier said than done, I know!)

I sometimes cough though, if they're really strong. I never seem to get them randomly anymore like I used to, I only get them now after panicking or when I've had a particularly large amount of adrenaline dumped in my system.""""""""""

Oh right.........try believing in what you know Dear Phoenix lol

[Gryphoenix]

Yay, thanks for answering, Bill, I knew you would! :D Just seeing you post actually helps me feel calmer cause I always know you say the right thing to get my head to settle down from running off again. I'd enjoy a vacation on the Tardis, for sure!

I actually had a good day today, which was why I posted that to remind myself, lol. I mean I had three panicky episodes but managed to just skirt under the highest level on the worst one which was walking real strenously in the mall. It took every single ounce of willpower to not run out of the mall screaming like a maniac...but what I thought was--"What else is there? My heart's not hurting, therefore I'm not having a heart attack. Palps are harmless, and so is tachycardia/racing heart, and there's no point in sitting down cause I'll just restart the process, so I might as well stand up, walk around and tough it out" and so I did.

I think I've been getting these panics lately cause I got reminded randomly of one of my deepest fears somehow and scared myself with my thoughts. Cause my dad had a heart attack a few years ago (he's fine now) and from his description of what it was like, came from strenuous physical activity. So I've always remembered this subconsciously through the years. I haven't exercised in awhile and by not having exercise I somehow have it in my head that I will panic cause I haven't 'practiced' having a racing heart and being okay. I know I've been through lots before and have been fine, but somehow I got it entrenched in my head that it's somehow 'bad' to have a racing heart for a long period of time. Anyway I got scared the other day when I got a panic from some adrenaline rushes that wouldn't go away and it opened up the little panic 'door' in my head (those thoughts that make me feel close to the edge of panic) and well...here we are. It sucks and I'm tired of fighting all day even though I know it was good. I guess I just want to have a moan, I'm tired of having panic chase me whenever I do anything remotely physical. Like you said, I'm a total deep thinker, lol! My imagination is too crazy sometimes. "What if" is my biggest problem.

So! I will do my best to not think about it and deal with it when it comes, cause I know I can, cause I did, and I'm still alive.

And Star Trek is coming out and I'd like not to panic whilst in the movie theater, lol! Meh, who am I kidding? I'd be twitching on the floor and still enjoying the movie. XD

[Bill]

:D No, you never moan Dear Phoenix. Like you say, you just get fed up with fighting so need to offload and that's a good thing to do because we shouldn't keep things bottled as we only dwell on things even more.

I can understand now how your palps and worries were triggered. I got reminded randomly of one of my deepest fears somehow and scared myself with my thoughts.

This happens due to our sensitivity just like when we hear something upsetting on the News etc but it alway passes and we gradually return to normal as our minds turn to other things.

I got it entrenched in my head that it's somehow 'bad' to have a racing heart for a long period of time. Anyway I got scared the other day when I got a panic from some adrenaline rushes that wouldn't go away

Once we start off a panic though through an original frightening worry caused by a worrying event in our lives, it creates more worrying thoughts and the cycle goes round and round until we feel really ill as a result.

It sucks and I'm tired of fighting all day

As you say, you're a deep thinker and you fill your mind with "what if's" when the panic starts so what I think you need to learn is how to nip it in the bud by not allowing your mind to drag you down into the spiral of panic.

You feel you're fighting every day because you feel you're in a war against panic but it's because you're trying to fight it that the spiral takes hold.

What I feel you need to do is use your sonic screwdriver on the original worrying thought by learning to say to yourself "so what!" and allow the thought to unscrew itself before it gets too imbedded and allowed to create your "what if" thoughts.

