Fear

Anxiety and Fear

by Gemita - 2024-01-11 05:48:01

Pacer2019, Fear is awful.  It causes tension and stress and takes away our joy for living.  Fear harms every aspect of our well being and certainly does nothing to help to ease a weakened heart.  And yet we all let fear into our lives, let fear control us.  Why?  What can we do about anxiety and fear when it is such a natural reaction when our health begins to show signs of distress/disease?

Fear needs to come out so that it can no longer harm us, but perhaps we can only release this fear in a safe place with friends, family and with professionals we can trust?  I am glad you are able to share your fear with us as a group of people who perhaps can understand the difficulties you are facing with a diagnosis of heart failure. 

You have lived with fear for 17 years following your bypass but it seems to me you have not really managed this fear or been able to really come to terms with it.  Perhaps now is the time to do so and to get professional advice?   I found cognitive behavioural therapy so helpful when I was facing cancer with a poor prognosis years ago.  It helped me to start believing that I could beat my disease.  You need to talk about your fears since talking therapy can be kinder than medication therapy that may only serve to "suppress" such thoughts, instead of allowing them to come out where they can no longer harm us.  I appreciate though some of us may need meds as well to help to calm us.

I see you are facing a deterioration in your condition, have been given resynchronisation therapy and a defibrillator to try to improve your ejection fraction and to keep you safe from any serious rhythm disturbances.  This is not the end of the road as your fear is telling you.  30% ejection fraction while low, is hopefully improvable and with resynchronisation therapy, lifestyle changes, medication adjustments, happier thoughts, you might be surprised just how well you could do. 

This is just the beginning of your journey to find better ways of controlling your symptoms and to hopefully reverse some of the damage which may have been caused by other factors over the years since I see you haven’t always lived a healthy lifestyle.  I think I noticed too in your Bio that you might have been given a single lead pacemaker at the start of your journey, so perhaps a lead to the left ventricle will now be all the additional support you need to start to function properly again?

Please continue to share your fears with those you can trust.   I wish you all the very best

Fear

by piglet22 - 2024-01-11 06:19:06

Fear is a normal response to something that might harm us, but it should only be a temporary response.

If it's long term and eating away at you, it's time to get help, and that means professional help starting with your GP.

As Gemita says, what is causing your worries might be something you need to accept, it's life, it happens and that's it.

Almost everyone here lives with something they would rather not have, but there's a lot worse.

Talk to someone, and you will feel a lot better. Often the reality is a lot less worrisome than the imagination.

You are not alone

by Good Dog - 2024-01-11 08:23:31

I just want you to know that I understand your fear. I have the same or similar fears that you have. It is important for you to know that you are not alone. Fear is part of being a thinking, breathing human being. I deal with it too after having a stroke and knowing that I could have another at any time. I work to accept that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. I once read that when facing our fear (our demise) we should put our affairs in order and then we should live like we are going to live forever. I know it is easier said than done, but we need to try to do it. That attitude. I have not mastered the solution for ridding myself of fear. It is a work in progress. It pops-up from time to time. That is O.K. but recognize that it does take some level of effort to overcome it. No different than the effort you made by posting here. It took courage to do that. I am not a religious person, but I recognize that many people get strength from a belief in a higher power. It is a very personal thing. I truly envy folks with strong faith, because it gives them a greater ability to overcome fear. It gives them strength. It is really important. However, nowadays there is also so much help available to us without even leaving our home. We just need a private space, a computer, a camera and speakers. It always helps us to talk to others. Share your feelings with your family doctor and ask for his help and/or advice. You also should recognize that medicine has advanced so much in recent years that it seems like they can keep us going well beyond a time we would have ever imagined. We do however, need to take advantage of it. Heart failure was a death sentence not too long ago. Not anymore. People are living natural life-spans and beyond with it nowadays. If there is ever anything I can help with, please do not hesitate to PM me.

Late edit: Something that I forgot to say is that I often immerse myself in things that interest me. It occupies my mind and while it is not necessarily the answer, it helps. At least on a temporary basis. 

Please keep the faith. It gets better. 

Sincerely,

Dave

I Understand

by SeenBetterDays - 2024-01-11 10:20:50

Pacer2019, I absolutely understand these feelings that you have and how difficult it can be to overcome them.  I felt far more mentally fragile following my pacemaker fitting at 49.  I was fit, active and strong prior to my heart block and I felt a new level of vulnerability after learning that my heart was not able to beat without a device to help it.  As others have said, it is absolutely essential that you talk through your fears with someone you trust.  Although this may not eradicate the fear, it is far better to have an outlet for it than to let it grow and evolve in your brain.  It is very natural to feel fear and anxiety when we experience pain in the body and after serious medical issues we can become sensitised to it.  It can feel like the body is trying to warn us of another event or of some imminent danger but often that is not the case.  Whilst it would not be wise to ignore persistent pain or symptoms, I know that for me, when I have pain I try to calmly reassure myself that I am okay and that the feeling will pass.  Slow breathing helps with longer exhales to help bring the nervous system out of fight or flight.  I do lots of walking outside now and find woodland and river areas really soothing and therapeutic.  Everyone is different and will find different things that may be helpful but we would not be human if we did not feel fear.  It is how we respond to it that can help stop it from taking over and dominating our lives,  I really hope that you are able to make some peace with your situation and find a way through this.  I know it is far from easy but we are all here if you ever need help or support.

Thanks!

by Pacer2019 - 2024-01-11 14:26:12

Thanks everyone ... it means alot to talk to people who understand .

i do think fear saved my life a few times by seeking medical attention before things went too far !

