Severe Health Anxiety/ Health issues? HELP!

[jeminem9]

This may be a bit long winded so you'll have to bear with me. Around 8 months ago, out of the blue i started experiencing chest pains, left arm tingling, feeling like i was out of breath. I have been to A & E at least 6 times with episodes that I thought were me dying. I've had more blood work, ECG and chest x rays than i can remember and all of these come out the same - i am fine according to doctors. When this all started it got so bad i had time off work. Now I'm young, 22 to be exact, have always been very fit and healthy albeit I've probably spent to much of my time in the pub for the last 3 years! I got back to work about 4 months ago but it's come back with a vengance. Constant chest pain which goes from Sharp pains to dull aches, all over my chest. Sometimes into my jaw, constant breathlessness and a constant feeling of what i would describe as a feeling on unreality, not quite dizzy but i can't put everything together. i feel like my life is over, every day it feels as though i am going to have a heart attack - which is exhausting and terrorfying. All the doctors think it is anxiety but it feels to painful and real to be that. They put me on Citalopram 10mg - but i don't think this helps. I'm a shadow of my former self. I can admit now that i have panic attacks, but i think they are due to my fear of these "heart episoded". I can wake up in the middle of the night with my chest in agony and my heart pounding. I'm too scared to expercise in case this brings on a heart attack - i am at my whits end.I wondered if anyone has any experience like this? Am i going crazy? is there a way back from this? Any help would be truly appreciated.

[Heatherj89]

Hi there! My name is Heather and I totally understand what you're going through. It's actually pretty much the same way we all started off with anxiety disorder. When I was 19 I was at work when I had my first attack where I also thought I was dying of a heart attack or something. I ended up going to the emergency room in an ambulance because I really thought that was the end. I made the mistake of not trusting the doctors when they told me my heart was ok and that I was having anxiety. The problem is that we don't realize how stressed we are until these attacks come on because we may have been living stressfully for so long that it doesn't feel abnormal. A panic attack comes out of the blue and you are left feeling like it can't be anxiety because that's not what we think anxiety feels like. We all go down the rabbit hole of thinking there HAS to be something physically wrong with us. What happens is your body builds up stress over time and eventually it lets it out (which is what happened to you with your attacks). The way out is to accept that the terrifying feelings you're having are from anxiety and not an organic illness. I didn't do that and have had anxiety on and off for years (I'm 27 now). You are ok. Nothing is wrong with you aside from the fact that your nervous system is in freak out mode over how stressed it has become for whatever reason. You don't always have to have anxiety you can recover trust someone who has been through it!! I wish someone would have directed me towards a few things when this happened to me and I felt really lost and alone. Here are some books and websites to check out. They explain everything!

#1: Hope And Help for Your Nerves- by Claire weekes (probably the best anxiety book ever)

2: DARE: by Barry McDonagh

3: the website anxietycentre.com is awesome!

4: check out Dennis Simsek. He calls himself The Anxiety Guy. He is on YouTube and Facebook. He has a website called anxietyexit.com

Hope this helps. Best wishes!

[jeminem9 in reply to Heatherj89]

Thanks Helen - good to know i'm not the only one!

[Vicky810]

Yes, yes!! I live with those symptoms! it's anxiety it's horrible u have to go seek help because your not going to be able to concentrate on life and being happy. I'm going back to the doctor today cause I'm scared like u I can't with this horrible stuff we go through. please go get some help like in am

[Vicky810]

Also I've had this since I was 14 and it recently came with new symptoms after I had my baby . it has gotten a lot worse

[Cares179 in reply to Vicky810]

Yes my symptoms got a lot worse after the birth of my child too!

[Mantasjanu2000]

Dude I'm 16 and I have the same symptoms and feelings as you, it feels like you know there's something wrong with you and everyone's telling you it's anxiety and youre getting frustrated but we got to understand that anxiety wants us to think it's something else . It's not easy and I honest know what you're going through but you gotta keep going and pretend it's not even there , what I think is that , most people who have heart attacks don't feel many symptoms until it actually happens , and you've had the symptoms and you're still hhere and healthy so at the end of the day you have to tel yourself that.

[Vicky810 in reply to Mantasjanu2000]

That's true!😏

[Tabbyharris]

I startex having anxiety n panick attacks back in January of this year n its horrible. I have been to the er n my drs office so much tht they know why im there. I have had countless ct scans from head to toe everything normal ive had songrams on all my oragans everything is fine. Was sent to heart dr had stress test heart sonogram lots of heart pics done everything is fine n normal. But yet i still have chest pains daily. My anxiety gives me the wierdest syptoms like my face n lips tingle n feel numb i get wierd vibrations in my chest so many other pains n wierd feelings. I hate the way it makes me feel. I just want my normal happy life back. Some days are better then other days. So i know how you feel and your not alone. I hope you get better. Its scary n hard but i hope n believe that we all can over come this