Anxiety never gives you warning.
Anxiety doesnt reason with things.
Anxiety sometimes doesnt make sense.
It is scarey.
It is lonely.
It freaks you out beyond your greatest fears.
We fight it.
We resist it.
We hide it.
One of the worst feelings when dealing with anxiety is the Fake Heart Attack feeling that it gives you. Making your soul feel unsettled. Feeling every ka thump of your racing heart. Feeling tight and squashed in your tight chest.
Once caught in this feeling we then believe that thought that these feelings maybe a heart attack… Just maybe! ! The more we think this the more our anxiety is fuelled and our levels rise. Getting us more stirred up. Checking our pulse. Not taking deep long breaths but shallow breaths that keep us on edge.
When in this moment it is so hard to turn this off or get over it.. If you could flick a switch you would.. The I am sooo not normal thoughts start and the I am dying thoughts kick in. Any one with extreme anxiety would of like myself found them selves in an emergency room, ambulance or 24hr centre thinking this is the end with exactly these feelings some time in their life.
While away in Port Douglas I woke one night from being sound asleep to these exact feelings. We were all in the same resort room. I have felt this overwhelming feeling so many times and really lost control. I was sweating & could feel my heart working over time. I got myself a cold face cloth and laid on the floor with my feet up on the bed. I had crazy thoughts about calling an ambulance. How would they make it to our room?
Then I thought I could be absorbed by this or get past it…
As I laid in the dark I really felt these feelings. These feelings are so familiar to me. Always the sneaking doubt that they could be a heart attack… For the first time I didnt fight it & allow it to fight back. Instead I encouraged it to get as big & as full on as it wanted too… I allowed it take control.
In the past I have tried to fight anxiety & it fights back bigger. It took courage to decide to let this get as big as it wanted to. In some reverse way.. Allowing it to have power took away its power..
While doing this I pulled out my phone.. Plugged in my ear plugs & listened to a relax from the meditationoasis.com playlist. I thought about my breathing. 1 hr later I was feeling tired… Hopped back into bed and went back to sleep..
I had lived through this Fake Heart Attack without an ambulance or hospital visit.. Or with out being awake stressing about it till the sun came up.
Anxiety… One hard long battle.
Tonight as I write this I have my husband struggling with this exact calling the ambulance moment for him & I have also heard 2 strong friends are also battling this behind closed doors… It is more common than people realise.
Anxiety…
edaic.wordpress.com 
Anxiety certainly is a nasty little beast that strikes without warning.
I have my anxiety and depression under control at the moment. I hope it never gets back to the stage that you describe.
I hope yours doesn’t either!
There is nothing like it. Well done to you & Thanks
It’s definitely common and can be very debilitating. Good news is that it is very easily treated.
Well done on overcoming it the other night. Not an easy task!
Anxiety is awful. I got it with PND before I started taking Meds. Completely ridiculous, because it would strike at the most random times. The thought of making dinner would send me into a panic.
I never had the heart attack feeling though, so that’s a relief.
I hope you can get some help, and hubby and the others in your world. It’s not a nice thing to live with.
Thanks for linking and for speaking about this. So important. Xxx
I have been struggling with it since June & I have written many posts on it. I am turning into the Anxiety Queen at the moment Jess. But Getting Sorted.
Wow this post was insightful – I have never had the heart attack feeling myself – I tend to get the fist in my chest tightness. I started getting it reading your post actually!
Thank you for sharing
xx
Ohhhh thats terrible… I wont make it so real next time… Or I will remind you to breath…
Sorry….
I used to work in a major city hospital’s Emergency Dept. We would see a few people a shift who would come in believing they were having a heart attack but they would end up being panic or anxiety attacks.
People don’t realise how real and frightening they are, there certainly needs to be more education on the subject.
Well done for posting about it x
Thanks for sharing your experience. As you say, it is so common. I have several friends and family suffering from anxiety and/or depression. I hope you are able to get your symptoms under control.
My four year old son has been struggling with anxiety also.
It was very hard to realise what was going on until he was diagnosed. Now everything makes sense. For the last six months we have been trying to work through it with him but let me tell you it is hard!!!
Have a look in the pages I like there is a page for kids called Mr Worrypants… Or something like that.. At least we understand. With kids it is soooo much harder… Good luck.. & love to him and you all.
I’m sorry you experience such full on anxiety. I too suffer at times, but it is more in my throat and I feel like it is consuming me. Not a nice feeling. You did really well to get through that one. Take care and I hope you don’t have to go there again.
Anxiety attacks are frightening when you’re in the grip of one.
All I can say is, thank God for Zoloft 😉
Thanks for sharing your story.
Great post Chelle. As you know I to suffer from anxiety.. I have had a similar experience.. Such an intense panic attack that I could not leave my bedroom.
Like anything anxiety is so foriegn for people who have never experienced it.. That’s why posts like these are so important!!
Thanks for your honesty!!
Kristy XX
I felt every word. Both my 6 year old son and I suffer from this – frequently. It is sooo hard to explain to a 6 year old why he has a constant lump in his throat and feels like he can’t breathe. 😦 Thank you for sharing, it helps all of us to know we are in it together. xxx
Oh I can sympathize, I suffer panic attacks from anxiety as well.. The first time my heart did that I thought I was dying.. It was the strangest feeling ever.. not nice, hugs xx
Oh gosh it sounds awful!!! You are so brave to not fight – to let it wash over you and let go. You must feel empowered. I hope both you and your hubby continue to find ways to deal with the anxiety. xx
Thank you for sharing this, my husband suffered anxiety attacks following the death of his father and he said it felt like he was having a heart attack but wasn’t able to describe it in a way I could really understand or help him with.
It is surprisingly common but people are often too embarrased to talk about it for whatever reasons.
I am pleased you were able to regain your sense of calm for this one xx
finally have some peace and quiet in the house and a chance to read through the posts. I’ve been suffering with anxiety now for 5.5 years. I’ve been on medication before and I’ve used natural methods. my dr’s would constantly tell me to get out and just go for a walk, it would make a big difference. trouble was just the thought if it would send me into am anxiety attack.
I was one of those people who many of times ended up at the hospital ed or the 24hr medical centre thinking I was dying. I thought I had control if things but I’m now contemplating going back on my meds, starting to wake again during the nights having panic attacks and I don’t want to continue being the grumpy irritable mum that it makes me.
thankyou for sharing your posts on anxiety, I really think that this is something that needs to be talked about much more. too many people are suffering
Your stories sound sooo familiar to me… I have had many many hospital & 24 hr clinic visits. That feeling of dying is Sssssoooo real at the time. Thanks for your comments & all the best for a calmer nicer life.