POTS: When Your Body Feels Out of Control and How to Find a Way Forward
Understanding POTS, the challenges of diagnosis, and how a mind-body approach may support your journey towards better health.
Imagine waking up in the morning, getting out of bed and suddenly feeling your heart racing. You become dizzy, perhaps breathless, and feel an overwhelming need to sit or lie down. At first, you might think you're simply tired, dehydrated or stressed. But the symptoms keep returning. Some days are better than others. You visit your doctor, undergo tests and perhaps hear that everything looks normal.
Yet you know something isn't right.
For many people living with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), this can be the beginning of a long and frustrating journey towards understanding what is happening in their bodies.
So, how do you build an understanding of POTS and begin creating a life in which you gradually feel better?
Start with understanding what POTS is
POTS is a condition affecting the autonomic nervous system, the part of our nervous system responsible for automatically regulating functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and body temperature.
Normally, when we stand up, our body adjusts blood circulation to maintain an adequate blood supply to the brain. In people with POTS, this adjustment does not work as expected. The heart rate increases excessively upon standing, often accompanied by dizziness, weakness and other uncomfortable symptoms.
POTS can develop after a viral infection, including COVID-19, or be associated with other conditions, such as joint hypermobility. Sometimes, its underlying cause remains unclear.
Why can POTS be so difficult to diagnose?
One of the most challenging aspects of POTS is that its symptoms overlap with those of many other conditions.
One might experience a racing heart, fatigue, dizziness or difficulty concentrating. These symptoms can sometimes be attributed to anxiety, stress, exhaustion or other medical conditions.
As a result, people may spend months or even years searching for an explanation.
POTS is not simply anxiety. It is a recognised physical condition involving abnormal cardiovascular responses to standing up.
Diagnosis usually involves measuring heart rate and blood pressure while lying down and standing, sometimes through an active stand test or a tilt-table test. Doctors may also carry out blood tests and heart investigations to exclude other causes.
For many people, finally receiving a diagnosis brings relief. Their symptoms have a name, and there is an explanation for what they have been experiencing. But it also raises another question.
How can POTS symptoms affect everyday life?
POTS affects people differently, and symptoms may vary considerably from day to day.
Common symptoms include:
Rapid heartbeat or palpitations, particularly when standing
Dizziness, light-headedness or fainting
Persistent fatigue and weakness
Brain fog, memory problems or difficulty concentrating
Shortness of breath or trembling
Digestive discomfort, nausea or bloating
Sleep disturbances
Difficulty tolerating exercise or prolonged standing
Beyond the physical symptoms, POTS can affect confidence, independence, relationships and emotional well-being.
Activities that once seemed effortless, such as shopping, exercising, working or meeting friends, may suddenly require careful planning.
Living with an unpredictable condition can also create anxiety about when the next episode might happen.
And this is where I believe it is important to look at the whole person, rather than only the symptoms.
So, what can you do about POTS?
Although there is currently no established cure for POTS, there are ways to manage symptoms, improve quality of life and, for some people, achieve significant improvement over time.
Medical support is essential. Depending on individual circumstances, treatment may include medication to regulate heart rate or support blood pressure, alongside practical lifestyle adjustments.
These can include maintaining adequate hydration, adjusting salt intake under medical guidance, wearing compression garments, improving sleep and following an individually appropriate physical rehabilitation programme.
Not everyone responds to the same treatment, and progress is not always linear.
But physical management is only one part of living well with a chronic condition.
What about the emotional impact of living in a body that suddenly feels unpredictable?
The connection between the mind, body and nervous system
Our physical and emotional experiences are closely connected.
When we encounter stress or perceive danger, our nervous system can activate a protective response. Our heart may beat faster, our muscles tense and our breathing change.
This is a normal physiological response designed to help us react to challenging situations.
For someone living with POTS, the situation is more complex. The autonomic nervous system is already struggling to regulate certain physical functions, and additional stress may sometimes intensify the experience of symptoms.
Supporting emotional well-being may therefore become a valuable part of learning to live with POTS.
How can hypnotherapy help?
Hypnotherapy offers a gentle way to work with the relationship between thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations and learned responses. It can provide complementary support for difficulties such as anxiety, stress, sleep disturbances and the emotional burden of chronic illness.
In my practice, I am particularly interested in helping people understand their emotional experiences and develop a more compassionate relationship with their bodies. I also help them process past emotions and life experiences that may linger in the present.
1. Reducing fear and emotional tension
When physical symptoms become unpredictable, it is natural to start anticipating them.
What if I feel dizzy while I'm out? What if my heart starts racing? What if I cannot cope?
Over time, these concerns can affect confidence and everyday decisions.
Through gentle hypnotherapy and relaxation techniques, we can work towards reducing anticipatory anxiety and developing a greater sense of calm and emotional security.
2. Exploring emotional experiences and patterns
Sometimes, living with illness brings other emotional difficulties into focus.
You may feel that you must always remain strong, push through exhaustion, meet everyone else's expectations or maintain control over every aspect of your life.
Some may struggle with uncertainty, vulnerability or accepting that their physical abilities have changed.
In therapy, we might gently explore questions such as:
Do you feel safe allowing yourself to rest?
Do you feel pressure to keep going, even when your body needs a break?
How do you respond when life feels outside your control?
Are there emotions or difficult experiences that you have not had the opportunity to process?
What would it mean to treat yourself with greater kindness and understanding?
These questions offer an opportunity to recognise patterns that may be contributing to emotional strain and to develop healthier ways of responding.
3. Rebuilding trust in your body
One of the most difficult aspects of chronic illness can be the feeling that your body has become unreliable.
You may start monitoring every sensation, worrying about what it means or avoiding activities for fear of triggering symptoms.
Hypnotherapy can provide a supportive environment for exploring these fears, developing coping strategies and gradually rebuilding confidence within your physical limits.
The aim is not to ignore symptoms or push through them, but to feel less overwhelmed by their unpredictability.
4. Supporting sleep and emotional recovery
Poor sleep, persistent worry and emotional exhaustion can make coping with chronic illness more difficult.
Hypnotherapy may help some people develop calming bedtime routines, manage racing thoughts and experience greater relaxation.
Even when the physical condition remains, feeling more emotionally supported can make everyday life easier.
Healing does not always mean curing
While healing might not mean curing, it can mean living a more peaceful life, living with greater confidence, reducing emotional suffering, understanding our needs and finding ways to improve our emotional and physical quality of life.
A gentle, whole-person approach
At Aurora Garden of Soul, I offer a supportive space to explore the emotional challenges that can accompany physical health conditions.
Through hypnotherapy and mind-body therapeutic techniques, we can work together to understand emotional responses, reduce distress, explore personal patterns and strengthen your inner resources.
My approach is gentle, individual and complementary to medical care.
I believe that while medicine helps us understand and treat the physical condition, emotional support can help us navigate the experience of living with it.
You are more than your diagnosis. And even when the journey is uncertain, there may still be meaningful ways forward.
This article is intended for general information and does not replace medical advice. POTS requires appropriate medical assessment and management. Hypnotherapy is offered as complementary emotional support, not as a cure or substitute for medical treatment.
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