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help...new obsession


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Dear all,

 

I had a big problem in the past with Schiz OCD but now I have new obsession...fear of Heart Attack and that I will die....few months ago I had a Panick Attack where I was 101% sure that I have heart attack and now I cant get rid of it...I did all exams and all said that my heart is totally healthy and that I have stomach problem..hiatus hernia and chronic gastritis and I still cant stop thinking that I will collapse and die...last Tuesday I had last exam and was calm for 1 day until yesterday there was on TV that our famous actor died on stage from hart attack and now I started to think that I am at risk and that same could happen to me...even when I went with my son to walk yesterday I was so anxious and always thinking that I will die infront of him :((((

Now I have whole day buzzing in my ears...chest pain etc....I talked with my GP and he told me to take Rivotril when I feel like this but I just want to overcome this stupid issue  :)))

Did anybody had similar problem and what is the best way to overocme it as I feel very bad and like I have symptoms which increase my anxiety and fear that something can happen and that I will leave my wife and 2 year old son :((((((

Edited by Ashley
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The obsession you are dealing with right now, about having a heart attack, is exactly the same as thinking you're going to become schizophrenic. They're both health related obsessions and you deal with both the exact same way.

First of all, stop going to the doctor. You went once, you received a clean bill of health. Leave it there. Don't keep going back to your doctor because that would be a compulsion and will only make your situation worse.

Think about what other compulsions you might be doing because of this obsession. I imagine one that you are doing is ruminating -- going over the possibility of heart attack in your mind, again and again. That's a compulsion and it can be controlled. It takes a lot of practice but it can be done.

You can get past this. It's going to take some hard work but you can get there.

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Hi Polar Bear,

Thanks for your comments and support!!

Major problem is that I feal real like false symptoms...dizzines,buzzing in ears,chest pain...and after that my anxiety increase..I know that dr's are correct and that I am healthy but i still have doubt as I produce these symptoms :(((((

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Those symptoms can all be caused by anxiety and stress. Try to take care of yourself and do what you can to lower your anxiety levels. Do some fun things, relax lots. Try to keep your mind off your symptoms.

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I can definitely relate to your current situation.  After experiencing very intense physical symptoms of anxiety, it is easy to become concerned that there could be an underlying medical condition that caused it (such as a heart attack) and it becomes an obsession.  

PolarBear already provided some great advice. I wanted to add another suggestion as well.  

Make sure that you don’t get into a pattern of avoidance.  When I developed this fear, I started to avoid anything that might make my heart rate increase (one of my compulsions was to check my pulse many times per day). So, I avoided doing most physical activities and even stopped going outside when the temperature was hot. I thought those situations might cause me to have a heart attack, so I avoided them. Avoidance continued to spread into other aspects of my life as well.  This was obviously the worst thing I could do, because I was giving into the fear and it just reinforced the anxiety. Try to not allow this fear to alter your activities.

Edited by mw321
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You have to have a hard look at what you're doing, what compulsions you are doing, and work hard to stop them. People who fear they're going to have a heart attack will often check their pulse constantly, feel their heart through their chest and do other physical testing to ensure they are healthy. There is also ruminating about heart attacks and analyzing how they feel at any given time. You've got to figure out your compulsions and put an end to them and ignore the whole thing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Polar Bear,

 

this is late answer as I was on vacation...major things that I do are:

 - often checking my pulse

 - often measure my BP

 - Checking my breathing and immediately if focus on it I start to breathe hard and feel like I cant inspire enough air

 - Always checking my body and a small chest pain or someyhing similar increase my anxiety

 

Are these compulsions or I am moving to Hypochondria...This thing is so annoying that I am not the same person as before

 

Thanks

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They are compulsions. You now need to work hard to stop them. 

You can either stop them completely or you cam slowly wean yourself off them. Either way is good as long as you are moving forward.

You will be uncomfortable as you stop. Your brain will be screaming at you to take your pulse, check your blood pressure. But you must stay the course.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all,

Last night I had a dream where my I was walking on the street and my heart started to bump like crazy it was like it is happening in reality...in the dream I said to myslef that all is ok calm yourself down and bumping decreased...after that I woke up totally normal in the middle of the night and since then I cant stop thinking about the dream...many thoughts pop on my mind like was this bumping in the dream or really my heart started to go like crazy..was this caused by the dream or  heart bumping caused to have this dream...was I in danger etc...now I cant relax at all and feel so sttressed and scared that it will happen again. I am trying to think rational and to convince myself that all is ok and that it was just a dream but I cant :-((((

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Get it in your mind that it was just a dream. Refuse to try and answer all the questions going through your head. Rumination is going to be the big compulsion here. You need to be aware of it and work hard not to do it. Get involved in doing something productive today to take your mind off it.

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Hi, VekiQantas

We, in my house, can identify with everything you've written.  My wife, Lynne, has been taken to hospital no less than eight times since November - three of those were by blue flashing lights.  She has had every heart test available, and was placed on heart tablets that almost filled a carrier bag, particularly for angina; most proved to be ineffective, and have since been stopped.  Lynne was wired up for remote monitoring yesterday, which was removed for analysis today - we shall see!  Depending on the results, she may have expended all channels in the Heart Department, and, later this month, has an appointment in the Gastrology Department.

 

Lynne's symptoms have been quite similar to those described by you, even to the discomfort of hearing her heart beating loudly all day long.  During one of her many examinations, they found that she has a hiatus hernia, and this condition causes chest pains, palpitations, feeling of pressure on the chest etc., and can also cause poor sleep patterns, aspecially when lying on your side.  If your sleep is constantly being disrupted, then you're in a state of shallow sleep at best, which is certainly a cause of 'bad dreams'.

 

Anxiety is a function that nature installed in each of us to make us alert in times of danger, but, as usual, it wasn't given to us in equal measures; some given little, and others overdosed.  The problem many people have is letting go of that anxiety when there is no danger.  You state that you've had 'all the tests', and you do not have a heart problem.  You also state that you have a hiatus hernia, a condition that is less serious, though being one that can cause consternation before diagnosis, due to its effect on the heart rate.  Despite being fully aware of your problem, you appear to be in a self-destruct mode, in which you are dwelling on what could have been your problem instead of the one you actually have.  We shall be overjoyed if they find that Lynne's problems are a result of hiatus hernia, because, for the past few months, we've been faced with the possibility of a more serious illness.  You've faced the same possibilities, but, instead of being relieved, you appear to be preoccupied with something that doesn't exist in reality.  You have been proven to be healthy, so why can't you accept that fact?  Your illness is genuine, but your perceptions of it appear to be distortions, even illusions, created by the other person living within you - the OCD beast.  Living with the stress of an illness you don't have must make you one of those that nature has overdosed, and that must be very stressful indeed.

 

Best regards

Edited by Lacko'zeds
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