I just got in from mowing the front yard. I had to stop midway through because I thought I was exerting myself too much and was going to have a heart attack. I was able to go and finish, but I'm having a panic attack. My heart has been checked twice in the last month, and it's fine, so I don't actually have a heart condition. It's a small yard, it's cool outside, but I swear my anxiety goes into overdrive anytime my heart beats even remotely fast. I check my blood pressure, and that's fine too, so I know this is psychological, but wow is it hard to get past.
What do you do to get past worrying about having a heart attack when you need to mow the lawn or clean the house? It's unfortunate that I'm afraid of doing anything physical because that's what would actually benefit my heart as well as my anxiety. I've tried going for walks, but I can't get past the end of my driveway and sometimes not even that.
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Imanxious
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Hi there try not to worry to much as you said you've had it checked twice have you tried relaxation there are lots of relaxation downloads that may help ! Good luck !
I can relate, I've worked myself up trying to exercise and had a panic attack, then felt silly about it.
Adrenaline, among other physical responses, is going to naturally occur when we are physically active. Most people with anxiety disorders tend to be oversensitive, we ruminate on the mundane and worry the fantastical into reality. I wish I had useful answers about how to combat this, but I am constantly updating my own personalized methods of coping.
One of those methods was getting checked out by a doctor and getting a clean bill of health. Another was understanding how heart attacks actually work and what they feel like, then doing my best to rationalize the situation and often using positive self-talk to explain away things. Dizziness, muscle spasms, and muscle tension wreak havoc on my nerves (and vice versa) if I worry too much about them.
The more you expose yourself to a phobia the less over-stimulated you're likely to feel. The more you exercise (get your blood pressure up), the healthier it tends to be (with a better resting heart rate and blood pressure).
It might feel like there is no simple answer to this because it's all so complex, especially when we're in the midst of a panic attack. It also seems kind of insulting or ineffectual to say "it's nothing, oh well, whatever" when these psychological bothers truly do manifest in disturbing physical sensations.
There are a lot of suggested ways of coping with this, but unfortunately, I can't say which will be best for you. I do think deep breathing ("square breathing") can be immensely helpful to everyone with anxiety. Rationalizing your concerns, with practice, should help- "Ow this shoulder/chest area hurts but heart attacks generally aren't supposed to cause 'this' specific kind of pain and it's far more likely its muscle tension".
CBT, DBT, EMDR, or radical acceptance and commitment therapy might work, but you're just going to have to try out various forms and therapy and see what works best for your personally.
I'm sorry this is so long-winded, I can really relate to this kind of thing. Over time I've gotten better at not over-reacting to health anxiety and learning to exercise and accept that an increased heart rate does not necessarily mean I'm going to have a panic attack.
Exercise might offer some scary sensations but in the long run, it also might expose you to your fears so you can get over them and help with things like blood pressure, muscle tension, and a million other little things that will hopefully make you feel better. Moderation in everything though!
This is really good stuff. Thank you. I've tried yoga several times. It's hard to get into a routine as my brain doesn't cooperate some days, but I have found that helpful when I've done it. I have tried meditation with body scanning as a way of coping as well. Thanks again.
I can relate with the fear of heart issues. I've had health anxiety for at least 10 years ( I think I joined heath unlocked in 2012 )
For me it started with fast pulse feeling like my heart was trying to beat its way out of the front of my chest.
Fast forward to now I still have fast pulse I wake on the morning pulse is 67 by mid morning its 80 to 90 doing nothing . If I walk round shops or even just walk up stairs its 115 to 120 something like mowing the lawn would have me upto around 140 . And then if Iay down it will drop quite quickly into the 90 to 100 range but rarely if ever goes back to the 67 that I woke with until I next sleep . As I write this laying on the sofa its 80 which I'm quite happy with .
I'd like to say I've learnt to ignore it but the fact is I'm always checking in on pulse and oxygen levels . I no longer react to it as in jump in the car and head to the hospital as I did in the early years of this anxiety disorder.
The best advice I was ever given was to keep busy and occupied then you don't tend to notice so much . Unfortunately I lost my job at Xmas and have far too much time on my hands . And have now got a fixation about whether I can actually work again I mean if I can get pulse up to 140 by walking !!!
I don't know how much is anxiety related or a general lack of fitness getting old and being overweight. I think of a panic attack as when I have intense fear and can't do anything other seek medical help and touch wood its been a few years since my last hospital visit or ambulance call out . I still have all the physical symptoms that I ever had ( chest pain dizziness walking like I'm drunk etc ) but tend not to over react to them in the way I did in the past .
Sorry for the long reply which I think probably went off at a tangent, and probably didn't help at all .
That was really helpful. Thanks. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone and it's a symptom of anxiety. I'm tending to think that the fear of a heart attack is just where my mind goes when I'm anxious. I think the fear of everything that I have just manifests itself as a fear of a heart attack because it's more concrete than dealing with the hard-to-pin-down fear of everything. I'm also thinking this is a product of my general fear stemming from PTSD from a childhood trauma. Anyway, all of this really does help, and thanks for taking the time to respond.
I think that over the years we have become over sensitive and our bodies are over run by stress hormones adrenaline cortisol and the like . And if we could relax more and get these out of our systems life would be easier . For example muscle tension for me it's always there whether I'm anxious or not but there must be ways to get rid of it when we are calm and keep it away if that makes any sense .
One other thing I did find out a few years back that I was vitamin d deficient and have had a decent attempt at supplements this time which may be helping a little. If you have never checked for deficiency the vitamins d and b12 along with iron are sometimes linked with anxiety.
The other thing which I am hopeless with is hydrating I rarely drink enough water some days none at all . Thinking about it now its coming up to 130 in the morning and I think I have only drank 500 ml today and it been hot here so I'm most likely dehydrated..
All the best to you I'm off to the kitchen for water at this rate I may get to sleep by 4 ish 😴
Thank you. I do hold my breath and try to rush through most jobs like mowing, lifting things, etc. It's ridiculous that I can't remember to breathe, but you're right. I'll take note of all that you mentioned.
Hi, I just wanted to let you know that I mowed the lawn again today. It took me three days to work up to it. I was thinking about what you were wrote when I was doing it. Take it slow. Don't hold my breath. I was still scared, but what you wrote made a positive impact. Thank you.
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