Anxiety, PTSD, Mental Health: General Discussion

[Ashoka]

I have been having terrible luck recently with my health.

I took an aspirin after a small meal at dinner time. Normally after a meal at dinner time I feel pretty uncomfortable and a little bit sickly, a kind of whole body discomfort. Taking an aspirin can sometimes make me feel more normal, so I got in the habit of taking one after dinner, though not every day. While sometimes I notice a slight increase in heart rate, today I got heart pounding, and that's scary because I already get skipped beats. My anxiety also immediately goes through for the roof when I get palpitations or digestive distress.

I really don't know what to do. Last year I went to the ER twice for palpitations and they tested my heart saying I had chest pain of "unknown origin". I have a hiatal hernia but that has mostly subdued. I know this is connected to the aspirin. I still have pounding heart and skipped beats.

 

[DaveFoster]

How about half an aspirin, or a baby aspirin? Chest pain can be caused by many things; it does not have to directly relate to your cardiovascular system.

If you're suffering symptoms from a single aspirin, I'd be hesitant to say that a single aspirin after administration cessation (or a bunch of aspirin) would have this effect after the drug has left your system.

The fact that you feel sickly after dinner tells me you have a digestion problem; it could relate to your gut, liver, or gallbladder.

 

[jaguar43]

Aspirin is an uncoupler of phosphorylation similar to t3. There have been studies "warning" people to not take aspirin because it can cause hyperthermia and heart palpitations.



I would advise to take a smaller dose than what you are taking in the time being. It's hard to pin point what is causing the reaction.

 

[tca300]

Small doses of pregnenolone ( mixed in mouth with water ), plenty of lowfat milk and fruit, basically take care of my palpitations.

 

[Ashoka]

Cheers guys, I appreciate your thoughts.

I have PFS so nothing is easy to pinpoint. Recently I was doing better than ever, but palpitations and panic are a recurring problem and events like these just set one back. And I simply can't disentangle what is doing what in my body.

I get palpitations from overeating sometimes, or lying down after drinking, which is what seems to be vestige of a hiatal hernia. This was different in that it wasn't responding to any attempts to calm down. It was slowly ascending in terms of intensity.

Recently I've had lots of panic in my life though. Earlier in this month I convinced myself I had food poisoning when I didn't. Then I nearly suffocated myself cooking one night by inhaling too much airborne smoke from cooking oil. Now this incident. Separating the fact from fiction has ceased being a practical goal. I'm unsure whether I have a full blown anxiety disorder that can produce these symptoms ex nihilo or whether I respond to actual external conditions. Perhaps what the aspirin did was simply trigger the physical analogue for a panic attack. I have no clue.

Aspirin normally does seem to help me. Strangely enough, I feel it even helps digestion sometimes. But I can't imagine myself taking it after that experience for a while.

 

[Ashoka]

Small doses of pregnenolone ( mixed in mouth with water ), plenty of lowfat milk and fruit, basically take care of my palpitations.

That's good to know, thanks. Mine were becoming history for a while too. The next supplement I wanted to try was a high quality pregnenolone.

 

[Ashoka]

Well, it seems I'm having similar symptoms even in the absence of aspirin now. Following dinner tonight, I got palpitations, mainly just harder heart beat and a feeling of discomfort/nausea, after eating a meal with rice, meat, and OJ. Eating smaller meals earlier in the day isn't as much of a problem.

Not really sure what to do but start eating smaller meals. Maybe rice is a problem too.

 

[Jayfish]

Sounds like endotoxin to me. Try some fasting, maybe eat most of your calories mid day to allow plenty of time for digestion. Stress hormones go up at night so plenty of sugar, salt and red light at night should avert panic attacks.

 

[Ashoka]

Sounds like endotoxin to me. Try some fasting, maybe eat most of your calories mid day to allow plenty of time for digestion. Stress hormones go up at night so plenty of sugar, salt and red light at night should avert panic attacks.

