View Full Version : anxiety induced chest pain
I know a lot of people such as myself suffer with anxiety induced chest pain that comes in many forms mine can be a dull ache type pain in the left or a stabbing sort of pain in the left side sometimes the middle or even right side I was just wondering who else out there suffers with chest pain from anxiety and what sort of types/locations do you get it in also mine seems to be on and off constantly I can't switch my mind away from it seems like I'm on one huge massive panic from the moment I wake up
ServerError
22-01-17, 22:35
Why does it matter? How would having a load of replies full of people telling you how badly their chest hurts help you and your recovery?
I assume you'll say "because I'll feel less alone", and that's great. Nobody should have to feel alone while suffering. But on the flipside, don't you think a thread like this might actually help to keep your condition going? Wouldn't your energy be better spent focusing on recovery?
I wasn't looking for any reassurance thank you I had plenty while waiting in a and e for 7 hours till 1am last night. I was simply asking because I thought it would be nice to chat to people who have similar symptoms as I do. You don't need to tell me what my energy's are better focused on I have had anxiety for many years sometimes it's just nice to know people are going through the same thing as you are somewhat comforting. My aim was not to get specific ins and outs I was just interested in what other peoples thoughts were on iy and if anybody had similar pains to mine or not
---------- Post added at 23:47 ---------- Previous post was at 23:40 ----------
I hardly ever post on the forums and it's my prerogative if I don't want to and if people do or don't want to reply that's fine also but why implement a derogatory comment yourself. To be honest having to respond to this or at least feel I have the need to has made me more anxious than the chest pain has the past hour
I definitely get chest pain often; sometimes it's dull and others it's sharp shooting pain that takes my breath away. It's also often accompanied by shortness of breath as well. Just one of the many joys of anxiety!
yeah same here jillinpa it comes in so many different forms different types of pain very annoying my pains are exactly as you described and I had a full work over last night including blood tests and they were all fine hopefully that can help put your mind at rest a little :) thanks for the reply jillinpa
ServerError
22-01-17, 23:55
I wasn't looking for any reassurance thank you I had plenty while waiting in a and e for 7 hours till 1am last night. I was simply asking because I thought it would be nice to chat to people who have similar symptoms as I do. You don't need to tell me what my energy's are better focused on I have had anxiety for many years sometimes it's just nice to know people are going through the same thing as you are somewhat comforting. My aim was not to get specific ins and outs I was just interested in what other peoples thoughts were on iy and if anybody had similar pains to mine or not
---------- Post added at 23:47 ---------- Previous post was at 23:40 ----------
I hardly ever post on the forums and it's my prerogative if I don't want to and if people do or don't want to reply that's fine also but why implement a derogatory comment yourself. To be honest having to respond to this or at least feel I have the need to has made me more anxious than the chest pain has the past hour
Only trying to help. Carry on wallowing if you want to. It's your life.
it is my life and it;s not what you said it's the way you said it. This is a health anxiety forum if your posting in here everyday then that can't be your response to anybody that has pains and are worried about them. If only it was as easy as just forgetting about it and recovering then we would all be fine
ServerError
23-01-17, 00:01
it is my life and it;s not what you said it's the way you said it. This is a health anxiety forum if your posting in here everyday then that can't be your response to anybody that has pains and are worried about them. If only it was as easy as just forgetting about it and recovering then we would all be fine
Nonsense.
The onus is on you and only you. Just like it was on everybody who ever recovered. Right now, you are keeping your anxiety going and then jumping down my throat for daring to suggest this might not help your recovery. Sorry if my tone was challenging, but recovery requires being challenged.
But yes. It is your life. Follow your path and hopefully it will lead somewhere better.
Not everybody is ready for recovery speeches and challenges some people just feel like crap and want a chat
ServerError
23-01-17, 00:08
Not everybody is ready for recovery speeches and challenges some people just feel like crap and want a chat
Well there you go. You're essentially condemning yourself to suffer for longer than you need to. Recovery is possible for anybody. It's not an easy or a quick process, but you have to choose to be ready, and you can choose that moment right now. By all means have a chat with people, but don't bank on it turning your life around. You started a thread here the other day and got some brilliant responses. If you're not looking to feel better, why bother? What are trying to achieve?
There's no ban on encouraging people to challenge their anxiety round here. I will continue to point people in the direction designed to help them actually get better.
