If you’ve ever felt your heart pounding so hard you could hear it in your ears, you know how terrifying anxiety can feel in the body. For many people, that racing heart triggers an immediate thought: “What if this is a heart attack?”

That’s health anxiety at work. It convinces you that a common stress response is a medical emergency. The result? More fear, more adrenaline, and—you guessed it—an even faster heartbeat.

Here’s the truth: your body isn’t failing you—it’s protecting you. A racing heart is part of the fight-or-flight response. When your brain perceives a threat (even if it’s just a scary thought), it tells your adrenal glands to release adrenaline. That hormone speeds up your heart to pump more blood to your muscles. It feels dangerous, but it’s actually a sign your body is working as designed. The mistake is interpreting protection as danger.

So what can you do in real life when your heart takes off? Try the “Label & Lean” method. First, label it clearly. Say to yourself: “This is adrenaline, not danger.” Giving the sensation a name interrupts the “what if” spiral and reframes it as biology. Next, lean into movement. Instead of freezing and scanning your body, put that adrenaline to use. Walk briskly for two minutes, do 20 squats, or shake out your arms. This burns off the chemical surge and signals to your brain: “We’re safe. We can move.” Finally, return to calm. Place one hand on your chest, take three slow breaths, and feel your heartbeat gradually slowing down.

This works because labeling shifts you from catastrophizing to awareness, movement channels adrenaline in the way your body expects, and slow breathing anchors you back into safety mode. Over time, practicing this reduces the fear of symptoms, which is the real driver of health anxiety.

You can’t stop your heart from racing sometimes—that’s biology. But you can change your relationship to it. By labeling the sensation and leaning into safe movement, you teach your nervous system that these moments aren’t emergencies. That’s not just coping—it’s rewiring your response to fear.

- Paul