You know, as this is subsiding again I'm unsure if this is just endotoxin. In hindsight I think this type of reaction is related to hiatal hernia. The aspirin just made it worse. Many people with hiatal hernia report vagus nerve imbalance, intense anxiety, bloating, palpitations after-eating aka noncardiac chest pain (Are Your Heart Palpitations and Stomach Bloating Connected?). It's a close constellation of symptoms. When the food has left the stomach, palpitations cease as does the anxiety, for the most part.

I've been trying to completely solve hiatal hernia for about a year. It's possible only through better diet and de-stressing. It's largely gone, but the problem is stress can set it off again. I think muscular dysfunction in my body and types of adaptation (for example what Thomas Hanna calls sensory motor amnesia) have made it so I can't fully solve this without bigger changes. I'm considering the Alexander Technique and Yoga. I honestly don't see how anyone's health can improve without confronting problems with hiatal hernia directly, mainly because it makes it so you can't eat properly or get enough calories.

 

[tara]

I get palpitations from overeating sometimes, or lying down after drinking, which is what seems to be vestige of a hiatal hernia. This was different in that it wasn't responding to any attempts to calm down. It was slowly ascending in terms of intensity.

I'm considering the Alexander Technique and Yoga. I honestly don't see how anyone's health can improve without confronting problems with hiatal hernia directly, mainly because it makes it so you can't eat properly or get enough calories.

I'm picking the ongoing effects of the hiatial hernia and possible effects on vagal nerve could be at play with your recent symptoms too.

I like the idea of seeing if postural changes can make a difference.

 

[InChristAlone]

I feel for you, I have a history of 2 yrs of anxiety attacks or adrenaline rushes I like to call them. This is actually good insight into why I experience them too because I never did pinpoint exactly. Mine would happen post meal a lot too. I think a few things might be involved. Our awareness of our body is heightened in panic disorder, and so something as simple as your heart rate increasing can trigger anxiety. Heart rate does normally go up post meal but not so much as to cause a panic attack. I am testing the theory of endotoxin right now by eating a daily carrot, so far today it feels like it helped my tachycardia. I am also taking cypro a very tiny amount just to quell the adrenaline. It helps me focus on getting better and less on the anxiety of the physical sensations. The more you focus on those the worse your palps might get.

 

[Ashoka]

I feel for you, I have a history of 2 yrs of anxiety attacks or adrenaline rushes I like to call them. This is actually good insight into why I experience them too because I never did pinpoint exactly. Mine would happen post meal a lot too. I think a few things might be involved.

Sorry to hear that Janelle, but I'm glad some things you're trying are helping. Are you able to take a full diaphragmatic breath? Do you have any feeling of chest pressure at any point? When my thing was at its worst, I literally felt there was a knot in my chest and I couldn't really breath from my belly at all. That changed when I made a conscious effort through breathing exercises to breath that way.

In my own experience only dealing with emotional trauma for an extended period of time did this pattern emerge. In the book "Somatics" the argument is made that we basically have a trauma reflex and "red light reflex" that are automated physical responses to the presence of threatening situations. If we encounter these situations repeatedly or severely, they can change the way we move and use our bodies.

With those subsequent changes in posture, I think we can basically affect internal organs especially if this is coupled with poor health in general. It seems to me the type of internal pressure developed by bad posture generates really bad feelings of anxiety, never mind endotoxin or other digestive issues down the track.

 

[InChristAlone]

Yes you are exactly right, and my posture is atrocious! I keep trying to find something to blame for my anxiety disorder but it all happened after years of chronic unrelenting stress. In fact the lack of self care was so serious I'm amazed I went that long before serious problems emerged. One thing that happened before it all started is having neck and back strain from carrying around a toddler on a hip. I really would like to get into yoga and practice that self love I know will restore my body but I get worked up easily and then my heart will race for a while. The heart racing is what ive been trying to avoid since this all started, but I know that can't be healed unless I practice the self care! A viscious cycle.

So are still working through the emotional trauma? I also think a hiatal hernia is one reason for post meal stress.

