Anyone have trouble with leaving the home (aka your safe space)? I’m so worried that I’ll have heart palpitations in public, which might trigger me to panic, and then all the catastrophic what if situations might happen. It’s been tough feeling like I can be normal and live life lately.
I understand. I love my home too and I feel safe there, but we have to face our fears! I’m out in public all day but I love looking forward to the night time when I’m back home. That is the best! I’ve been a “conqueror” like you, but I still have nasty flare ups. It seems like I’ll have one month great and another month tough. Still trying to accept the uncertainty…
@Joey_867 Yes, it’s tough because I’ve conquered my initial theme but now new themes pop up which I have not yet conquered haha. It’s tough and all I can obsess about is my health now and these physical sensations. Thanks for replying! I’m going to challenge myself each day to face my fears even with the flare ups.
@A-5H73Y Sadly, I’m still facing my primary theme/content. I overcame health OCD ten years ago. It was heaven- tens years of bliss. And then a year ago I got off my meds and boom new theme. We know we are facing a battle, but I’ve done it before I can do it again!
@Joey_867 OCD has a way of sneaking up on you! I don’t doubt I may deal with my previous theme in the future too. Let’s keep strong. You’re right, we can do it again!
I had that a few years ago and I think it's very possible to get better as I don't suffer from it anymore. I think ERP in this case would work through a hierarchy of fears, for instance you would start by standing outside your home and going back home after a few minutes, and then slowly increasing the distance and the time you stay outside. Also, the book "Hope and Help for your Nerves" by Claire Weeks helped me a lot. It's only $9 on Amazon and she goes through this fear on specific. She is a psychologist and she explains that the human heart can go for a very, very long time (many months) with a fast heart rate without ending up with some sort of damage, after realizing this I think it definitely comes easier to accept heart discomfort. For instance when I'm having a though time I say "My heart is beating fast? Okay fine. I will let it go fast as much as it want without ANY resistance (I saw someone making reference to "going limp like a ragdoll") This will pass. I will not die. I will not get sick, as long as I fully accept the discomfort
Sorry, just a correction to the last 2 sentences. Even if you aren't able to fully accept the discomfort, nothing catastrophic will happen to your heart health
@Kis Thank you so much for your response. I definitely need to start exposing myself to being outside again because I don’t want to become agoraphobic (which I feel myself becoming!). Thank you for the book recommendation I’ve just downloaded it :) I appreciate your response and I’m going to try my best to practice acceptance.
Yeah you are welcome, good luck in your recovery!
I’ve always had anxiety and ocd about throwing up but then it went into just horrible panic attacks where I needed someone close to calm me down like my mom or gf. It subsided and I was doing great for years. But it’s come back and now, I live in NYC, for the last 2 years I can’t take the subway anymore m, I can’t get on elevators or planes. It’s controlled my life. If im on there alone I get panic attacks. It happens automatically. I’m scared that the subway is going to get stuck and I can’t get off same with the elevator and plane. I’m scared of having panic attacks now and I just have a huge general sense of anxiety everywhere. I just feel off constantly now. I really want to get my life back and not care about these things. Anyone else dealing w the same?
Hello everyone. This fall I plan to move out of my parents house and live on my own. I’m extremely nervous about this. I feel like when I’m alone my thoughts and obsessions and anxiety get worse, and also a lot of the times I’m in such a bad place I can’t drive myself anywhere or feel safe anywhere, so I rely on my parents and my friends to drive me places or I won’t get out at all. Is it a bad idea to move out of my childhood home if I can barely do anything without extreme anxiety? I just don’t know what to do. I know I can live here forever and I have to move out eventually, but I feel like I’ll never really be ready.
I’ve had many different intrusive thoughts over the years, but I can’t seem to shake this obsession with my heart. I continually think it’s going to just stop or that it can’t handle being elevated. I don’t even have family history of heart disease or heart attack or anything of the sort. I keep myself healthy between exercise and diet. I’ve reassured myself a million ways from Sunday. I saw a cardiologist once, years ago, who reassured me that my heart palpitations were nothing to be afraid of. I try to look at every workout as an exposure, pushing myself to trust my heart and ignore the thoughts. But sometimes I just want to relax and enjoy dinner with my boyfriend or being out with my friends without ruminating over what would happen if I had a heart attack in the restaurant, the bar, where’s the nearest hospital, can I trust the people I’m with to know what to do, etc. It’s exhausting.
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