Heart Racing Anxiety Hypnotherapy Brisbane

Reduce Fear of a Fast, Pounding or Noticeable Heartbeat

A racing heart can be one of the most frightening physical symptoms of anxiety.

You may suddenly become aware that your heart is beating quickly, forcefully or irregularly. You might feel pounding in your chest, throat or neck and immediately fear that something is wrong with your heart.

The more closely you monitor your heartbeat, the faster and more noticeable it may seem.

Clive Westwood provides personalised hypnotherapy for heart racing anxiety in Brisbane. Sessions can focus on reducing panic, heartbeat monitoring, catastrophic thinking, fear of heart problems and avoidance after appropriate medical assessment.

Appointments are available in person at Clive’s Boondall hypnotherapy clinic on Brisbane’s northside and online throughout Australia.

Can Anxiety Cause a Racing Heart?

A racing or pounding heart can occur during anxiety and panic attacks. When the nervous system senses danger, stress hormones prepare the body to respond, which may increase heart rate and make each heartbeat feel more noticeable. Racing heart, breathing difficulty, sweating and dizziness can all occur during panic attacks.

Anxiety-related heart sensations may include:

• A fast heartbeat

• A pounding heartbeat

• Fluttering in the chest

• Skipped-beat sensations

• Feeling your pulse in your neck

• Sudden awareness of every heartbeat

• A brief surge in heart rate

• Heart racing during social situations

• Heart racing when trying to sleep

• Heart racing before leaving home

• Fear that your heart will stop

• Fear of having a heart attack

However, palpitations and a rapid heartbeat can also have medical, medication-related or substance-related causes.

New, persistent, unexplained or irregular heart sensations should be discussed with a doctor rather than automatically assumed to be anxiety.

What Are Heart Palpitations?

Heart palpitations are noticeable changes in the heartbeat.

You may feel that your heart is:

• Racing

• Pounding

• Fluttering

• Skipping

• Beating irregularly

• Beating unusually strongly

• Beating in your throat or neck

• Pausing and then producing a heavy beat

Palpitations are common and are often not serious, but they may be associated with stress, illness, heart conditions, caffeine, alcohol or other substances.

Because the cause cannot always be determined from the sensation alone, appropriate medical assessment is important when palpitations are recurring or concerning.

Signs Heart Racing Anxiety May Be Affecting You

You may:

• Check your pulse repeatedly

• Monitor your heart rate on a smartwatch

• Check your blood pressure frequently

• Avoid exercise

• Avoid caffeine completely through fear

• Fear being alone

• Avoid driving

• Sit near exits

• Search heart symptoms online

• Ask others to check your pulse

• Fear falling asleep

• Wake during the night and check your heartbeat

• Avoid public speaking

• Avoid conflict

• Fear sexual activity

• Cancel social plans

• Visit emergency departments repeatedly

• Distrust reassuring medical results

• Monitor every skipped or heavy beat

• Feel frightened whenever your heart rate increases naturally

These behaviours may provide brief reassurance while keeping your attention focused on your heart.

The Heart Racing Anxiety Cycle

You notice a heartbeat.

It may be slightly faster, stronger or more noticeable than usual.

Your mind reacts:

• “Why is my heart racing?”

• “What if this is a heart attack?”

• “What if my heart stops?”

• “What if I faint?”

• “What if I lose control?”

• “What if the doctor missed something?”

You begin monitoring:

• Your pulse

• Your chest

• Your breathing

• Your smartwatch

• Whether the rhythm feels regular

• Whether the sensation is spreading

• Whether you feel dizzy

• Whether the heart rate is increasing

This increases fear and nervous-system activation.

Your heart may then beat faster or more forcefully, confirming your fear.

The cycle becomes:

Heartbeat sensation → fear → monitoring → increased adrenaline → faster heartbeat → greater fear

Hypnotherapy may help reduce this cycle after appropriate medical assessment.

When Is a Racing Heart an Emergency?

Call Triple Zero on 000 when a rapid heartbeat or palpitations occur with:

• Chest pain

• Severe shortness of breath

• Fainting

• Collapse

• Severe dizziness

• Confusion

• Blue or grey lips

• Sudden weakness

• Severe sweating

• Rapid deterioration

• Symptoms suggesting a heart attack or another medical emergency

Healthdirect advises calling 000 when rapid palpitations occur with dizziness, chest pain or severe shortness of breath.

Severe chest pain that is worsening or lasts for 10 minutes also requires an ambulance.

Do not assume a severe, unfamiliar or prolonged episode is anxiety.

When Should Heart Palpitations Be Medically Assessed?

Arrange a GP appointment when your heartbeat:

• Frequently races without an obvious reason

• Feels irregular

• Repeatedly skips or flutters

• Is becoming more frequent

• Lasts longer than usual

• Occurs while resting

• Wakes you from sleep

• Happens during exercise

• Is accompanied by mild breathlessness

• Is associated with weakness or dizziness

• Begins after changing medication

• Occurs after stimulant or substance use

• Interferes with daily life

• Continues even when anxiety is low

Heart arrhythmias may involve a heartbeat that is too fast, too slow or irregular. Symptoms can include palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath, sweating and anxiety.

Hypnotherapy should not delay investigation of a possible heart rhythm condition.

Heart Racing During Panic Attacks

A panic attack can produce a sudden rush of fear and physical symptoms.

These may include:

• A racing heart

• Chest tightness

• Shortness of breath

• Shaking

• Sweating

• Dizziness

• Nausea

• Tingling

• Feeling unreal

• Fear of dying

• Fear of losing control

A racing heart may then become the symptom you fear most.

You may think:

• “My heart cannot handle this.”

• “This is different from previous panic.”

• “I am having a heart attack.”

• “I need to escape.”

• “I am going to collapse.”

• “Nobody will help me.”

Hypnotherapy may help reduce the fear of physical panic sensations and weaken the automatic connection between a faster heartbeat and catastrophe.

A first, severe or medically unusual episode should still be assessed.

Heart Racing Without Feeling Anxious

You may say:

“My heart started racing when I felt completely calm.”

Anxiety is not always experienced as conscious worry.

You may have been:

• Recovering from earlier stress

• Sleep deprived

• Physically tense

• Overstimulated

• Anticipating another episode

• Using caffeine or stimulants

• Closely monitoring your body

• Experiencing an automatic stress response

However, a rapid heartbeat without obvious anxiety is also a reason to obtain medical advice.

Do not assume every episode is psychological simply because you have previously experienced panic.

Fear of a Heart Attack

A fast or forceful heartbeat may trigger fear of a heart attack.

You may monitor:

• Chest sensations

• Heart rate

• Arm sensations

• Jaw discomfort

• Breathing

• Sweating

• Nausea

• Dizziness

• Fatigue

Seeking urgent care for possible heart-attack symptoms is responsible.

The anxiety cycle becomes problematic when appropriate medical assessment has taken place but you continue interpreting every heartbeat change as immediate evidence of a heart attack.

Hypnotherapy may help reduce catastrophic thinking, repeated checking and difficulty trusting suitable medical advice.

It does not diagnose or treat heart disease.

Fear That Your Heart Will Stop

You may become frightened that a change in rhythm means your heart is about to stop.

You may think:

• “What if the next beat does not happen?”

• “What if I die in my sleep?”

• “What if my heart suddenly gives out?”

• “What if nobody is nearby?”

• “I need to keep checking my pulse.”

This may make you afraid to sleep, exercise or remain alone.

Hypnotherapy may help reduce heart-focused hypervigilance after appropriate cardiac assessment.

Skipped Beats and Anxiety

A skipped-beat sensation may feel like:

• A pause

• A flutter

• A sudden drop

• A heavy beat

• A brief thump

• A missed beat followed by a stronger beat

You may repeatedly hold your breath and wait for the next heartbeat.

Some skipped or extra beats may be harmless, but irregular or recurring sensations should be discussed with a doctor.

Hypnotherapy may help reduce the fear and compulsive monitoring surrounding medically assessed sensations.

Heart Racing at Night

Heart sensations may feel stronger at night because the environment is quiet and there are fewer distractions.

You may:

• Hear your pulse against the pillow

• Feel pounding in your chest

• Notice every rhythm change

• Check your smartwatch

• Sit upright

• Avoid sleeping

• Fear dying during the night

• Wake and immediately measure your heart rate

The lack of distraction can make a normal heartbeat feel unusually prominent.

New, persistent or irregular night-time palpitations should still be assessed.

Hypnotherapy may help reduce bedtime checking and fear after suitable medical advice.

Waking With a Racing Heart

You may wake suddenly with:

• A pounding heart

• Sweating

• Breathlessness

• Shaking

• A sense of danger

• Fear of dying

• Confusion

• A need to leave the bed

This may occur during a nocturnal panic attack, but heart, breathing, sleep and medication-related factors may also need consideration.

Repeated episodes should be discussed with a doctor.

Hypnotherapy may help reduce fear of sleep and panic-related anticipatory anxiety after assessment.

Heart Racing While Driving

A racing heart while driving may create fear that you will faint or lose control of the vehicle.