 

[whit]

You know, as this is subsiding again I'm unsure if this is just endotoxin. In hindsight I think this type of reaction is related to hiatal hernia. The aspirin just made it worse. Many people with hiatal hernia report vagus nerve imbalance, intense anxiety, bloating, palpitations after-eating aka noncardiac chest pain (Are Your Heart Palpitations and Stomach Bloating Connected?). It's a close constellation of symptoms. When the food has left the stomach, palpitations cease as does the anxiety, for the most part.

I've been trying to completely solve hiatal hernia for about a year. It's possible only through better diet and de-stressing. It's largely gone, but the problem is stress can set it off again. I think muscular dysfunction in my body and types of adaptation (for example what Thomas Hanna calls sensory motor amnesia) have made it so I can't fully solve this without bigger changes. I'm considering the Alexander Technique and Yoga. I honestly don't see how anyone's health can improve without confronting problems with hiatal hernia directly, mainly because it makes it so you can't eat properly or get enough calories.

Yoga can be a great reset as is breathing techniques. Tapping can work for some as well.
All these things take time to do and to master. All the benefit can be undone on the drive home too.
The issue with stress is much larger than most generally will admit. When asked however most people will say they're busy all the time. When were so busy we can't take time to heal or sleep or spend the time with loved ones like we need.
Being around people who support us and love us. Is a great blessing and can be the most nurishing experience if we'll take the time to appreciate it.

 

[Simonsays]

Recently I've had lots of panic in my life though. Earlier in this month I convinced myself I had food poisoning when I didn't. Then I nearly suffocated myself cooking one night by inhaling too much airborne smoke from cooking oil. Now this incident. Separating the fact from fiction has ceased being a practical goal. I'm unsure whether I have a full blown anxiety disorder that can produce these symptoms ex nihilo or whether I respond to actual external condition

I feel for you, I have a history of 2 yrs of anxiety attacks or adrenaline rushes I like to call them. This is actually good insight into why I experience them too because I never did pinpoint exactly

Just my 2 cents worth. You are very anxious. I can totally relate. I am currently sinking under health anxiety. My near constant monitoring of my recently developed heart palps and missed beats etc. I am also hypothyroid , so this doesnt help. You end up over analysing everything you ate and did, take , didnt take. Should i take more this, try that. stop that etc. Spending too much time on Ray Peat forum etc. lol.

You can externalise a problem within your bodily functions and sensations that might originate in your repressed emotions.

Do you think your health issues might have a psychological aspect? Many people have many health issues but this doesnt trigger anxiety/panic.

A simple test is, how are you about expressing anger and if you can do you feel guilty about it? This is the root of anxiety and panic disorder.

If you dont then, as others have stated you have to look at external stressors , life, work, relationships etc.

Yoga and other techniques can help, but dont really deal with buried core issues. I dont think its the aspirin.

"If you repress your anger because U were taught to judge it as a kid as 'wrong,' you're gonna struggle with anxiety & depression lifelong."

"The adult cannot be healed, if we're not also working to repair the little girl or boy inside that still feels worthless and unlovable."

"It's important to learn that unresolved core trauma is the precursor for Anxiety Disorder, OCD, and whole host of diseases."

The mind and body are one

Good luck

 

[postman]

When I took high dose aspirin daily I had heart palpitations and chest pain after a couple of months. It was directly related to the aspirin, and dose dependent. Be careful.

 

[InChristAlone]

Just my 2 cents worth. You are very anxious. I can totally relate. I am currently sinking under health anxiety. My near constant monitoring of my recently developed heart palps and missed beats etc. I am also hypothyroid , so this doesnt help. You end up over analysing everything you ate and did, take , didnt take. Should i take more this, try that. stop that etc. Spending too much time on Ray Peat forum etc. lol.

You can externalise a problem within your bodily functions and sensations that might originate in your repressed emotions.

Do you think your health issues might have a psychological aspect? Many people have many health issues but this doesnt trigger anxiety/panic.

A simple test is, how are you about expressing anger and if you can do you feel guilty about it? This is the root of anxiety and panic disorder.

