skippy66
03-02-10, 17:19
I've been great for the past few days, I've kept myself busy with no time to dwell on my health fears and twinges etc.
I've also done exercise which has worked wonders, because when I exercised, the following day I had chest pain, but because there was a clear REASON for it (pushing myself the previous day), I just accepted it and didn't catastrophize that I was having a heart attack.
Incidentally I'm also less likely to catastrophize when I have a cold or flu, for the same reason.
I've realised how easy it is to be positive when you're not having the symptoms. When you're in the grip of a crushing chest pain or a day of palpitations however, you get stuck in a dark viscious circle and no reassurance is good enough.
The key to beating this is to avoid the symptoms, and the key to avoiding the symptoms is to keep busy and physically fit.
I've also done exercise which has worked wonders, because when I exercised, the following day I had chest pain, but because there was a clear REASON for it (pushing myself the previous day), I just accepted it and didn't catastrophize that I was having a heart attack.
Incidentally I'm also less likely to catastrophize when I have a cold or flu, for the same reason.
I've realised how easy it is to be positive when you're not having the symptoms. When you're in the grip of a crushing chest pain or a day of palpitations however, you get stuck in a dark viscious circle and no reassurance is good enough.
The key to beating this is to avoid the symptoms, and the key to avoiding the symptoms is to keep busy and physically fit.