You may think:

• “What if I have a heart attack in traffic?”

• “What if I cannot pull over?”

• “What if my heart gets faster?”

• “What if I become dizzy?”

• “What if I cause an accident?”

You may avoid motorways, tunnels, bridges, traffic or driving alone.

Do not drive when palpitations, chest symptoms, dizziness or breathlessness affect your ability to control the vehicle safely.

After appropriate assessment, hypnotherapy may help reduce driving-related panic and fear of recurrence.

Heart Racing in Shopping Centres

Busy public places may trigger a racing heart because of:

• Crowds

• Bright lighting

• Warm indoor temperatures

• Noise

• Large open spaces

• Distance from exits

• Fear of fainting

• Fear that help will not be available

You may interpret the increase in heart rate as a sign that you must escape.

Hypnotherapy may help reduce the association between public environments and cardiac danger.

Heart Racing During Public Speaking

Public speaking naturally creates physical arousal.

You may notice:

• A fast heartbeat

• Pounding in your chest

• A shaky voice

• Breathlessness

• Sweating

• Dizziness

• Difficulty concentrating

• Fear that the audience can see your heart pounding

You may worry that the increased heart rate means you cannot continue.

Hypnotherapy may help you interpret physical activation as manageable energy rather than proof of danger.

Heart Racing During Social Anxiety

Social attention may trigger a rapid heartbeat when you fear being watched, judged or embarrassed.

This may occur during:

• Eye contact

• Introductions

• Dating

• Group conversations

• Awkward silence

• Speaking to authority figures

• Receiving compliments

• Conflict

• Eating in front of people

You may fear that other people can hear or see your heart pounding.

Hypnotherapy may help reduce fear of scrutiny and visible anxiety.

Heart Racing During Confrontation

Conflict may activate a strong fight, flight or freeze response.

You may experience:

• A pounding heart

• Shaking

• Sweating

• Chest tightness

• A trembling voice

• Going blank

• Breathlessness

• An urge to escape

This response may be associated with past bullying, criticism, punishment or unsafe relationships.

Hypnotherapy may help reduce the automatic alarm response and support steadier communication.

Where there is genuine violence, abuse or coercive control, personal safety and appropriate support remain the priority.

Heart Racing During Exercise

Exercise naturally increases heart rate.

After a frightening episode, you may begin treating this normal increase as dangerous.

You may avoid:

• Walking quickly

• Running

• Gym training

• Muay Thai

• Sport

• Stairs

• Carrying objects

• Physical intimacy

• Playing with children

New, unexplained or concerning exercise-related palpitations require medical assessment before strenuous activity is resumed.

After receiving suitable medical clearance, hypnotherapy may help reduce fear of normal exertion and rebuild confidence gradually.

Heart Racing After Caffeine or Pre-Workout

Caffeine, energy drinks, pre-workout products and other stimulants can increase physical arousal in some people.

You may notice:

• A faster heartbeat

• Stronger heartbeats

• Shaking

• Sweating

• Restlessness

• Anxiety

• Difficulty sleeping

• Increased awareness of your pulse

Healthdirect notes that palpitations may be connected to caffeine, alcohol and other substances.

Discuss frequent or concerning palpitations with a doctor, particularly when using stimulants regularly.

Hypnotherapy may support anxiety reduction or habit change, but it cannot cancel the physical effects of a stimulant.

Heart Racing After Cannabis, Alcohol or Other Substances

Palpitations may occur during or after:

• Cannabis use

• Alcohol use

• Stimulant use

• Other recreational drugs

• Withdrawal

• Mixing substances

• Dehydration

• Severe sleep deprivation

Substances may also contribute to abnormal heart rhythms.

Seek medical advice for significant, repeated or prolonged heart racing associated with substance use.

Hypnotherapy may support anxiety or behaviour change but does not replace medical or addiction treatment.

Medication and Heart Racing

Some prescribed and non-prescribed medicines may affect heart rate.

Symptoms may begin after:

• Starting medication

• Increasing a dose

• Reducing a dose

• Combining medicines

• Taking cold or flu medicines

• Using asthma medicines

• Taking supplements

• Using stimulants

Do not stop prescribed medication suddenly.

Speak with your doctor or pharmacist when palpitations begin or worsen after medication changes.

Hypnotherapy cannot remove a medication side effect.

Heart Racing and Health Anxiety

Heart sensations can trigger fears involving:

• Heart attacks

• Cardiac arrest

• Arrhythmias

• Atrial fibrillation

• Heart failure

• Cardiomyopathy

• Sudden death

• Permanent heart damage

• A missed diagnosis

Medical assessment is appropriate when palpitations are unexplained or recurring.

After suitable investigation, anxiety may continue through:

• Pulse checking

• Smartwatch monitoring

• Blood-pressure checks

• Repeated electrocardiograms

• Searching symptoms

• Avoiding exercise

• Asking for reassurance

• Distrusting normal results

• Focusing on every skipped beat

Hypnotherapy may help reduce compulsive monitoring and catastrophic thinking after appropriate medical care.

Constantly Checking Your Heart Rate

Heart-rate checking may become a daily compulsion.

You may:

• Measure your pulse manually

• Check a smartwatch repeatedly

• Compare sitting and standing heart rates

• Check after eating

• Check during conversation

• Check before sleeping

• Panic over small fluctuations

• Refuse to exercise without monitoring

Heart rate naturally changes with activity, emotion, temperature, posture and many other factors.

Medical guidance should determine whether monitoring is necessary and how readings should be interpreted.

Hypnotherapy may help reduce reassurance-seeking checks when they are no longer medically required.

Fear of Being Alone

You may feel safer when another person is nearby.

You may fear:

• Having a heart problem alone

• Being unable to call for help

• Collapsing

• Dying during sleep

• Nobody noticing your symptoms

This can lead to dependence on family members or fear of being home alone.

Hypnotherapy may help strengthen confidence in your ability to respond appropriately without removing sensible emergency awareness.

How Hypnotherapy May Help With Heart Racing Anxiety

Hypnotherapy does not diagnose or medically treat heart conditions.

After appropriate medical assessment, sessions may focus on helping you:

• Reduce fear of a racing heart

• Stop checking your pulse constantly

• Reduce smartwatch monitoring

• Feel calmer during palpitations

• Reduce panic-related heart racing

• Stop catastrophising about every heartbeat

• Reduce fear of a heart attack

• Feel safer while driving

• Reduce avoidance of exercise

• Sleep without monitoring your heart

• Reduce reassurance seeking

• Feel more comfortable being alone

• Trust appropriate medical advice

• Reduce fear of skipped beats

• Respond proportionately when sensations occur

The aim is not to persuade you to ignore significant heart symptoms.

The goal is to obtain appropriate healthcare while reducing the fear, hypervigilance and avoidance surrounding medically assessed heart sensations.

Why Choose Clive Westwood for Heart Racing Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Brisbane?

Helping Clients Since 2013

Clive Westwood has been helping clients through hypnotherapy since 2013.

His experience includes working with panic attacks, health anxiety, chest tightness, shortness of breath, body monitoring and fear of losing control.

This allows sessions to focus on both the physical sensations and the emotional cycle surrounding them.

A Strong Focus on Physical Anxiety Symptoms

A racing or pounding heartbeat is not imaginary.

The stress response can create genuine changes in heart rate and physical arousal.

Clive can help clients work on:

• Panic-related heart racing

• Fear of palpitations

• Pulse checking

• Catastrophic thinking

• Fear of fainting

• Fear of heart attacks

• Avoidance

• Night-time anxiety

You will not simply be told to stop worrying or ignore your heartbeat.

Personal Understanding of Severe Anxiety

Clive has spoken openly about his earlier experiences with severe anxiety and panic attacks.

This personal understanding may help clients feel more comfortable discussing heart sensations that feel frightening or difficult to explain.

Your fear will not be dismissed as imaginary.

Personalised Hypnotherapy Sessions

Heart racing anxiety affects people differently.

Your main concern may involve:

• A fast heartbeat

• Pounding sensations

• Skipped beats

• Panic attacks

• Driving

• Exercise

• Public speaking

• Social anxiety

• Confrontation

• Bedtime

• Being alone

• Health anxiety

Clive adapts each session around your symptoms, triggers, medical context and goals.

A Responsible Approach

Clive does not diagnose arrhythmias, heart disease or other medical conditions and does not claim that every episode of heart racing is caused by anxiety.

Medical assessment is encouraged when symptoms are:

• New

• Persistent

• Unexplained

• Irregular

• Worsening

• Triggered by exercise

• Occurring at rest

• Associated with fainting

• Accompanied by chest pain or breathlessness

• Connected to medication or substance use

Hypnotherapy can then focus on fear, panic and hypervigilance alongside appropriate healthcare.

A Calm and Non-Judgemental Environment

You may worry that your heart will race during the appointment.

Clive provides a private and respectful environment where you can sit upright, open your eyes, pause or stop whenever necessary.

The session can avoid repeatedly drawing attention to your heartbeat when internal focus increases your anxiety.