If you dont then, as others have stated you have to look at external stressors , life, work, relationships etc.

Yoga and other techniques can help, but dont really deal with buried core issues. I dont think its the aspirin.

"If you repress your anger because U were taught to judge it as a kid as 'wrong,' you're gonna struggle with anxiety & depression lifelong."

"The adult cannot be healed, if we're not also working to repair the little girl or boy inside that still feels worthless and unlovable."

"It's important to learn that unresolved core trauma is the precursor for Anxiety Disorder, OCD, and whole host of diseases."

The mind and body are one

Good luck

I agree, I think the root cause is lack of self-love. Constantly beating myself up constantly letting others walk all over me. And never speaking my peace. (well my husband became somewhat of a punching bag during chronic stress). Yesterday I had a major emotional stress and woke up in a panic at 2am, its pretty predictable at this point. Then today I'm completely drained. I hate this cycle. Thanks for your insight. In chinese medicine apparently there is no word for thyroid disease, its considered a disconnect in communication, like not having your own voice. The only way to heal that is to then find your voice.

 

[Simonsays]

I agree, I think the root cause is lack of self-love. Constantly beating myself up constantly letting others walk all over me. And never speaking my peace. (well my husband became somewhat of a punching bag during chronic stress). Yesterday I had a major emotional stress and woke up in a panic at 2am, its pretty predictable at this point. Then today I'm completely drained. I hate this cycle. Thanks for your insight. In chinese medicine apparently there is no word for thyroid disease, its considered a disconnect in communication, like not having your own voice. The only way to heal that is to then find your voice.

If you can relate to this, then i dont think its a case of lack of self love, it was more likely a lack of love when you were a child. If others walk all over you, then you have low self esteem issues. Where does this come from? Dont blame yourself. Have you considered counselling/therapy? Ive started again and its amazing what ive learnt in such a short space of time. Very painful but necessary. But you need to have the right person to work with.

"It's much easier to recognize abuse from another, than to accept that theirs doesn't hold a candle to how WE tear ourselves down, every day."

"Show me where you ARE, and I'll know where you've been. Your poor self-worth began with parents who taught U to think and feel this way."

"A lot of folks like to say, "the past is the past." They haven't even begun to realize just how much childhood pain has blocked em from Joy."

"Entitlement issues means, "I don't feel deserving or worthy of receiving what I need and want." You acquired this problem as a child."

"The difficulties that force you into therapy, have a much deeper causation factor. If you don't fix the root of that issue, it'll repeat."

Quotes courtesy of Shari Schreiber MA

That quote about chinese medicine and thyroid disease, i think is bang on. They definitely know, dont they. Where does this leave Ray Peat though?? My hypothyroidism i believe was definitely emotionally stress induced , as was my mothers i think in retrospect (she had hers radioactively zapped back in the 60s) . I suppose this is where the belief that hypothyroidism runs in families. But so does dysfunction! No amount of thyroid hormone/diet changes etc will solve it, if the core issues arent dealt with.

 

[Ashoka]

When I took high dose aspirin daily I had heart palpitations and chest pain after a couple of months. It was directly related to the aspirin, and dose dependent. Be careful.

Thanks for responding. I'll definitely keep all that in mind.

Yes you are exactly right, and my posture is atrocious! I keep trying to find something to blame for my anxiety disorder but it all happened after years of chronic unrelenting stress. In fact the lack of self care was so serious I'm amazed I went that long before serious problems emerged. One thing that happened before it all started is having neck and back strain from carrying around a toddler on a hip. I really would like to get into yoga and practice that self love I know will restore my body but I get worked up easily and then my heart will race for a while. The heart racing is what ive been trying to avoid since this all started, but I know that can't be healed unless I practice the self care! A viscious cycle.

So are still working through the emotional trauma? I also think a hiatal hernia is one reason for post meal stress.

