How to Cope With Anxiety Related Chest Pain Palpitations.ag

7/30/2019 How to Cope With Anxiety Related Chest Pain Palpitations.ag

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How to Cope with Anxiety Related Chest Pain & Palpitations

2010 Paul Dooley Anxietyguru.net 1

Table of Contents

Copyright and Disclaimer.2

Preface.3Why is this eBook free?..............................................................4

Who is Paul Dooley?...................................................................5

Why Chest Pain and Palpitations? ...........................................6

Word to the Wise7

Part 1 Anxiety Related Chest Pain.9

Common Causes of Chest Pain............10

Common Causes of Anxiety Related Chest Pain11

Chest Pain Quality.15

Location of Chest Pain..16

Ways to Relieve Anxiety Related Chest Pain..18

Part 2 Anxiety Related Palpitations...19

Common Causes of Palpitations...19

Common causes of Anxiety Related Palpitations....22

Types of Palpitations..22

How to Stop Palpitations...24

The Path Toward Recovery...27

References35


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Disclaimer

All information contained in How to Cope with Anxiety Related ChestPain and Palpations is intended for information and educationalpurposes only. The information is not intended nor is it suited to be areplacement or substitute for professional medical treatment or forprofessional medical advice relative to a specific medical question orcondition. I urge you to always seek the advice of your physician orother medical professional with respect to your medical condition orquestions. As a recipient of information from this report, you are notestablishing a doctor/patient relationship. There is no replacement forpersonal medical treatment and advice from a qualified physician.

Copyright Information

You are free to:

Share to copy, distribute and transmit the work. In fact, you are

encouraged to give this eBook away to every man, woman, and child

that needs help with chronic anxiety.

Noncommercial You may not use this work for commercialpurposes. In other words, do not resell this eBook.

With the understanding that:

Waiver Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get

permission from the copyright holder.

Other Rights In no way are any of the following rights affected by

the license:

o Your fair dealing or fair use rights, or other applicable

copyright exceptions and limitations;o The author's moral rights;

o Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in

how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.

Notice For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others

the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to

Anxietyguru.net.


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Preface

As the author of Anxiety Guru Dot Net I get lots of emails and thus have

tons of conversations with people about various anxiety issues. These

conversations are some of the most productive and useful things that I do onthe site. They allow me to not only reveal what I know about anxiety to help

others, but it also helps me to clarify my own philosophy on the best way to

overcome anxiety related problems. This makes me a better resource for my

readers and offers you valuable information that can, quite literally, change

your life. Speaking of which, several months ago, I pushed my philosophy

into reality and wrote my anti-anxiety manifesto calledHow to Stop

Anxious Thinking. That work represents the core of what I believe to be the

best way to win your struggle with anxiety and this eBook here is an

extension of that work.

How to Stop Anxious Thinkingis a well researched and tediously put

together report. Its also a little on the serious side whereas this eBook is

much more conversational in tone, much like the emails I exchange with my

readers. I changed gears this time because I wanted to remind people that I

am a real person that cares about what he does. I also feel that its important

for me to share the knowledge that I have for the benefit of those who feel

lost with anxiety right now.

And although I dont claim to know everything, and I certainly dont makeany such claim in this eBook, I do think that I have some interesting ideas

that you will find useful. Remember that youre not alone in your struggle to

calm your nerves and reclaim your life. There are millions of people around

the world that are in the same boat as you are. Im here trying to throw you a

life preserver because you dont deserve to live like this; you simply dont

have to stay as you are at the moment. This eBook will hopefully show you

that you can attain peace of mind, finally.

I also want to spread my message among as many people as possible, and to

continue my work I need your support. If at the end of this eBook you feel

like you have been provided with something of value, please consider

making a donation in order to encourage me in my efforts to help people

with anxiety disorder(s). You can help out by buyingHow to Stop Anxious

Thinkingor by clicking on the donations page atAnxiety Guru Dot Net.

Thank you.
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Why is this eBook Free?

At some point in your life you may have asked yourself, Why am I here?

What is the purpose of my life? I think its human nature to ask big

questions like these, but if youre neurotic youre always asking these types

of questions! And I am no exception to this neurotic rule. But instead of

spinning my wheels about it Ive concluded that my purpose is to help you.

And the best way for me to do that is to give you information that will allow

you to see anxiety for what it really is, thereby taking away its power to

disrupt your life.

This eBook is also free because helping you overcome anxiety is the only

reason why Anxiety Guru Dot Net exists. I didnt become the Anxiety Guru

to become rich. In fact, the little money I do make is only used to finance mywebsite and its related podcast, the Anxiety Guru Show. These two outlets

have become important to me because its through my website and podcast

that I can extend my message of education, acceptance and inspiration to

those living with anxiety all over the world.

You see, during the early days of my struggle with anxiety I often felt lost,

confused, and terrified. I didnt know where to turn or what to do to make

myself feel better. Its my hope that by providing you with this information

that you never feel confused about what is happening to you and that youre

always able to stay hopeful for the future. I want to make you confident that

you can recover from wherever you are now in your struggle with anxiety.

And although its a miracle that any of us even exist, I want to remind you

that merely existing isnt good enough. You have to squeeze as much out of

life as you can and not just tippy toe through it hoping that anxiety doesnt

kill you. You need to learn how to face this problem head-on and not

surrender your precious time on earth to something that is controllable.

Im also doing this because I know it can be a challenge to find informationabout anxiety disorder(s) that makes sense. I want to make it easy for you to

understand what youre dealing with, so that you can use that information to

take back control of your life.


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Your comments, questions, and testimonials are always welcome. Feel free

to contact me by email [email protected]. I look forward to hearing

from you.

Paul Dooley

Who is Paul Dooley?

Im an anxiety sufferer just like you. For the past ten years I have lived with

anxiety and depression, which means that I have suffered countless panic

attacks, anxiety symptoms, fake heart attacks, doctors visits, crushing

sadness and bitter anger. But since those early years Ive been finding and

using different ways to successfully beat the snot out of my anxiety disorder.

As a result, Ive been able to acquire the experience and information neededto help you regain control of your mind and body.

Let me give you a little background information. The whole process of

healing started for me when I first went to therapy. The thing is, just before

going in to seek help, I was hit by a debilitating panic attack this one had

me believing that I was nuts, for real. I was so terrified that I called a

psychologist and for the next six months he helped me to understand what

was happening to me. But after the six months of counseling ended I kept

looking for answers because I wasnt sold on the general explanation that I

was given. My feeling was that the good doctor might have helped me some,but I wanted to go a lot deeper. I wanted to find out how this anxiety thing

worked and how I could control it. So, I started doing research, and every

time I came upon something useful, it lead me to yet more information that

was also useful. Over time, I built a nice mental library of things I could do

to cope with my anxiety.

In 2008, after making tremendous progress with my own anxiety problem, I

launched Anxiety Guru Dot Net to help other people with the same problem.

