Health Anxiety - Cardiac

[Jamesw72]

Hi all, I’ve have suffered from health anxiety for years and have normal coupled with it but after a after a recent cardiac event (tachycardia) for over a week and a spell In hospital, my mental health is shot to pieces.

To cut a long story short, I’ve had the blood tests, chest X-rays and multiple ECG’s and all is well according to the doctors but I still doubt the doctors - never felt like this before..

Currently bed ridden scared to move and not sleeping well due to worry about my heart rate / etc.

Leading up to the event, I was very stressed and burnted out so maybe had a mental breakdown..

Anyway, started Sertraline this morning which will hopefully help.

Anybody else have anxiety about heart health?

[Agora1]

Hi Jamesw72, when I first got hit with Anxiety years ago, it revolved around my heart beat.

Cardiologist after Cardiologist tried to proved to me that I was a fit young woman who was

"deconditioned" because of focusing on my heart so much, I was afraid to move.

Our heart is a muscle, muscles weren't designed to lay dormant. In order to work properly,

the body needs to move, providing oxygen and blood flow to this main organ. When in

Cardiophobia, we pamper the heart thinking we are doing it well.

Once all tests have proven us wrong, there comes a time we need to believe in the doctors

that we need to move in order to survive.

Literally putting my toe in the water was the first step. Aquacise classes.. What?? lol

Slowly but surely I got to a high powered intense workout. I could barely believe that

was me, powering through the water. Working off the stress and adrenaline felt amazing.

Breathing deeply like I had always been afraid to. It felt wonderful. Maybe the doctors

were right all along in that this was a mental block and not one that had to do with the

heart.

With one step at a time, I found that I wasn't alone. There were many people who feared

their heart instead of embracing it for what it was....the center of our being.

Stay in touch with your doctors, always check with them before trying something new

and then LIVE my friend. There's a life out there waiting to be found for you and others

like ourselves who have this fear. xx