can i drive myself insane

[sunnyspice]

is is possible 2 drive one's self insane coz i really am beging to think i am doing just that, i am so scarded of dying it's all i think about ..from the moment i wake to the moment i go 2 sleep. i have had a couple of scares with chest pain ....both checked out 2 be fine stress test blood tests the works had it all and nothing was wrong with any thing or even my heart.....doctor as tried 2 be patient with me and reassure me that i am ok but i find my self doubting him ....he as given me tablets now as he says i am suffering from anxiety which i am quite happy 2 take if they make me feel betetr than wot i do .... the trouble is i still keep getting mild chest pain ..it's not as bad as before but it always seems 2 be there the doctor as said it could be indegistion or symptoms of my anxiety but either way there still there..i am sure i am going crazy coz i convince myself that the pain really must be my heart and the doctor is just missing something .
please some one tell me i am not mad and that i will get better..my poor partner is at is wits end and says he dosen't know how much more of my obessing he can cope with
i am a lady in my late 30's and want 2 think i have a few good years left in me yet ...but i am finding this hard 2 belive

[sarah]

Hiya Sunnyspice!
First of all I want to tell you that you arent going insane!
I had my first panic attack just over a year ago. I was so frightened I thought i was having a heart attack. I was away from home with a couple of girlfriends who called an ambulance for me. The ambulance guys calmed me down and told me it was panic and went away. I didnt sleep all night and had to get my friend to drive my car home the next day as i couldnt focus and i was shaking so much. When I got home I went to bed and didnt leave the bedroom for the next 2 weeks!! I constantly felt like I was phasing in and out of consiousness (even though I wasnt) but the worst thing was, my chest hurt so bad I was convinced I was dying. I could feel/hear my heartbeat so loudly I thought it was gonna explode. I was convinced the best place for me was a mental institution with padded walls and even started to think it really was going to go that far.My chest felt like that for weeks afterwards but the main thing is, although it took a long time to go, I dont feel like that anymore. Its almost as if you forget to worry about chest pains and one day they arent there anymore. I have a hard time with the panic attacks still but my chest rarely hurts like it used to.
hope this helps
you arent the only one - believe me!!!

Sarah
xx

[nomorepanic]

Hi Sunny

I too used to get a lot of chest pains - had some today as it happens. The doc told they were nothing to worry about but I did so I looked into it.

Here is some info that may help ....

One of the most worrying symptoms is chest pains or a tight feeling in your chest. The immediate thought is "heart attack" or "stroke" and this only worries you more. You may also notice that your heartbeat is incredibly fast and again this leads to the worry that you will have a heart attack. There is no evidence that Panic and anxiety has any adverse effect on the heart and the pains are easily explained. When you start panicking the whole of you body becomes tense and your muscles tense up also. This is also true of the heart as after all it is just another (albeit very important) muscle.

The chest pains are due to the constricting of the heart muscles and apparently the best cure is to start exercising and stretching these muscles to relieve the pain. Although you may not feel like doing any exercise whilst getting these pains, try stretching your arms above and behind your head and bending over gently to relieve the pain. If you are worried that it may be a heart problem, then make an appointment to see your G.P. who will be able to rule out any heart problems.

If your G.P. has given you the all clear then do not be alarmed if the chest pains come back and last for more than a day and you think it is related to panic, although it is painful and worrying, the pains will go away if you try gentle exercise and not think about them.


Hope this helps ease your mind

Nicola

[sunnyspice]

hiya thanx so much for replying 2 me i really do want 2 belive that all i am doing is focusing on the chest pain i feel so indeed i am making myself aware that it's there.
i am so sad now as this is controlling me not me controlling it..yes my doctor is great but i don't feel he listens 2 my fears he pats me on the back gives me tablests and tell ms not 2 worry hahaha, how do i stop doing that.
my poor partner and boys are suffering as i have now stopped being the fun out going person i once was and am now a woman self obbessing about every ache
thanx 2 you both for making me finally see this is something i can deal with
oh and nic the information you psoted was great i have printed it and pinned it up so when i am feeling like i do i can look at it and remind my self that yes even though wot i am feeling is not nice i am not insane

wendy

[smudga]