You might want to ask yourself why your response was so terse.
my response was like that because I have a lot of friends on here I have for many years and not once has anybody responded like you have. It's not your job to challenge people it's nobody's job in here people can post what they like within the rules. I have had anxiety for many years I don't drink alcohol I don't take drugs other than those prescribed I have had CBT group therapy bereavement counselling solo therapy I drink only water no caffeine. But my chest pain persists I know all about recovery and trying to recover Iv'e been around the block that many times they have named a street after me. So tell me how do I recover then ? Can I just add what business is it of yours what I want to achieve if you don't like me or 1 of the 2 threads I have posted in 3 years then why not just skip forward ? why reply what is the burning desire to reply to my thread when it doesn't interest you
ServerError
23-01-17, 00:22
My burning desire is to help. Not just you, but anyone I can. It's not a job. It's just something I do because I want to.
You're getting way too bogged down in "the way I responded". If you're not interested in recovery or in being challenged to do so, then really, you're right, all I can do is leave it be and admit defeat.
But remember - when you mention how many years you've been a member here and how long you've suffered, you're only increasing the length of time you'll suffer in the future. And next time you want to panic about chest pains, just remember that you do play a part in those chest pains. If you do nothing else, remember that. One would think, after so many years, you would be ready for recovery. All I can tell you now is that I hope you get there.
Davey, Server has a valid point. There are plenty of places you can get tea and sympathy but challenging your thoughts and pushing you to recovery is the real reason forums like this exist. If you want tea and sympathy, just state it outright. There's plenty to go around and keep you in the cycle of anxiety you're currently in.
I'm a two time heart attack, triple bypass and stent survivor and angina sufferer. Not to mention Stage IV Head and Neck cancer survivor. My wife has been going through a bought of NMDA Receptor Autoimmune Encephalitis. The stress from dealing with this has caused some pretty bad chest pain. It's aggravated my angina and I've been doing nitro to alleviate the pain.
So... For me, I know it's stress related but I also have to deal with the stress of taking a nitro pill for chest pain and hoping it resolves because if it doesn't, it means a trip to the ER.
So yeah... Server is right. Reassurance is like a band aid over a gash. It just doesn't work. Yes, it may be comforting knowing you're not alone but it still comes down to taking responsibility and acting on your issues by seeking professional help. Treating the root of your issues (anxiety) will also treat the real physical symptoms associated with it.
Positive thoughts
Only trying to help. Carry on wallowing if you want to. It's your life.
I'm not sure why these responses are even necessary? They're clearly not helping him, and how he wants to deal with his anxiety is up to him. Not us.
This forum has helped me tremendously, and it was through support of people
and being able to relate to others symptoms. By reading what other people were going through I was able to realize I'm not alone ... sometimes that's all people need is to feel not alone.
I don't see how his post is hurting anyone.
ServerError
23-01-17, 00:32
I'm not sure why these responses are even necessary? They're clearly not helping him, and how he wants to deal with his anxiety is up to him. Not us.
This forum has helped me tremendously, and it was through support of people
and being able to relate to others symptoms. By reasoning what other people were going through I was able to realize I'm not alone ... sometimes that's all people need is to feel not alone.
I don't see how his post is hurting anyone.
That particular sentence probably wasn't helpful. I admit that. But then I had just been lashed out at.
For the rest of what you'd say, I'd refer you to what I originally said, and to fishmanpa's post. All the reassurance in the world, all the tea and sympathy, won't actually help with recovery. It's great to know you're not alone, but if you've been on the site for a while, the one thing you'd know is you're not alone.
I don't actually have any axe to grind with the OP of this thread. Far from it. I simply went in his thread, saw his post and decided to challenge him to consider if his approach was helping him. Then I got the response I did, which is why I'm still here.
But as he says, maybe some people really aren't ready to recovery. Which does beg the question as to what they really want. It can't be to carry on getting worse, can it?
