by Abdullah

Hi, well first I am Arabic person from middle east-Kuwait, 21 years old, male, born June 1st, 1990.

note: my English is not that good but I will try my best :D

Well first it all started back in April 2011! I was sleeping in peace with my cat and everything was perfect, just till I woke up gasping for air! I got really scared but I ignored it and went back to sleep. Then after maybe 2 or 3 days (can't remember)it happened again! So I went online looking for answers, only to find that it may be a SLEEP APNEA ?!?! (the patient forget to breath during sleep and wake up suddenly gasping for air)!!!! I was like...WHAT THE HELL?????!!!!

Anyways, I ignored it again and everything was okay. To be honest my brain still saved the idea that I may have sleep apnea!

On Thursday weekend, I went with my best friend to the movies, to see "RED RIDING HOOD" (thriller-romance movie), everything was fine and I was happy (not for too long) till I get this super weird heartbeat! My heart was beating suuuuppper fast! I asked my friend to put his hand on my chest to check and he said, "yeah it's pretty fast"! When the movie finished I told him to take me to the hospital, he did, then when I got there I was panicking! I was a little shaky, my heart was even faster and I was sweating! They got my blood pressure and it was normal, but said that my heart was beating fast for unknown reason! They send me home at the end! My dad and mom told me it was stress maybe (I didn't believe it was stress)!

NOTE: I SUFFER FROM SOCIAL ANXIETY! (don't like to be around people cuz i get nervous, sweat, heart beats fast, dry mouth etc...)

Anyways, my next horrible problem was SHORTNESS OF BREATH. I can't breath and it feels like I am choking! I tried to ignore it. I told my family that I was choking they said it's stress and I am breathing fine!

Just till this worst night ever! I was sitting at the laptop trying to make myself busy as possible cuz I was having the shortness of breath problem! Then suddenly I started to feel like I was going to pass out! First idea was going in my head was...I am dying! I ran to my mom's room panicking! My poor mom jumped out of the bed super scared for me, with me telling her that I can't breath, I am dying! It was the worst night ever! By the way, I think it was a panic attack. Then she called my dad and he came after 3 minutes. They sat me down trying to relax me! I was crying, so was my poor mom! Then my dad told me, "let's take you to the hospital". In the car guess what?...the panic got worse and worse. My symptoms were: SUPER FAST HEART BEAT, SHORTNESS OF BREATH, DIZZINESS, NUMBING HANDS AND DRY MOUTH AND SHAKING IN GENERAL! It was soo scary I was sure that I was dying! My dad was super fast with the car! When we got there they gave me shot to calm me down and did an EKG, BLOOD TEST, BLOOD PRESSURE and guess what? All was normal! I was like...what the hell! Anyway we went home and I slept in my parents room! Then my dad took me to an appointment to a heart doctor (good one). He first chatted with me then layed me down on the bed and listened to my heart. Then said, "Everything is normal. Let's go to the other room." There he did a iko sonar (like device on my heart connected to screen). They looked and looked and looked and said that it was all normal! He told me, "Look son, I can tell you that you are super healthy, with a really healthy heart and you suffer from anxiety! After a week I went to a chest doctor. He chatted with me and asked a lot oh questions. Then he said to my parents, "he has stress but lets get him a chest x-ray just to make sure." I did and it was normal! I was really confused there!

Could it be all in my head????!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Sorry for my long story this is the end of part 1 part 2 coming real soon!!! stay tuned!

NOTE: sorry for my English!

Reply from

Hello Abdullah!

Thank you very much for sharing your story with us. Your story sounds like so many others. It is true that anxiety and panic can trick you into thinking that something more is wrong with you. The symptoms are so terrible and it's hard to believe that stress can make a person feel this way.

It is true! Anxiety and panic are great liars! They try to convince you that it has to be more than that.

The good news is that you don't have any horrible physical problem. Your doctor has confirmed that your heart is healthy and you are strong. For this, you have much to be thankful for. I know that this answer, although is a relief, is also frustrating because you'd really like an explanation that makes better sense.

From the very beginning, we convince ourselves that something terrible is wrong and this idea lingers on for a very long time.

Since you were diagnosed with anxiety, the best thing you can do now is convince yourself of that truth. Then each time you experience anxiety or you are worried about what you may be feeling, you need to encourage yourself no matter how hard it is.

Be encouraged! You can overcome this. You only need to be more determined than your anxiety.

Take Care!

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