Howdy sunnyspice, I too used to get a lot of chest pains from worrying about having a heart problem. I hardly ever get those chest pains now as I am more confident and realise that it's just me concentrating on that part of my body and tensing it up that is creating the pain. That is exactly what u are doing. It aint a heart attack! And no you can't make yourself go insane. I too used to worry about that. But I am well aware now that it was just panic. When your confidence is low like yours is now you come up with all sorts of wacky thoughts and convince yourself that they could happen. Trust me I know. I know how hard it is for u right now but you can get better. I have and so can u. http://panicattacks.alphalink.com.au

[mulder]

Hi Sunny.
Reading your post brought a lot of (bad) memories back!
I used to be certain that the chest pains I was taking were nothing to do with anxiety but were a problem that I should get sorted. IMMEDIATELY!
But, as you say. It also feels as if the doctors were were getting impatient!
Anyways. Last year I noticed a pain on my right side. This pain was just a nuisance for a few days until some kind person (GRRRRR!!!!!) suggested that it may be my appendix.
At that suggestion I was at my wits end. I could NEVER go into hospital for that kind of treatment.
So what did I do? Nothing. And guess what?
My chest pains went away!!!!
Seems I had a new worry to worry about. :-)
This dang pain was there for weeks because (subconsiously) I was fearing an appendix problem.
It was during these few weeks that I realised. It was actually me myself that was keeping these pains there.
I was feeding my fear!
On realising this most (if not all) my pains left me.
I still get the odd niggly pain now and again, but i dont worry so much about them now!
For me. This was a GREAT improvement.
Once I realised that it wasn`t the pain itself that was getting to me, but the thought (and fear) of what (I THOUGHT) it was that was bugging me day after day, the pains, and the fear, seemed to lose their hold over me!

[goronak]

Hi Sunny!

My first post on this board, but I'll slowly get into it. I've only had my panic attacks for about 6 weeks now, and in the first two weeks I went to the A&E at my local hospital 4 times thinking I'm having a heart attack! The second time around they asked me whether I'm having chest pains, (which I didn't really), and of course from then onwards I've been getting them :-) Then my chest felt tight all the time, and I got loads of pain on and off. The thing to realise is just that I'm doing this to myself! There's nothing wrong with my chest or heart at all, I've had 4 heart traces, and a chest x-ray, and they found nothing wrong at all.

Everyone else here is really supportive, and definately right! The pains are just part of the anxiety, and nothing to worry about! And it does get better the more you understand what's happening to your body.

Take care,
brian

[Meg]

Welcome goronak,

I'm glad you found your way here and hope you found some useful information. It sounds like you've got your anxiety pretty well controlled already. Well Done.

Do you know what led to the panic attacks starting in the first place ?





Meg

Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...

[goronak]

Thanks for the welcome! I've been trying to figure out what started them, but it's been a bit confusing. I was a very confident guy, regularly going out on my own, have lots of friends etc, until this happened and I just stayed at home for 3 weeks being scared.

My best answer so far is that it started after having a bad trip on ecstasy.. :-( After that experience I felt very shaky for 2 days, but was worrying so much about everything that I just never got much better. Oh well, at least this experience has acted as a wakeup call, kindof like my body is trying to tell me something! I've stopped taking any drugs since then, stopped drinking coffee (and I LOVE the stuff), and just generally taking this as an opportunity to sort my life out a bit.

Has anyone else started having panic attacks after some drug related experience?

Brian

ps: This site really helps, just to know there are so many other people who feel the same way I do! Much better than my GP who never told me anything, just gave me sleeping pills :-(

[nomorepanic]

Hi Brian - good to see you here :-)

With regard to the question of panics starting after taking drugs then I do remember seeing some other postings about this. Use the search facility at the very top of the page to see if you can track down the postings as I can't remember exactly where they were.

Hope things are on the up for you now :-)

Nicola

[Meg]

Yes , it's getting more common.

I'm seeing lots of it. 'shrooms are also a good kickoff.

Congrats for heeding the wake up call !!


Meg

Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...