I have had a fear of dying since I was 12 years old. I saw my mother have a heart attack at a young age. She was 39 when she had her first heart attack---young huh? She is still alive thank god!!! I feel like a am having a heart attack quite often. Ofcourse the DR's say that I am healthy. I know that when I have an attack my arm hurts, I feel like a am going to throw up, I can not breath and my heart palptates---it is so scary. I am only 29 and feel like I have lived with illness my whole life...
hiya, i know exactly how you feel. my fear of dying has taken over my life. i shut myself away and kind of wait for it to happen. i have chest pains and always wonder if it's a heart attack or cancer. i wish i could wake up one day and it be gone. it's a very hard fear to face. it bagan for me after i had a miscarriage. i've had councelling and i'm on antis, but where does it all end. i keep fighting in the hope that one day i'll get back to my old self. i feel silly, i just want my life back. in the meantime i wonder if anyone knows a way out of this. becca.
HI SUSAN
ALL I CULD TELL YOU IS DONT BE EMBARESSED ABOUT YOUR SITUATION GO TO YOUR PRIMARY CARE PHYS..AND EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHATS HAPPENING IF THEY LISTEN IF NOT FIND A NEW DOCTOR...IF IT WORKS OUT THEY WILL PROBABLY POINT YOU IN THE DIRECTION OF A P[SYCHOLOGIST..AND YOU WILL WORK THROUGH IT FROM THERE THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE DONE..AND THE LAST 6 MONTHS HAVE BEEN THE BEST SO FAR..EVEN TOUGH THEY HAVENT BEEN GREAT..I ALSO TRY AND DO A LOT OF READING ON IT...TRY PHANTOM ILLNESS. BY CARLA CANTOR...YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO GET IT USED AN AMAZON OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.. KEEP TRYING AND LIKE I SAID DONT HIDE THE PROBLEM OVER EMBARESMENT,,THE LONGER YOU WAIT .... VINNY
I too was worried about what effect anxiety might have on my health. I was relieved though after reading info from a couple of anxiety books. Here are a couple of notes I took.
1. "The anxiety disorders do not come from or cause any physical illness. They are PRIMARY DISEASES. This means they are not secondary to or derived from any other illness"
2. "The physical symtoms of panic, although frithening, are not directly damaging to your health. This is a very imprtant point to grasp, as one of the greatest fears that beset panic sufferers is that the attacks themselves are doing them harm"
hi susan..i have been suffering from panic attacks only for around 6 months now..but let me tell you my mom and aunt have been suffering from attacks for almost 15-20 years..we all thought they were just crazy and hypochondriacs as they kept running to hospitals..only i after my first real bad attack did i bother to do research and find out what is actually wrong..i have proof since i was kid that people suffering from panic attacks have as strong hearts as anyone else(touchwood)this has really helped me at times when i have got thoughts like you..wether my heart will be able to take the stress each time and still stay strong.it does.trust me.hope this helps you a bit
hi vinny, read about your case and must say that i too have been suffering from this panic thing for a long time now. how do you deal with it? my cardio has seen nothing from all my tests but still i am scared. this goes on too when i'm driving. cant help but to think that i might have a h attack or stroke and no one will be there for me. all in all i guess im pretty much scared of dying... :confuse:
HI SUSAN
I KNOW HOW U FEEL...MY FIRST PANIC ATTACK TURNED MEINTO A CARDIOPHOBE/HYPOCHONDRIAC...IVE BEEN IN AND OUT OF ER S 2 CARDIOLOGISTS MULTIPLE EKGS STRESS TESTS BLOOD WORK CT SCANS ECHOS X RAYS ETC...AND STILL I BELIEVE I AM GOING TO HAVE A H ATTACK ANY MINUTE,,, AND THAT IS THE TRIGGER FOR MY PANIC ATTACKS...GOOD LUCK AND PLEASE RESPOND
VINNY
For a while researchers thought that there might be a connnection between Type A personality (or maybe hostility) and increased risk for heart attack or increased risk of death from heart attack. Over time the data has become more mixed and now it looks like there may not be such a relationship at all.
Anne-Marie
Thank you for your response.
I don't totally understand what you mean by Type A personality causing death..have I read this wrong or being stupid. Sorry.
Hi, Susan.
There is currently no evidence that having panic attacks or panic disorder increases risk of death by heart attack or stroke or any other problem. Other factors including genetics, lifestyle and perhaps hostility (so-called Type A personality) seem to be what counts.
