This may be the most important question outside the practical advice given at least as far as I am concerned. Being new there is an underlining buzz of anxiety that seems to be always present. I can't seem to enjoy or relax doing things I did prior. My distractions and work are minimal and I have become isolated due to the COVId. I am highly sensitive to what goes on with the body and when going out started to feel not safe. Everyone wearing a mask does not help. I look now at other people and think they don't have afib how great not to think about your heartbeat. Same thought with watching entertainment or sports. I grew up playing competitive sports and later coached sports, little interest. Reading sometimes. Music meant joy. No interest. The Buzz
Excercise use to be a great outlet before and couldn't push after and replaced with drugs which exhausted me. I opted for ablation to get away from drugs and replaced them with new drugs. (only a few weeks out) I ate healthily and enjoyed what I ate but never thought how eating could affect my heartbeat or my vagus nerve. Lost weight, didn't need to so every time I look in the mirror, put on clothes or I see people I am reminded that something could be wrong. The Buzz
I know that all are dealing with their personal challenges with this and outside having work that can distract you daily and I do understand meditation, mindfulness and coping therapies, etc. and not so much interested in recommendations. But I would like to hear or need to, if there are those of you who dealt with that underlining buzz and the mindset that worked with therapies or not but successfully put the buzz to rest
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Newtoit
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Hi Newtoit - it does sound as though you are doing way too much thinking which is contributing to your anxiety - and that in itself is not good for AF as it can exacerbate it.
You are more sensitive because your ANS (Autonomic Nervous System) of which the vagus nerve is just a small part is on constant high alert and that’s what you need to switch off.
This is purely my hypothesis - after living with AF for 15 years now.
There are 2 elements - the physical and the cognitive (thinking). There is a push me, pull you going on so your thoughts increase your sensitivity so the first thing to do is to find a therapy that will change your thinking or to not react to your thoughts. CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) will do the first but CBTM (CBTMindfulness) will do both.
In all methodologies - breathing becomes central to practice - as it is in yoga, meditation (different to mindfulness), relaxation techniques (and there is a wide choice to pick from).
The most important thing is to find something that works for you and here follows the list:
1. Learn and practice breathing techniques
2. Walk everyday in a green space -
3. Find something you enjoy to distract you - endorphins released when you experience pleasure will counter the stress hormones
4. Change your perception about AF - it may restrict your life, bit like COVID, but it isn’t the whole of your life - take control and don’t allow AF to control you. I think of it as the parrot on my shoulder - it’s got a sharp beak and claws and keeps squawking the same very boring message - so how are you going to silence it? It’s got sharp beak and claws so you won’t knock it off. So you need to teach it a different message to keep positive message to keep repeating.
5. Research and practice ways to selfhacked.com/blog/32-ways... Cold really helps - try having a cold shower every day or at least insert your arm in very cold water for as long as you can tolerate - usually only a few seconds to start with. Sounds crazy but really works and all the other suggested also have benefits. If you can improve your HRV (Heart Rate Variability) that is a good way to assess if you are improving your vagal tone. That will mean you will not be as sensitive to the internal stimulation of what your heart is or may do.
Think of it as an alarm system which is set to a hair trigger and is going off in the slightest air current when what you really want is something that will alert you only when something is really out of place. Become body aware and learn what to take note of and what to ignore. Become the observer of your own body sensations.
Lot to take in but what I can say is if you only do 1 or 2 of those things - on a daily basis - life will improve. You will still have AF, but it won’t dominate your life and that is where well-being is so essential - you can be well and have AF - feed that to your parrot.
I know just where you are coming from as I felt just the same, especially when my AF became permanent at the beginning of last year. Then I started to talk to other people, and found that so many people suffer from this and just live normal lives. My cardiologist says that as long as I religiously take my blood thinners it is unlikely to affect my lifespan.
I did have cardioversion a year ago, but reverted after 3 months, so I realise that I have less energy and have a bit of a slump after lunch, but I find I can push myself past that and still live a full life. As my pulse and blood pressure tend to spike and I refuse to take amodiatrone, I am unable to have another cardioversion and I have settled for living with Afib, and apart from religiously taking my tablets, I don’t very often think about it.
