Heart Palpitations Forum
http://palps.chemicalforums.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl
Heart Palpitations Forum >> General Discussion >> something i noticed from reading posts on here.
http://palps.chemicalforums.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1307458495

Message started by soph22 on Jun 7th, 2011, 7:54am

Title: something i noticed from reading posts on here.
Post by soph22 on Jun 7th, 2011, 7:54am

so, i found this site today and it has been seriously helpful. but it made me think, ive noticed alot of people who get this kind of thing have a history of anxiety/panic/worrying. which i think has alot to answer for!!
however, it made me wonder, what makes people get like that? i try and think back to what has made me the way i am, and i really cant pin point a specific time in which i suddenly became a 'worrier' im 26 but i was really ill when i was 11 with some sort of vomiting virus i assume, where it damaged my stomach and i ended up with terrible IBS which made school life awful and was a constant worry on my mind (you know, where all the bathrooms are, will it start when im out, it will be embarressing) so it would be easy for me to say that was the trigger in my life. however even earlier than this im sure i was reading my parents 'family guide to health' book which had every illness under the sun in it. and having a nervous disposition even younger than thins. i really wish i could remember the exact trigger. i have 5 brothers and sisters and none of them are like me. there must be something from being really little engrained in me to have started these thoughts off.
can anyone else remember a 'trigger' point to where they seemed to become obsessed with their health? dont get me wrong, when im feeling okay i dont worry about my health, but when things start i tend to assume the worst! x

Title: Re: something i noticed from reading posts on here.
Post by Robb on Jul 24th, 2011, 3:51pm

I read your post and can relate somewhat to you.  I had a serious illness at 13, maybe hepatitis, it was not really identified.  I think that that illness lead to unjustifed worries and fears.  I'd like to think that I would have 'had it together' better as a teenager if I didn't have the sickness, but God only knows that.  I do not consider myself a worrier now, and most of my heart rhythym symptoms have begun within the last 10 years.  Maybe all the worry when I was younger has taken a toll on my nerves.  

Title: Re: something i noticed from reading posts on here.
Post by Andrea on Jul 24th, 2011, 9:33pm

Yes. I can remember my trigger very clearly. It's silly but I'll tell the story anyway.

I was probably 10 or 11 and having a sleepover with my friends. One of my friends was kidding around about breast cancer and for some reason it triggered something in my mind. I was convinced I had breast cancer based on what my friends had told me about it that night. From that point on I thought about my health CONSTANTLY. I have thought I've had everything under the sun - all kinds of cancers, diseases, etc.

My family had a similar book, I kept it under my bed and would read it all the time.

I'm the only person in my family who obsessively worries about their health. However mental illness, specifically anxiety and depression are in my family. So I'm sure whatever goes on in my head is a mixture of the family history and that sleepover when I was 10 or so.

Title: Re: something i noticed from reading posts on here.
Post by Kizzia on Aug 11th, 2011, 1:19am


063B3636540 wrote:
I read your post and can relate somewhat to you.  I had a serious illness at 13, maybe hepatitis, it was not really identified.  I think that that illness lead to unjustifed worries and fears.  I'd like to think that I would have 'had it together' better as a teenager if I didn't have the sickness, but God only knows that.  I do not consider myself a worrier now, and most of my heart rhythym symptoms have begun within the last 10 years.  Maybe all the worry when I was younger has taken a toll on my nerves.  


Title: Re: something i noticed from reading posts on here.
Post by sleepy on Aug 23rd, 2011, 11:09pm

I do,I can totally relate.I grew up being anxious,the only child(my twin sister died 9 days after we were born),my dad was out of home for 9mths to a year at the time working on ships and my mom was always overly protective.I remember always being sick up to age 12 with bronchitis,on antibiotics and home constantly and there is this one time when I was sick in bed with a high fever and my mom crying over my bed putting cold compress on me and saying "Oh no she is going to die"...and then there was my amazing grandma who kept saying to me that when I was born they thought I was the one going to die not my sister and they thought I would have problem with my heart and I was a runner and proved them wrong...those were her words(But I had no heart problems)...plus many more instances with my mom and dad being sick that would make me fearful.

Now,I can be ok,almost would not know I have anxiety issues...until something starts hurting that feels weird or different and I freak out!When my anxiety turned upside down in my mid 20's I would run to doctor all the time looking for reassurance and then I'd be ok...now,I'm the opposite,I stay clear of doctor offices as I hate waiting for tests always thinking the worst,like I will have the C-word,I can't even say cancer out loud or they find something wrong with me and then I will not stop panicking....

It all makes me feel stupid and irresponsible...

Title: Re: something i noticed from reading posts on here.
Post by skep155 on Sep 4th, 2011, 9:15am

Think there were several triggers for me but I can remember having an anxiety disorder since I was a small boy.  Can remember having obsessive compulsive disorder since I was about 7, though its now fairly mild, I've always been a worrier and always had a tendency to dwell on unwelcome thoughts.  When I was about 4 my granddad died of a sudden heart attack and when I was about 7 my great grandmother died of old age.  I initially dismissed the possibility that these events could have triggered my anxiety because as I was so young I hadn't known them for very long, and I don't recall being particularly upset at their deaths at the time.  But in retrospect these events must have planted the seeds of worry in my head.  When I was 12 our dog was also diagnosed with a serious heart condition and would occasionally pass out, this must have also had an effect.  

Title: Re: something i noticed from reading posts on here.
Post by skippy on Sep 20th, 2011, 4:20pm

My health is just another thing I tend to worry about, among many.  I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and have panic attacks, too.  My palps do happen when I'm anxious but they also happen when I'm not.  I also have a VERY strong family history of anxiety.  My aunt had agoraphobia and didn't leave the house for a while, aunt and uncle have panic attacks, etc.  I think it runs in families but it also may have to do with the fact that I hated school as a kid and worried a lot when I was there.  Not sure what exactly tuned me up anxiety-wise but I've been struggling against it since I was about 6 years old.

Title: Re: something i noticed from reading posts on here.
Post by jess33 on Jan 25th, 2012, 4:41am

Palps are the reason I now have severe anxiety/panic attacks and health anxiety. I was totally fine before they started. I have now been on meds for 20 years, seen two psychiatrists, been to ER many many times, seen 20+ doctors and have never had a job in my life. I have also made the sad decision to never have children as my health anxiety is so bad  :'(

Title: Re: something i noticed from reading posts on here.
Post by Scooby123 on Mar 6th, 2012, 4:13pm

Jess33,

How bad are they? do you have PVCs everyday.  What is it that make them so bad that you can't (or wont) work or have kids? do you have that many?

Just curious. :o

Heart Palpitations Forum » Powered by YaBB 2.2!
YaBB © 2000-2007. All Rights Reserved.