Intense chest pain, even at the SLIGHTEST hint of stress. HOW do I ignore it!?

[benjamin222]

Every time something stresses me out, even a mild stressor like a conversation with my father where he reminds me of how little I'm doing with my life, almost immediately I start to feel pain right in the center of my chest. It often radiates to my arms and jaw, I have trouble breathing, instantly get dizzy and pins and needles start occurring all over my body.

As far as my health history, I've been given the all clear on numerous occasions by multiple doctors. I've had at least 17 separate ECG's over the last 8 years and I'm always told the same thing, anxiety anxiety anxiety.

What strikes me as odd is how these symptoms occur when I'm not necessarily anxious, just some kind of normal life stress occurs. Other examples of mild stressors that give me intense chest pain include dogs scratching at me for attention, my sister coming over to my house and eating my food, thinking about how broke I am.

So my question is, HOW ON EARTH do I simply ignore these symptoms? When you're getting every single symptom of a heart attack, how, just HOW, do you ignore it? I've talked to doctors, psychiatrists, and psychologists and have yet to truly hear something that sounds like an acceptable answer. If any of you have a good coping mechanism I'd love to hear it!

[Em84]

Hiya

Ignorning anxiety symptoms is impossible for me...I get the same when I'm stressed....the other day I was rushing around the house cleaning all day while my son was driving me nuts, next thing I had a nasty stabbing pain right near the heart area..it took my breath away...thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I currently have pain under my left armpit whilst writing this..I can't ignore I have to get on with it otherwise I will have panic attack one after the other.

When I have panic attacks I do the washing up, whilst listening to music....even though I'm shaking and feel breathless it's a nightmare though

You've had some good tests, I'm sure your fine....
Are you on any meds?

[PanchoGoz]

It's that anxious feeling. Your chest tightens up, your skin prickles. I think of it as that "in love" feeling, although not in a nice way obviously.
You say lots of smaller stressers trigger it, well when you are anxious you are in a highly sensitized state and anything can give you that rush of adrenaline.
You must treat it as a symptom of anxiety and leave it at that, and everytime you begin to catastrophise over it you stop and label the symptom as a symptom then get on with your day. One day, I promise, you will learn how to accept it. Maybe try making it worse to see how you handle it, if that's possible?

[xtremx]

Hiya benjamin222.

You ask a very good question. I like you at the slightest hint of stress start getting chest pains feels like angina/heart attack.

I have have loads of ecgs (about 12) 2 trips to ER/A&E where i had all the ecgs and chest x-rays and blood tests to check that the heart has not been damaged by a heart attack and they were all clear both times, Have also had 2 stress/Treadmill ecgs to test for angina and they both were ok.

But still i cannot get the feel of fear out of my body when it starts I have other problam around the chest area that can add to my problams GERD and Costochondritis but i know what the pain/discomfit feels like from both of them.

It is just the pains that start from my anxiety that really scare me roughly everyday it is just a case of trying to train the our minds/bodies to understand that we have felt this many if not hundreds of times before and nothing has ever come of it and after all the tests we have had done after the chest pains have occured and they have show nothing that we must be OK.

[xvolatileheart]

I had this happen to me today - was at work, very slightly stressed but nothing serious, and I got an intense pain in the center of my chest out of nowhere. I instantly freaked out, like I always do! This time I managed to get the panic under control within about 30 seconds thankfully.

I have to say, anything heart related instantly sends me into an absolute panic. Like xtreme said though, we're still here so it must not have been anything serious!