Honestly Fishmanpa I got what he said but I just didn't agree with the way it was put across and it escalated from there. Sorry to hear about everything that you have been through especially cancer as I know how tough that can be my mother died at 46 possibly one of the biggest contributing factors to how I am the way I am. I take short walks I exercise admittedly not a lot but I try. My point was I am trying to recover I do not enjoy 7 hour stays in A and E and I don't enjoy sitting at home petrified that I am going to have a heart attack I'm trying my hardest to get out of the cycle but it's not as easy for some people as it is for others if that makes sense? everybody is different lots of people endure different intensities of anxiety I'm not saying mine is any more intense than the next but we all have to take into account that where recovery seems do able or easy in one persons eyes it may not seem as achievable to a different person
---------- Post added at 00:35 ---------- Previous post was at 00:33 ----------
thank you mel :)
ServerError
23-01-17, 00:40
Honestly Fishmanpa I got what he said but I just didn't agree with the way it was put across and it escalated from there. Sorry to hear about everything that you have been through especially cancer as I know how tough that can be my mother died at 46 possibly one of the biggest contributing factors to how I am the way I am. I take short walks I exercise admittedly not a lot but I try. My point was I am trying to recover I do not enjoy 7 hour stays in A and E and I don't enjoy sitting at home petrified that I am going to have a heart attack I'm trying my hardest to get out of the cycle but it's not as easy for some people as it is for others if that makes sense? everybody is different lots of people endure different intensities of anxiety I'm not saying mine is any more intense than the next but we all have to take into account that where recovery seems do able or easy in one persons eyes it may not seem as achievable to a different person
---------- Post added at 00:35 ---------- Previous post was at 00:33 ----------
thank you mel :)
It doesn't matter how "severe" it is. For what it's worth, I was suicidal. I nearly went through with it. I presented to A&E several nights in a row convinced I was dying, sitting in there until 3am or later, then walking home to sleep when I should have been going to work.
I don't want you to feel the way I did. I'll put it that bluntly. But regardless of how nice or otherwise people are, the change required has to come from you. These chest pains you have are nothing. That doesn't mean I think they're not real. I know they are. I know they hurt and I know they're unsettling. But by talking about them and focusing on them, you just make them into a bigger and bigger issue. Ask yourself, why do you want to talk about them? Not for my benefit, but for your own. I'm not asking you to answer it. I'm just asking you to ask yourself. Do these feelings deserve your attention? Do they warrant it? Can they really stop you living your life? Are you prepared to let them do that? These are not questions I'm asking you to answer here. They are questions to ask of yourself.
And by the way, if you're an anxiety sufferer, you are ready to recovery. Recovery is always there. Take it from a guy who nearly died.
Thank you for the words I'm not being sarcastic I mean it thanks but I can't help but think that "no" I don't get any chest pains davey but try your best to forget about them and maybe into look into better ways of recovery would have been sufficient enough. I am trying to recover trust me I hate what I'm lumbered with
Thank you for the words I'm not being sarcastic I mean it thanks but I can't help but think that "no" I don't get any chest pains davey but try your best to forget about them and maybe into look into better ways of recovery would have been sufficient enough. I am trying to recover trust me I hate what I'm lumbered with
I always try to get people to change the way they're thinking about their symptoms. Server is merely trying to get you to challenge your thought processes and ask yourself better questions.
For me, physical symptoms of anxiety, ironically, are an indication that your body is working well. You're supposed to feel dizzy and tingly when you hyperventilate, you're supposed to get sore muscles when you spend hours all tensed up, you're supposed to get chest pain when your breathing patterns are shot due to constantly elevated levels of stress hormones.
So think of it that way. Sure, there's physical symptoms there, and of course these symptoms can appear as a result of some horrible illness. The point is, though, that you are fully aware of what's causing your symptoms.
It's not a heart attack, it's not a collapsed lung or bone cancer, it's your bodies natural response to your mental state. Your body is crying out because your mind is suffering. The only way to halt that, is to try and challenge the thoughts that your mind is producing.
You did nothing wrong server error. In fact, your advice was spot on.
If you think his first comment is "spot on" then your as bad as he is. It's a health anxiety forum if people posting about symptoms pees any of you off then maybe you shouldn't be in a health anxiety forum. Symptoms are the number one no in fact scratch that the "ONLY" thing people want help and advice with
---------- Post added at 14:25 ---------- Previous post was at 14:23 ----------
I'm done with this post anyway in the future I wont make the mistake of posting health anxiety worries in the health anxiety forum I will just stick to the chat room take care and god bless :)
If you think his first comment is "spot on" then your as bad as he is. It's a health anxiety forum if people posting about symptoms pees any of you off then maybe you shouldn't be in a health anxiety forum. Symptoms are the number one no in fact scratch that the "ONLY" thing people want help and advice with
---------- Post added at 14:25 ---------- Previous post was at 14:23 ----------
I'm done with this post anyway in the future I wont make the mistake of posting health anxiety worries in the health anxiety forum I will just stick to the chat room take care and god bless :)
I honestly have no idea which part you're taking offence to. :shrug:
ServerError
23-01-17, 16:12
I think it was my tone, rather than the content. I can't take it back because I believe in what I said, but there's a danger of the poster feeling unwelcome if we pursue this.
