my arm

[Mamfa85]

hi this is gonna sound silly,i have a heart attack phobia,lastnight the left inside of my arm near the elbow felt tight and sore ,my mum said pulled muscle and it doesnt hurt now ,and im still alive this morning,i had an ecg a week ago ,so it not something to do with a heart attack is it? i dare` not read up but i know in a heart attack the left arm hurts some how .any help would be nice .

[michelle123]

Hi sweetie, I have a heart related anxiety (meaning im always scared that im going to have a heart attack) even though im only 31 and healthy. When you have these fears it's really difficult to get rid of them. How old are you if you don't mind me asking?
Would it help if I told you that if you WERE having a heart attck you would know for certain, you wouldn't be able to get up, walk around, have any enery, you'd be pale as a ghost, major chest pains, unable to breathe, you'd be very very poorly.
I think you have just heard about people having pains in there arms and you have associated it with a heart attack sweetie. I did the same 2 months ago, it made me so ill with worry. Turns out i had a tiny teeny trapped nerve in my back (i couldnt even tell) that was playing havok with the nerves in my arm. please try not to worry, I know it's hard but it does sound like just a pulled muscle or iritated nerve ending. This can be done just be sleeping on it funny. Hope this helps x

[Mamfa85]

thankyou so much for your reply,im 25 but i smoke (i know with health anxiety)i have done as you said thought arm pain = heart trouble :( its so bloody hard to ignore these symptoms which are kind of like some heart attack symptoms,pale,sweating etc ,such a pain i was so upset last night.

[*clare*]

Hi, i suffer with health anxiety and one big thing im scared of is having a heart attack. I'm only 28 but its something i've become terrified of, i think due to the panic attacks i've suffered. I'm always getting pains in my left shoulder and sometimes get feelings down my arm and its goes numb. Been having this sort of thing for years and im still alive. Because of my anxiety, im always tensed which in turn tenses all the muscles in the chest/ shoulders. Also the side effects of anxiety can cause so many feelings around your body and to your nerves. The more you think about it and worry, the worse the pain will get, thats the viscious cycle. You will be fine. Take care, clare :)

[michelle123]

Your right, it's afunny old thig is stress/anxiety, it causes all sorts of strange symptoms, but the thoughts manifest into "oh my gods!!" where as a person without anxiety would just think "oh I must have slept funny etc" I'm starting CBT in December to learn to control the panic thoughts so that I too can one day just think "Ahhh it's nothing". Can't wait to think like that, I feel i need a break from my mind at times, if only we could remove our brainsm give them a clean out and put them back refreshed eh?! :wacko:
xx

[*clare*]

God yes, i wish i could give my brain a good old clean. Scary thoughts drive me insane. I only have to get a twinge somewhere and my mind panics that it must be something really bad, like life threatening bad :(.......I've been a sufferer for 6 years now so im still alive......Problem is with anxiety, especially health anxiety which i have, i've become so intune with my body that i notice all the things that most non sufferers would just ignore or not even notice. It's such a horrible thing to have but we all find our own ways of coping i guess......I'm able to think myself into a panic attack which is my worst thing, especially in the night. My thoughts overwhelm me so much that the panic kicks in. Just goes to show how powerful the mind is and the physical things it can cause xx