Hello all, i read this small article about anxiety palps, i hope it will give you a bit of insight if you are experiencing anything like it:
The type of palpitations being experienced by members to this forum result from wayward and untimely stimulation of the vagus nerve, most predominantly at the level of the pneumogastric nerve which innervates the stomach and GI tract. This stimulation, arises in the form of evoked potentials, or electrical signals, that travel along the vagus nerve to all terminal ends. Although all terminal ends of the vagus nerve receive the signal, the heart is unique in that it is a muscle as well as an organ. It's characteristic movements and activity during the vagal stimulation is keenly felt.
Furthermore, it is the result of a parasympathetic nervous response that is part of the fight or flight physiological reaction by the body. In cases where chronic stress, anxiety or panic disorders may be present, this system is sort of constantly activated and produces physiological changes that are being entirely misconstrued by patients as symptoms of disease of some type. Realize that these very same physiological responses, including palpitations, occur without exception in persons where the fight or flight response is appropriate, ie the presence of danger, being suddenly frightened or startled or the recognition of intense psychological trauma.
People who are frightened for instance, will very often claim that the event made their heart skip a beat or jump out of their chest, pound wildly or even seemingly stop their heart. You need to understand that what these people are describing is a benign palpitation of the very same type you and the others are experiencing, with the single exception that because it's directly related to a frightening or startling event, it is accepted as being entirely normal.
When people are frightened, their skin crawls, they may sweat, sense a sinking feeling or butterfly sensation in their stomach, become light-headed, possibly even faint, tingling sensations of the extremities, rapid heart rate or pounding heart and again, palpitations. All of these physiological events are the consequence of the fight or flight reaction by the body which increases epinephrine (adrenaline) and produces elevated awareness and vigilence so that the body is prepared to either defend itself from the threat or be able to run fast enough to escape harm.
In persons with anxiety disorder, this fight or flight mechanism is constantly engaged at a variable level, thereby producing constant physiological change. It is the collection of changes that patients misinterpret as something going very wrong with the body, or that it constitutes signs of serious disease, despite a multitude of tests which all turn up negative. Indeed, this cycle can produce a very intense health anxiety because fear is established which makes the affected individual feel insecure and uncertain, with irrational beliefs that something dreadful may take place at an entirely unpredictable moment, subsequently robbing them of their outlook and the life they work so diligently to protect from uncertainty. Their loved ones will suddenly be abandoned and without the tireless support provided by the affected individual, who constantly strives to prevent bad things from happening to their loved ones far in advance of the actual timeframe within the real world.
The pattern establishes a constant apprehension and fear, which the brain interprets as danger, consequently invoking the fight or flight mechanism, despite the fact that no true danger exists at all, but merely irrational fears about the future. Nevertheless, the brain interprets the danger to be real and responds accordingly. The patient, who misinterprets the changes as symptoms, becomes convinced that the underlying cause is disease and they become increasingly frustrated because endless diagnostic tests fail to identify the cause.
The cause does not exist. This is why the tests are repeatedly negative and people with anxiety disorder feel compelled to turn away from the facts and alternatively trust their instincts, which are entirely misguided based upon a lack of understanding of what is actually taking place with regard to their physiology. People with health anxiety are also compelled to equate physical symptoms with physical disease and their minds refuse to understand that physical symptoms absolutely do not equate with disease. It is not a direct relationship.
So the answer lies not in trying to take a handful of magnesium tablets, or a bottle of probiotics, or chiropractic manipulation to address the problem, but rather to effectively understand the actual nature of the underlying cause, which has nothing whatsoever to do with disease of any kind. It is about learning to trust the medical evidence rather than irrational beliefs, about learning to realize when the senses are unreliable and that when tests are negative, it doesn't mean positive but just not detected. It literally means negative.
It's about letting go of false belief patterns and reclaiming your lives.
I hope you all feel better. Deo
Eye issues with anxiety/panic attacks??
Do you think this idea would help with anxiety?
Anxiety related?