So like you say when you get these thoughts use Mr. Spocks logic and learn to train your attention away from them by thinking about more enjoyable thoughts before you start thinking too deeply. Use your imagination in a productive way by taking your mind away in the tardis to imagine what other planets are like!:hugs:

Tell me what you think of the new Star Trek movie because I don't know anything about the story yet! I'm still getting over the loss of Data!:weep: Couldn't understand why they'd want to do that to him! I'm sure you'll enjoy the film!!!:hugs:

By the way, I always enjoy reading your posts!:)

[Gryphoenix]

Well, I managed today! Just had a kind of scary palp from eating fast food (though it was yummy and completely worth it, lol) and felt the spiraling panic and told myself "There is NOTHING wrong, IGNORE it!" I felt calm from that. I still feel a bit panicky though, I can feel the thoughts trying to nip at me "It's going to come back, you're not through yet, you were so lucky!" And then a few minutes later, I feel much better. Now that I'm actually looking for the thoughts, I can see the faults in my thinking! I'm way too obsessed about the future, I'm always SO SURE about what's going to happen next that it does happen. D'oh! I feel like Luke Skywalker, if you've ever seen Episode V of Star Wars, Yoda told him that he was always looking to the future, to the horizon, his mind was never on where he was or what he was doing.

This is really hard, I feel like it's so much easier to panic rather than to ignore it, the 'rut' in thinking is there, but I know I can do it, I have to!

Oh, I'm so excited about the new Star Trek movie. It's basically a revamp of the orignal series, and shows how James T. Kirk became a Captain, I think. I also think (from what I've seen in the trailers) a Romulan captain comes from the future to destroy him. You can see trailers at www.startrekmovie.com .

I was upset they did that to Data too! I think they were trying to have a Spock moment like on Wrath of Khan.

I'm glad you like my posts! I always feel better when you reply back, and you always have fun and really good things to say, so thank you. :D :D :D

[Bill]

You're a Pleasure Dear Phoenix!:) :hugs: Something I've always seen in you is your inner strength and I admire that.:winks: I can imagine you'd be a pupil any teacher would love to have because I reckon that when you really want to achieve a goal, your inner strength would be your driving force to making sure you get there so you'd be a pleasure to work with!

You have insight so that when you have a bad day, you know what you should be doing to overcome it and its that inner strength you have that keeps you going so that in the end you're able to put what you know into practise.

This is a perfect example of what I mean about your character. This is why I always think of you as a Golden Phoenix because I Always know that when you have a bad time, your insight and inner strength will Always ensure you rise again from the ashes!......

had a kind of scary palp from eating fast food (though it was yummy and completely worth it, lol) and felt the spiraling panic and told myself "There is NOTHING wrong, IGNORE it!" I felt calm from that.

You felt spiralling panic but immediately you knew how to combat it. Those 2 words sound So Simple "IGNORE it!" but I know just how difficult that is to put into practise. It is Extremely difficult to switch from an "anxiety controlled" way of thinking to a "care free" way of thinking but you know how to which always gives me great hope for you in the future because if you can learn while you're young, life will become so much easier for you as you grow older.

I still feel a bit panicky though, I can feel the thoughts trying to nip at me "It's going to come back, you're not through yet, you were so lucky!" And then a few minutes later, I feel much better.

This is why it's so difficult to overcome - "worrying thoughts". It's these thoughts that produce the panic and the thoughts are created by fear. Panic produces a spiral of worrying thoughts but your strength enables you to "ignore" them as just thoughts. By ignoring them, you control your mind which then stops your body from tensing up so that in time your whole nervous system begins to relax.

This is really hard, I feel like it's so much easier to panic rather than to ignore it, the 'rut' in thinking is there, but I know I can do it, I have to!

Ignoring sounds so easy and I know it isn't because fear can feel like a black hole you're trying to navigate through but like Captain Kirk, you Always succeed because you have his strength! - "You Have to!"

Now that I'm actually looking for the thoughts, I can see the faults in my thinking!

This is Exactly what I mean about your insight. Insight can be a great weapon because when you know what's happening, you're then able to produce a plan to combat it.

I'm way too obsessed about the future, I'm always SO SURE about what's going to happen next that it does happen. D'oh! I feel like Luke Skywalker, if you've ever seen Episode V of Star Wars, Yoda told him that he was always looking to the future, to the horizon, his mind was never on where he was or what he was doing.

