I'm obsessed that I'm going to have a heart attack, why and what to do?

  • Jul 26, 2021
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I am obsessed that I am going to have a heart attack, why and what to do?

Taking care of our health and the attention we dedicate to it is one of the most important matters for our own survival and quality of life. In addition to leading a healthy lifestyle (adequate diet, sleep patterns, stress management, regular exercise, etc.) it is It is necessary to pay attention to the body signals that can alert us that something is not going well and we should consider visiting a doctor.

Sometimes, there are people for whom taking care of their health becomes an obsessive matter, especially if they associate their discomfort with vital organs such as the heart and diseases, therefore, lethal. If you have ever considered "I'm obsessed with what is going to give me a heart attack" Keep reading this Psychology-Online article in which we talk about why this is happening to you and what you can do about it.

You may also like: I feel sick but I have nothing: why? and what do I do?

Index

  1. The normal concern for health
  2. Pathological concern for health
  3. Diagnosis of hypochondria
  4. Why am I obsessed with having a heart attack?
  5. What can I do if I'm obsessed with having a heart attack?

The normal concern for health.

As we have indicated in the introduction, taking care of our health and paying attention to possible red flags is vital for us. Worrying, for example, about an intense stomach upset, a puncture in the chest or a pain that we have never experienced, is normal.

The concern, as we anticipated, may be greater depending on the signal that we have detected. When we sense that the signal may compromise a vital organ, our concern may also be greater. For example, it will be easier to be alarmed by a puncture in the chest than by knee pain.

The heart, as we all know, is one of the most important organs in our body. A failure in its operation can have serious consequences on our health and its stop can end our life.

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases would be the main cause of death in the world. This data can also skew our concerns in this direction, especially and even more so when we have had cases close to death or serious illness due to cardiovascular problems.

Therefore, it is not surprising that we can feel concerns about our health, especially in important organs such as the heart and that these concerns are aggravated when we know close cases of death or illness cardiovascular.

Pathological concern for health.

Health concern can cease to fulfill its adaptive function and become maladaptive when it becomes obsessive. The American Psychiatric Association's Dictionary of Psychology defines obsessions as thoughts, ideas, images, or impulses that are persistent and experienced as intrusive by the person or inappropriate, producing anxiety, distress or discomfort. For all this, you will know if you are obsessed or obsessed if the appearance of these worries causes you discomfort.

When worries don't do their job (such as pushing us to visit a doctor in the face of a potentially dangerous sign), it won't be adaptive either.

The diagnosis of hypochondria.

Excessive concern about having a heart attack could constitute a disorder if certain diagnostic criteria are met. We are talking about the classic hypochondria.

In the diagnostic classification of the World Health Organization, ICD-11, hypochondria is within the group “Obsessive-Compulsive and Other Related Disorders”. This disorder is defined as persistent fear or worry about the possibility of suffering a serious or life-threatening illness, such as a heart attack.

In the latest diagnostic classification of the American Psychiatric Association, DM-5, we must pay attention to two disorders included in the category "Somatic Symptom Disorder and Related Disorders": "illness anxiety disorder" and "somatic symptom disorder".

Illness anxiety disorder

Sick anxiety disorder requires the person to feel worried about having a heart attack when your symptoms are mild or nonexistent. Even if the person suffers from some other health problem such as hypertension or has a family history of heart attack, their concern continues to be excessive.

The hypochondriac person feels a high anxiety faced with health-related issues and is easily alarmed. In response to your concerns, you may display excessive health-related behaviors (such as constant seeking medical attention) or avoidance (does not want to go, for example, to the doctor or the hospital).

In this article we talk about hypochondria, its causes and tips to overcome it.

Somatic symptom disorder

In this disorder, somatic symptoms must necessarily appear that also interfere with the person's life and / or generate discomfort. These symptoms cause concern to the person and are associated with thoughts, feelings or behaviors related to said concern: the person believes that the situation is much more serious than it really is, they suffer from high anxiety in relation to their symptoms or their health, the person spends a lot of time thinking about it, etc.

In this article, you will find What is somatization in psychology.

Why am I obsessed with having a heart attack?

In hypochondrial disorder, the person experiences fear, worry and believes they have a serious illness, but this would be the result of a misinterpretation of bodily sensations. Rief and Broadbent (2007; seen in Martínez, M.P., 2014)[1] they synthesize the factors that contribute to the appearance and maintenance of this problem and that we expose below.

At a cognitive level, hypochondriacs would present concern about issues related to health and anxiety about the disease. Faced with certain symptoms or sensations (to which their attention may be biased) they would interpret these in a catastrophic way and they would overestimate the chances of having a heart attack.

Given the concern about your symptoms or the idea that you might have a heart attack, the person seeks information or medical attention, which can reassure them and thus maintain these behaviors.

What can I do if I'm obsessed with having a heart attack?

If the concern is excessive and interferes in the daily life of the person causing discomfort, it is best to go to a therapist to assess the case and can make the best recommendation. The psychological treatment for these cases is based on cognitive behavioral therapy, which will act on:

  • The beliefs, thoughts and attitudes towards the disease.
  • The rigid and erroneous causal attribution of your bodily sensations.
  • The reduction of reassuring behaviors (such as searching for information on the internet, ..).
  • Other aspects of the case that are necessary to receive clinical care.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to I am obsessed that I am going to have a heart attack, why and what to do?, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

References

  1. Martínez, M.P. (2014) Somatic Symptom Disorders and Related Disorders. In Caballo, V.E., Salazar, I.C. And Carrobles, J.A. (2014) Manual of Psychopathology and Psychological Disorders. Madrid. Pyramid.

Bibliography

  • American Psychiatric Association (2020). APA Dictionary of Psychology. Recovered from https://dictionary.apa.org
  • American Psychiatric Association (2014). DSM-5. Reference guide to the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5-Breviary. Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana.
  • Martínez, M.P. (2014) Somatic Symptom Disorders and Related Disorders. In Caballo, V.E., Salazar, I.C. And Carrobles, J.A. (2014) Manual of Psychopathology and Psychological Disorders. Madrid. Pyramid.
  • World Health Organization (WHO) (2018) International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision. Recovered from https://icd.who.int/es
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