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halebounddr OP t1_jam7oo3 wrote

Does anxiety increase your heart rate, or does an increased heart rate lead to anxiety? This study (in mice) showed how the brain and the heart work together to contribute to intense emotions like anxiety. To me, this suggests that tools like HRV and biofeedback could be a useful tool for anxiety because they help lower your heart rate.

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jcl007 t1_jannj1m wrote

This is an interesting idea and definitely seems like a complex concept to study. I’ve had anxiety for years and panic attacks have changed over time. The latest is waking up night and I’ll get up and sometimes it’ll trigger a rapid heart rate. I’ve learned to control my breathing to prevent this and doctors have told me it’s anxiety. I definitely think we need more studies into how our body triggers anxiety.

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-Zoppo t1_jaobf9j wrote

Everything stems from our evolution;

  1. If we experience anxiety, does it benefit our survival to increase our heart rate?

  2. If we experience an increased heart rate, does it benefit our survival to generate anxiety?

I think 2 is obvious, an increased heart rate is a problem, making us anxious about a problem has clear benefits.

However, I can't discredit 1 either, because increased heart rate and blood flow and adrenaline could all be part of a package (I don't understand this part at all myself).

Of course, it could be both.

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Bbrhuft t1_jaqvazd wrote

Tap your chest, block the sensation of your heart beating. If you feel self-conscious doing this in public, fold your arms and tap your chest without others noticing. It's a matter of breaking the positive feedback loop between pulse rate and anxiety. It's something I first did 20 years ago.

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Nalfgar123 t1_jasg6k5 wrote

> I’ve learned to control my breathing to prevent this

Just that?

Wath technique do you use?

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jcl007 t1_jasijaj wrote

Yes, if I feel it coming on, I’d usually use the breathing app on my watch and try to keep focus away from it. It’s probably a combination of not focusing on it and the slower breathing. After I started doing this, it rarely happens anymore.

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guanabanabanana t1_jawfu8c wrote

I would be driving and have intense butterflies in my stomach a lot for seemingly no reason. I tried a lot to get rid of it but it went on for years. Eventually I got hypnosis by a clinical counsellor and it stopped. Maybe a safe and low risk thing to try.

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timespentwell t1_japnese wrote

I had an increased heart rate (170s resting bpm) caused by right heart strain due to some problems caused by leftover PE(it never fully went away), and when I saw on the pulse ox how fast my heart was racing it induced a panic attack.

This has happened 3 times now.

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Freakinlasers t1_jaq9vds wrote

HRV biofeedback therapy is already used for exactly this reason - as well as for IBS annd chronic pain among other physical conditions impacted by the autonomic nervous system and specifically the vagus nerve, as the discussion above also mentioned.

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