Last updated on August 24, 2020
Question:
Hey,
I am 16 years of age. I have this problem that sometimes, even lots of times, I tend to get nervous — very nervous — and my heart starts to beat very fast. It has been happening since I was about 12 years old and it seems it has gotten worse. I do not know what to do and sometimes when I am talking to people they say why am I sounding nervous and scared. At that point, my heart is really beating fast. I don’t want to sound so nervous and I do not know why am I sounding so nervous and scared. I have tried a few things like taking in deep breaths, but that does not help. I was reading about the drug Atenolol to slow my heartbeat and probably anti-depressants, but I just do not know what to do. I really need some help and I was wondering what to use or what could I do to stop being so odd.
Please, could you help me? Thank you so very much. You really are a good person to be helping kids like us. Thanks!
Answer:
When you have these episodes, do you have other symptoms besides the feeling of nervousness and your heart racing? How long to the episodes last? Do you sweat or have tremors? Is there any pain or discomfort? Do you feel faint, nauseous, or detached from the world? Do you feel hot, cold, numb or tingly?
It sounds like you are having some sort of panic disorder, of which a number of problems fall under that category. Some of the causes are physical, such as a problem with your thyroid, some are genetic, such as a wiring problem in your brain, and some are thought to be psychological, that is caused by the way you think about things.
Because there can be medical causes to the problem, I strongly urge you to see a doctor so he can do so tests. He will probably send you to an endocrinologist, a doctor who specializes in hormones, for those tests.
Do not medicate yourself. You are too valuable of a person to be guessing. Find out the cause first, then the options for treatment can be discussed.
Meanwhile, while you are waiting for a doctor, I’ve known a few people who suffered from panic attacks. One of the things that have seemed to help consistently is getting a massage to get the muscles to relax. It doesn’t cure the problem, it just makes the symptoms fade quicker. If you don’t have someone to help, soaking in a hot tub of water might help — it isn’t something I heard anyone trying, but it is worth a shot.