Feeling heavy chested from Anxiety

[Larks98]

some mornings i wake up, i feel as though someone has been sitting on my chest the whole night. I occasionally wake up with muscular pains in my chest/ chest area. A wrong movement and i am in pain. The pain goes away but seems to come back after a couple of weeks and so on. I lift boxes all day for work and sometimes lifting the wrong way aggravates my chest pain. I feel the pain also in my pectorals, but again just muscular pain. with stretching sometimes relieves the pain temporarily. Does anyone else get these chest/ pectoral pain as well ?

[Sophie_M]

Hi Larks98,

Thanks for checking back in with our community. We recognise how debilitating symptoms of anxiety can be and we are glad that you've reached out here for support. As we noticed that you've already created a thread in the anxiety section (https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/anxiety/new-to-anxiety--F754A1366621#qxbUBHH...) we’d encourage you to keep to one thread.

This is because it can be really difficult for the community to keep up with your story if you have a lot of threads going at once, and you may find yourself having to repeat information if your story is spread across the forum - sometimes our members will be repeating themselves as well if it's an issue you've had previously. There's a lot of value in seeing how someone's story evolves over time, and when facing a new crisis, it's helpful to scroll back and see how you've coped previously. We hope to see you around!

[Croix]

Dear Larks98~

Welcome back, I've read some of your other posts and realise you are finding anxiety hard to come to terms with and, like me, a lot of the symptoms come out as physical effects. Seems almost unrelated but for me it isn't.

Not that long ago I was back in hospital with chest pains, but in the end after numerous tests including an iodine MRI I was found to have no physical cause.

There have been lots of other things, and in each case I have had them thoroughly examined to eliminate physical causes before putting it down to anxiety.

This is only sensible, after all there might be a genuine physical illness crop up too.

It can be hard to accept hte results, and the mind wonders if there might be some mix up or mistake, or false negative, however in time I go to accept the fact my body was reacting to my mind.

In your case it might have a physical cause. lifting weights all day may indeed leave you sore, so again I'd say get it checked out by your GP, however don't be surprised if in fact it is more anxiety.

I read you were stating wiht a therapist or psych. May I ask have you started yet and if so how did it go?

Croix

[Larks98]

Hi. For me the chest pain is a coming and going physical symptom. some days its worse than others and then some days its gone all together. Ive had multiple tests done on my heart and thankfully everything came back fine.

Its just with the chest pain i still have the constant thought of what if something is wrong and the tests have just missed it. And i dont understand what causes it. And is it a common physical symptom of anxiety ?

[Emmen]

Hello Larks98,

I have that symptom too, and I always panic and think the worst when I get any pain anywhere, even when the tests say there's nothing wrong. It's not really a helpful train of thought to have. Chest pains are a known symptom of anxiety.

What usually helps for me is to consciously relax my muscles (try progressive muscle relaxation exercises). The fact that yours comes and goes makes me think it's anxiety related rather than a physical problem.

Like Croix says, it can be hard to accept the results of a medical test (especially when they contradict what we're feeling). But by not accepting these results, you're making your anxiety worse since you've given yourself something new to worry about (that is, whether the tests have missed something).

Take care, and try to consciously relax your body. Taking a break from work may help too, since you won't be straining those muscles.

- M

[shortblack]

Hi :).
I can relate to your stress pain. I feel as though if I get intrusive thoughts, read something that isn’t positive, or even get the wrong look from someone I feel such a heavy pressure/pain in my chest. Sometimes it just comes on when I’m mid-work or laying in bed. I find that rolling my shoulders back and taking deep breaths stretch out the pressure and help me to relax and focus on clearing my mind.
sometimes if I’m extremely anxious and tense it can make me feel like I’ve been working out from being so tense and tightly wound. Relaxation is the key for me though only momentarily it works.