At first it was just a way to share a few tips with other anxiety sufferers, thenit became something much bigger. I began to not just publish useful

information, but more importantly I was making a connection with the

people I was helping. I knew that because of my work some people were

being helped back into something resembling a normal life and that

realization was powerful. So powerful, in fact, that I decided to expand my

efforts and reach as many people as possible. And till this day, Im as happy
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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to hear from a reader who has been helped by the information I provided

him or her as I was two years ago when this all began. It was this sense that I

was helping others that got me hooked on the Anxiety Guru project. I think

its because of the deep sense of satisfaction I get from helping other people

see the truth about anxiety, especially people that contact me and sound

depressed or filled with fear. I just cant stand to see people getting punked

by anxiety. It makes me want to lend a handhence this eBook.

Why Chest Pain and Palpitations?

I decided to write about anxiety-induced chest pain and palpitations for two

reasons. The first reason is because chest pain and palpitations are perhaps

the most common, the scariest, and the least understood of all anxiety

symptoms. These two symptoms evoke a great deal of fear and helplessnessin most anxiety sufferers, but in most cases this high level of fear is

disproportionate to the threat these symptoms actually pose.

Ive received countless emails and comments at Anxiety Guru Dot Net from

people detailing their nightmarish experiences with chest pain, skipped heart

beats, or even a racing heart. This pattern of fear and uncertainty is so

recognizable to me now. The stories sound so similar sometimes that you

would think that the various emails were written by the same person. This is

a universal problem for anxiety sufferers that needs some explaining in

simple terms.

The second reason why I decided to write about this topic is because I

thought it would highlight the process that I underwent to gain control of my

own anxiety disorder. There is incredible value in learning how to

systematically break down an anxiety symptom with facts and critical

thinking. This allows you to strip the symptom down to its bare components,

so you can see how it works from the inside out. Its like removing the cover

from the back of a clock in that it demystifies something youre used to

seeing, but dont know the inner workings of. It lets you see what istormenting you from an objective point of view and thus makes it more

manageable as a result.

So, with all that being said, the goal of this eBook is to give you a detailed

explanation of what anxiety induced chest pain and palpitations are and how


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they work to arouse anxiety, fear, and panic but, the most important thing I

will teach you is how to manage these two troubling symptoms.

Lets do this!

Word to the Wise

What Im about to tell you may make your eyes roll into the back of your

skull, so bear with me for just a second. Now, Im not a psychic but the

reason I think that this could be your reaction is because I used to have the

same reaction when I heard other people say the same thing.

Here it is: If you are having new or different kinds of chest pain then you

need to go see a doctor. If youre afraid of doctors or hospitals let me just

tell you that your fears are overblown. There is nothing about getting

checked out for heart problems that is hard or undoable. Its true; let me give

you a run down of things you can expect if you go in for chest pain or

palpitations.

1. ECG: This is short for Electrocardiography. This is a test that evaluates

the electrical activity of your heart, hence the name Electric Heart Graph.

By measuring the electrical

activity of the heart, doctors are

able to diagnose abnormal rhythms

that could indicate disease. Youfirst lie on a bed, get electrodes

strapped to you, (pictured right)

and wait 2-5 minutes to get a

reading easy.

2. Stress test: A stress test is an

ECG reading taken while you walk

or run on a treadmill.

3. Blood work: Your blood can be

drawn to search for abnormalities

in cholesterol levels along with

several other substances that are

used as markers to predict or

diagnose heart disease.


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4. Holter monitor: This is essentially a portable ECG machine. It also has

electrodes that are taped to you and a small machine that is worn around the

neck. Its used to monitor heart activity for extended periods of time and

gives doctors a more accurate means of recording heart function.

Sounds simple enough, but I used to get annoyed with this line every time I

heard it because I always felt that if I wanted a doctors advice Id go get

one and not waste my time reading about it. My frustration lay in my desire

for an immediate answer to my problem without being bothered with

anything even resembling a hospital. This type of thinking, however, is

wrong. Let me tell you why, real quick.

The problem with this type of thinking is that, like it or not, chest pain can

be a sign of something medically significant, such as heart disease for

example. But its not just heart disease, as youll find out later in this eBook,that can cause chest pain. It can be almost anything, and given that this is the

case, how is anyone supposed to know what you have if they arent A. a

doctor and B. in the same room as you checking you out? It really is that

basic. You simply cant be properly evaluated over the internet, at least not

yet anyway! And please dont leave your health in the hands of well

intentioned forum regulars. Forums are a great place to pickup some

information, tips and such, but they are not a substitute for a doctors

diagnosis, period.

The other reason for doing this is that if you dont youll be missing a golden

opportunity to begin the process of healing because no matter what anyone

ever tells you, no amount of positive thinking alone is going to fix what you

have. What are needed instead of just hopeful thoughts are facts. Facts that

you can see and believe in - and whats more believable than someone who

took an insane amount of math and science classes for at least ten years and

did really well in all of them? Doctors are essentially scientists and the

hospital is their lab. Dont let your fear of either of these useful resources

rob you of the key to this all, namely, finding the answer to the most

important question in the world: WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? This isbecause if you know whats wrong with you then you can take appropriate

action. You can stop shooting in the dark and hoping for the best. Granted, I

know the mere fact that something couldbe wrong is enough to scare off

even the toughest among us, but whats the alternative? You dont actually

believe that if you did have an illness of some kind, ignoring it will


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somehow help you, right? Of course you dont believe that, so why act like

it?

Look at it this way, if nothing is found then you know that it is anxiety at

work and its time to leave the fear of chest pain behind you. If, on the other

hand, you do have a disease of some kind then you can begin treatment

immediately. It is a win-win situation. So, if you suffer from chest pain and

have not been seen by a doctor, then go see a doctor. If you have been to the

doctor, maybe even several times, and if youre reading this eBook, then

Ive got something for you too just keep reading.

Part 1 Anxiety Related Chest Pain

For our purposes, chest pain will be defined as a bodily sensation that causes

pain, pressure, squeezing, pressing, achiness, stabbing sensations, tightness,

heaviness or other feelings of discomfort and pain in or around the chest

area. In other words, we arent just talking about acute pain that makes you

clutch at your chest, but also the more mild forms of chest pain and

everything in between.

The types of chest pain I just described above are very common. In fact,

chest pain is one of the most common reasons why many people go to see a

doctor at all. This, I hope, should be a clue that not all chest pains spell

disaster or exotic disease - it is a routine symptom. Imagine all the thousands

of people that seek medical attention, because of this, everyday of everyyear, and now imagine that most of those people dont die because of this

sometimes random physical symptom. But, of course, we dont have to just

imagine this because it is a well known fact that you can have chest pain for

hours, days, or even years and not lose your life over it. This happens a lot,

to anxious people, normal people, skinny people, to all kinds of people.

Having recurring chest pain doesnt put you in some special category all of a

sudden. In other words, if you suffer from chronic chest pain it doesnt

always follow that it is a sign that youd better stay away from an activelifestyle or anything that could raise your heart rate even a tiny bit. This is an

assumption that I hope I can disprove to you, so that you dont end up

running circles around yourself wondering about all the crazy things that

could be happening to you because of your chronic anxiety.


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Common Causes of Chest Pain

One of the biggest problems that chest pain causes in anxious people is

abnormal levels of uncertainty and worry. And thats because when anxious

people experience chest pain they almost always imagine the worst possiblescenario. Everything becomes viewed through a lens of extremism that never

fades with time and always ends with visions of death. But this view is

skewed because it doesnt take into account all the possibilities that can lead

to chest pain, especially the ones that dont cause death.

