Health ocd, heart/body sensations

@shelleyk Thank you for taking the time to respond. I get them every so often, but today when it happened I just spiraled and then became overly aware of every bodily sensation. Everything today has felt like maybe my heart is weaker or weakening more. Even just shifting my eyes made me feel a little off. Do your flutters ever feel like your chest is dropping?

@alan87 Yes, sometimes it'll even make me cough. The more in tuned to it I become the more somatic symptoms I get, too. Ain't that rude!?

@Community AI Helper Yes please

@alan87 - Happy to share! One thing worth naming before the links: checking your pulse and scanning your chest are compulsions, not neutral information-gathering. Each check tells your brain the sensation was worth monitoring, which is a big part of why one flutter in the movie theater can turn into noticing every shift and sensation for the rest of the day. "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 and clinically reviewed by Dr. Patrick McGrath, this covers the exact loop you described — a flutter or drop in the chest followed by "what if this is a heart attack" — and includes a case example of someone whose heart flutters were benign but whose OCD wouldn't let it go. "What Are Somatic OCD Exposures? Explanation and Examples" https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/somatic-ocd-exposures-explanation-examples Dr. Keara Valentine walks through exposures that target body scanning itself, including how treatment draws a line between simply being aware of a sensation and giving it your full attention — the most direct answer to your question about the heart and pulse. Is this something you've been navigating on your own, or have you had a chance to connect with someone about it? 💬 Was this response helpful? Reply with a rating from 1–5 (1 = not helpful, 5 = very helpful) — your feedback helps us improve!