Health anxiety

[Natsteveo]

Does anyone here as suffer health anxiety I have for many years I can go months without any symptoms then something will trigger me then "wham"

It's there making me think really awful things like every pain I'm getting I automatically think I've got some life threatening terminal illness...I've got a broken arm and through a xray yesterday I found out I have osteoarthritis I was complaining for months before with the pain and now I've broken my arm they have seen it so that worried me and I've also got a weak bladder now so I'm on tablets for that now too so woke up this morning and I had a major panic attack wet through with sweat sweaty palms and my w Bjork ole body is soaked I keep thinking something bad is going to happen to me sounds weird don't it... but it's horrible to actually live with does anyone else have this

Love Nat xxxx

[TruthSi72]

I used to suffer from this all the time. I would wake up in the middle of the night...my heart would start to beat faster and faster and I would go into a panic mode. Absolutely awful experience and some of the worst times of my life.

I actually came to realise that I would wake mid-dream state and that it was my heart either experiencing what I was feeling in the dream (so it was beating fast anyway, our bodies are actually very active in sleep mode) or I was in relaxed state, my heart was at rest and when I woke and felt my heart speed up I began to panic and this would make my heart beat even faster and then...full-blown panic attack!!!

I still wake up in the middle of the night and I still get the speeding up of the heartbeat, especially if I have had any alcohol (not good for sleeping patterns) but now I know what it is. The way I deal with it (dealt with the panic attacks first) is that now I know how it works as soon as I wake and feel the heart speeding up, knowing that I'm not ill or dying, I take a few deep breaths in and out and my heart goes back to a normal resting heartbeat. If for some reason it still feels a little uncomfortable due to adrenaline that it may cause I sit up and read for a bit. I look at it as a bit of a challenge these days, I try not to let it bother me. I know that if I don't sleep properly one night that it may be annoying and i'm going to be tired but I tell myself that soon will come a series of nights of undisturbed sleep and that will be lovely and I will appreciate it so much more.

As for your Osteoarthritis I would not speculate as I don't suffer from this but without wanting to sound condescending I am a firm believer that all ills can and should first be treated through diet. Nature has a cure for most ailments and our diet can affect our health in profound ways.

I hope you feel better soon. I will just add that anxiety is a created state. Your subconscious mind is playing out a story or narrative that it thinks is protecting you from harm because in the past you gave it a reason to think this was the right thing to do and then you go into fight or flight mode, and seeing as there is nothing to fight, because you're not actually ill, you begin to experience the adrenaline in a different way and this makes you panic, it becomes a circular experience in terms of the way that the panic moves in your body, creating a cycle of panic triggered by 'road signs'...i.e the sweaty palms, heart racing, pain the arm etc etc.

Change the way you think, don't focus on becoming ill, distract your mind, sing your favourite song, count your breaths in and out all the way to 10, and gradually these panics will become less frequent, not as long and in time they will be gone and you won't even realise, the panic attacks have gone now.

[Natsteveo in reply to TruthSi72]

Thank you very much for the outstanding advice TruthSi72 this is a brilliant idea with the reading and the singing and I remember the fight or flight from cbt therapy but havent used it for a long time its time to do it again your so right about the adrenaline im going to proper take your advice seriously thanks so much

Nat

[TruthSi72 in reply to Natsteveo]

You're more than welcome. Don't be afraid to reach out if you need to.

You can do this Nat.

[Natsteveo in reply to TruthSi72]

Thank you so much and I will I do appreciate that and same to you thank you so much and I can do this

Love Nat xxx