Yes, I am, and I think it's both highly personal and requires us to think about our lives on behavioral, psychological, spiritual, and nutritional levels (or any other helpful category). I don't have a thorough approach for working through emotional trauma on my own. Knowing Peat's writings and reading about different things is one way of working through it. I have made a lot of progress, and just being able to apply small things (like aspirin) that help also moves things forward. I imagine behavioral things have helped me a lot, like waking up early, making sure I get sunlight, limiting screen time. But for example, in limiting screen time I have found that I feel isolated and disconnected from my friends and the world. So the needs I place on going online need to be met by something else. Only by certain types of failure (or experimentation) do we gain the right background to succeed. Over time I've been gaining experience as to what sets off negative reactions, and part of that has been comparing my experience to others'.

Just my 2 cents worth. You are very anxious. I can totally relate. I am currently sinking under health anxiety. My near constant monitoring of my recently developed heart palps and missed beats etc. I am also hypothyroid , so this doesnt help. You end up over analysing everything you ate and did, take , didnt take. Should i take more this, try that. stop that etc. Spending too much time on Ray Peat forum etc. lol.

Well, anxiety is definitely a complex subject that I think we only have practical categories to understand. Spending too much time on Peat forums, hypervigilance and over-analyzing seem to me behavioral categories in one sense. So let's say you try change that behavior and it makes a difference - then we can say that anxiety had a partly behavioral origin. However if anxiety still persisted perhaps we could say the problem has a physical, neurological dimension. Or it could have an ideological, spiritual dimension. Normally all of the above.

You can externalise a problem within your bodily functions and sensations that might originate in your repressed emotions.

I'm sure I've done this. I just don't know how deep this problem goes for myself or people in general. Repression is internally and externally originated and therefore it seems dazzlingly hard to talk or think about.

Yoga and other techniques can help, but dont really deal with buried core issues.

You might be surprised, but people who take yoga seriously talk about having very considerable emotional experiences through their practice. I've heard of people who have cried during or maybe after practicing. I agree there has to be an ideological component though, but yoga has that
if it's done properly.

 

[InChristAlone]

If you can relate to this, then i dont think its a case of lack of self love, it was more likely a lack of love when you were a child. If others walk all over you, then you have low self esteem issues. Where does this come from? Dont blame yourself. Have you considered counselling/therapy? Ive started again and its amazing what ive learnt in such a short space of time. Very painful but necessary. But you need to have the right person to work with.

"It's much easier to recognize abuse from another, than to accept that theirs doesn't hold a candle to how WE tear ourselves down, every day."

"Show me where you ARE, and I'll know where you've been. Your poor self-worth began with parents who taught U to think and feel this way."

"A lot of folks like to say, "the past is the past." They haven't even begun to realize just how much childhood pain has blocked em from Joy."

"Entitlement issues means, "I don't feel deserving or worthy of receiving what I need and want." You acquired this problem as a child."

"The difficulties that force you into therapy, have a much deeper causation factor. If you don't fix the root of that issue, it'll repeat."

Quotes courtesy of Shari Schreiber MA

That quote about chinese medicine and thyroid disease, i think is bang on. They definitely know, dont they. Where does this leave Ray Peat though?? My hypothyroidism i believe was definitely emotionally stress induced , as was my mothers i think in retrospect (she had hers radioactively zapped back in the 60s) . I suppose this is where the belief that hypothyroidism runs in families. But so does dysfunction! No amount of thyroid hormone/diet changes etc will solve it, if the core issues arent dealt with.

My parents very much loved me as a young kid, but they divorced when I was 15 and everything was downhill from there. I had no one there for me through some extremely intense situations with boyfriends and stuff. I managed to escape a bad relationship and met my husband but I brought a lot of baggage into the relationship, then we got pregnant unexpectedly before the wedding and I was thrust into becoming a mother before I was ready. We also left my family. Anyway not to hijack the thread here. I think health problems have a deep emotional trauma root. I've come a long way though and just feel like my body broke down because of stress. Can only handle so much. Thanks for the quotes, yeah I've seen a counselor when I had a bad break up but it wasn't very useful then. I bet a good one would really help get to the root issues.