George
Senior Member
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Clandestinely incredulous
Posts: 184
England
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Hi all,
Thought I would start a post in the general section about the silliest things we've all worried or panicked over that in hindsight seem absolutely rediculous to us, but at the time they happened seemed life-threatening or exceedingly harmful. I have to admit that I have been on the verge of panic over some really, really stupid things. For example (at the height of my anxiety):
- [1] -
I was feeling cold so I ran a bath. I started thinking that the somewhat sudden change in temperate was going to change the temperature of my blood, and when that blood reached my heart, was going to stop it! The show "Bear Grylls: Born Survivor" put this notion in my mind after he jumped in to a frozen lake after digging through 3 feet of ice in Siberia, where the outside temperature was -35 degrees C. I obviously failed to take in to account what "extreme" meant when he said the sudden change in temperature can stop your heart! I also forgot to take in to account that he also swam for about 30 feet under the ice to get out!
And as if that wasn't bad enough...
5 minutes later while sucking on an ice lolly in the bath, I started thinking "oh no, the ice lolly might send freezing cold blood from my tongue back to my heart and stop it!" Same reason as above.
- [2] -
Another stupid thing I've constantly been almost panic stricken about in the past is walking. When I was 16 I started a very physical job for 2 years where I was lifting moderately heavy objects around all day and walking reasonable distances with them. I never even felt my heart rate go up once, had no concept of a 'palpitation' and didn't even know what my normal heart rates were, and what's more, I wouldn't have given it a second thought if someone had said "your heart rate is: X", let alone panicked that the work may induce a heart attack!
- [3] -
I sometimes imagine a horrible outcome of my anxiety: "broken heart syndrome", known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress cardiomyopathy. It is defined as "a type of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy in which there is a sudden temporary weakening of the myocardium (the muscle of the heart). Because this weakening can be triggered by emotional stress, such as the death of a loved one, a break-up, or constant rejection. The condition is also known as broken heart syndrome. Stress cardiomyopathy is a well-recognized cause of acute heart failure, lethal ventricular arrhythmias, and ventricular rupture" on Wikipedia (source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/56666.php). Hmmm, thinking about that one still worries me, even though I know it is not going to happen to me and I am not at risk of developing it. I am no different from any other anxiety patient and if this were such a rick for us we'd all know about it!
Anyway, this post is supposed to be a little humorous and up-beat than this!
- [4] -
Another stupid thing I've chronically worried about is my lack of appetite. I something start saying really dumb things to myself like: "the lack of protein coming from your diet is going to cause your muscles and specifically, your heart, to atrophy and your heart is going to shrink to the point where it is unable to supply the body (and itself) with blood!" Yes I have actually had anxiety over this, even though I've had an echo showing the structure of my heart to be fine.
When I think of more I'll add them here. I do want to say, though, that in the past there have been times where I have been absolutely certain that I was not having anxiety, for example, one morning I went to A&E when I first started having anxiety. The triage nurse gave me an ECG before moving me to the ER beds and while lying there my legs and arms were literally trembling out of control with anxiety. In hindsight it is easy for me to recognise but at the time my mindset was "this is not anxiety!".
I would say I have come a good way in terms of panic control. I have not had a panic attack for about 6 months (since a few months before starting beta-blockers). RLR says they have a slight anxilytic effect, though I don't think they are in the class of 'anxiolytic' drugs.
If you have anything to post feel free. The idea is not to laugh at each others silly thoughts but to make light work of of the things that make us worry so much when there is no need.
George.
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