Anxiety Over Palpitations: A Mindset Thing

 

Nothing but uncertainty. It's what you often have with heart palpitations, especially if it's your first time to have them. Sometimes, it's all you have all day, uncertainties. If you're not yet palpitating now, you wonder when. If it's there, you wonder when it'll end. I know how it is. It imprisons the mind, not just the body. But you have to break free from this mindset. Palpitations will not kill you but anxiety might.

Photo by boram kim on Unsplash.

Anxiety is the Goliath

Anxiety is your biggest enemy when you suffer heart palpitation. As long as you pray, have regular checkups, take your medications and live a healthy lifestyle, most palpitations are not life threatening, says a lot of heart experts. Especially mine. But watch out for anxiety. Anxiety and the concomitant overstress can lead to worse scenarios.

Oh, and most breathing difficulty during palpitation is really caused by anxiety, not the palpitation. And anxiety can lead to other illnesses and bring complications. So do your best to relax and avoid being too anxious. A little anxiety is normal, but don't let it eat you. It pays to train yourself to be relaxed even with palps. It can be done. I learned to do it and am doing it in the few times I have mild palps (it used to be alarming).

Click here to see how I successfully manage palpitation.

Relaxing is the Key

So, relax, even during palpitations. Heartbeats going wild and loud is scary, especially when they up your BP. If you feel the need to go to the nearest heart hospital or ER, do so. Don't panic or worry, just go to the hospital for checkup or medical treatment. When I was rushed to the ER of the Philippine Heart Center for Asia, I kept calm and even calmed down the nurses attending me because they looked more worried and alarmed than I was. "Relax," I said, smiling.

Hey guys, it's just ordinary ER routine for palpitation. No big deal. It's good to hear from your heart specialist how your case is not life threatening, especially if you're careful with your health. I asked him that. It's good to get a real heart expert appropriate to your condition, although you also shouldn't put all your trust in him or in medical heart procedures, meds or treatments. You should put your 100 percent trust in God alone.

Prayer is Like 5 Smooth Stones that Kill Goliaths

Never forget to pray. Leave it to God. He'll take care of it. You just have to trust and wait. Prayer does the following:

1. Powerfully gets God's help, instantaneously. 
2. Calms you down because you place yourself in the hands of God.
3. Gives you assurance.

Prayer is like the 5 smooth stones David had to confront the deadly giant, Goliath, but one stone proved enough to get rid of him. The same with prayer. Often, one prayer does it. In my case, there were times that one short prayer stopped my palps right on the spot. As soon as I end the 3- to 4-second prayer, the palps ceased. It was wonderful! God did it! Sometimes, it needed 3 or 4 short prayers. Never forget to pray first and put a lot of faith in it.

Back at the ER

Sometimes, when I was at the ER, I told the nurses and staff to, "Just relax." Before administering the injectable liquid into my vein, I asked them to pray with me. So they calmed down. After a few seconds, the liquid took effect (but not without a scary moment first, because it made my heartbeat almost stop) and the palpitation stopped, by God's grace. I and my wife thanked God and happily went back home like nothing happened, although I could tell that she worried. She just tried to keep it from me. Well, I worried, too, not because of the treatment, but the ER bill. Anyway, ER staff and nurses should be trained to calm down and not look alarmed in front of the patient. Don't they know that?

With a calm spirit and open mind, you can teach yourself to relax and calm down. And this has lots to do with prayer and a close connection with God, who alone can give you real peace. I have ways to enforce calmness in my mind and it's been a lifestyle (and sometimes, even to command my palps to normalize). Being close to God and meditating His Word sometimes gives you that supernatural power. It helps a lot to live a calm and relaxed lifestyle all the time, anywhere you are.

Anxiety Symptoms

Often, it's really anxiety that gives you the problem, not the palpitation. What I do is separate anxiety symptoms from my palps so I can isolate anxiety and deal with it. Here are the symptoms:

1. Nervousness
2. Feeling cold and perspiring heavily
3. Dizziness
4. Weakness
5. Difficulty breathing
6. Loss of appetite
7. Feeling of hopelessness

But do make sure that these symptoms are not heart problems. So you must work closely with your heart doctor to determine this. And during an attack and you think it's not just anxiety, have yourself rushed to the ER, but remain calm and relaxed. It's possible.