For example, if you were riding on an airplane and you heard a loud banging

noise, would you be the type to assume that a bomb just went off? Say you

are such a person: should this fearful thought be your first conclusion? Or

would you stop and think for a second about the minuscule probability of

you dying in a terrorist attack considering that you live in a population madeup of millions of people? Or what about all the dozens of mechanical

reasons that could have caused a loud bang to occur? This fearful type of

thinking is a gut reaction not based on reason, at all. We have to get you

back into using the logical side of your brain to help you sort these things

out without an exaggerated emotional reaction controlling your thought

process.

Dont get me wrong, Im not saying that chest pain cant develop because of

some rather serious conditions, but its a mixed bag, at best. For example,chest pain can indicate the following:

Angina

Aortic dissection

Heart attack

Chest wall conditions

Trauma

Coronary spasm

Viral infections Heartburn/ GERD

Esophageal spasm

Hiatal Hernia

Gallbladder or pancreatic problems

Precordial catch syndrome

Microvasular


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Pericarditis

Pulmonary hypertension

Cervicodorsal arthritis

Coronary artery disease

Pleurisy Mitral valve prolapse

Myocarditis

Cocaine abuse

Asthma

Gas

Shingles

Pinched nerves

And the list goes on and on. I have no intention of dissecting theaforementioned conditions not related to anxiety because there is no need.

My goal was to point out that when chest pain strikes it can be almost

anything, literally. So, like I said at the outset, if you have new or different

types of chest pain, see a doctor. But once youve been cleared from having

heart problems by an MD, you can stop your recurring trips to the ER and

start thinking about the more likely causes of your chest pain like anxiety

maybe.

Common Causes of Anxiety Related Chest Pain

So far weve discussed conditions that can cause chest pain in anyone. Now

Id like to talk about the likely causes of chest pain in you the anxious

person.

The most likely cause of chest pain in people without heart problems is

get this gastroesophageal reflux disease, which is also called GERD

(Seller, 2007). GERD is a stomach condition that is associated with a weak

esophageal sphincter which is a ring of smooth muscle fibers that separates

your esophagus and stomach. The esophageal sphincter is crucial because itkeeps strong stomach acids from going into your esophagus and throat,

which, if youve ever had stomach acid flow up into your throat, you know

is something that you want to avoid. The loosening of the ES is what opens

the door to more than just heart burn. Common symptoms of GERD include

chest pain, nausea, chronic cough, gas, shortness of breath, sinusitis, and


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regurgitation. Dont some of these symptoms sound familiar? Yes, indeed.

So, how does anxiety mess with your digestive system?

One reason is the fight or flight response. The fight or flight response is,

along with fear, at the center of your problem with the physical symptoms of

anxiety disorder. It is a mechanism that is operated by several of the more

primitive parts of your brain and is concerned with one thing and one thing

only survival. Way before Brendan Fraser played a caveman in the

movies, there were real cavemen struggling to survive in a dangerous world.

At a time when there was no such thing as guns, tanks, or even swords,

cavemen were competing against and running from all kinds of deadly

predators. As a result, our cave dwelling ancestors developed a survival

response that became largely automatic in times of danger.

When activated, the fight or flight response heightens all of your senses bypumping your blood with adrenaline and other stress hormones in

preparation for action. This in turn makes you sweat, creates nervousness,

and makes your heart race a thousand miles per hour. But with respect to

GERD, the most critical thing that the fight or flight response does is wreak

havoc on your stomach. It does this by taking blood away from your

stomach and sending it to other parts of your body, like your arms and legs,

in order to provide the highest level of oxygen to those other body parts, thus

providing you with the most possible power for action (fighting or running).

When this happens the decreased amount of blood in the stomach diminishes

its ability to do its jobwhich is digesting food. This decreased capacity to

digest food starts a process that can lead to GERD and other stomach

conditions, like ulcers.

But its not just the fight or flight response that can lead to stomach

disorders like GERD. It can also be behaviors that we take part in because

we are so anxious all the time. When we are anxious, we are, of course,

stressed, and stress can cause you to overeat, eat fatty comfort food, drink

too much alcohol, smoke, become physically inactive because you fear heart

problems, or, because you fear the potential side-effects caused by certainmedications that youre taking to fight your anxiety. Its really a catch 22

situationbecause on the one hand you try and do things to relieve the

anxiety, but on the other hand some of the very things youre doing to help

yourself out could be making things worse. So, if you do any of the above,

take note that they may be causing you more harm than good.


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In addition to GERD and stress driven behavior, another cause of anxiety

induced chest pain is sore and tight muscles. Do you know how many

muscles are in your body? The answer is a little over 600 and these things

are all over the place. That is, they cover your whole body, including your

chest. When you become anxious or panicked your muscles will tense up

and stay this way for prolonged periods of time, which can cause tenderness

and pain. Lets also not forget anxietys ability to increase your heart rate

and blood pressure, both of which can cause chest pain as well.

In summary, anxiety can cause chest pain. Having chest pain doesnt

always mean that the grim reaper is calling your number. The reality is that

considering all the stress you endure, and the anxious behavior you engage

in, you bet that this can all catch up to you and create real physical

sensations, up to and including pain. But wait, theres more, because these

physical sensations can get so nasty that you can begin to fear your ownbody, and ultimately turn into a hypochondriac. Not because you want to or

because you think that theres some benefit to being that way, but because if

you spend lots of time focused on your body what do you expect to happen?

This is why you have to respect your body and treat it well. Getting wrapped

up in problems of harmless physical symptoms will only make it more likely

that your nervous sickness will stick around longer than youd like. To

avoid this you can take purposeful and direct action to stop, or at least

lessen, the things that are causing your body distress. Ask yourself: Are you

doing anything to reduce stress? Are you doing anything to reduce anxietys

influence on you? Well, if youre not, here are a few tips. To counter the

effects of stress and anxiety consider the following:

Exercise: Doing moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes per day

will help to burn off some of the excess stress hormones coursing through

your veins and thus reduce the affects of what I like to call anxiety juice.

Exercise also releases feel good endorphins that improve mood and which

work rather well as a stress reducer.

Diet: On the stomach front, try to combat GERD by eating smaller mealsthroughout the day, as well as increasing your water intake. You can also try

to avoid caffeine, chocolate, dairy products, alcohol, tomatoes, carbonated

drinks or spicy foods. Sucks huh? All this is the good stuff, but trust me,

cutting back will do great things for your stomach. You can also talk to your

doctor about over the counter or prescription medications that are available


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to reduce stomach acid and heart burn symptoms. But dont overdo it with

the drugs, since they can have drawbacks when taken long term.

Quick tips:

If you suffer from frequent heartburn and want to avoid taking medication,

try taking 1 or 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda in 4oz of water. This can

relieve mild heartburn and gas.

You can also try to eat more of these foods:

Almonds

Apples Bananas

Garlic

Chewing gum

Fennel

Pickle Juice

Probiotics

Also, if youre overweight, consider losing a few pounds. Its a well known

fact that having a healthy body weight can reduce stomach problems. Youcan also try not to eat up to 3 hrs before bedtime. This way the contents of a

full stomach wont be tempted to creep up into your airway and wake you up

at night and cause you to think that youre dying seriously this has

happened to me a couple of times and its unpleasant to say the least.

So there you have it. Not all that complicated when you take a moment to

think this through. Absent real disease, it boils down to stress, muscle

tension, and stomach problems. The good news is that you can do quite a bit

to reduce stress and stomach issues like the ones I mentioned above. Its

important that you understand that anxiety is not a static thing, it can and

will act on you. And if youre not careful it can over long periods of time

erode your health and lead to the very problems you fear the most. And as

cruel and ironic as that is, you dont have an excuse to allow this to happen

anymore because you now know better. You arent the helpless victim you

think you are, so stop procrastinating and take mitigating measures now.


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Chest Pain Quality

How do you know what kind of chest pain is dangerous? This is an

important question because inevitably when you are experiencing chest pain

youre bound to ask yourself, Am I dying? So, lets talk about chest painquality for a second.

The quality of chest pain refers to type of pain, which can be described as

sharp, dull, pressing, etc. Firstly, we are all different and as a result no two

people will experience chest pain, heart attack or whatever medical issue in

exactly the same way. For that reason I want you to know that Im speaking

in generalities and at no time are you excused from seeking medical

attention if you think you need it.

In general, when you experience sharp, short intervals of pain that last onlyseconds it is most likely not a cardiac event, like a stroke or something along

those lines (Seller, 2007). So the quality of anxiety-induced chest pain can

be described as low to high in intensity and sharp or stabbing in nature; it is

felt more on the surface of your muscles versus deep in your chest where

your heart is, and in short bursts.

Secondly, one of the biggest differences between anxiety induced chest pain

and chest pain that indicates danger is the duration of the pain. Anxiety

related chest pain tends to be knife-like, short bursts of pain, whereas painoriginating from the heart tends to be intense and longer lasting. For

example, if you were sitting on the couch crunching on some chips and

began to feel chest pain suddenly AND it went on for more than a few

minutes, then you likely have a real problem - something that requires

medical attention. But if on the other hand, you had shallow pain that lasted

only a few seconds, especially if the pain is coming from the center of your

chest, then you likely have issues with GERD or some other stomach

ailment. In addition to all that, anxiety-induced chest pain is not usually

present during exercise but is more likely to wake you up at night (Seller,

2007). And if you can reproduce the pain by pressing on the affected areathen it is also likely to be anxiety related. This is because most cardiac pain

is deep in your chest. The two pains are generally different even if not in

every single case.


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Location -Location- Location

I also want to talk to you a little about the different areas of your chest that

can be affected by chest pain. This is because it is good to know where you

can expect anxiety related chest pain to appear, so that you dont assume thathaving pain in any one part of the chest is necessarily tied to a serious

medical event, especially if you have felt the pain radiate to other parts of

your body like your arms or neck, for example.

For starters, it is possible to have chest pain anywhere on your chest. It can

even move to your back, shoulders and ribs, but in most cases chest pain

particularly anxiety-induced chest pain occurs in four areas, which include

the center of the chest, the upper left chest, the lower left chest, under the

left arm, and in the left arm itself.

Center chest: This area includes the

area just above and below the

sternum. The sternum is the bone

that runs down that center of your

chest and connects your ribs. You

can easily feel it by placing your

finger(s) square in the center of your

chest and pressing down gently.

Upper left chest: This area includes

the upper left side of the chest just

below the clavicle (collarbone) and

just above the nipple.

Lower left chest: This area is

around the left nipple and below the nipple about 2-3 in (5 cm-8 cm). Pain

here can really freak you out!

Under the left arm: This encompasses the side of the chest up to the armpit.

The left arm: This pain can run the length of your arm, but pain here is

usually felt on the inside of the arm near the bicep muscle.


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Here is the important thing to remember: the area in which the chest pain

strikes (absent heart disease) doesnt mean much. You can have it hit you

virtually anywhere and if anxiety is indeed the culprit, then youre fine. I

dont want you to think that having arm pain means lights out! Because the

fact of the matter is that anxiety-related chest pain can make your arm(s) feel

heavy, painful, sore and stiff for days, but this is harmless.

I know that you may have Googled chest pain and found all kinds of

information that scared you to death, but understand that having chest pain,

or any other symptom, is not always all or nothing. For example, the most

common area for an anxious person to feel chest pain is over their left breast

(Lippincott, 2007), so its understandable why you could assume that its

your heart causing the problem. But remember that that assumption is based

on faulty logic that puts a negative spin on even minor events.

But if you fear chest pain a great deal, dont feel badyoure not alone!

There have been many studies done on this issue that support this fact. For

example, in 1995, a study was conducted at a Montreal hospital to track

what percentage of patients that came in to the emergency room for chest

pain also had anxiety issues. Of the 400 plus patients that were surveyed

about 25% met the criteria for panic disorder. Most of these patients reported

higher levels of pain than normal people, 75% of them were discharged

because they did not have heart problems, and 98% of those patients were

not referred to a cardiologist (Fleet, 1996). What does all of this tell you?

Mainly it tells you that the vast majority of anxious people that seek medical

attention arent sick with heart trouble. The problem is more a

misunderstanding of heart disease, anxiety disorder(s), and the relationship

between the two conditions. This also tells you that people that live with

chronic anxiety have a tremendous amount of fear and stress to contend

with. It is nothing short of overwhelming at times and this can be seen by all

patients that felt scared enough to seek help but tested negative for heart

disease nonetheless.


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Ways to Relieve Anxiety Related Chest Pain

If you know that you dont have a heart condition then you should feel

confident that experiencing chest pain alone is not the end of the world. You

should also remember that there are a few things you can do to stop or atleast reduce anxiety related chest pain.

1. Rest: Whether its stress, panic, or whatever causing your chest pain,sometimes you just need to go lie down. Lying down will usually

lower blood pressure, respiration rate, and even slow down racing

thoughts thereby reducing stress. It gets you back to your base settings

and off the runaway train that anxiety can become. With your body

relaxed it is likely that your chest pain will dissipate on its own.

2. Stomach care: Make sure that you dont ignore your belly. Inaddition to eating right, you can also try taking antacids or baking

soda like I mentioned above when chest pain occurs. If your chest

pain is relieved by this, then it is a sure sign that youre having

digestive problems and you can talk to your doctor about ways to

remedy this.

3. Nitroglycerin tablets: These tablets are a vasodilator that smooth outmuscle fibers and lower blood pressure. This is only occasionally

prescribed to patients with anxiety problems but its not unheard of. Itmay help on a short term basis. Talk to your doctor.

4. Control your bad habits: Make an effort not to overeat, smoke,drink too much alcohol, and avoid caffeine and drink plenty of water

to stay hydrated.

It can be a battle to do what I outlined above for you, but you have to be less

emotional about this process and more methodical in your thinking. Think in

terms of problem and solution; not problem and complaint.


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Part 2 Anxiety Related Palpitations

Remember that terrible Jean - Claude Van Damme movieDouble Impact? If

not, its about two brothers separated at birth that later develop the same

ability to beat down badly dressed bad guys pretty much the same way.Thats what anxiety-induced chest pain and palpitations remind me of. They

are both different, but their effect is very similarnamely, their ability to

make you think that something dangerous is happening when its not. And

like chest pain, palpitations are an anxiety symptom that generates more

bark than bite.

Palpitations are defined as sensations of the heart that make you feel as if

your heart is beating fast, slow, skipping beats. Most importantly, it also

involves a heightened awareness of your heart. Its your heart acting funny

and you paying close attention to it.

Like chest pain, palpitations can be scary because when palpitations occur

youre likely to assume theres that word again that something is wrong

with your heart and that as a result you may be in some kind of danger. But

as youll soon discover, having palpitations does not necessarily mean that

youre in danger nor does it mean that you need to change your behavior in

any way to avoid aggravating your heart condition. Ironically, lying around

because youve become afraid of your heart is counterproductive given that

palpitations are normally felt when youre at rest. Its when you have yourfeet kicked up or when youre in bed that this is more likely to happen. But

instead of wondering about all the things that could be killing you, whats

more helpful is to fact check and not jump to conclusions when this stuff

happens, but well talk more about that later.

Common Causes of Palpitations

Palpitations can be caused by many different conditions. So its not as if if

you have palpitations youre going to automatically go into cardiac arrest.This is by far one of the hardest things to accept about chest pain and

palpitations. Its not as if your disbelief or mistrust of these two symptoms is

something you hold on to for its own sake though. I think it has more to do

with the fact that all of us take the proper functioning of our heart for

granted, and when something feels wrong, its a huge deal because it isnt

typical. But just because something is atypical doesnt make it lethal. You


20/35



might already know this on a logical level, but Im talking to your anxiety

right now. I need to teach that part of your brain the truth, so it sticks. So,

lets continue that process.

Here is a list of some things that can cause palpitations:

Anxiety

Panic

Hyperventilation

Electrolyte imbalance

Caffeine

Cocaine

Methamphetamines

Valvular disease

Ischemia

Heart failure

Hypoglycemia

As you can see it could be lots of things causing your palpitations. But the

thing about palpitations that is important to remember is that they ARE NOT

the almighty indicator of heart health. That title belongs to medical science.

Look at the list of palpitation causes above, and what do you see? You see a

dichotomy. A list divided in two parts, different from each other. I wanted to

illustrate that so when you experience a palpitation you dont have toautomatically think that its heart failure or valvular disease afoot. Anxiety is

a cause, panic is a cause, and too much caffeine is a cause. Dont overlook

this when you are flipping through your mind and wondering what it could

be.

Before we go on, I have to tell you a quick story. About 3 years ago, I was

driving home from work in rush hour traffic when something terrible

happened to me. Nothing about the day was special other than my inability

to locate my favorite radio station, when I suddenly felt odd, although Icouldnt quite put my finger on why. So as I drove I began to tune out my

surroundings and got tuned into my body. And inside my head all I could

hear and feel was thump, thump, thump. It was my heart pounding and it

felt like it wanted to jump out of my chest.


21/35



I was headed toward my in-laws house for a reason that I cant recall now.

When I got there I speed walked up to the front door and when I saw my

mother in-law I half waved her off and muttered something like, Hi there,

hello, hey you mind if I go upstairs and lie down for a bit? That all

happened in about three seconds. My mother in-law looked confused but she

said, Sure, go right on ahead. So I did. I sprinted upstairs and swan dove

onto the nearest mattress. The entire time I kept hearing the thumping sound

in my chest, but by this point the noise was louder and much faster thump,

thump, thump, thump. I thought, man, of all places to have a heart attack?

About 30 minutes later my wife came over and she took my pulse and I was

shocked at my heart rate. No, it wasnt 180, 160 or even 140 like I

suspected. It was 120. It was a measly 120!

Later that week I went to see my GP and he had me wear a Holter monitor

for 24 hours. Every time I had palpitations I pressed a button on the deviceand it would record and transmit an ECG read out to the nurses station back

at the hospital. Every couple of hours I would do a recording and call the

nurses station and the nurse there would always say, 120, looks fast but

normal. After awhile I started feeling dumb, even a little embarrassed.

The point of the story is that I was freaking out this entire time and my heart

was never in danger of exploding like I thought it was. It was only beating

faster than normal. But in this case fast is a relative term because a heart

rate of 120 is not within the regular range of a resting heart, but its also

nothing to write home about. It was my awareness that became more of an

issue.

My hyperawareness was not the only problem; it was also my inability to

even imagine that the thing causing my palpitations could be anything other

than heart disease. Thats why I pointed out that the list of the causes of

palpitation can be broken up into two parts, because I want you to be able to

consider an alternative something other than a disaster. Its so critical to

have alternative thoughts to the common anxious thoughts you always have,

to help you see things from a different perspective, one that is separate fromthinking based on fear reactions and gut instincts.


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Common Causes of Anxiety Related Palpitations

Palpitations related to anxiety are fueled in much the same way that chest

pain is. So again, you have a mixture of stress hormones, like adrenaline,

acting on the nerves of the body which stimulate different kinds of reactions.These reactions are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, which is

for the most part out of your control.

The sympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system,

which operates organ function (like the beating of your heart) and it also

helps to jump start your body when its under stress or when it needs to react

to danger. When related to an anxiety disorder this jump starting doesnt

all happen at once either, its gradual. Its the slow creeping fog of sustained

anxiety that gets things moving in the direction of panic and palpitations

when you are otherwise safe. Its long-term stress that weighs on your mindand body until, at some random point, you become sensitized. And its this

sensitization that makes the triggering of the fight of flight response more

likely. Anything can set you off when youre in this state of high anxiety,

even certain sights, sounds or places. In the end, it boils down to this:

Palpitations come from a stressed mind, a sensitized body, and a

misunderstanding of whats happening to you.

Types of Palpitations

There are just a few reactions that emanate from the heart when its being

affected by stress hormones and they include tachycardia, bradycardia, and

PVCs. These three, in the order I listed them, are a fast heart beat, a slow

heart beat, and skipped heart beats.

Tachycardia: Is a condition where your heart beat rate goes above 100

beats per minute (bpm). And its when your heart starts pumping too fast

while youre at rest that your heart stops pumping blood efficiently to the

rest of the body. The subsequent decrease in oxygen supply can lead to

symptoms like:

Fainting

Lightheadedness

Dizziness

Shortness of breath


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This is why when palpitations strike, you feel like you are going to lose

control and die because you assume that the secondary symptoms of

dizziness or shortness of breath indicate that a heart attack is coming. But as

you can see, you get faint and short of breath because the heart is beating

rapidly, not because youre about to die; its a natural reaction to a change in

the body that does not necessarily indicate a catastrophe. And, although over

time (years and years), anxiety and stress can lead to poor heart health,

generally speaking having a fast heart rate absent heart disease isnt the

killer that you imagine it to be.

