Heart flutters? Anxiety?

I was diagnosed with GAD this year, and this summer has been awful. After multiple sessions of therapy i’ve gotten a lot better, but still constantly feel a little anxious. Because of it, my heart/chest area hurts…sometimes I get heart flutters too. Completely random. I told my psychologist and mom (who is a nurse) about it, and they said it’s normal. It’s just so hard for me to accept that when i’m so uncomfortable! I know the only way to get rid of it is to stop worrying..but it’s so hard. Does anybody else feel this way or have suggestions on how to control it? It takes me hours to fall asleep because of it. I’m only sixteen

You are so young, sweetie. Why do you worry yourself like this. I also have had to deal with anxiety. I would go to the ER with shortness of breath and heart palpitations. I was convinced that I had a heart condition, and that I was having asthma attacks. I was so scared I was going to die. By the way, I was about 18 when this started. The doctors even put me on inhalers, and had me have regular cardiology visits, so this added more to my anxiety because I thought I was right.

My mom is a nurse, too, and I had her convinced that something was wrong with me, too. It wasn’t until about a year ago that I was diagnosed with GAD- oh and I’m 28 right now.

I don’t want to take meds so I did research on anxiety- a lot of it. I have learned that anxiety is really just a fear of the unknown- usually an irrational fear. When you are having the panic attacks- you are giving yourself over to the fear. Dealing with fear and anxiety is just a matter of teaching yourself that the things you fear are unreal- your heart is not going to stop causing you to drop dead, you don’t have an anyeurism, you aren’t having an asthma attack, you don’t have cancer (these are some of the things that I would deal with)

You have to tell yourself that you are ok, and calm yourself down. You will probably be told this by many people, but exercise is a great way to deal with stress because it helps you burn off all that extra energy.

Oh man, I could go on and on about this because I’ve dealt with it for almost 10 years, but I’m sure that you don’t want to sit and read and read. But my advice to you is you definitely need to talk to someone. and maybe try meds until you can teach yourself how to talk yourself down from the anxiety and deal with it a little more. I wouldn’t advise staying on them permanently, but that is just me.

By the way, I am doing so much better these past few months after teaching myself how to deal with it. and I am so much more happier. But don’t let people tell you that you are weird or something is wrong with you, or that you are not normal. So many people suffer from anxiety, it almost seems not normal not have it. But you really need to talk to someone that can help you address it really soon, because you are too young to hav to suffer like this. Don’t let 10 years pass you by before you decide to address it.

Good luck too you, and I truly to wish you the best of luck and health..

Starlit Nights 13*