Anxiety or Heart Problem? Constant thoughts of dying..

[ranchomama]

Thank you to whoever takes time to read this. I hope my name would not be shown but I won't have any issues with it. Here's my story, I'm a 24 year old woman, normal weight, healthy eating habits and I just gave birth last May and since then I started having panic attacks. I have 2 kids, 23 months apart, it all started when I watched a news about a woman who died a month after giving birth and since then I always think that I'm gonna die. Death occupies 90% of my thoughts. I had some chest pains for about 2-3 months  I've been to the ER once a week for 4 months. Countless ECGs, blood tests, 2D echo all came back normal. I started having chest pains,and my blood pressure went up for 3 days but thank God everything's back to normal now. My thoughts however keep on getting worse. Everyday i feel like there's something wrong with my heart and my lungs. Doctors told me I'm too young to worry about a heart attack. I need help. I'm tired of thinking I'm dying! I want to have my normal life back. This is so depressing for me. I've lost hope. I stopped seeing a future.I always think I'm going to die today. I really need help.  Any advice? Has anyone ever felt this way before? Please help me. I was diagnosed with gerd but I refuse to believe that gerd and anxiety can cause those symptoms..

[SwampSpirit]

These traits can definitely all be caused by anxiety. What's important to remember is these attacks can't hurt you. Many people with anxiety initially think they are dying and go to the hospital. In my case, my stress even causes me to have seizure-like episodes.
I know it's hard to believe such a severe feeling can come from your mind, but anxiety is an illness. The chemicals in your brain are probably changed in some deeply unpleasant way. It could be something during pregnancy caused this to happen.
You do have a disease and you do need medical treatment, but there's nothing to be ashamed of and this can't hurt you. Good luck beating it.

[JGF25]

Hi there.  This all started with you watching a news program.  That is point one in the OCD/anxiety favor.  Dying is a thought that never leaves your mind is point two in the OCD/anxiety favor.  The fact that you have been checked out physically and are okay is point three is the OCD/anxiety favor.  The reality is when you have ruled out the physical all that is left is the mental.  You think that increased anxiety, which must be pretty high for you if you are stuck on this thought 90% of the day,  cannot cause these types of symptoms well let me tell you that it can.  Think about it.  When you are anxious all the time it takes a toll on your body.  It runs you down.  It makes you depressed.  All of these things are not healthy.  And when you are fixated on dying, anything that you feel even if for an instant you are going to automatically attribute it to dying.  

You need to see a psychologist.  Perhaps you have generalized anxiety disorder or maybe even OCD but the bottom line is you need to learn how to deal with the panic attacks and the rumination.  There is a way to stop them.  A way to take the fear out of the thought.  It is called cognitive behavioral therapy.  You learn to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.  You learn controlled breathing.  You learn self-coaching.  

I know you don't want to hear that your gerd is associated with your anxiety but studies have shown that it is possible.  Since you do have small children and they do need you to be playing your A game, you really should seek out a psychologist.  

Best of luck.  

[ranchomama]

Also I've been feeling very itchy in my whole body..