This is something that I always feel is very important to master. When we start to panic. it means we've become aware of our "feelings" meaning we've started to think "inwardly" about how we feel about where we are or on something that's triggered a worrying thought. If though we focus on what we want to "do" wherever we are, focus on the here and now and what we "see" around us Without allowing anything to make us start thinking about our "feelings" then we have actually learnt how to "ignore" because our minds are trained away from "thinking" about our feelings.

This isn't a deliberate form of distraction. Distraction I feel is when we begin to feel panicky so deliberately look for something to take our mind off our panicky feelings. When people go out about their business, they don't think about panic because they've never experienced it. We have to re-train our minds back to the way we Should be thinking as we did before which means training the mind not to be thinking of panic in the first place so that when worrying thoughts do arise we can learn just to ignore them as irrational worries. This is what you've learnt dear Phoenix and that takes alot of strength!:hugs:

Thank you for the link! I've taken a look and I'm looking forward to seeing the film one day! It looks good!:winks:

You convey a real sense of strength and determination dear phoenix and I've always admired that about you which is why I try not to miss your posts because I love to see how you're getting on! I honestly believe you Will find happiness and contentment no matter what obstacles you face because your golden character will always shine through!:hugs:

[maddie]

You two are the most tremendous inspiration.
Thank you Phoenix and Bill.

[Bill]

Thank you Maddie:hugs:

I hope Golden Phoenix reads that because although perhaps she wouldn't believe it herself, alot of people could learn from her. Since the first post I ever read of hers, I could see she has all the qualities people need to be able to overcome fear and panic. She just forgets sometimes and needs a nudge!:) She just doesn't post often enough!:winks:

She's the Real Golden inspiration!:hugs:

[Gryphoenix]

Aw, thank you so much again Bill! I really have a hard time thinking I'm strong when I'm going through all this (it's like, my mind is saying, how could you get into this mess in the first place, most people don't, what's your problem!) so your kind words really help pick me up! I'm glad Maddie that you have been inspired by this, and thank you, I really am happy that the trouble that I went through was able to help someone else! :D

Guess what? I had a really good day today from putting all of that into practice! Had a few worrying moments but nothing near the level I've been recently experiencing. One of the most helpful things was identifying the thoughts as "just thoughts". When it got a little overwhelming and my mind wasn't beliving that anymore I distracted myself and got into other things and put some podcasts and music on and it really helped! I wonder if audio distraction is really something to look into, because I hear so much on it and I never really tried it myself because purposefully distracting myself when I'm nervous or panicky just makes me more nervous and panicky and I can't concentrate. Instead this time I just played it for the sake of it and it really took my mind off things. :D I notice when I listen to podcasts afterwards I feel kind of tired like my mind was working overtime, so maybe this'll help take the edge off background chatter. Hmm!

I keep thinking about tomorrow and I stop myself and tell myself to only think about NOW and today. I'm realizing that I'm always SO absoutley sure what is going to happen next or tomorrow, I never realize to step back and think about the fact that it HASN'T happened yet. I even remember some panics happening because I had resigned myself to them cause I just KNEW they would happen.

I'm glad you're looking forward to the new Star Trek! I always thought of Kirk as a bit of an inspiration when it comes to not backing down, lol, I always admired him for his stubborness and tenacity! :D One of my favorite episodes was one where everyone was under some kind of mind control and Kirk was the only one able to resist it because of this.

I'll definitely try to post more! Thank you once again for always replying, it's so much help. :D :D :D :D :D

[Bill]

I can't really add to that Golden Phoenix because I'd only be repeating what I said about you earlier!!!:winks:

One thing about Captain Kirk - My father always had a problem saying "Sorry" so I once said to him I admired Captain Kirk because he was never afraid to say "Sorry". Even to admit when we're wrong takes courage! My father just felt too guilty to say anything. Now I'm older I can understand better.

Anyway, you've said So much with So few words in the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs of your post Golden Phoenix...they should be saved and framed!:winks: :hugs: