pain in chest

[StaceyEaster93]

when you get pain in your chest with anxiety, can it really hurt? and how long can it last for? i should know that it's not my heart after all the ECG's and tests i have had, but here i am worrying again! x

[Mr Anxious]

Probably nothing serious, wouldn't spend the time worrying, (if that's possible lol), hope you feel better soon

Kind regards

Richie

[dazza]

when you get pain in your chest with anxiety, can it really hurt? and how long can it last for? i should know that it's not my heart after all the ECG's and tests i have had, but here i am worrying again! x

Yes, it can. Tense chest muscles can be agonising, as can trapped wind and rising acid which, if you're really unlucky, can all occur at once during times of elevated anxiety / stress.

Heart issues are very different. You'll likely a/ feel dizzy b/ sweat c/ begin to & eventually loose consciousness d/ have severe difficulty breathing - since the lungs will be starved of blood, which in turn starves new blood of oxygen and e/ feel radiating pain down your arm, up your neck and into your jaw

[nicole123x]

Dazza it really confuses me when people describe cardiac pain as radiating into jaw etc ..
Lets be honest, most anxiety pain causes left arm pain yeah? Most anxiety pain causes neck and ahoulder pain? And most anxiety pain causes jaw pain, all three I've had yet when these have been happening Ive had a 24 hour EGC on and nothing ever came up!
Also anxiety makes me so very sweaty, sweaty palms etc, and it also makes me go dizzy! So it's quite a complicated thing to explain really because I know anxiety does cause 'cardiac' like pains :/

[dazza]

Dazza it really confuses me when people describe cardiac pain as radiating into jaw etc ..
Lets be honest, most anxiety pain causes left arm pain yeah? Most anxiety pain causes neck and ahoulder pain? And most anxiety pain causes jaw pain, all three I've had yet when these have been happening Ive had a 24 hour EGC on and nothing ever came up!
Also anxiety makes me so very sweaty, sweaty palms etc, and it also makes me go dizzy! So it's quite a complicated thing to explain really because I know anxiety does cause 'cardiac' like pains :/

There's nothing confusing about it. Anxiety pains can, to an extent, mimic cardiac issues (although they won't be identical - but let's hope you never get to experience the latter)

This is why any information source regarding chest pain will always tell you: SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY

When you first experience anxiety pains, you simply DON'T KNOW since you don't have the understanding / experience & knowledge.

It's only when you've been medically checked that you know for sure.
Your holter would have shown it, I can assure you.

[star1234]

From what I've read anxiety pretty much mimics cardiac pain. However, if you been having them on and off for awhile, gotten checked I would say its safe to assume that your fine. However, its different for everyone. My chest pain haven't radiated to my jaw but definetely the back of my left shoulder. My mom passed recently from heart failure and she use to complain about the back and very rare the arm and never the jaw. So it's different for everyone. But if your still alive that's a pretty good indication that's its anxiety.

[nicole123x]

Thanks for that :)

I don't really suffer with chest pains themselves, the pains are more in my left arm and my right but not as much which feels like a muscle ache, believe it or not i even get pains in my fingers! also in the top of my back in my Lats that pain is awful! I get pains in my ribs at either side of me and my sides, but very rarely my chest. Oh and I've recently started to get the aches in my legs!

Lol I'm just an all around failure :p

Even though I worry about my pains, as you definitely know lol, I have had 5+ standard ECGs and recently had a 24 hour ECG so all my aches and pains are my anxiety, right?

[Tristanayoubi]

Look. My chest pain radiated through my whole body. It wasnt just left, or just right it was both all at once.
Its just something you gotta get used to.. Once you stop thinking about it, you wont feel it.

[Tristanayoubi]

And stop looking up symptoms and stuff, it makes it worse.

[nicole123x]

From what I've read anxiety pretty much mimics cardiac pain. However, if you been having them on and off for awhile, gotten checked I would say its safe to assume that your fine. However, its different for everyone. My chest pain haven't radiated to my jaw but definetely the back of my left shoulder. My mom passed recently from heart failure and she use to complain about the back and very rare the arm and never the jaw. So it's different for everyone. But if your still alive that's a pretty good indication that's its anxiety.

Yeah I've had them on and off since I've been suffering with anxiety! I don't have chest pain that goes into my jaw, it's more jaw pain with the both arm aches and pains, like I said I don't really suffer chest pain itself, it's more back and ribs. I get the 'back of left shoulder' thing, it feels like it's in my back too like in the two things that connect your arms lol. Lats?

With my jaw pain, it is in both sides, and it is usually accompanied with a form of ear pain or short ear ache, or some kind of sinus ache as such as a ache around the cheek bone. I also think it's my wisdom teeth coming through as I've been suffering with bad tooth ache recently too, that I couldn't chew etc on one side! X

[vonnhelsing]

i think if you've got chest pains it's probably best to go see your cardiologist every 3 months or at least every 6 months. better be safe than sorry. although, i've had chest pains on a daily basis for FOUR whole years and i'm still alive. anxiety puts the same kind of strain on the heart like you'd get when you're exercising. not necessarily good to be having this strain if you're not exercising but at the same time it's not the kind of strain that's harmful to you. it's just your heart having to beat a bit harder and faster..

[dazza]

I must add also that; the body is not perfect, we all of us experience twitches, aches, pains, tingles, creaks ALL the time, all our lives.
This is just biology doing it's thing.

But, you know what... we're used to them and (rationally) think nothing of it.

Now then, when anxiety disorder strikes... those same, everyday aches and pains are no longer over-looked. Instead, the anxious brain locks onto them and spins off the "what the f*ck / what if's".

When your anxiety (eventually) dissappears, your brain will have settled back down and will no longer lock onto the pains. You'll be back to how you once were... blissfully ignorant.

[nicole123x]

I must add also that; the body is not perfect, we all of us experience twitches, aches, pains, tingles, creaks ALL the time, all our lives.
This is just biology doing it's thing.

But, you know what... we're used to them and (rationally) think nothing of it.

Now then, when anxiety disorder strikes... those same, everyday aches and pains are no longer over-looked. Instead, the anxious brain locks onto them and spins off the "what the f*ck / what if's".

When your anxiety (eventually) dissappears, your brain will have settled back down and will no longer lock onto the pains. You'll be back to how you once were... blissfully ignorant.

I totally agree that!
Before my Anxiety all started, any pain I would have got I would if thought arrrr 'period pain' or arrrr trapped wind!
But now, any sort of pain and ache it's more like, arghh no way I'm going to die.

Typical anxiety, it sucks :/

[dazza]

Nicole... here's an everyday example of pain exaggeration for someone with anxiety disorder:

Say they sit at a computer most of the day (and maybe evening... like us now, lol).
They're sat upright, straining their back muscles and suspending their arms to type.

Naturally occuring back muscle & arm pain will occur while sitting - but the anxious person will lock onto those pains and instantly suspect trouble.

Now imagine that same person but without anxiety. They're just gonna think... "ahhhh fookin' 'ell, me back"... wriggle around a bit and then carry on.

See the difference?

[nicole123x]

YESS Dazza absolutely spot on! That is soo me.

For example (what I've just done 10 mins ago)
I got into my bedroom and shot myself on my bed to text etc, I laid on my side resting on my right arm/shoulder. My mum then shouted me into her room, I got up and my ahoulder was really stiff for about 15 seconds until I was free to move it out of the position. And now, as I've been sat weird the ache has gone into my chest muscles just under my neck! And when I move it hurts! Typical muscle strain, but watch.. Ill be dwelling on it all night and posting 838285 times lol! Typical me

[dazza]

YESS Dazza absolutely spot on! That is soo me.

For example (what I've just done 10 mins ago)
I got into my bedroom and shot myself on my bed to text etc, I laid on my side resting on my right arm/shoulder. My mum then shouted me into her room, I got up and my ahoulder was really stiff for about 15 seconds until I was free to move it out of the position. And now, as I've been sat weird the ache has gone into my chest muscles just under my neck! And when I move it hurts! Typical muscle strain, but watch.. Ill be dwelling on it all night and posting 838285 times lol! Typical me

I think you'll be fixed within 6 to 12 months from now. You show awareness of your anxiety and this is a good start.

You know what though. You're only 16... you shouldn't even be here, posting this stuff on web forums. Cripes - it's the last thing I would have ever done at your age.

It's a bit sad really, all told. I want to tell you to bugger off & go have some fun - but in a nice way.

[vonnhelsing]

so so so true. hahaha.
i'm the master of over exaggeration!!! the tiniest pain or discomfort i go into instant hyper panic mode. and as long as you're not losing consciousness, guuurl it's anxiety or something else non life-threatening. it's unnatural for a teenager to just drop dead and die, unless they've got a serious illness. and seen as you've gone to the docs and done all your tests and they've come back normal you can stop worrying and see that once you manage to just ignore it all and stay focused on other things then all the symptoms slowly start to fade away.

[nicole123x]

Dazza and Vonhelsing..

Thanks very much for your reassurance once again! I wish I would get out of feeling this way, go enjoy my life with my friends etc, but as sad as it is, I can't stop thinking about it! And this forum seems to weirdly help me lol, I wish I didn't get into this state but honestly my anxiety is sky high :(
Thank you soo much guys xx 👍