Fourth ha episode but still can't beat it

[Drewdude]

Hey everyone, I'm still worried about my heart, can anyone give me a bit more comfort so I can get through this. My chest doesnt really really hurt but it does feel like the muscles are bruised now from worrying so much... And i still have faint indigestion feelngs, Could this just be from me being too tense? Also could anyone reassure me that if it was my heart it wouldnt go away when I'm not thinking about it ( I mean really not thinking about it and not simply trying not to think...Which is most of the time) and it wouldn't go away when I exercise? I'm sure it's not my heart but I do worry that worrying could actually make me have heart trouble!  I'm also Only 35 but stil worried I'm sure I must be healthier than lots of peeps but I then think tha my worry will mak me jus as likely to harm my heart. Ooh please just need you guys to reassure me in any way you can...

[sixpack]

I think the best reassurance I can give you is to ask this:

what are you doing in order to address your anxiety disorder?  As we all know until we start taking proactive steps, we cannot even begin to work through this disorder.

TRUST me, once you abandon the reactive behaviors and start moving forward by addressing the anxiety things get better.   

[gcalex]

Not to be obnoxious, but it sounds to me that you know exactly what the problem is, you seem to have done a good job of challenging your fear with facts.  What can anyone here add? 

[Drewdude]

Yes your right.., it is anxiety I recognise that, I know I have ha and I'm 80% sure that this episode is related. Just still some doubts there. Good point though thank you, that point is not obnoxious and actually helps a lot. Do you think that my constant worry could make my chest muscles ache? Think I Once did this in my leg... Focused so much that hey presto I suddenly had weakness... Hmm thanks for the grounding there...

[gcalex]

Muscle tension is probably the number one physical effect of anxiety.  Trust me.

[marc]

As long as your heart has been checked out, than I would not worry.

[Drewdude]

Well I'm trying not to go to docs actually so banking on ha!!!!! Yikes

[vardnas]

I agree with sixpack that your anxiety probably needs to be professionally addressed before you start to feel better. That is over the moon type thinking to assume you can just shake the feeling of anxiety or panic or HA after four bouts of it. Listen, once your stress hormones are elevated to the point of making you symptomatic (you've reached that point), it takes a VERY long time before they go back to normal, pre-axiety levels. Now that you are anxious, they are all the more reactive. Anxiety's a Pandora's box, and it's gonna take you quite a bit of work to get it all back in the box.

[gcalex]

Well I'm trying not to go to docs actually so banking on ha!!!!! Yikes

I think that's a good call not to go to doctors when you pretty much have figured out for yourself what's going on.  But having recognized it's anxiety begs the question, what are you going to do about the anxiety?  Newton's laws say things stay as they are until acted upon, so don't wait for it to go away on its own.  You're already making great progress as shown by your ability to reason with your fear -- many folks here don't seem to display that capacity.

[Drewdude]

Thanks guys. I managed to get through Xmas and beat the anxiety with help from these posts and by a bit of meditation, (Andrew Johnson) so controlled it. Since new year though I got a headache 3 days in a row. I think it's a bug but today my heart fluttered and made me anxious again! Recognising the signs though so I will beat this. Might need to go see doc though!