In-Person and Online Hypnotherapy

Face-to-face heart racing anxiety hypnotherapy is available at Clive’s Boondall clinic on Brisbane’s northside.

Online hypnotherapy appointments are also available throughout Australia and internationally.

What Happens During a Heart Racing Anxiety Hypnotherapy Session?

Your appointment begins with a confidential conversation about your symptoms and the fear surrounding them.

Clive may ask:

• What does the heartbeat sensation feel like?

• When did it begin?

• Has it been medically assessed?

• Does it feel fast, forceful or irregular?

• Which situations trigger it?

• Do you check your pulse or smartwatch?

• What do you fear the sensation means?

• Which activities do you avoid?

• How would you prefer to respond?

Clive will explain the hypnotherapy process before hypnosis begins.

During hypnosis, you remain aware and able to hear what is being said. You do not lose control.

Your personalised session may include:

• Therapeutic suggestions

• Calming imagery

• External-attention techniques

• Mental rehearsal

• Metaphors

• Reduced heartbeat monitoring

• Reframing of physical arousal

• Nervous-system relaxation

If focusing internally increases your anxiety, the session can use eyes-open or conversational techniques rather than repeatedly directing attention towards your chest.

Will Hypnotherapy Stop My Heart Racing?

No ethical hypnotherapist should guarantee that hypnosis will eliminate heart racing without knowing its cause.

Hypnotherapy may help when anxiety, panic, fear and symptom monitoring contribute to the experience.

It does not treat arrhythmias, heart disease, medication effects or other physical causes.

Results vary between individuals.

What If My Doctor Says the Palpitations Are Anxiety-Related?

Even after receiving reassurance, you may continue thinking:

• “What if something was missed?”

• “What if this episode is different?”

• “What if the rhythm changes?”

• “What if I faint?”

• “What if I have a heart attack?”

Hypnotherapy may help reduce the automatic threat response, compulsive checking and difficulty trusting appropriate medical advice.

How Many Sessions Will I Need?

The number of sessions varies depending on how long the fear has been present, what triggers it and whether it is connected to panic attacks, trauma, stimulant use or health anxiety.

Clive can provide a personalised recommendation after discussing your circumstances.

No ethical hypnotherapist can guarantee a particular outcome or exact number of sessions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can anxiety cause a racing heart?

Yes. A racing or pounding heart can occur during anxiety and panic attacks. Other medical causes must also be considered.

What are heart palpitations?

Palpitations are noticeable changes in the heartbeat, such as racing, pounding, fluttering or irregular beats.

Can hypnotherapy help with heart racing anxiety?

Hypnotherapy may help reduce panic, pulse monitoring, catastrophic thinking and avoidance surrounding medically assessed heart sensations.

Why does my heart race when I focus on it?

Fear can activate the stress response, while focused attention makes each heartbeat feel more noticeable. This may create a repeating anxiety cycle.

Can hypnotherapy help me stop checking my pulse?

Hypnotherapy may help reduce repeated pulse, smartwatch and blood-pressure checking after appropriate medical assessment.

Can caffeine cause palpitations?

Caffeine and other substances may contribute to palpitations in some people.

Are skipped heartbeats always dangerous?

Not necessarily, but recurring, irregular or concerning skipped-beat sensations should be discussed with a doctor.

Should I exercise when my heart races?

New or unexplained exercise-related palpitations require medical assessment before strenuous exercise is resumed.

When should I call an ambulance?

Call 000 when rapid palpitations occur with chest pain, severe shortness of breath, fainting or severe dizziness.

Will I lose control during hypnosis?

No. You remain aware and can think, speak, move, open your eyes or stop the session at any time.

Where is Clive Westwood’s Brisbane clinic?

Clive Westwood’s hypnotherapy clinic is located in Boondall on Brisbane’s northside.

Are online appointments available?

Yes. Online hypnotherapy appointments are available throughout Australia and internationally.

Book Heart Racing Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Brisbane

You do not need to spend every day checking your pulse, watching your heart rate or waiting for the next heavy heartbeat.

You can seek appropriate medical care without allowing every change in rhythm or speed to become a catastrophe. You can begin driving, exercising, working, sleeping and socialising without constantly expecting your heart to lose control.

Clive Westwood provides personalised hypnotherapy for heart racing anxiety in Brisbane, helping clients reduce panic, heartbeat monitoring, fear of heart problems and avoidance after appropriate medical assessment.

Appointments are available in person at the Boondall clinic and online.

Book your heart racing anxiety hypnotherapy appointment with Clive Westwood today.