Fearing sudden death

LegacyUser

I'm a 22 year old guy and this might sound strange but I have an extremely bad fear of sudden death. I have convinced myself a ridiculous amount of times I will drop dead due to an undiagnosed heart condition (I've read many stories on the net about it). I am not here to look for any diagnostic advice but I guess I am here to seek help on how I can deal with it. It affects my life on a daily basis. I barely talk at work because I am in my head all the time. I take hours to fall asleep at night because I am focusing on chest pains and seemingly strong heart beats. I feel my pulse in my legs and my fingers. I've went to A&E got two ECG's which were fine but I've read so much about the subject of heart conditions on the internet that I know clear ECG's are still not enough to rule out all heart conditions that can cause sudden death. I've an appointment with a cardiologist in 4 weeks and all I keep thinking is that I will die in between now and then. I live in fear and it's no way to live so any advice at all would be appreciated. It's gotten to the stage where i'm thinking of going to the emergency room and practically telling them to do further tests.

**Timbuk2**

Pay your GP a visit and explain to him your concerns.

He will be able to guide you to the best way to sort out your anxieties, whether it be through medication or counselling etc.

Especially as it is affecting your sleep and your life quality, and at a young age - GP would be my first port of call. Forget cardiologist appointments unless your GP thinks they are medically necessary.

Merkin

You poor thing, a lot of anxiety disorders manifest themselves in obsessive thought patterns or fear of illness/dying.

I agree with the above, I think your anxiety needs to be addressed and while it's five paying to see a cardiologist to allay your fears, the REAL issue needs to be addressed through CBT and/or medical intervention.

Go and see your GP and give them a warts and all description of how this anxiety is effecting you on a daily basis.

You will be fine xx

Azwaldo55

If you do die you won't know you are dead because you will be dead. When you are dead you are dead. So there is nothing to fear.
So think of it this way. You have nothing to fear because death is nothing to fear. The worst that can happen you is that you will die and if you die you won't know anyway. Think about it!

sunshine and showers

Try reading Staring at the Sun by Irvin D. Yalom. It's a very good book about death anxiety and overcoming it.

dd972

Sounds like severe anxiety OP, I had a nasty dose of what's afflicting your mind a few years back, talking to someone helps, Hypnotherapy maybe, plus also try to focus on the rational side of things, most sudden cardiac deaths have an hereditary or lifestyle element in the case of older people.

YumCha

OP Please go and talk to your GP. Also I'm not sure if I can link here, but there was an article in The Guardian recently by David Adam about living with OCD where he talked about his experience (parts sound similar to yours) and also what treatment worked for him - but only seek it out if you're up to reading it.

griffdaddy

Does sound like anxiety or panic attacks to be honest. It's a bit of a vicious circle because the more you worry about it the worse it will feel.

donegal__road

If you want to go the herbal route, ask a herbalist to prescribe you some hawthorn tincture..

Hawthorn is used for diseases of the heart and blood vessels such as congestive heart failure (CHF), chest pain, and irregular heartbeat. It is also used to treat both low blood pressure and high blood pressure, “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis), and high cholesterol.

LegacyUser

“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”

― Mark Twain