Oh my gosh, me too. I never sleep. Sleep is a nightmare for me. I'm constantly scared of dying, especially that of a heart attack. I've had all the tests done besides a halter monitor. I'm convinced there's something missing. When I finally get reassured by my doc that there's nothing wrong with me, I realize it's mental, and that I'm causing this. That scares me even more because it's well apparent that I don't know my own mind! I walk around all day fully aware of all my aches and pains in my chest. Sometimes it feels like they're coming from my heart and not the chest wall like my doc says. I seriously walk around all day with pressure and a burning muscle pain in my chest! Now that's freaky and enough to make anyone with panic attacks terrified! On a brighter note, I did beat this thing years back. It took about 2 months to feel better, and about 5 months to be back to normal. I used Paxil and therapy. Even though I know it's all in my head, and I know it can be beat, I can't stop being scared. It came rushing back to me because I was overworking and overstresses and not handling it properly. You need to be aware of your limits, setbacks, successes, and possible failures. Don't let the "what ifs" get to you. I know, easier said than done. Know that you will NOT die from this!!!!! It is a very very long and hard road, but a blessing as well. I believe panic attacks are the bodies way of telling you to reevaluate your lifestyle. It very quickly forces you to find happiness, and stressors you may have never known about. If you find yourself not sleeping, pacing, obsessing, scared; clean your house. Do something active. It sucks, believe me I know. I'm actually panicky/anxious right now. My chest is so tight (although I've had no panic attacks for 2 days), and I feel like it's going to collapse. This is all for no reason. Maybe it's because I'm stressing about past events, and my new found horrible sleep habits. Another thing, the reason why we check are hearts so much is to control to fear. If we constantly check them, then we will be prepared for something bad. Believe me, checking your heart won't give you the heads up on a heart attack. Force yourself to not check for one hour. You'll see that you didn't die or have a heart attack. Sorry I rambled so much.