I felt very depressed, but a change from betablockers (which I took for over 20 years) to a calcium channel blocker (Verapamil) has had miraculous effects. I felt much more cheerful almost overnight and the world somehow seems more colourful.
Here are some figures according to the NHS. Around 1 million people in the UK suffer from Afib. It is more common in older people. It affects about 7 in 100 people over 65.
So keep on exercising, losing weight, living a normal, active life.
If you think it might be medication that is making you anxious, then discuss with your cardiologist and see if there is something else you can take.
Follow some of the suggestions others have given. There are some really great ones.
With lockdown, try to find ways of still communicating with others - I have Zoom chats with family and friends as well as text and e-mail. I also watch Mirthy talks once a week and have joined a drawing course a member of the local U3A is running on line.
I have learned that life goes on, Afib won’t kill me. It is a nuisance, but doesn’t have to spoil my whole life. I hope that you can reach that state too and wish you all the best with this.
I agree with a lot of what you say. I do exercise,cardiac,back,stretching on You Tube ....With Mike Kusher,Breathing exercises whenever I feel I need them...brill. during the night if you can't sleep.Also draw with oil pastels and 'mess about' on the piano' .This all helps to keep anxiety at bay to which i am very prone.
It’s frightening when you learn that your heart is not perfect. Over the last 4 1/2 years I have been diagnosed with a number of arrhythmias. I have swung between feeling “I can deal with this” and “my life as I know it is over” so I can relate to your feelings. I never knew when I felt tired if it was because my heart wasn’t working properly, or because of the medication, or because my fitness level was dropping because I wasn’t exercising as much.
I had a year where I was in and out of hospital (11 times in 13 months) and ended up having 12 months of work. Since my last ablation 20 months ago my heart has been pretty good and I feel like I have my life back.
Once things are under control with treatment (medication and/or procedures) I’m sure you’ll feel better and AF won’t be the primary thought in your head.
Hello, you are still in the grieving process - shock, missing the ‘old you’, feeling ‘why me’ - but that will pass in time *unless you encourage it*.
The sort of mindset that you are hoping to achieve is the one of acceptance and making the best of what you have. You are entitled to wallow in self pity for a while but as the great Jeanjeannie says (read her replies) you should also make a list of the illnesses that are worse (just go to the British Lung Foundation forum if you need help). We have a hilarious Dr Seuss book on this subject ‘Did I ever tell you how lucky you are?’
I’m not surprised that hedonistic pleasures don’t distract you - it’s what you put in that gives your life meaning.
I can’t believe there isn’t someone else less fortunate you could help even in lockdown. Look for a volunteering opportunity! I know it’s not for you but I made a giant rainbow poster for our Church doors and a group of knitters made a yarnbombing display on railings by the road to cheer other people up. My daughter works for the CAB and many of the volunteers there have illnesses and disabilities.
Having said that, you are not ill or disabled - you have a chronic condition which you can treat as a nuisance or an unmitigated disaster - it’s really up to you 💜
Various medical changes as well as AF have left me in a similar place at times.
So many losses laced with anxiety. And you are on your own. It is a huge psychological challenge to accept the new reality, to not chew over it and not grudgingly notice it, and to distance yourself from monitoring your heart beat etc.
You do not mention friends, or whether you have shared your feelings with anyone? It is indeed a mindset but that word is very cognitive and misses the profound feelings that you may be trying to manage. You sound depressed. With understandable reason.
I have had episodes of profound grief, and having that recognised by someone else really helped. You are alone with this in Covid. That is a real challenge.
But it is work in progress and sometimes the envy of another’s health is hard to bear, and adjusting to the permanent loss of my own also. My mindset has improved but I lapse back, especially after an AF episode or when in pain (very frequent) or when I look too hard in the mirror or I am left out of another long country walk.
I agree with pretty much all that has been said so far. It is tough at the beginning of AF and sensitivities peak but that does get better. I was determined almost from the start to make AF more advantage than disadvantage in my life by new purposes and changed lifestyle to prevent other chronic diseases in the future. Even under Lockdown 2.0 there are volunteering possibilities e.g. I appointed myself (!) as our village road lengthsman keeping the grass verge tidy (previously not mown by the council) and picking litter - amazing how small things give you an unexpected boost and does not feel a chore.
