Therapy and my heart

[ValPalBronco]

So the original peeps know my story. For short, I have GAD and panic and have been in cognitive behavioral therapy for 18 months going once a week, every single week. My main issue is waiting for my heart to stop...sometimes I think my lungs will quit, also, but it's mostly my heart. Therapy is working, I see how irrational the thoughts that I will keel over at age 29 with a clean cardiology report. The thing I am still stuggling with, is I will be so confident and feel good, and realize that I "just have anxiety" then suddenly, I will get a thought of, "well, that's true, but that doesn't mean you won't die today." And that brings me right back down. Also, the disassociation is hard to deal with to. It's mostly at work I will feel surreal and think that I will forget who I am and where I am. I just find it hard to beleive that this is 'just anxiety" all the time..not just sometimes.

[Spanky]

Hey there. That basically sounds like what I'm going through. I'll feel fine all day but when the night comes I start to feel little things here and there or near my heart and my mind starts to automatically race. I woke up this morning with a pretty bad panic attack. My heart was racing and I started hyperventilating. I called my girlfriend and she tried to help me through it with deep breaths but I just couldn't settle down. I finally called the advice nurse and talked to her about it. She basically told me it was cause by anxiety and that maybe I should talk to my doctor about getting a prescription for xanax or another type of sedative/tranquilizer(?). I feel ok right now. My heart is still kinda messing with me but I'm trying to put that past me. What type of therapy are you taking? The only comfort I've found so far as far as therapy goes is this forum. Just kinda lets me know that I'm not the only one with these symptoms and what were going through.

[mamascrazy1985]

same here. ill tell you a story that helped me realize how powerful my mind really is.....So i was sitten there one night just doing my class work and i feel like two strong bubble feeling more like beating in the middle of my chest just under my ribs. this started my thoughts racing....so i always hold my breathe or breath shallow and have to learn other wise but all of a sudden i got really really dizzy freaked me out. i ended up calling 911 and on the ride there i was hooked up to the machine watching my heart rate go up and down. it would go down eachtime i would talk to the er men or think about something different and then snap right back to anxious thoughts. i watched my heart rate eeek up every single time i had a irrational thought. it started at 139 brought it down to 109 ish and then watched at it drop and rise each time. i had adhd as a kid and i believe that this is part of my problem as well because my mind already runs a mile a minute. anyways i thought i would share that. and apparently we can hyperventalate without even realizeing it. UGH

[Itz Omi]

Mamascrazy, that's very interesting - that you were able to SEE how your heart rate rose every time you had an anxious thought!!

Val, I hear ya, I think everyone here has thought to themselves, "Sure, it may have been anxiety yesterday, but how do I know that this time it isn't 'IT'?"

Basically, though, I think we just have to consider our own track record...LOL...that if it was anxiety yesterday, the day before, the day before, and the day before (etc.), it is indeed very likely it's just anxiety once again!!!

[Spanky]

Mamascrazy, that's very interesting - that you were able to SEE how your heart rate rose every time you had an anxious thought!!

Val, I hear ya, I think everyone here has thought to themselves, "Sure, it may have been anxiety yesterday, but how do I know that this time it isn't 'IT'?"

Basically, though, I think we just have to consider our own track record...LOL...that if it was anxiety yesterday, the day before, the day before, and the day before (etc.), it is indeed very likely it's just anxiety once again!!!

Also if it didn't happen prior to having anxiety what else would it stem from. Thats what I try to remind myself.

[jar4u]

Same here my friend, i had my 1st panic attack 10 months back & till date whenever i get very stressed out or feel some minor bodily sensations due to ngative thinking my negative side quickly activates & all i can think is i will get a heart attack any moment, this thinking is nothing new for anxiety suffers and very disturbing indeed (I m 33 even my Stress test reports states my heart is in super shape & Rhythm, but still negativity kicks in and sometimes snowballs...

The solution to this is as soon as you start feeling any unusual sensations or even a bump around your chest, ignore it like an itch, initially its a bit tough to to do but with practice it will become easier, every normal person goes through the same chest bumps & missed heart beats its a normal phenomenon, example when people eat gassy foods or when people do certain physical work, its just that due to our heightened senses & worry habit we give it extra attention & importance and get into a negative spiral.

The 2nd solution is as soon as you start feeling anything very strong pain or pricking around your chest, arms, jaws, palms or anywhere on your body, simply embrace it with an open mind & demand more of those sensations, Fear cannot be beaten but can be welcomed, once you do this, fear doesn't have anywhere to hang on to so it can't fear you anymore and simply vanishes in seconds,
This is again a bit tough to implement but this is the best solution which helps me out every-time and anywhere i get those sensations.

Hope it works for you mate..Keep yourself busy with good work & slowly you will forget you had any such issues, ANXIETY IS A LEARNT HABIT, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER BAD HABIT, U HAVE LEARNT IT YOURSELF, SO YOU CAN KEEP IT ASIDE JUST LIKE ANY OTHER BAD HABIT!!!

[ValPalBronco]

Thanks for the reply everyone! I know how frustrating this process is and I know a lot of other's understand. Spanky-I have in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

[Spanky]

Thanks for the reply everyone! I know how frustrating this process is and I know a lot of other's understand. Spanky-I have in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Oops read your first post too quickly to see you said that in the first place.