Bradycardia: Occurs when your heart rate is below 60 bpm. If you have a

slow heart beat then you might experience symptoms like;

Fatigue

Chest pain Dizziness

Fainting

Insomnia

Weakness

Bradycardia causes the heart to pump less blood, and like tachycardia, it also

decreases oxygen levels throughout the body, which is why so many of the

symptoms are the same.

PVCs: Premature ventricular contractions are extra heart beats that are often

described as skipped or extra heart beats. PVCs may cause your heart to

pound, skip, or flutter and make you sit up because you think that your heart

is about to stop at any second, but it doesnt. Keep in mind that all three of

these types of palpitations are not dangerous in otherwise healthy people.

Although that doesnt mean that they cant be scary because indeed they are,

especially because palpitations can last for days and also appear more

intense at night. So intense, in fact, that these things can wake you from deep

sleep. And Im not telling you that because I read it somewhere, I know first

hand.

I used to wake up in the dead of night gasping for air, scanning the room for

what I thought must be an earthquake or something. Seconds after waking

up Id realize that it was my heart pounding, racing, and shaking. Id jump

out of my bed and pace the room absolutely convinced that I was about to


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die. Not maybe die, not unsure in any way, I was a believer in my own

demise. So, at that point Id walk over to my wifes side of the bed and

gently wake her to tell her that I thought I was dying, but for real this time.

She would sit up slowly - only half aware - and say, Honey, youre ok, just

lay back down and youll be fine. And Id sit down and after about 10 or 15

minutes I was able to go back to sleep, but still afraid that it could happen

again at any moment. Even the next morning I would be uneasy even though

I would try to appear normal with the family, at work, and everywhere else I

was, but inside I was concerned. I was worried a lot. Well, I want you to not

get to this point, so let me share with you a few ways to stop palpitations.

How to Stop Palpitations

There are several ways to stop palpitations and they can be effective with

practice and time. None of these techniques are magical, but taken togetherthey will give you options instead of feelings of helplessness.

Balancing electrolytes: When it comes to matters of the heart, the four most

important electrolytes are potassium, calcium, sodium, and magnesium. If

any of these electrolytes become too high or too low, then palpitations may

result. A simple blood or urine test will tell your doctor if this is the case. If,

indeed youre having excessive/deficient levels of electrolytes, then you can

speak with your doctor about how to bring them back into balance. In

general, this would mean taking supplemental vitamins or

increasing/decreasing the consumption of certain foods.

List of foods rich in the four major electrolytes include:

Potassium See full listhere.

Bananas

Apples

Milk

Orange Juice

Potatoes

Raisins

Wheat bread
http://foodshighinpotassium.com/http://foodshighinpotassium.com/http://foodshighinpotassium.com/http://foodshighinpotassium.com/


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Calcium See full listhere.

Dairy Products

Almonds

Beans

Tofu

Hummus

Vegetables

Fruits

Oatmeal

Sodium See full listhere.

Meats

Dairy products Frozen foods

Snack foods

Canned food

Spices

Magnesium See full listhere.

Nuts

Cooked soybeans

Peanut butter Yogurt

Milk

Diet: Like I mentioned earlier diet is an important part of any anti-anxiety

strategy, so here are a few more examples.

Foods that you want to eat more often would include:

Grapes

Guava Honey

Fresh fruit and Vegetables

Whole wheat foods
http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uk087.pdfhttp://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uk087.pdfhttp://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uk087.pdfhttp://www.pamf.org/heartfailure/lifestyle/diet/foods.htmlhttp://www.pamf.org/heartfailure/lifestyle/diet/foods.htmlhttp://www.pamf.org/heartfailure/lifestyle/diet/foods.htmlhttp://foodshighinmagnesium.com/http://foodshighinmagnesium.com/http://foodshighinmagnesium.com/http://foodshighinmagnesium.com/http://www.pamf.org/heartfailure/lifestyle/diet/foods.htmlhttp://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uk087.pdf


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Foods and activities that you should try to avoid include:

Foods that contain caffeine like chocolate, soft drinks, etc.

Sugar

Alcohol

Smoking

Hydration: Water is a fundamental part of what you are. If you dont drink

enough water then even milddehydrationcan create palpitations. You dont

need to go overboard and start walking around with a gallon of water, either.

Many of the foods you eat already have water in them, but its still a good

idea to drink about eight 6-8 oz cups per day.

Medication: You may also want to talk to your doctor about medication.

Doctors will usually prescribebeta blockers, which block the effects ofadrenaline on the body. This would be a good option after experiencing

palpitations for a prolonged period of time.

Valsalva maneuver: This techniquecan be used to stop a fast heart beat.

First, pinch your nose and close your mouth. Next, breath out forcibly. The

idea is to strain as if you were trying to defecate while holding your breath.

This will cause a quick spike in heart rate, followed by a slowing of the heart

rate. If you have heart disease, or are advanced in age, please do not try this

maneuver.

Coughing: Coughing vigorously causes pressure to build in the chest, which

squeezes your heart back into a normal rhythm. This is not a preventive

measure, so do it when youre actually having a palpitation.

Cold Water: Splash cold water on your face. This technique works well for

palpitations and panic attacks. The idea behind this is that the cold water

shocks your nervous system back to normal. The water should be as cold as

possible.

Relaxation: Palpitations can strike at anytime, even while you sleep. As aresult, they tend to startle you and make you feel as if youre going to die at

any moment. This is why its important to not rush around in a panic,

thereby adding stress to your racing heart. Its best to have a seat, breath

deeply from your stomach, and chill out for a moment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydrationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydrationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydrationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta%20blockerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta%20blockerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta%20blockerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva%20maneuverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva%20maneuverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva%20maneuverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta%20blockerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydration


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Exercise: I know Ive said it, but Ill say it again. Exercise might sound like

the opposite of what you want to do when you know that palpitations can

occur. But after a good workout your blood pressure and heart rate will

generally decrease. This is why its not unusual for highly conditioned

athletes likeLance Armstrong to have very low resting heart rates. A

normal resting heart rate is between 70-80 beats per minute. People that

have conditioned bodies, on the other hand, can get their heart rates down in

the 50s or lower.

Lets not forget that the heart is a muscle, and if it is worked, it will get

stronger and more efficient at what it does. So despite the apparent

contradiction, exercise is a great way to cope with palpitations absent any

heart disease.

The Path Toward Recovery

Up to this point we have dealt in detail with two distressing symptoms in

anxiety related chest pain and palpitations. And the lessons we have

reviewed are indeed valuable, especially when you have the sense that

youre not going to survive the stress, pain, and despair that anxiety conjures

up in you. But there is so much more to anxiety disorder than physical

symptoms. I dont want to end our discussion without first providing you

with some information that will make a huge difference in your life.

You see, after a long time of head scratching, reading, thinking, andconferring with others, I learned that I was approaching my problem from

the wrong angle. I was mistakenly focused on the end result of anxiety the

symptoms, while completely ignoring the source of this all, namely my

anxious thoughts. Im going to spare you the lengthy explanation and instead

Ill try to illustrate what I mean.

Think of the problem this way:

Anxiety Adrenaline Fast heart beat Shortness of breath FearConfusion Depression Obsession.

