Stress Center Peer Support

Hi there. I have Pure O. I have finsihed the program a few months back. It has helped me tremoundsly.
My OCD is around scary thoughts. I have come 99% better. Everytime a scary thought comes to my mind I underreact and just let them "float" by, all is well in my mind.
HOWEVER, my heart just gets this horrible feeling when I have a scary thought. It is strange.
Does anyone have any suggustions with what I can tell myself or do when this happens, I am almost over this journey with OCD .Thanks

p.s. I do have a heart condition as well known as SVT and I suffer from anxiety and take Paxil, which has helped my heart tremoundsly!

I take 81 mg. of aspirin every day which is supposed to help with heart and circulation according to my doctor.

thank you so much, I will try =)

Tallboy, have you tried Q 10 it is very go for the heart?

Breath!!!!! I also take Paxil. I have a heart murmer, but consider that the least of my worries. heart palpatations, skip heart beats, a pinching feeling in my heart. i have been to the doctor, and all is well. I am learning to let these feelings pass. The scary thoughts are what I am looking forward to getting rid of. I have had anxiety/depression for most of my life, but have just started with the scary thoughts in the past 4 years. If I hear something about somebody doing something terrible, I think that I might freek out and do the same thing. It's comforting to hear that you have pretty much over come your scary thoughts. I am only on session 2 of this program, and feel that I am getting great results. Be kind to yourself, you are still healing. Don't beat yourself up if you have a scary thought, distract yourself by reading an uplifting book, or go for a walk and try to think about all of the beautiful things their are in life. Good luck to you, remember this to will pass!!!!

Mel,

I'm assuming you have been to the doctor about your heart condition. If your doctor can tell you what you need to watch out for, then you will know better what your heart is doing.

There is a book by Dr. Claire Weekes entitled "Hope and Healing for your Nerves" that is such a good quick read. It tells us all about what our bodies go through when we panic or get anxious. She is also very comforting in the fact that she tells you how strong your heart is...your stomach is...and what our bodies are capable of.

I have hot flashes with my anxiety and one of the suggestions from Dr. Weekes book is to try to make it worse. So I would try to make my flashes hotter. You can't do it! If you try to make it worse, it won't happen. Your body is only capable of so much. Of course, you do have a heart condition, so check with your doctor.

I do wish you luck and congratulations for coming so far. I would love to know what helped you the most with the obsessive thinking, as I have the same thing, and still struggle with it at times.

Take Care
Lilsis

Melissa, The heart pounding (or getting a feeling) is still a reaction to the scary thought. I know - we try so hard but your breath work is your best bet. You are able to observe your thoughts and allow them their passage. You are right. You are almost to where you want to be with the ocd and you're doing a wonderful job. Breathing mentioned in a previous post is really a good tool to calm your heart down. Comfort yourself by acknowledging that "you know what is causing this. It's just my reaction to a thought. I'm so much better and improve more and more everyday." Use your calm breath and notice your body (and your heart) slow down. Then let go and move on with your day. Don't hold on to the experience. You'll handle it beautifully each time you encounter it.

thanks all for your great posts!