Sora787
09-04-11, 16:45
Hi, I'm 18 and I've been suffering from health anxiety for several months now since I started getting chest pains and palpitations in summer. I was doing lots of running and weight training back then but the pains scared me off it and now a bit of me is scared even to walk to college and back like my body can't handle it. The doctor and hospital took an ECG and said there's no medical condition (in fact my heart's apparently "athletic, find THAT hard to believe) but my mind won't accept the scientific facts. Sometimes I'll just get out of the bath, my heart will be pounding, I'll feel dizzy and breathless and then out of the blue the thought comes-"oh I'm about to have a heart attack".
To compensate I've tried eating "more healthily" but this has reached a point where I'm scared to eat a tuna salad sandwich because there's "too much" fat (despite it being the healthy mono and poly-unsaturates), too much salt and so on. I also get thoughts of "being greedy" with as much as a bowl of porridge. Eating is physically and emotionally draining, it's even happened eating fruit now (too many carbs and sugars) and I'm starting to think it'd be a lot easier to just not eat altogether or go walk off everything I eat (about 3 months ago I'd walk a mile to burn off an apple). I've lost 2 stone in 3 months, have gone underweight (60kg, 183cm) and have been told if I lose much more I'm at risk of developing a heart condition.
This has crippled my teenage years-I'm scared to go to the pub or clubs and catch up with my mates because even the tiniest bit of booze makes it five times worse, so now I'm ashamed to be with them altogether. Apart from that the worry's making me lose sleep and I feel guilty for being such a pain for my parents who have to organise meals around me. I know the doctor's right and I shouldn't be afraid to eat or exercise but every time I try my head takes over with catastrophic thoughts. Could anybody help please?
To compensate I've tried eating "more healthily" but this has reached a point where I'm scared to eat a tuna salad sandwich because there's "too much" fat (despite it being the healthy mono and poly-unsaturates), too much salt and so on. I also get thoughts of "being greedy" with as much as a bowl of porridge. Eating is physically and emotionally draining, it's even happened eating fruit now (too many carbs and sugars) and I'm starting to think it'd be a lot easier to just not eat altogether or go walk off everything I eat (about 3 months ago I'd walk a mile to burn off an apple). I've lost 2 stone in 3 months, have gone underweight (60kg, 183cm) and have been told if I lose much more I'm at risk of developing a heart condition.
This has crippled my teenage years-I'm scared to go to the pub or clubs and catch up with my mates because even the tiniest bit of booze makes it five times worse, so now I'm ashamed to be with them altogether. Apart from that the worry's making me lose sleep and I feel guilty for being such a pain for my parents who have to organise meals around me. I know the doctor's right and I shouldn't be afraid to eat or exercise but every time I try my head takes over with catastrophic thoughts. Could anybody help please?