I despise my heartbeat, so I was curious...

34% Normal

16 Comments

Wow. That is some story. I don't think it's abnormal, because it sounds like a phobia that manifests itself from a deep-rooted fear of dying, and lots of people have phobias that manifest from a deep-rooted fear of dying.

I'm going to apologize in advance if your phobia makes my response difficult for you to read.

Here goes:
For me, it's not quite the same, but it is disturbing enough.

When I was little, I couldn't go to sleep because my heart in my ears sounding like "potato chips crunching". It made me crazy. Now that I learn I have this congenital mitral valve prolapse, which has caused me to have blackouts, or what I consider to be tiny little deaths, the regurgitations in my heart sounds and feels repulsive to me - perhaps because it is an imperfection, because I know it is the reason why I have to take extra good care of myself all the time, or because it physically feels a little freaky.

Heartbeat sound effects in movies only sound cheesy to me - I can't recall one effective heartbeat sound effect in a movie or on tv. They just cheapen the story.

I had the opportunity to hold and explore two human hearts, and also I visited museums that had exhibits on hearts and surgery, and I think I've come to terms with the fact that we're a.) designed beautifully and intricately, and b.) all gonna die (which, and I'm certainly no doctor so I could be very, very wrong, but I think in its deepest level your fear/disgust might be stemming from fear of our mortality, that heartbeat sound being horrible evidence of the fragility of life).

Maybe if you could find a way to get into a room of cadavers for med students in a hospital and touch and feel a dead human heart, you might feel a little bit more at ease, I don't know. The cadavers are soaked in embalming fluid, so everything is brown, dry and nothing bloody. If you think it might help you face your fear, you might want to consider it.

Thank you. :]

I have considered that this may be a manifestation of my fear of death as well. Yet, I am still not quite sure.

I know that everyone says this (and close to no one really means it), but the idea of death doesn't really scare me so much. I've never been one of those people who finds horror movies that frightening, for example, because all they ever are is dead body after dead body. I'm not really sure how else to explain this whole thing so well, though, so perhaps you really are onto something. In addition, though, hearts themselves don't really bother me. I've had to study them multiple times through school, and done things like dissecting animal hearts. Gotta say it's all pretty cool. They're super as long as they don't move!

Oddly enough, there is ONE heartbeat that doesn't do this to me, and which is going to sound cheesy and like I can't possibly mean the rest, haha. But oh, well; it's my boyfriend's. I can't get enough of it. It's like after all these years, it's so nice to finally be able to stand one that I could practically drink it.

And I don't know if that means I have the potential to get over my own heart or not, or whether it changes possible reasons for my aversion.

I don't even like feeling my kitten's heart when I hold him. It's pretty lame.

dude i kinda have that too! but i fear my heart going fast. not normal or slow

I'm so glad that I read this.
That I'm not the only person out there with this problem.
My phobia is the same as yours but I can tolerate to listen to other people's heartbeat but I CANNOT listen to mine.
If I'm sleeping, I have to sleep in a way where I don't hear it either.
I don't know if it's normal, but at least you're not alone.
:)

Thanks! :]

And I'm really glad my post was a bit of a comfort for you to read!

It really is oddly nice, and just odd, to actually hear from someone who experiences something similar for the first time... ever.

So thank you again :]

Wow. After I read all this I was slightly relieved. So I'm not alone. The heartbeat really disturbs me. When I'm trying to fall asleep and I hear my heartbeat I have to reposition myself in someway so I can't hear it. In the 7th grade when we studied the heart it was no problem for me to stick my fingers down the pig's aorta. But then it came time to run around the track and take our heart rates. I just can't do it. I can't feel it or hear it or I'll have a panic attack. It's hard for me to hug my mom or dad and hear their heat beat too. I'm not really afriad of death. And I'm not afraid of my heatbeat speeding up or slowing down. It just freaks me out... like when I'm having my blood pressure taken and the thing squeezes your arm until you can hear and feel your heartbeat. I HATE IT! I've had OCD practically my entire life so phobia are pretty common to me. But this is hard one to work around. Since I'm emetophobic (afriad of vomit) when someone says they feel sick I move away or wash my hands... but I'm constantly being followed by my phobia. Any suggestions?

I hate having my blood pressure taken as well. And I suffer from panic attacks too, but as far as suggestions go...

It's just a really hard thing to get around. I find that sometimes, when I exercise really hard and feel my heart beating (without actually taking my pulse or anything like that) I can deal with it a little more. And sometimes, consecutive days of that make me feel like I can deal a little better.

But that hardly works. heh. Mostly I just try really hard not to think about it. :/

Maybe try holding a little animal, like a cuddly one... and feeling how its pulse feels? To get you more adjusted...?

But I'm not sure. Because, as you made clear, this seems to just be a really deeply rooted phobia.

In fact, if you have any ways of coping with it... I could use them. ._.

Wow! I thought I was the only one in the world to feel this way. I cannot hear heartbeats and cannot feel them, if I do I have a panic attack. I know that I can work with someone to correct the problem but I am scared to do so. I hate to get my blood pressure taken, it makes me freak out. I am not happy that others have this but I feel less alone. I wonder what has caused it more than anything and I hope I get over it so when I have a baby I can handle hearing the heartbeat.

I hate having my blood pressure taken too. If freaks me out way more than things like having my blood drawn or having an IV inserted.

I'm glad I could help you feel less alone about it- you've done that for me too, actually, haha.

I totally get what you mean about the infant thing too. I don't know if I ever wish to become pregnant, but if I do I would want to be able to love the feeling of my baby's heartbeat. Same goes for anyone I'm close to.

Don't be too discouraged by it though! These sorts of things can be overcome, it's just hard to do.

I am also pleased to find i'm not the only one who cant deal with this.
I cant stand any type of heartbeat but my story is slightly different. When i was yound i remember lying with my father and hearing his heartbeat.
I now am not in contact with my father as he is gone and i can not listen to any type of heartbeat, mine or any others.
It distresses me too much!
Is there a name for phobia of heratbeats?

well, i have very low blood pressure so i cant actually feel mu heartbeat, not much at least and the few times it has gotten a bit higher like when im on cold weather i cant sleep cause the heartbeat annoys me, so when its "normal" (120/ 80) i find it very annoying, not to mention how thats high for me i get dizzy and my ears ring... my normal is 90/60, cant feel much of it

Hi everybody, there is a name for hearing a whooshing, heartbeat sound: pulsatile tinnitus. It's not a condition; it's actually a symptom of an underlying condition.

I don't know if all or any of you have it, but I recommend that if you suspect you have it that you see http://www.whooshers.com for more info.

I have pulsatile tinnitus, so I hear the heartbeat sound constantly. It's very annoying! You can also do a search for "whooshers" for more info.

WOW, im very glad to have come across this website! ive been very frightened of my heart beat.. it all started when i was at the mall with a friend, we went to grab a bite to eat and continued on with our shopping, all of the sudden i had her feel my heart beat because it was beating pretty fast (probably because we were walking pretty fast).. and she freaked out and totally freaked me out, anyways.. i ended up experiencing a panic attack because it freaked out about my heart beating fast, which i am aware its completely normal... ever since then i have experienced various panic attacks..if i feel my heart beating fast i get more anxious and nervous and have to calm my self down... how do i get rid of this fear?? its very annoying!!

i dont like heart beats either altho my phobia isnt quite as strong as urs. i stopped getting high becuz whenever i did i could feel and hear my heart beating over everything else and it would make me panic so i thought i was gonna die cuz it was goin so fast. then my friends would check my heart rate and say its normal. i also would stop hearing my heart when the guy i ended up dating was near... so i understand what you mean and with ur kitten i hate heart beats in frail soft animals like my kittens till they grew up.

I know exactly how you feel. Whenever I would lay on my friends stomach or give one a hug I would automatically pull away because i cant stand heartbeats. It completely freaks me out. I think its because when i was little i would hear it when it was dark at night and think it sounds like footsteps of someone who was coming closer and closer to hurt me. Veery normal.

I'm terrified of my heartbeat! Absolutely terrified. But my phobia came about as a control issue, plus we visited a dead body museum and I saw real human hearts (dead ones) so it freaked me out.

I'm scared of my heartbeat, the thought of it stopping makes me wanna puke, I'm terrified of death. It's a horrible phobia. I don't know how to get rid of my phobia of my heartbeat. I hate ALL heartbeats. I can't feel them. It creeps me out.

Please help, can anybody relate, or calm this down for me?

It's a huge cause of anxiety at the moment and the centre of my depression. Counselling isn't helping!!!