Fear of dying (anxiety and GERD issues)

Hi Joe,

Welcome to the HW Anxiety forum. This has become a form of therapy for me at times because there's a great group of people here, with a variety of opinions and experiences,....all of which we can learn from.

If you read previous posts you'll actually see that Health Anxiety is one of the most common types. A good majority of posts bring this up in some for or another. So please know that you are not alone, and the things that you do and experience,....such as checking your pulse, air gulping, and even the fact that you're suffering from GERD,...pretty commonly shared among a bunch of us.

Have you consulted with your doctor about treatment and management of both the GERD and of the anxiety? They exacerbate each other, so it can be a scary, circular dance we get ourselves into.

This forum has some of the most understanding and compassionate people yet, so I'm certain some will pipe in and share their thoughts with you....and welcome aboard! :)





M.

Hi JR and welcome!
I am sorry that you are currently dealing with your GERD and the added burden on health/death worry . It is not unusual for an individual to deal with anxiety along with a chronic health issue, such as GERD.

I am going to post a bunch of helpful Resources, and how you can use them, since self-help seems like the best option for you at this time. It can be highly effective if practiced regularly!

Here is a list of our complete Resources:

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=9&m=104206

This is a great exercise and informational page on how we misinterpret our physical symptoms, and how to redirect our thinking about them:

http://www.get.gg/docs/superscanner.pdf

These are invaluable exercises for lowering overall stress levels, and reducing anxiety:

Self Help sites with breathing/relaxation exercises instructions

Panic attack relief exercises:

http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/73076/34334/breathing-lessons/

http://www.healthyplace.com/

http://www.stress-relief-exercises.com/

http://www.ehow.com/video_4405003_breathing-exercises-panic-attacks.html

Give these a look and a try and see how you do. Keep posting with us as well anytime. We understand and are here to support!

Scaredy Cat

Yes! I used to suffer daily panic attacks. I was convinced that I was dying...and was afraid to even go to bed at night for fear of not waking up.

I did go to therapy, so that might be a future goal for you...but a lot of what I learned there is right in the resources that I gave you above.

With self-help you have to be motivated, and dig through and find what works for you, but it can be done, definintely.

Treating your phsyical issue/GERD and reading the books/information/doing the exercises above will go a long way in helping you to feel better.;)

S.C.

Hi Larry,

Thank you for your reply, am really trying to dig deep into myself to find the strength that will get me through it =D

and yes if you wouldn't mind I'll contact you via email. I really would love to talk to someone every once in a while :D

A few years ago I read a story about this man who was diagnosed with cancer. He then decided not to get any treatment and cure himself with laughter. He was watching comedies all day long, hanging out with people who made him laugh, did silly things that made himself laugh - in a nutshell he was laughing all day long. The story said that after a couple of months of his 'treatment' he actually managed to shrink his cancer to a point where he could be operated on without any consequences. I don't know if this story is true or not, but I like to believe it is. It actually proves that laughter is the best medicine
Be Well

Way to go Joe! We are here to cheer you on and cheer you up.

DH.,
For most people, it is not the fear of what will happen in the 'after life'...it is the fear of losing control at the moment of death happening.
I have a firm belief of what will happen, and where I will go after I die...
...but that does not mean that I am not afraid of the actual act of dying. There is a difference. (and know that you are not alone.)
I don't focus on it, because I have been through enough therapy/done self-help to learn the skills to get out of the worry cycle of the things that used to keep me obsessed.
Check out the books that I posted above. I know that one of them has a chapter focusing just of the fear of death...it could be a healing tool.
Keep posting and working towards you goals!
S.C.

Hey guys =D

I just wanted to drop by and tell you how am I doing now just for the record if there's anyone out there who's reading this and found some similarities between our cases and wondering how am I doing now =D

Well, am better for sure, I can sleep better and it's not as bad as it used to be. Somethings I was afraid of do not intimidate me now. there's a book that helped me a lot that discusses only death anxiety named "Staring at the sun" I haven't finished it yet but it's so good, also The Complete Guide to Overcoming OCD by David Veale is really good and very helpful.

Some techniques also like writing down things that would trigger your anxiety and reading them out loud for like 5 to 10 mins. For me I wrote down things like "I will die young" or "I will die of a sudden cardiac arrest" or "I will die alone" things that used to intimidate me so badly but am beginning to learn to face my fears, and that's the key guys, facing your fears NOT running away from them. I mean I used to drown myself into denial I acknowledged the problem (or trying to acknowledge it to be honest sometimes I think am really dying it's not the anxiety but only sometimes), I faced my fears and am moving on =D

I began to workout and lost some few extra pounds as well and still losing and am keeping myself positive as much as I can, eating healthy and laughing as much as I can.

Am not 100% cured to be honest but am definitely half the way there, and guess what latley I had no shortness of breath, no chest pain, no foggy vision nor dizziness or lightheadedness. Well, when I get anxious some physical symptoms comes back like today I felt a little down because it's friday and the guy who died of sudden cardiac arrest died on a friday so, it got me a bit depressed and triggered the anxiety a bit but am facing it and am conquering my fear and anxiety =D Oh, even my PVCs improved significantly!!!


So hang in there, there is a cure but you need to be strong, it's a disease like any other disease and I personally call it "the mind cancer" and it really is, but it's not deadly though =D it would take over your life and your body but you need to fight it and you can do it. It can be really tricky and your mind WILL play games on you but you need to be stronger =D