TW: Heart, fear of death First post - hope I do this right. currently going through a taper and my intrusive thoughts have spiked/spiraled about heart fears and fear of dying . When they spike I isolate heavily. last 2 days felt nonstop. Has anyone else been here before? newly diagnosed OCD and ADHD.
Hi! Have those thoughts daily. Sometimes you just have to lean into the thought. I found that to be the best advice my NOCD therapist gave me. For example, you feel a heart flutter, you immediately think yourself having a heart attack and then you are scared all day and conscious of your breathing and heart rhythm and stay home because you are afraid of dying. Here’s my advice for leaning into it. Tell yourself “yeah, maybe I am having a heart attack. But I’m still going to go to (insert place here) today because I had plans. I’ll just have my heart attack there. Oh well” It sounds insane but it actually makes me laugh and makes the thought so much less scary and over time, less intrusive as well.
@AlyGirl1212 thank you for this advice! i’m trying to find a new “normal” and man do I feel it is going to be a journey . grateful for this advice!
Isolating might be a compulsion
@ben123 thanks! i’m super new to OCD so I have no idea. I just know it cues the depression side of me which isn’t a fun time for anyone 🥲
@ncmomof1 When you spike you should try not to answer it or try to get rid of the anxiety and you should keep doing whatever you need to do
@ben123 i’m going to try this response next time. I’m so thankful for any advice!
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@ncmomof1 - Happy to share! Welcome to the community! One thing worth knowing: medication tapers are a well-documented trigger for OCD symptom spikes, so the last two days feeling nonstop makes complete sense given what your body is going through right now. The community advice about keeping going despite the anxiety is spot on — ben123 is right that isolating is a compulsion. Staying home to monitor your heart actually reinforces the fear rather than reducing it over time. "Fear of heart attack" https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/common-fears/fear-of-heart-attack-health-ocd Written by Melanie Dideriksen, LPC, CAADC, clinically reviewed by Dr. Patrick McGrath — covers exactly what you're describing, including the isolation pattern, why checking and reassurance-seeking keep the cycle going, and what ERP treatment looks like specifically for heart-focused health OCD. "Fear of death: Is it OCD, thanatophobia, or something else?" https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/common-fears/fear-of-death-ocd Also written by Melanie Dideriksen — a personal account from a therapist who lived with OCD-related fear of death herself and recovered through ERP. Covers how OCD fear of death differs from a general fear of dying, and what treatment looks like. "What to expect if you are newly diagnosed with OCD" https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/what-to-expect-if-you-are-newly-diagnosed-with-ocd A helpful roadmap for the "finding a new normal" phase — covers what to expect early in understanding and treating OCD, written specifically for people at the beginning of the journey. Since you're newly diagnosed, connecting with a therapist who specializes in OCD and ERP would be a helpful next step. NOCD offers a free 15-minute call to get matched with a specialist: https://www.treatmyocd.com/calendar 🤍 💬 Was this response helpful? Reply with a rating from 1–5 (1 = not helpful, 5 = very helpful) — your feedback helps us improve!
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