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[ron111]

Hello guys. I've been lurking for a while. But I just thought it was time to vent. It may be kinda long, but I'd appreciate if you read or offer any advice. Thanks in advance.

I'm 24 and been suffering from anxiety on and off for about a year. I had my first panic attack over a year ago, but didn't know what it was. Didn't even really know what anxiety was. I actually enjoyed stress at times because it allowed me to concentrate more. Wow, how things have changed. Well, I didn't know what a panic attack was, but I ended up figuging out that I could control it by changing my breathing. I got better after a month because I had to. I studied hard for the LSAT took it, and did real well. Also during this time, I got a full-time job. Great job right out of college. I had everything going for me right? Well, I had another panic attack 2 months after the last. Again I didn't know what it was. It was just a sudden rush of anxiety and I didn't understand it. I felt real bad, went to the doctors and they said that it was related to my job and LSAT. I didn't believe it and went on. I was doing better for a while, not great but better. Then I had the great idea of looking on the net to figure out what it was. That was the worst decision I could have ever made. I started forcusing on my heart, and was worried about palpations for a long time. From March til July. Around July, I finally convinced myself that I was ok. I was good from July till September. I was very good actually. But then I looked up stuff on BP which I should have never done. I remember a doctor saying it was 130 over whatever and that freaked me out after I read up on it. I was nervous at that time though. I know now that my normal BP is under 120 when feeling calm. However, I have been thinking about my BP everytime I get nervous. I worry where it's at and such. And now I can't go to the doctor without it going throw the roof. I was actually doing well a few months ago for a period of two weeks because I jsut figured to take my anxiety and assume that if I'm always at 130 because of my worries then so be it. Well then I went to the doctor again and it went up real real high. And my anxiety set it off. Now i'm worried to go to the doctor which sucks. I used to be so confident about it. And, I know I got to get better soon because I have law school coming up in September. And law school isn't a stress free environment, but I'll know I'll be busy. But my problem is that when i feel stressed during a day, i lable it as a bad day. When i have a bunch of these bad days in a row, I get frustrated and I get real bad. And it takes me a week or so to get back to a normal functioning level. I know the right thing to do is to accept the anxiety which I think I will be able to do sometime because I did it before. But, knowing my BP at the doctor can throw me into a loop. Anybody have any advice. Thanks for reading, the ones that did.

[ron111]

I check my heart rate a lot. I never looked up anything on the heart my whole life because I knew it would scare me. Well I finally know way too much. 6 months ago, I had an EKG and it went fine. So my heart should be fine. But I worry that all this stress I have put on myself is really bad and hurt me a lot. However, I actually have a very slow resting heart rate because I do work out a lot. I love to run, and it does help with my anxiety. If I sit at home, I just stress. I recently measured it around 48 when very calm. I've even hit lower than that, close to 42. When I'm at work it's usually around 54-60. Usually 60. But, when it gets to 66. I worry and then I lable it a bad day because I couldn't control my anxiety. I know I need to get out of this habit. Could use some reasurrance though. If my heart rate only goes up to 66, could my BP really go up that high? Sometimes I feel the anxiety but my heart rate stays around 60 which is mostly normal for work. But I worry that my BP is shooting up with these feelings. My question is, do these feelings mean that your heart rate goes up and your BP too? Or should I just take the 66 heart rate and be like it can't be driving it up too high. Sorry this is the horrible cycle i'm in. To add, I'm at the point now where i'm not always anxious. Like right now I'm calm, and I'm almost always calm at night. Usually pretty calm in the morning, but right after lunch, it hits a little bit. And i expect to have a rush of anxiety.

[mjp]

Hi Ron, I want to commend you on your bravery for letting it all out... that isn't always easy to do especially in a public setting.

I personally struggled with anxiety disorders for over 20 years and have since found a solution that works great for me. I have documented my own solution in an eBook (don't worry I am not trying to sell you anything) that I believe you would find very helpful.

I would like to give you a copy free of charge if you think it may be helpful.

If you are interested please go to my website at easeoutoffear com and click on "contact" at the bottom of the page and email me using the email address listed on that page. In your email ask for your copy of the eBook telling me I responded to one of your posts on this forum.

If you find the information helpful I would appreciate a testimonial for my product (as I don't typically give it away) but it is not required... this is a gift with no strings attached.

PS I had to leave the "periods" out of my website address as this forum doesnt like people trying to sell things on it.

Hope it helps.

