fear of death from collapse..

[saintric]

Hi this is a great forum and i hope i can help others aswell as myself.

I will keep it simple as im sure you dont want to read an essay, im looking for help to put it simply really need help.

Im 26 (today) male with a wife and a beautiful 6 month old daughter.I have been suffering basically since 21 with generally feeling physical pains/symptoms/sensations although it got better before it got worse.

I have to admit im still not convinced that it is anxiety and im sure i have a brain tumour , undetected heart problem ect reason being my symptoms are chest pains that come and go (very rarely do i feel any breathing problems but i do now and again) and heart cramps in the last month I have had lots of ECG'S all came back clear and blood tests, also I suffer pain in my head especially in one spot for which i am awaiting an MRI scan.leg pains arm pains stomach pains side pains , spasms in diff areas and genrally strange weird sensations..

I am actually embaressed about the doctors now they think im a hypocondriac and id believe them if i felt good physically but I dont in fact i somtimes cry thinking what it must be like to feel normal again.I spend my life at home caring for my daughter whos 6 months old (and is amazing) so i dont have to work because i fear it because i cant face how i feel in my last job i called an ambulance because i thought i was going to die..Ill explain my fears and why

I have a fear of dying young and not seeing my daughter grow up it actually brings a lump to my throat right now, I fear dying from brain tumour also.I played football for years until this year because of the amount of players that have collapsed and died on the pitch (only last week a 27yr old herve king died from heart attack) I want to play so much but im so terrified this is a reason i dont exercise incase it kills me.so if i play i wouldnt be fit so its catch 22..

I apologise for the amount i wrote i can only hope someone caught the main points of it and can offer advise to me I really want to live a normal life and not fear even visiting friends with my wife or going for a meal without thinking and feeling so bad.I live in a bubble just so i can be alive thats how it feels.

[gavin]

ok to start with i use to have the same systems as you ive been going to a psychologist and now iam over my anxiety you have done the worst thing that you can do buy stopping thing that you love to do now your anxiety has you ok next time you think you are having an heart attack stand up and flap your arm around i can tell if you were having an heart attack you could not do this
and the best thing for anxiety is going for a walk with your wife and baby and talk about something to get your mind off it has any one show you some breathing techque (spelling) if not this is what you do breath in count to three hold for three breath out count to three then hold for three eg it sould take you three sec to breath in then hold then take three sec to breath out so on hope this helps

[saintric]

thank you for the reply gavin i really appreciate it.

I know what you mean by giving up somthing i love its just that i keep running these terrible scenarios through my head about somthing happening while im playing.I guess the fact I suffer really bad physical symptoms adds to this.I have played about 5 times this season and each time i have spent the whole game worrying about making it to the end of the match.I am deciding if to play on sunday i want to but im scared my mates would never understand therefore they will think its strange i dont turn up.

you said that you had the same thing going on ..was yours mental or pyshical gavin? I have a pyshciatrist appointment on the 15th of may and no letter yet for my MRI scan so im basically having my life on hold

thanks again for replying gavin

[wulf]

I am 26 and I have had the exact EXACT same symptoms as you are describing. I am healthy as a horse, and everything you are feeling IS caused by anxiety phantom pains.. Don't let your mind trick you into thinking it is something more serious, because it isn't.

[ohokay]

It is so great to hear that someone shares this problem. I have the same thing. I'll get chest pain and start freaking out, or I'll get a very quick pain in my head and think i'm going to have a stroke. I'm a teenager and with all these thoughts I really couldn't deal with every day life. So the thing that makes me feel more at ease is to just tell yourself its anxiety and move on. Another thing that helps is knowing the symptoms of an ACTUAL heart attack or stroke. So when I get my chest pain I tell myself, 'are my arms numb? am i sweating profusely? no.' I got prescribed Xanax for these symptoms and at first I was afraid to take one because I thought I'de have an allergic reaction and die, but it turned out to be okay and they actually helped alot.

So just try to keep looking forward and think positively! I realize that I HAVE to put my anxiety behind me if i'm looking after someone or something of the like. So just think, do I want my daughter growing up with an anxiety ridden parent? The simple answer is no. Sure you'll still have anxiety, it's an on going thing, but you'll eventually learn to cope, and everything will be fine.

I hope this helped!

[gavin]

another thing you must stop doing is looking up your feeling like your pains and everything on the net because they always say the worst case sarnieo and have you been doing the breathing techquie yet what i do is i go for a walk every afternoon and listen to a relaxing tape before i go to bed to lower that stress level because thats all anxiety is a stress reaction.
the head doctor will be good for you

[saintric]

once again id like to thank all those who have replied , it really cheers me up to hear from other people and relaxes me more.

I guess its a long term thing im going to have to learn to deal with and beat i guess i could start by actually playing football this weekend..we have a meal tonight with friends and i have been worrying about how i will feel while im out as usual but tonight ill try to stay relaxed and ignore any symptoms if i can

i know the first step is admitting its anxiety and NOT a disease,tumour,heart problems ect

thanks everyone hope to help others while im here too