Latest / RealTalkwithMikeD / Episode 39 - When You’re Afraid to Fall Asleep with Heart Issues

Transcript

Episode 39 - When You’re Afraid to Fall Asleep with Heart Issues · RealTalkwithMikeD

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Real Talk with Mike D. All right, welcome
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: back to Real Talk with Mike D. I am the one,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: the only, and the original Mike D. Ladies and gentlemen,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: have you ever been so scared to fall asleep that
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: you just lie there staring at the ceiling? Not because
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: you're not tired, not because you have somewhere to go,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: but because you're afraid of what might happen when you
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: close your eyes. Today, I want to talk about something
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: that's been on my mind, something that can be incredibly frightening.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: That would be being scared because you're having heart issues
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: when you're trying to sleep. Yes, I have heart issues.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: I have PVCs, premature ventricular contractions. And what that means
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: is in between your regular heartbeat, you have one to
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: three small heartbeats. One being benign, not a big issue.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Two to three, they could become fatal. I was diagnosed
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: with two to three. Mine could be fatal. I take
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: medication so they do not become fatal. And obviously they
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: haven't because I'm sitting here talking to you. But if
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: you've ever experienced that feeling, you know exactly what I'm
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: talking about. There's something different about nighttime. During the day,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: you're busy. Maybe you're working. Maybe you're talking to people.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Maybe you're driving or maybe you're just watching TV. You're
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: doing whatever you have to do to get through the day.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: But nighttime, nighttime is quiet. And when everything gets quiet,
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: you hear everything. You hear the refrigerator. You hear the clock.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: You hear the wind outside. And sometimes, yes, you hear
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: your own heartbeat. And then suddenly, it does not feel normal.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Maybe your heart starts racing. Maybe you feel a flutter.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Maybe you feel like your heart skipped a beat. Maybe
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: you wake up suddenly with your heart pounding. And the
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: first thought that comes through your mind is, what's wrong
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: with me? And then another thought comes. Am I going
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: to be okay? That's where the fear starts. You know
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: what's scary? When you're exhausted, but you're afraid to sleep.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: You lay there thinking, what if something happens while I'm asleep?
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: What if my heart starts acting up again? What if
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: I don't wake up? Those are some pretty heavy thoughts
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: to carry at three o'clock in the morning. And nobody
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: else may even know you're having them because you live
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: alone or everyone else is asleep. The house is quiet
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: and you're lying there listening to your heartbeat and trying
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: to convince yourself that everything is okay. You might even
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: check your pulse. You might sit up. You might get
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: out of bed. You might walk around. Heck, you might
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: even get a drink of water and then you go
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: back to bed. And there it is again, the heartbeat,
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: that feeling, that fear. And now you're wide awake. The
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: worst part can be what your mind does with that situation.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Because once you become afraid of your heart, every little
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: sensation gets your attention. A strange feeling in your chest?
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: What was that? Your heartbeat's a little harder? Why is
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: it doing that? One beat feels different? Something wrong? And
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: then your mind starts going down the wrong road. You
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: start thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong. And
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: the more you think about it, the more frightened you become.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Fear can make the night feel 10 times longer. Five
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: minutes can feel like an hour. You look at the
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: clock and it's 2.17 in the morning. You close your eyes.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: Then you open them again and it's only 2.26. You think, God,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: am I ever going to get to sleep? And then
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: you start thinking about tomorrow. How am I going to
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: go to work tomorrow? How am I going to function?
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: What if this happens again tomorrow night and suddenly you're
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: not just afraid of tonight, you're afraid of tomorrow. And
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: then there's always this thought. I don't want to die.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Now let's be honest. When your heart starts doing something strange,
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: One of the biggest fears that can enter your mind
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: is death. Nobody likes saying that out loud, but it's true.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: You start thinking, what if this is it? What if
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: something happens and nobody knows? What if I don't wake up?
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Those thoughts can be terrifying. And when you're alone in
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: the dark, they can feel very, very real. But here's
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: something important. Fear is not the same thing as a diagnosis.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: Feeling frightened doesn't automatically mean something catastrophic is going to happen.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: But heart-related symptoms should never, ever be ignored. If you're
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: experiencing new, unusual, severe, or reoccurring symptoms, talk with a
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: health care professional. And if you have symptoms that could
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: represent an emergency, such as significant chest pressure, pain, severe
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: trouble breathing, fainting, or other severe symptoms, seek emergency medical
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: help immediately. Do not sit there trying to convince yourself
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: you're fine. Get help. Always, always get help. Sometimes we
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: think we have to be tough, especially as we get older.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: We think we're supposed to handle everything ourselves. All the bills, work, family.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: But you know what? There's no shame in saying, I'm scared.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: There's no shame in telling somebody, my heart has been
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: bothering me and I'm worried. There's no shame in calling
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: your doctor. There's no shame in getting checked. And there
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: is certainly no shame in going to the emergency room
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: when you think something might be seriously wrong. I'd rather
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: somebody get checked and find out they're okay and ignore
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: something because they were afraid of looking foolish and potentially dying. Well,
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen, that is going to do it for
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: today's podcast. I greatly appreciate you being here. I appreciate
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: you listening. And if you are having heart-related symptoms, don't
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: be too proud. Tell someone go to the doctor, go
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: to the emergency room, get checked. Because life is too short,
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: life is too precious, and a lot of people depend
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: on you. But as always, make someone smile, be kind
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: to each other, and make someone laugh, and I'll see
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: you all Thank you.