I am suffering with major health anxiety. I had my first anxiety attack a year ago and i have had a few since the first time. Aftet the attacks i started having constant chest pain and became very focused on my heart, thinking that i had heart issues. So over this last year i had 3 ekg's, 2 chest xrays, a lot of blood work and an echo cardiogram done by a cardiologists , everything comes back fine. I still cant believe everything is ok. Im 6.0ft 270lbs not all fat, i use to be really in shape and still have alot of muscle but not in that great of shape, have a bad diet and i smoke. My blood work comes back very good every time, cholesterol nice and normal. So in my head, with me being over weight, a smoker, having chest pain, chest tightness, constantly feel out of breath, how could something not be wrong?
Nate,
Our mind is more powerful that we want to give it credit for. I suffer from health anxiety as well and have also convinced myself that something is wrong with my heart. The mind picks up on this and as soon as I feel any little symptom, all of my focus goes to my heart. I get dizzy spells, my body trembles and my mouth gets very dry.
I, too, have had several tests run (blood work, ekg's, stress test, etc.) and nothing concerning shows. I have struggled with these "spells" for over a decade.
I have come to learn that the body reacts to what the mind is telling it. So, if I tell myself that something is wrong physically, I will start showing physical sypmtoms. The trick is to retrain the mind so that it tells the body that it is healthy!!
This is easier said than doe as i still struggle, but I hope this gets you thinking and acting. Repeat to yourself that you are healthy and feel great!!
Hi Nate
You have had 3 tests on your heart and they all say nothing is wrong. The chances of all 3 tests being wrong is very very slim.
Did you know most chest pain is not heart related? In fact, and this is something I had to learn, people get all kind of aches and pains in various parts of their body for no clear reason and they just go away. This is life. I would imagine the chest pain is either muscle related, acid reflux, indigestion, stress or just simply an ache with no clear cause. Take some painkillers if it gets bad but otherwise don't worry about it.
Also I cannot understand why someone with health anixety would not attempt to make some healthy changes to their lifestyle. Quitting smoking would be a start. It's the single best thing you can do right now to make you healthier. The damage being done to your lungs is way more concerning that your chest pains The sooner you quit, the more chance your lungs have to recover. Losing weight takes a bit longer and is a challenge most people face but you can make small changes like going for walks and cutting down on sweets where possible. One of the changes I made was stopping having syrups with my coffee or lattesHi Nate
You have had 3 tests on your heart and they all say nothing is wrong. The chances of all 3 tests being wrong is very very slim.
Did you know most chest pain is not heart related? In fact, and this is something I had to learn, people get all kind of aches and pains in various parts of their body for no clear reason and they just go away. This is life. I would imagine the chest pain is either muscle related, acid reflux, indigestion, stress or just simply an ache with no clear cause. Take some painkillers if it gets bad but otherwise don't worry about it.
Also I cannot understand why someone with health anixety would not attempt to make some healthy changes to their lifestyle. Quitting smoking would be a start. It's the single best thing you can do right now to make you healthier. The damage being done to your lungs is way more concerning that your chest pains The sooner you quit, the more chance your lungs have to recover. Losing weight takes a bit longer and is a challenge most people face but you can make small changes like going for walks and cutting down on sweets where possible. One of the changes I made was stopping having syrups with my coffee or lattes.
Good luck!