Defib and stress

Stress

by piglet22 - 2024-07-19 05:45:28

Hello 

As you have seen, stress/agitation can have a direct effect on your health.

You can easily get into a feedback loop where it gets worse.

An example is going to the GP and you get your blood pressure taken.

The GP says that's a bit high.

Next time you go you start to worry if it's going to be high. The worry and thinking about it makes sure it is and so it continues.

Breaking these loops is difficult.

Your biography suggests that you are quite competitive, cycling etc., and it might be easy to get into altercations.

I used to cycle a lot but eventually decided it was too dangerous, being cut up, forced off the road.

I find walking a lot more relaxing, apart from the odd cyclist using the same track and can't use a bell.

It's hard, but put a block on any negative thoughts. It can be worse at night, mulling over problems and you wake up wondering what you were worrying about.

Having things to look forward to helps and put those thoughts to the front to swamp the negative thoughts.

Another thing to avoid is repeatedly going over stuff until you put it into permanent memory instead of short term memory.

Breaking the Anxiety Cycle

by Andiek11 - 2024-07-19 12:54:12

It is very easy to get caught in a loop where you end up worrying about possibly worrying.  Welcome to the human race.  There are lots of options that don't involve meds for trying to manage these types of situations and i won't go into a very long dissertation, but will cut to the chase.  There is an outstanding app called, "Unwinding Anxiety" that was put out by Dr. Judd Brewer, MD, who is a psychiatrist who focuses on applying the principles of Mindfulness to nissues like anxiety.  The app is very well constructed, easy to follow and self-pace. There is a fee for the app, but it is not super expensive. I'd encourage you to google both the doctor and the app to learn more.   Bottom line is that anxiious experiences will always be part of life, but it is very possible to learn how to manage and prevent anxiety from being anymoe annoying that is absolutely necessary.  Good luck and I hope you find an approach to anxisty managrment that works for you.

Been there

by athena123 - 2024-07-19 18:22:01

I definitely know how you feel. I've had anxiety for some time, some days better then others, but with a little mindfulness and assurance that nothing bad will happen to you will help with your stress level. When you start to feel anxiety drop what your doing and just take a walk. Clear your mind and try to breath in and out slowly, it helps to relax your parsympathetic nervous system. keep yourself engaged and preoccupied with daily task and make sure you take time for exercise. plenty of hydration. I too sometimes have a hard time getting sleep so I take a half of ambient to try to relax. good luck

I don't cope well with stress

by Gemita - 2024-07-21 06:15:59

If we have an ICD, the fear of getting a shock is real, not imagined.  It does happen, that is the purpose of an ICD to protect us in the event of a life threatening rhythm disturbance.  Of course sometimes a patient may receive an inappropriate shock, perhaps caused by a too sensitively set ICD which may have picked up an atrial arrhythmia rather than a dangerous ventricular one, so your team will always want to check your device after a shock to see why you experienced it and to confirm if it was an appropriate shock for you.   

I only have a pacemaker and the likelihood of something bad happening with a pacemaker alone, like getting a device failure, is obviously less likely, so my stress levels with a pacemaker will be lower than your stress levels with an ICD.  Some of my triggers leading to stress include lack of sleep, dehydration, other health conditions, including my heart rhythm disturbances. Getting help with these when they surface may help to reverse stressful symptoms.  As for treatments, you could consider:

ICD-specific education, joining a support group to discuss your particular fears with perhaps your medical teams on hand to give advice.  You could ask at your hospital if there are such groups?

Relaxation/stress management courses, like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and practising Mindfulness.

Anxiety is a normal, healthy response to what has happened to you with an ICD, so don’t try to suppress your fears or difficult emotions.  Let them surface and discuss them with others, just as you have started to do here.

An ICD can give people more freedom to go out and live their lives. But this comes with the challenge of knowing your ICD may deliver a shock. It’s certainly not pleasant and can be a frightening experience. It can take a few days, weeks, or months to feel calm or comfortable again after a shock. Remember that is a normal response. So really look after yourself following a shock, and recognise there is a natural recovery process.

It can be especially difficult if you receive an “inappropriate shock”, which means your ICD has fired when you didn’t need it. Devices are not perfect, and the best thing to do is to get help from your pacing clinic to work out what went wrong.  

When I am stressed I distract myself by going out into the garden or going for a walk, or by doing something "active" that will bring peace to a troubled mind.