I hope I am not the only one who goes through this...?

Question

I think I am weird lol but sometimes my heart will start to beat really fast and my chest will tighten and i get this overwhelming fear and anxiety that i am going to like drop dead .does anyone else have this and if so what is it it is a really scary feeling it really freaks me out. and the more scared i get the more my chest hurts it feels like i am having a heart attack... plzzzz help

I am 26 and not under any stress at the moment everything is going really good in my life right now

Answer 1

Which comes first, the anxiety or the rapid heart beat? How old are you?

You could have a medical condition causing the rapid heartbeat. It would be a good idea to have an ECG to determine if there is some defect or condition causing this problem.

Or, you could be hyperventilating, which is pretty common in young women during stress. You breathe in too much oxygen, and your heart has to beat faster. The more you panic, the worse it gets. Try breathing deep, slow breaths into a paper bag when this happens, until your heart is beating normally, and the tightness goes away. You could also sit down, and bend at the waist, lowering your head to knee level and breathe slow, deep breaths.

If the anxiety comes first, you could also be experiencing a panic attack. This can feel just like a heart attack. You should seek counseling if this is the case, to determine what exactly is causing your irrational fear.

Answer 2

My husband used to suffer from very similar symptoms when he was 20. I guess he used to have really bad anxiety for reasons he could not explain, to the point that he had horrible sleep deprivation as well.

He's 33 now and perfectly fine. Back then, we tried eliminating his caffeine intake and that helped. I hear green tea can be really soothing and can help you be in more of a calm mood but it will not necessarily prevent an anxiety attack.

I just asked him about it and he says he feels for you greatly because it's one of the worst things he experienced and he seems to think that in his case a great deal of it was caused by stress. He also said that his 'fear' of dying used to make things worse.

Ultimately what helped him overcome it was reducing his caffeine, exercise, a balanced diet, and learning to accept that if he died, he died.

My mom recently gave me this book to read; http://www.sevenpillarsofhealth.com/

I'd definitely recommend you to pick up a copy from the library or I even saw it at Walmart for $15. There's a good deal of information and I've found it to be an interesting read.

Hang in there and take deep breaths, you're going to be okay!

/hugs!

Answer 3

Sounds like an anxiety attack to me. I used to have them a lot, though now it's not as bad. The turning point was finding my miracle medication, Lexapro. I have been on many different meds throughout the years and nothing ever worked like that one did. Unfortunately, when my therapist alerted my insurance co to the fact that I have a long term disorder, (I also suffer from disthymia) They refused any further treatment and refuse to pay for my meds. So I'm slowly getting worse again. Call your doctor!

Answer 4

sounds likes anxiety attack.

Answer 5

I say get a checkup, but it sure sounds like panic attacks.

Answer 6

bingo - anxiety attack.