Hi, this is my first post on here so I hope it's okay!
I've had anxiety ever since I can remember and have been in therapy since I was 13 - I'm now 23. I've had panic attacks in the past so am aware of how they feel in my body and have learnt techniques to calm myself down and subside them. However, over the past couple of months I have experienced chest discomfort on such an intense level I've taken myself to the emergency room in fear I'm having a heart attack. The feeling changes all the time, but it has lasted for weeks on end now and I'm just learning to live with it - it's horrible and I am exhausted. It feels like a fluttering in my chest, or like there's air bubbles in there, or like someone is squeezing my heart, or tugging on it. Sometimes it burns, sometimes its sharp. It changes and moves all the time - sometimes its in the centre, or to the left, or goes over to the right etc. It went away for one week and I was finally able to sleep, now it has returned. It usually flares up the worst when I'm settling down to sleep, but now its creeping into my days and can come on from nowhere.
I've had ECG's and chest x ray's and blood tests and the doctor's keep telling me it's not my heart and that it's anxiety or oesophagus spasms. I however find this hard to believe when it feels so intense in the moment and thus my anxiety then carries me away with it - I end up getting to a place of panic that is so severe I can't calm down until I go to the hospital and get reassurance.
Has anyone had anything similar to this happen to them? How did you fix your symptoms? I'm just looking to feel less alone as it's a very exhausting.
Hope everyone is doing well 🙂