But if you look at this chain of events youll see that it all started with

anxiety. So, in order to deal with all of this madness effectively, you have to

start from the far left of this chain of events. You have to start and end your
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance%20Armstronghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance%20Armstronghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance%20Armstronghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance%20Armstrong


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journey toward recovery by tackling anxiety and the anxious thoughts it

produces. You cant afford to get sidetracked from this.

Now, we did spend a good deal of time discussing chest pain and

palpitations, but not because its going to solve your anxiety problem or

magically kill your anxiety symptoms. It was so that you understand whats

happening to you, when these symptoms strike, on a physical level. It was to

give you a legit reason to calm your nerves, so you can focus on the real

issues that need to be addressed. This is because these lessons in anxiety

symptoms are not the total answer to your problem, even if they do play a

critical role in reaching full recovery.

Remember that physical symptoms are only a reflection of what is going on

inside the mind andanxious thoughts (both conscious and subconscious

ones) are at the center of that process. I am excited to tell you that anxiety, atleast in its extreme form, is a stubborn illusion of the mind. Its like the

Matrix on steroids. It causes you to believe not only in the false and the

ridiculous, it also makes you wallow in it and fall deeper into the maze of

fear and confusion. You know how Dracula can give women that come

hither look and they fall for it, every time? Anxiety does the same trick. It

lures you in and makes you a believer of twisted possibilities, but why stay

in this dream realm? Right, so lets get you out of there.

As I pointed out earlier in this eBook, I have written a Special Report that is

entitledHow to Stop Anxious Thinking. That work is designed to go into

great detail as to how you can understand your thoughts and how to alter

them to rid yourself of extreme anxiety once and for all.

Instead of rewriting that report here, I want to present to you the real

problem a bit differently, but still in a way that is clear, and after that you

can decide how you want to solve the final equation. I just want to take care

of the set up.

The anxiety illusion, as I like to call it, has one main theme running throughit at all times and that is: WRONG IDEAS. Professionals like to call these

wrong ideas misconceptions, but I like wrong idea(s) because it is easier to

think of these things in basic terms. There are three main wrong ideas that

anxiety feeds your mind on a loop, and they are:
http://www.anxietyguru.net/special-report/http://www.anxietyguru.net/special-report/http://www.anxietyguru.net/special-report/http://www.anxietyguru.net/special-report/


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1. Misjudgment of danger: This means that every time you have a scarythought or a horrible symptom, your wrong ideas, created by long

standing anxiety, cause you to misjudge the level of dangeryou think

you face. It turns, oh no to AHH!!! and then some. All problems

related to anxiety get blown out of proportion because of this

phenomenon.

2.Fear of collapse: This is the wrong idea that tells you that havingextreme anxiety will cause you to collapse, lose control, or perhaps even

die or go crazy.3.Inability to change reaction: This is the wrong idea that causes you to

assume that you can do nothing to resist (remember Dracula?) the effects

of anxiety. It is a state of helplessness.

The other thing is that these wrong ideas dont work alone. They work in

groups called clusters. These clusters typify certain kinds of anxiety andcome in three general flavors:

Depressive neurosis: Sometimes people with anxiety problems think that

their main issue is related to bad nerves, but in fact depression is very

present in many anxiety sufferers. A depressive neurotic may think things

like:

There is no hope.

I cant change my situation. I dont feel like doing anything. Im going crazy. I have a serious health problem.

Nobody likes me.

Hysterical neurosis: This type is heavy with physical symptoms and tied

closely to depressive thoughts. If youre in this camp youre likely to think

things like:

I cant handle disappointment. I am a victim. All my symptoms signal something deadly. I need attention.


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Obsessive neurosis: If youre obsessive you might find yourself getting

wrapped up in these kinds of ideas:

Everything must be in order. I need to be right all the time. I need to be in control. I cant stand germs.

These three neurotic types are the basic filters through which anxiety

sufferers see the world. Also keep in mind that youre unlikely to just have

one or the other of these thinking types at work; you may find that you share

two or even all three of these modes of thinking at varying times. But

whichever of these types describes you best, they all represent the basic

framework for all of your wrong ideas related to anxiety. These wrong ideas,

in one form or another, run through your mind automatically and stay in thebackground as you go about your life. They are Misconceptions of the

psychological symptoms brought about by prolonged tension (Raimy,

1975). This is all the result of a lot of confusion and mental fatigue working

together to put you in a fog. This mental fog can get so thick that you may

have thought, do think, or will think that youre going insane because of all

this. The funny thing is that the fear of insanity is perhaps the biggest

complaint that nobody likes to talk about, at least openly, maybe because of

stigma, embarrassment or whatever, but lots of people with anxiety and

depression hold on to this fear.

Listen, the belief that you are insane because of anxiety is also an illusion.

Its probably the strongest and most stubborn of your fears, but an illusion it

is. CalledPhrenophobia, its the end of the road for people facing hardcore

stress in the mind and body for long periods of time. It can also result

because of unresolved personal problems, guilt, repression, denial, and

outright ignorance (Raimy, 1975). Its ignorance of how anxiety works and

the effect it can have on you psychologically that lays the foundation for all

the crazy thoughts you have. It is a misunderstanding, a wrong idea. You

dont have schizophrenia. You are not going nuts. You are not going to belocked away. It could be guilt about something that happened a long time

ago, or the problem may not be locked away deep in your mind at all. It

could just be that you are prone to anxiety and stress because of an anxious

ancestor and the genes that they passed down to you but in any case,

insanity is not the issue. Its not your issue!


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On top of all that, there is also the ever confusing thing called the neurotic

paradox holding you back from making serious progress toward recovery.

The neurotic paradox is that by now you already know everything you need

to know to get better, but you stay sick anyway. You subconsciously reject

all the information, all the good news and every trick youve ever learned to

get better. Why do you think that up to this point all you have been doing is

learning without putting your learning into action? Its because of this thorny

bush - the neurotic paradox.

To get past the thought filters of depression, hysteria, obsession and the

neurotic paradox you must do three things.

1. You must find evidence to counter wrong ideas. Reading this eBook isa type of evidence gathering. You need to educate yourself, so that you

understand your body and its reactions to stress. Fact finding is a crucialway of fortifying your mind against baseless fears created by anxiety.

2. You need to examine your thoughts and look for assumptions,exaggerations, and false beliefs of every color. Stop simple symptom

hunting and start thinking about how to change your distorted thoughts

instead. You may even try talking to someone else about what you know

are bogus thoughts because this will make them more clear to you and

allow you to see them from an objective point of view, for a change.

3. Once you find alternative thoughts to the false anxious ones, youmust keep using factual thoughts to reprogram your mind and

repeat, repeat, repeat! Even if you went to the best psychologist in the

world and he/she pointed out your thinking errors for you you would

still fall for anxiety tricks because of the neurotic paradox. So, you

must repeat, in thought and action, what you learn. Youve got to do this

over and over until its muscle memory at work. Until your brain calls it

like it is, on its own. In the end, when you think, Im going crazy, your

mind will replace this BS thought with, No, Im not crazy, its

Phrenophobia working on me. Youll recall what that is, what it means,and come back to reality because youll know that youre being duped by

anxiety. This is the key friend.


