New to this

[Somedaysuddenly]

Hello people.. i recently have been told im sufferong with anxiety.. i always from morning to night have butterflies in my stomach..when i leave my house i feel im gonna collapse or have heart attack which has made me pretty much become a recluse..also wear a fitbit so i can keep an eye on my BPM.. doctor has advised me against that and can understand why as im forever checkin it.. i cannot deny i have smoked cannabis for over half my life and have recently quit to try help my situation i have had blood tests and a ECG tje bloods was clear but been reffered to a cardiologist.. i have also been prescribed anto depressant "fluoxetine 20mg" but feel worse when i take them as my heary feels like it gonna jump outta my chest.. so i have stopped taking them. How do you all cope with feeling like this? I feel like im not a caged animal unable to leave my home. Any advice would be fantastic

[Jeff1943]

Somedaysuddenly - sometimes an outsider can see things clearer than oneself. Yes, it's a good idea to see that cardiologist, it will give you reassurance, but I would be pretty sure this is not a physical problem. You seem to have some of the classic symptoms of nervous sensitisation caused by anxiety and too much stress. Oh, and cingratulations in coming off the cannabis because my understanding is it can mess with your head when you already have anxiety disorder.

The butterflies are classic anxuety, the stomach is the most sympathetic organ in the body fir stress related symptoms. I give you my personal guarantee you AREN'T going to collapse or have a heart attack, nervous symptoms like these are fraudulent, they're not real even if they feel real, because they are not organic in origin, they are tricks your nervous system plays when you get sensitised.

It sounds like you may have become a bit agrophobic and maybe a bit hypochondriac with that BP monitor you wear. Wrist models are inaccurate any way and constantly checking your BP is bound to mean high readings because of the extra anxiety of expecting a high reading. I had what's called a 24 hour ambulatory BP monitor fitted recently, everytime it buzzed before taking a reading every 20 minutes my anxiety levels spiked. Only way to take BP is at home in a confortable chair after resting for 5 minutes, not after a meal, the arm extended at heart level and the arm supported. Do it 3 tines at 2 minute intervals and take the average, then you'll get an accurate reading.

So how do you begin on the path to recovery? Well for a start you have to stop fighting the feelings, stop constantly testing yourself and just accept that you are going to have these troublesome symptoms for a while. But because you temporarily ACCEPT them and just get on with your life regardless (you can you know) you stop First Fear causing Second Fear and you begin to break the vicious circle of symptoms causing anxiety causing more symptoms causing more anxiety. But Acceptance usn't a quick fix, it perseverance to make it work, to begin with you may be able to achueve it for just a few minutes but don't give up, whatever you do don't give up. You WILL recover, Sonedaysuddenly, just as many on this forum have achieved recivery through acceptance. I recommend the 'anxiety bible' to you which spells out how to perfect acceptance, how to overcone agrophobia, it's called 'Self help with your nerves' in the UK or 'Hope and help for your nerves' in the US by Doctor Claire Weekes, written 50 years ago but it has withstood the test of time and helped hundreds of thousands of people to recover, you can pick up a copy on Amazon.

Fluxotine I don't know about, but I recommend a mug of green tea first thing in the morning when anxiety is often highest, this us because cortisol levels peak at 8a.m. and green tea contaibs thianine that counteracts the cortisol but whatever you do don't smoke it Sonedaysuddenly☺