1. How long do you feel it took for you to fully recover . I am not fully recovered, I am not sure if there is a point that you do fully recover. I went undiagnosed for a long time and untreated. It started at 14/15 and I am turning 35 this year and I can say that I am atleast at a point where I can manage my anxiety. But still have my blips.
2. How did you get over the fear that it was a heart problem and just anxiety. After seeing cardiologists and having tons of testing done, I realized that for every time I thought it was my heart I wouldve been gone long ago. Each time it goes away and I am ok. So I finally realized and accepted that it is anxiety. But I still do lots to take care of my heart.
3. How long did it take for you to be able to get back to doing things that increase your heart rate like exercise? I have always been able to stay active except for when I was agoraphobic. However if I get depressed like I currently am, I tend not to exercise even though I know I need too. Our heart rates are suppose to increase, its not a bad thing. It makes our hearts stronger.
Hope that helps!
hi, while i can't begin to say i am recovered I do believe how we view this disorder is part of feeling better. I am trying to learn to accept thoughts and feelings for what they are and keep high anxiety down, which i am doing much better at.
I used to worry there was something wrong with my heart all the time, i think educating myself helped me deal with that. To understand the heart is a muscle doing its job. That it is designed to beat both fast and slow. we cannot directly control our heart rate but we can control our breathing which can control our heart rate.
I think excercise, at least for me, is a necessary part of dealing with this, that and meditation/mindfulness to retrain the brain. I exercise every day from 15-40 minutes. I just check my heart rate on occasion, many days not at all, but if it is below 140 i just remind myself my heart is a muscle that needs exercising just like my other muscles. If i break 140 (which never happens :)) i know it is time to slow down and regulate my breathing.
hope that helps!
Donna