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Lets take off the gloves for a second here. You are not a victim. You are the

captain of your body, the commander of your mind. You are in control. Give

up all your fear of illness and the absurd fear of death. Overcome the fallacy

that you cant win this fight. Accept all of your symptoms for what they are

and not what you imagine them to be. Be mindful of what you tell yourself

in quiet moments, and if an anxious thought forms into words, identify it as

an anxious thought, take a mental picture of it, study it, and break it down to

its core. Lose your fear of yourself and stop looking down at the ground in

sorrow and self-pity. Assert your right to live a good life and understand that

you are worthy of being free from the tyranny of anxiety, depression, guilt,

and fear. You have the power to make a change.

You can start the process of change by first accepting everything about your

anxiety problem. Learning how to accept your anxiety disorder is difficult.

This is because our natural instinct is to focus on our anxiety symptoms anddo all we can to push those physical feelings out of our minds. But in fact,

accepting your anxiety disorder is perhaps one of the best ways to manage

and reduce the fear you have of physical symptoms like chest pain and

palpitations. This will allow you to experience such symptoms and not feel

sick with fear.

The fact is, sometimes when people ask you to accept something you really

dont fully accept it. What a lot of us do instead is just put up with whatever

the issue is. However, in order to get a handle on your anxious thoughts and

feelings you will have to learn how to accept your anxiety disorder 100%.This does not only involve you telling yourself , OK I accept it is much

more than that. It is also physical acceptance that is required. In other words,

when you get palpitations, headaches,dizziness orwhatever,you dont just

say to yourself that you accept this, you have to go limp as it were and

really, truly accept what is going on in your mind and body. With practice it

can be done.

Acceptance is important because it allows you time to rest your mind; time

to relieve some of your mental fatigue, if only a little bit (Weekes 1969). Byaccepting all the things that anxiety can produce you will come to learn (and

accept) that although it can make you feel and think strangely it will not hurt

you. One of the biggest worries that I always had was my concern about the

possibility of my anxiety growing into something worse, but it never did get

worse and it wont for you, either.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palpitationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palpitationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headachehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headachehttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dizziness/DS00435http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dizziness/DS00435http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/insomnia/DS00187http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/insomnia/DS00187http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/insomnia/DS00187http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/insomnia/DS00187http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dizziness/DS00435http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headachehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palpitation


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I remember sitting in a chair and getting a flash of panic which caused me to

stand up real fast and grab my head almost like I was trying to stop my

thoughts from running out of control. Now when I get those flashes, I am

uneasy but I dont add to it. I dont reinforce it with secondary fear. I just sit

or stand there and let the anxiety symptoms flash, pulsate and run right

through me. Will you still be somewhat uneasy when this first burst of

anxiety comes over you? Sure you will, but understand that if you just wait a

few minutes and remain as calm as you possibly can, it will subside much

faster. It is when you jump out of your seat and start pacing around that you

stir up the adrenaline in your body and almost surely guarantee yourself a

tougher time. I understand that this is hard for you because your anxiety

symptoms are so frightening however, believe me when I tell you that

accepting all aspects of your anxiety disorder will change your life.

It is hard having an anxiety disorder because it can dominate your life butthat is also precisely why you have to do something about it. And, although I

wouldnt expect you to be able to accept your anxiety fully within a week,

you can do it slowly overtime. With everyday that you try to accept your

anxiety you will see a huge difference in the frequency and severity of your

anxiety symptoms, even if it all starts with only baby steps at first. I am sure

that you are frustrated but you have to start somewhere and acceptance is a

good place to start. The next time you get a disturbing thought or strange

symptom let it pass. You have to accept before you can get better and this

part of your recovery is well within your control.

With acceptance, education, and repetition of alternative thoughts you will

be able to assert yourself once again. Youll regain the ability and desire to

stand up straight, look people in the eye, and speak with confidence. You

will stop cowering when confronted with worry, fear of disease, fear of

insanity, and all the other baggage that you lug around because of this

problem you have.

At this point, Im not going to delve back into the finer points of heart

failure and all that because I doubt thats your problem. Ive seen someonedevelop and later die from heart disease. That process was long and painful

and there was never any doubt in his or other peoples mind as to the cause.

That person was my father. And on the other hand, Ive had a friend die in

his early 20s from sudden cardiac arrest. I guess you never know, but the

point is why try and get all Nostradamus with this? There is no point.


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Its neither useful nor productive to play the guessing game with this stuff. If

you feel sick, for real, get checked out and accept the findings. And if

youve been seen and cleared medically, then you need to work on the

acceptance part of this equation. And as you may have noticed this is

perhaps the 4th

time Ive said this. Its not that I dont think you understand -

its your anxiety Im trying to talk to. I hope that you internalize what Im

saying to you.

The cause of chest pain and palpitations isnt the focus of my conclusion

because they dont matter in the grand scheme of things, despite the fact that

it is these two symptoms that you sit up late at night thinking about. But why

lose any sleep over this? How many times have you felt palpitations in your

life? Perhaps it was dozens, or hundreds of times? How many times did you

die as a result? Exactly zero, Im happy to report. So dont get caught up

thinking about things that cant harm you. That is an utter waste of time andenergy.

Also, understand that simply making complaints about your situation wont

give you any long term relief. Its ok to vent, I think everybody needs to do

that every now and then, but you need to start thinking about ways to solve

your problem with anxiety. You are responsible for yourself. Nobody can

heal you without you being an active partner in that effort. And although Im

glad to be one piece to the puzzle youre trying to solve right now, just

remember that it will be you who makes the decision to end this. It is you

who have to identify the real problem, formulate a plan of action, and then

execute that plan. It is, and has always been, up to you.

It is so easy to just read words of encouragement that make you feel good

temporarily, but how long does it have to be before you say to yourself that

youve had enough of this? How many more times do you have to be

dragged through the immobilizing mud of fear before you say enough is

enough? It is now time to take action on your own behalf. You need to start

applying the things that you have learned so you can be free of this torment,

because I can assure you that the cavalry isnt coming. You have to helpyourself to dig yourself out of this pit. I and several others are out there

throwing you a line, but never lose sight of the fact that you have to be the

one to put one hand in front of the other to pull yourself out of this.


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References

Fleet, Richard. 1996. Panic disorder in emergency department chest pain

patients: Prevalence, comorbidity, suicidal ideation, and physician

recognition. Available at:http://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-

9343%2896%2900224-0/abstract

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2007. Professional Guide to Signs and

Symptoms 5th

edition. Wolters Bluwer business.

Raimy, Victor. 1975. Misunderstandings of the Self: Cognitive

Psychotherapy and the Misconception Hypothesis. Jossey-Bass.

Seller, Robert. 2007. Differential Diagnosis of Common Complaints.

Saunders-Elsevier.

Weekes, Claire. 1969. Hope and Help for Your Nerves. Signet.
http://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343%2896%2900224-0/abstracthttp://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343%2896%2900224-0/abstracthttp://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343%2896%2900224-0/abstracthttp://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343%2896%2900224-0/abstracthttp://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343%2896%2900224-0/abstracthttp://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343%2896%2900224-0/abstract

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