Then you need to see your doctor or cardiologist. Could be your medication. But when you feel that bad you need help. Don't suffer in silence. Hope you will soon feel better!
Thanks for all of the posts. Spinners, I don't know where you live but I'm in the England and where I live, seeing my GP has been non existant. My cardiology appointment is not for another three weeks, and I am absolutely worried sick, mainly because I am also suffering anxiety and depression. I honestly don't know if I actually have full afib although I am on Bisoprolol, Apiixaban and atorvastatin so seems very likely that I have, however I think with me it's the anxiety which is worse in a way but I only have self help books and a phone call once a month from healthy minds, I feel like I have been abandoned although I have to remember that I am still new to this condition, it's just time is passing so slowly while I wait and stew in my thoughts and fears. I was feeling a bit better until yesterday hence my lack of posts, I m still a bit in denial. Thanks again.
I live in England too, and your surgery should have a method of contacting your doctor. I can contact ours on the Internet or by phone and say why I am ringing. Then the surgery rings me back with a phone appointment with whoever they think should deal with it. If they think it is necessary they will make an appointment to see someone.
How long have you been taking bisoprolol? I felt just like you when I was taking those tablets. They affect your Adrenalin, which is supposed to calm you, but I found I got more and more anxious, just like you. I began to wish I could go to bed and never wake up again. The removal of bisoprolol has been miraculous. I can now cope with life.
Phone your doctor, accentuate that you are feeling terribly anxious and depressed, and that your symptoms are bad, and you desperately need reassurance. I don’t know anything about the other drugs you take, so can’t say how they might affect you. You can look at the side effects on the paperwork that comes with them.
Do you take your own blood pressure and pulse? If they are low, that might make you feel very tired, and so aggravate your feelings. Mine spike when I see anyone medical (white coat syndrome) but they are happy to accept my own readings as long as I have my BP monitor checked every 6 months. Without it I would be taking a lot more medication.
I know how difficult it is, but force yourself to badger the doctor. Force yourself to go for a walk in the fresh air every day. Talk to people you meet, if only to say hello. A smile from them can help lift your mood. Watch programs and films that make you laugh. Don’t watch or read very much news. It is enough to make anyone depressed. Smile at yourself in a mirror or without. Just the action of smiling or laughing makes the endorphins flow to make you feel better. And when you do feel better, let us know. It might help someone else. In the meantime, don’t worry about the Afib. If they thought it was dangerous, they would whisk you into A&E.
Wishing you the strength to tackle it. Best of luck!
Thanks for your reply, I was already on 50mg of Sertraline for anxiety and depression, have been on Ramipril 10mg for years, Amlodipine 10mg ( previous 5mg until last month) , Apixaban 5mg x2, and 40mg atorvastatin at night.
I am sorry, Grigbey. I am not a medical professional, so cannot give you advice on the drugs you take. My comments so far are only based on my own experiences and the fact that I tend to research anything to do with my health. If the doctor has added bisoprolol to all your other medication your BP readings must be pretty high, although they do tend to use it for irregular heartbeats. It would help you to get a BP monitor and measure it at home. At first it will still be high, but will slowly get lower as it becomes more routine.
I did take medication for depression at one time and didn’t like the effects it had. It made me feel behave cheerfully on the outside, but inside I became frustrated because I became uncoordinated and disorganised. So it is not for everyone. The doctor sent me on a stress management course which concentrated mostly on cognitive behavioural therapy, and I have used this method ever since when I started to feel down. But that is very difficult once you have become really depressed.
So I still think you should contact your doctor, if only to ask what exactly your heart problems are. You don’t seem very sure about these. Then ask how serious these are, and make sure you tell them you are still feeling very depressed and anxious about it, and could this be a reaction to any medication you are taking. If you are really that bad, you are not a routine patient, but an urgent patient. Look at your surgery’s website to see how to contact them in the first instance, or else give them a call. If you have no luck try 111.
Sorry, I can’t help you any more, but I am sure you will feel better once you get this sorted. If you need someone to talk to about your anxiety, look up Anxiety UK. They have a helpline so you can talk with someone and they will have suggestions about how to tackle it.
Hope to hear soon you are beginning to feel a bit better about it all.
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