the past couple days i am like hyper aware of my chest and my heartbeat and i don’t know why. i don’t think anything specific triggered it. but i keep making myself think my heart isn’t beating right when i’m almost positive it’s fine and it’s just my anxiety. can something have triggered it without me even realizing it? like something i saw on social media or a tv show? does this happen to anyone else?
It could be a new health concern OCD
It happens to me and can happen out of no where. Since November 2021, my thoughts like this mentioned above have returned after losing a family member. However, I can assure you that it also tends to arrive for me when I’m stressed or it can just arrive when everything is fine. How I respond to it determines how well or fast I overcome the feeling. Checking and reassurance makes it worsen.
@AcceptUncertainty thank you for commenting. hopefully it will pass soon
@camilleshae No problem! Try to sit with the feelings and name them as anxiety symptoms rather than being sick.
Thank you for sharing what you are experiencing. Health anxiety is one of the OCD themes I have. Sometimes it comes up for me when I hear about something that somebody else has, but sometimes it just comes up out of the blue. It can be very overwhelming. Sometimes it helps me to redirect my attention and concentrate on getting something done for just the next 10 minutes. Not a big task that is too overwhelming, but something tangible. Also, taking some time for self-care can help; maybe listening to music or getting some fresh air.
I’ve experienced this hyper awareness of physical sensations, too! Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason to the content of our obsessions, but regardless you are definitely not alone. It may be helpful to identify the underlying “core” fear that comes with the concern about your heartbeat — for example, is it that you might have a health issue, is it a fear of sudden death, or a feeling that you won’t be able to stop thinking about it? Depending on the core fear you can develop exposures and non-engagement responses that directly address your anxieties!
