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Comment by zacharyvoase | Hacker News Reader

People with anxiety could have told you this :)

People in general will tell you a lot of things. We're wrong most of the time, that's why we do studies.

Exactly. I have anxiety and panic attacks. When my heart beats faster for whatever reason, it triggers anxiety and in more extreme cases, panic attack. It's kind of obvious, really.

And it often compounds.

E.g. I have hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating). When my hands start sweating (for no good reason), I get anxious especially when around people expecting a handshake, which makes me more anxious which makes the hand sweating worse.

(If anyone suffers from the same re: sweating, ask you doctor about glycopyrrolate - it’s one of those drugs that is completely life changing for anyone with excessive sweating and with minimal/tolerable side effects)

Propranolol is also a godsend for anxiety (also with minimal side effects, unlike benzos , etc)

Yup. Just thinking about panic attack getting worse or experiencing any of the effects like sweating or pounding heart (regardless of the cause) starts a bad positive feedback loop (more panic, more sweat/heart pounding, then more panic because of that) until the doom/derealization and fight-or-flight kicks in. I can easily call that feeling "the worst/most frightening experience ever" in my whole life.

I certainly would start feeling anxious if my heart rate increased almost 50% for no discernible reason.

Same happens whenever it dips too, and if it stops completely you get a feeling of "impending doom" (infinite anxiety haha). For example using adenosine to turn the heart off and on again if it's acting wonky.

Maybe just messing with the heart causes anxiety lol. Brain there like "wait, I didn't tell you to do that.. red alert!"

Breathing techniques can control the heart i think, 3 seconds inhale hold 3 seconds 3 second exhsle hold 3 second

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