He wants to discuss his symptoms. Whilst this may not be conducive to recovery, I wouldn't want to make anyone feel unwelcome or uncomfortable posting. Davey, if you read this, don't feel that you have to hide or anything. That was never my intention. I really was just trying to help you.
Because it's patronising of course I'm thinking of recovery and trying to recover. I didn't ask about recovery though I asked if anybody had similar symptoms to mine because like mel said sometimes it's nice to hear people don't have to reply if they don't want too but I was just a bit frightened as it is particularly bad recently. He questioned why I should be even making a post on a health anxiety forum that is about health anxiety ?? I'm totally confused now. Iv'e seen him post in the past about symptoms and worries when he was at his lowest and I wouldn't dream of jumping in and saying why you even posting focus on recovery because it's insensitive. Seems to me like he has found a path to recovery and therefore thinks everybody else automatically should. I did not disagree with some of his points it was the way in which he worded them and Iv'e had a ton of private messages agreeing. Can people just stop posting now anyway this thread is dead
---------- Post added at 16:15 ---------- Previous post was at 16:13 ----------
I'm not going to hide I'm a regular in the chat room have been on and off for almost 5 years now. Like you said we disagreed but it's over now let's just move on :) take care
Because it's patronising of course I'm thinking of recovery and trying to recover. I didn't ask about recovery though I asked if anybody had similar symptoms to mine because like mel said sometimes it's nice to hear people don't have to reply if they don't want too but I was just a bit frightened as it is particularly bad recently. He questioned why I should be even making a post on a health anxiety forum that is about health anxiety ?? I'm totally confused now. Iv'e seen him post in the past about symptoms and worries when he was at his lowest and I wouldn't dream of jumping in and saying why you even posting focus on recovery because it's insensitive. Seems to me like he has found a path to recovery and therefore thinks everybody else automatically should. I did not disagree with some of his points it was the way in which he worded them and Iv'e had a ton of private messages agreeing. Can people just stop posting now anyway this thread is dead
---------- Post added at 16:15 ---------- Previous post was at 16:13 ----------
I'm not going to hide I'm a regular in the chat room have been on and off for almost 5 years now. Like you said we disagreed but it's over now let's just move on :) take care
Perhaps he exhibited the same behaviours as you at his lowest and he's trying to talk you away from them because he knows it's detrimental to your recovery.
I dunno, suppose it just depends how you take things.
TheGroundhog
24-01-17, 11:11
It's such a catch 22, tbh this forum must be responsible for keeping so many in a spiral of HA. Asking for advice about symptoms is reassurance seeking, reassurance seeking will give the tiny bit of temporary relief we all crave, but ultimately will just feed the monster. (And that is no criticism to all the amazing people who post here and try to genuinely help).
Now I am a fine one to talk, 9 years of CBT and STILL fishing around on here, because this morning I have chest pains (because I am up to my eyes in crap atm and very stressed) although you know what, maybe it's not stress, maybe it's a heart attack pretty unlikely, but possible, but that's the bit that we all struggle to live with so much, it might be a headache, it might be a brain tumour, it might a dodgy mole, it might be a nothing, it might be, it might be, it might be.
And you know what it really might be, just because you didn't have something terrible yesterday doesn't mean you won't today, and if you fuse with that thought you will go round and round in HA's clutches. THERE IS NO CERTAINTY and we HAVE to learn to live with that.
It doesn't matter what Tom, Dick or Harry thinks my chest pains are, or if they had similar chest pains, it does matter what my dr thinks but I'm not going down that route either, because that way madness lies, instead I am going to put on a workout DVD and work hard, because I know I will feel better afterwards (and lets face it, if I'm not dead by the end, my heart is probably A Ok) :roflmao:
Those who pointed out recovery does not lie in symptom checking, thank you, even those those words are pretty much branded on my soul with fire, sometimes we need a harsh kick up the bum, if you are seeking reassurance, however you are dressing it up into something else, just realise you are making yourself worse, however hard that is to hear, it's like constantly picking off a scab and then complaining you are bleeding.
I am off to jump around to some loud music, recovery is not in here, recovery is out there :hugs:
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