Means much to know I'm not alone ,

Love you guys ! 

One more thought

by Beni - 2024-01-11 17:11:23

Dear Pacer2019

Your fear and anxiety about what the future holds for you is all too familiar to most, if not all, of us.  Anxiety, especially, walks with us each and every day.  That feeling of apprehension, tension or uneasiness that stems from the anticipation of danger, be it from an internal or external source.  And those feelings and thoughts cross our minds each and every day.

And you have received a great deal of good information and support from those who have responded to your post.  But I would like to add something else.

Stress, fear and anxiety are reoccurring themes on this Forum.  While it is a profound comfort to know that we are not alone, there are some things we can do “manage” those fears as sources of anxiety.  And the best tool to manage all this is our minds.

I worked for over three decades in the field of mental health, more specifically behavioral psychology.  And while I only worked for a short time in private practice, most of my professional focus was on research where my primary interest was in CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.  And one highly effective technique for treatment, in particular, I am very, very familiar with and use myself each and every day.  Meditation or mindfulness.

Meditation or mindfulness is one of THE most useful tools for the treatment of anxiety/ stress. (I know some members on the Forum are well versed in this topic.)  It involves training your mind and guiding it towards calmness.  While meditation may sound like a like throw-back for the 60’s (hippy-dippy stuff), it is well researched and has been shown to be highly effective treatment for anxiety, among other things.  Meditation (or mindfulness), to give you the short version of it, helps you to understand anxiety and teaches you to be a “balanced” thinker.  You can never get rid of anxiety but you can learn to accept it and deal with it.  You will learn relaxation skills and other management techniques for handling worry and stress.  Practical suggestions that are highly effective.

Meditation is used real life applications everyday.  The US Olympics team, among others,  uses meditation to learn and maintain focus and motivation.  Many military forces around the world use it in the training of their troops to aid in relaxation (in order to fall asleep quickly in operational situations) , focus and motivation.  Many businesses now incorporate meditation into their employee wellness programs.

So, how to learn to meditate?  I have some suggestions.

An organization called Anxiety Canada offers a FREE course on the management of anxiety.  It is done online.  Link:  www.anxietycanada.com

There are numerous apps available, some are free:   

Smilingmind.com.au

UCLA   Health    www.uclahealth.org/programs/marc/free-programming-resources

Others have some free segments:

Mindfulness.com

Insighttimer.com

Still others have a fee attached to them:

Calm.com

Headspace.co.

It is funny but although I worked in the field for many years and was very familiar with meditaion, I had gotten out of the habit of actually practicing mindfulness.  But, like you, I was experiencing some issues with anxiety and insomnia and struggling to get past it.  Then I discovered an app and rediscovered meditation.

I use Headspace.com.  They offer excellent programs for sleep, anxiety, motivation, etc.  I have been using the Sleep program for the last 3 months and, well, after almost a year of inexplicable insomnia, I now sleep very well most nights.  And on those I sleep less well, I am relaxed and at ease.

But, I will add a caution to my note.  Meditation and learning to do it well and easily requires a commitment of time.  You should be able to commit at least 10 minutes a day to the program. The other thing I would tell you, like any new skill, it takes practice.  If you are looking for a quick fix, then this approach is not right for you.  But if you can commit to it, I think in a very short time, you will be very pleasantly surprised at how much your overall quality of life has improved.  Your mind is a very powerful tool and, with some help, it can add to your enjoyment of life.   

Anyhow, it is some food for thought.

Beni

In reference to fear and your question about THC

by R2D2 - 2024-01-12 16:39:47

I also had a TON of fear, I couldn't control it on any level. It ate away at me daily. But after taking THC edibles, it is no longer the cloud above my head. When you are finally able to relax, you can get better perspective on your fear and get a handle on it. Talking through things really helps, but you need to get to a point where you even feel comfortable doing that. That's where the edibles come in. Try a very small dosage first and see what happens. Wait for at least 2 hours before adding more because it can take awhile to kick in. 

THC can increase anxiety.

by Selwyn - 2024-01-13 16:20:23

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/cannabis-edibles-health-risks#Health-risks-of-cannabis-overconsumption

Like climbing Everest, people have their own individual experiences. It does not make it a safe practice. 

I would think very carefully before risking eveything.  I have seen lots of bad physical and mental effects of cannabis. eg.regular cannabis use could cause structural changes to the heart which is a precursor to heart failure. This 2019 study  looked at heart MRI scans from 3,407 people in the UK Biobank study with an average age of 62, who did not have cardiovascular disease.

There are very few substances that are taken as 'medicine' that are without side effects. Bad things happen!

THC has rebound anxiety - that is does it perpetuate the problem? Is it a 'cure'.

Cannabis has been documented for use in alleviating anxiety. However, certain research has also shown that it can produce feelings of anxiety, panic, paranoia and psychosis. In humans, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been associated with an anxiogenic response, while anxiolytic activity has been attributed mainly to cannabidiol (CBD).effects.

(ref: J Transl Med. 2020; 18: 374.
Published online 2020 Oct 2. doi: 10.1186/s12967-020-02518-2).

R2D2 please give some thought as to the effects of cannabis on your heart and how it can damage you and your psyche. if used for any length of time.  Could it be that the use of THC for anxiety is both perpetuating your physical and psychological problems? How do you know that this is not the case?

A  study shows that daily cannabis use increases the risk of developing heart failure by a massive 34%.

( https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/cannabis-use-increases-heart-attack-stroke-risk)

Best wishes for better health.