Anxiety Chest Pain
Even though anxiety disorders are essentially psychological conditions, they can manifest through a wide range of symptoms, both physical and psychological.
Some physical discomforts that can be triggered by anxiety include:
- chest pain
- choking sensation
- excessive sweating
- nausea or abdominal distress
- dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting
- unexplainable chills or hot flushes.
When chest pain is experienced as a symptom of anxiety, the degree of the disorder varies. In some people, chest pain induced by anxiety may last for a very short period of time (ten to fifteen seconds) while for others it may last longer; this symptom can even be cyclical and episodic, recurring from time to time in a person’s life.
Anxious chest pain vs. cardiac chest pain
Needless to say, a symptom such as chest pain can have serious physical causes, such as cardiac troubles. However, there’s a crucial distinction that you should look for:
If anxiety is the cause of your chest pain, the discomfort will tend to dissipate if you move around and somehow manage to distract your mind.
If there was an actual physical cause to your chest pain, trying to move will be almost impossible… and the discomfort would prevent you from thinking much at all.
You should make sure to consult with your medical doctor to rule out any scenarios of heart defects. In fact, once you’re certain there’s nothing wrong with your heart, it will be easier to face the reality that your anxiety disorder is the actual source of your physical and mental troubles.
Control your anxiety before your anxiety controls you
People who experience anxious chest pains oftentimes experience other physical abnormalities, such as irregular respiration and hyperventilation. Although these symptoms can be rather unnerving, you should do the best not to get caught up in the tides of anxiety:
Anxiety “feeds” from your reaction to its symptoms. If you get carried away in a stroke of panic, your symptoms will likely get stronger. This experience can be extremely distressing, but you need to keep in mind that you can’t suddenly die of anxiety.
However, prolonged anxiety (over the years) will cause real damage to your health.
You need to break free from the vicious cycles of anxiety before it takes a toll on your physical and mental health. The sooner you take action, the easier it will be reclaiming a happy and normal frame of mind.