Mark Pasay
easeoutoffear com

[jesse230]

hey bro thanks for the advice you gave me and welcome to these forums. You seem like a very fit guy. So, with some of us where not as fit. So, when we see a big number it scares us. If my heart was 60 i would be like. ARG I FEAL LIKE A SUPER HUMAN lol...the heart can jump high at anything and so can your blood pressure... ur blood pressure can't dmg you at all inless it's up for a very long time. months..years. my grandma has a bp of 190/?? which is very bad she is bound to have a stroke but she has had it fro 2-4 years and nothing has happend. iv also done ekg's etc. and they said i was good to go. If i had your health i def would not be worrying. your heart could prolly pound up to 210 with no swet. but, sence, 50 ish is ur normal heart beat. feeling it at 70 is liek 20 beats higher..so ur like oh no..like when mines 80 useally and it goes to 100. im like arg..lol i try to relax but, i can't. honestly i kinda wanna just run for like a min just to show myself i can run without my heart dieing. but, im scared that it will die 0.0! but, hopfully my mind listined to me some day and i can get through this. but, def wouldnt worry bro. see it's hard to listin to people but, honestly your heart and pb rise up and down all day. just now where very inttuned into it. and it raises a bit faster/higher. i mean as a person for me. im sure 100 would be if i walked around the house stretching a bit. but, when it's normal and i start to get scared it goes to 100 and i wasnt even doing anything.

[ron111]

At the gym I go to, this treadmill measures your heart rate. When I walk, it's around 120, it's a fast walk. Maybe it's a little lower or higher. Give or take, it's around 120. I had the worry you have about working out. But, it really does pay off. And the more you do it, the more you feel comfortable. I ran cross country and track in hs. We'd run 60 miles a week. We'd run at least an hour and a half a day. That's having your heart rate at 170 for 1 1/2 hours. Our hearts can really take a lot. And the more you exercise, the more it will be able to take.

Imagine Olympic athletes. They are constantly excericing. I hear some get their heart rates down to 32. That's nuts. I know i'm giving advice and I have trouble accepting it even though its reality. But maybe something will make more sense to you than it does me.

[jesse230]

Yes, very true. I know ronald ragen had a heart beat of like 40-60 i forgot the exact number. But, ya that is true. hearts can take alot. they run your whole life. But, there is a time to take care of them. So, i think im gunna do a bit better with some of this info. I just need to think about this when i have one. some people can get your heart beats up to 200 and nothing happens. If you got a good heart. Which YOU ALL DO so, dont be like omg..jesse said if you got a good heart...WHAT IF I DONT well u do..if u took some heart tests and they said ur ok..then ur ok. if u have had 2 tests..then...ur def. ok...IF U HAD 3 TEST U NEED TO STOP LOL but, yes i hope i can help some people here. but, i think ron will help some people as well.

[LemmycautioN]

However, I actually have a very slow resting heart rate because I do work out a lot. I love to run, and it does help with my anxiety. If I sit at home, I just stress. I recently measured it around 48 when very calm. I've even hit lower than that, close to 42. When I'm at work it's usually around 54-60. Usually 60. But, when it gets to 66. I worry .

I've been having a lot of heart related anxiety in the last few days because I feel that my heart is beating too slowly. I noticed it sounded slow while i was falling asleep, so I measured it and it was 55. In the last few days I have been looking up heart conditions that cause slow heart rates and obsessing over my low pulse. I used to average around 70 BPM and now it's around 60. Reading your post makes me feel better, especially because you are worrying about the exact opposite of what I've been worrying about in a sense. Whenever my heart rate is lower than 70 I start to worry. The only thing I can think of that may be causing my low pulse rate is that I've started taking and SSRI (celexa) -all SSRI's can lower heart rates - and I've stopped drinking coffee. Also I go on walks and do cardio work outs a few times per week. I think it's common for anxiety sufferers to worry about their heart. The average human resting heart rate is in between 60-100 BPM - 40-60 for athletes (Lance Armstrong's is like 30); if yours gets to 66 I wouldn't be too worried. I don't know if low heart rates and low blood pressure go hand in hand, but they might. I've been worrying (my low heart rate has been the focus of my health related anxiety in the last 3 days) because my heart rate is below normal and I'm not athletic at all. I check my pulse and BP very often and it definitely makes me feel worse, if your EKG came out good than I wouldn't worry, you sound really healthy to me.

[jesse230]

Ya im starting to do 30 mins walks a day. just in my house helps me calm down a bit and well ya but, i hope you both get better.

[ron111]

Lemmy,

That is funny that we worry about the exact opposite thing. I like my heart rate as low as possible when I'm resting becuase then I know my bp should be fine. But as soon as it goes up, I begin thinking that my heart is working too hard. I've measured my heart rate as low as 42 and 48. But it's usually around 50 calm. I'm ok when it's at 60. But I begin worrying when it's at 66.

You may just have a strong heart though. I'm sure mine has been at 66 or 70 beats a minute while I was in school because I didnt run much then. But when I ran cross country in hs, im sure it was low 40's. I think the resting just flucuates a lot pending on the exercise you do. I've noticed that this week my resting heart rate was higher because I haven't ran as much the past couple of weeks. Now that is overanlyzing.

I do know that I am healthy now. But I worry that I won't be if i can't rid myself of this anxiety. I just worry that this constant state will hurt my body. But then I think that many people go through a lot of stress but they don't call it GAD. We just gotta think positive. We know we are both very healthy. Now we just gotta hurdle one more thing, anxiety.

[ron111]

That's a great idea! I'd do as much exerice as possible! It's great for you!