462: Health Anxiety: Worrying I’ll Have a Heart Attack
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Points covered in this episode:
Why the mind fixates on our health
- Teachings from Ayurveda on why the mind fixates on fearful thoughts about our health and how we can support ourselves.
- How learning more about your dosha (mind-body type) can help you know what your anxiety triggers are, and how to bring yourself back to a more balanced state through diet and lifestyle suggestions.
To find out more about your mind and body type according to Ayurveda, you can take our quiz here.
- Why self-care is important for calming anxious thoughts.
Example self-care practices: warm baths with lavender and magnesium salts grounding yoga postures like child’s pose calming tea like Pukka Herbs Relax or Love teas
Don’t feed your fear
Don’t Google symptoms - when we Google we can find what we think is confirmation of our worst fears. That triggers trauma in us. Imagined fear and actual fear affect our body in the same way. Our nervous system responds to what our mind sends its way - it doesn’t sort between fact and fear fiction.
We have to prioritize protecting and engaging our mind by drawing it away from fear thoughts and into present moment occupation.
Keep Yourself Healthily Occupied
Get creative - to stop your mind dwelling on symptoms and body sensations find some occupation. Think about activities you’ve enjoyed in the past like walking, baking, arts or crafts. It doesn't matter what it is, so long as you find it engaging - the idea is to draw your mind away and prevent it from getting stuck in the endless groove of your anxiety.
Calm health fears by bringing your mind to the truth in this moment:
Draw your mind away from fear story thoughts and into the present moment by noting what you know, right here and right now.
Practice regularly checking in with the simple truth of where you are and what you are doing moment by moment. For example, man reading a book, woman making tea. This helps to settle your mind and stop it flying off into scary "what if" thinking.
Try Bach Flowers Rescue Remedy
Rescue Remedy contains flower essences that help calm anxiety and shock in our bodies and minds, the night-time version has an added remedy: White Chestnut, which is helpful for looping fear thoughts about our health.
Dr Bach's description of White Chestnut for calming persistent unwanted thoughts "For those who cannot prevent thoughts, ideas, or arguments which they do not desire from entering their minds. Usually at such times when the interest of the moment is not strong enough to keep the mind full. Thoughts which worry and will remain, or if for a time thrown out, will return. They seem to circle round and round and cause mental torture. The presence of such unpleasant thoughts drives out peace and interferes with being able to think only of the work or pleasure of the day."
You can find Bach Flower Remedies at many health stores, or via Nelsons or Amazon online.
The Anxiety Slayer First Responder Series for Health Anxiety
Learn how to stop health anxiety thoughts from spiralling out of control and hijacking your mind.
Lessons in the course include:
How to stop anxiously fixating on symptoms and sensations in your body
Guided EFT Tapping Sessions to stop Health Anxiety and build peace of mind
A calming breathing practice for slowing racing thoughts
Learn more about the First Responder Health Anxiety Course here