Physical symptoms

[Rach93]

Hi,

im new here as I’ve just started to experience anxiety.. tonight it has came and then gone & it’s back again and the physical symptoms are getting to me because I keep thinking I’m having a heart attack..

is there anyone who experiences a burning sensation in there chest and a tight feeling also feels tight on my neck and throat sometimes.. & sharp pain across my chest in certain sports I can’t stop thinking about it and it’s making it worse.. plus I’m so tired and can’t sleep because I feel my heart skip a beat so I got up and freaked out..

[Sophie_M]

Hello Rach93, we are sorry to hear that you have been experiencing some anxiety and physical symptoms tonight. It sounds like things have been difficult for you as you have been going through these feelings of pain and have been unable to rest. We strongly encourage you to seek medical assistance to ensure that you can get some support for the pain you have been experiencing. We recommend that you seek immediate support if you are in pain by calling 000, or seeing your GP as soon as possible. You can also call Health Direct on 1800 022 222 to speak with a registered nurse about your concerns.

We also want to mention that you do not have to tackle these thoughts and feelings of anxiety alone. Help is always available. The qualified mental health professionals at our Support Service are available all day, every day with brief counselling, support and referrals. We encourage you to reach out to them on 1300 22 4636 or, if you'd prefer to type than talk about what's going on you can email (replies within 24 hours) or webchat between 1pm and midnight AEDT every day via: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get.../get-immediate-support. Please feel free to keep us updated about how you are feeling.

[Frogga]

Hi Rach93
I'm new here too but can sympathise with your symptoms.
I last had anxiety about 20 years ago and life changes etc finally calmed down.. but last week ended up in e.r thinking I was having a heart attack. Tight chest, rapid heart rate, felt like my throat was tight etc although tests were clear I still can't shake the fear I will have a heart attack.
In hindsight I had a few earlier symptoms such as crap sleep, feeling warm, tense jaw even grinding my teeth and found I was sighing a lot.
I can't pinpoint anything wrong just feel overwhelmed lately even tho the week before I felt fine and was getting proud id stuck to working out 3 times a week..its like oh your getting results and feeling ok.. bam have a panic attack.
Have you seen a doctor ? Or try meditation? Talk to friend or family? Lots of meditation apps on Google so I'm going to try it tonight instead of looking at heart rate on smart watch.
Horrible that can talk normal about it yet at the time I'm terrified I have some terminal problem.

[Rach93]

Hi frogga

Thanks for your reply! Sorry to hear you are experiencing the same symptoms as me.. it really is horrible! I’ve been fine up until this week & all week I’ve had the same symptoms and once I wake up I’m obsessing over them thinking something is seriously wrong as they won’t go away. especially the burning sensation in my chest.

I am going to the drs on Monday which feels so long away I am going to get her to do some tests on me just to rule out anything else but the dr in emergency ruled it out to be anxiety and some muscle spasms which cause pain like I’ve been getting.. but still doesn’t reassure me.

thanks for your advise on trying some meditation apps - I have just downloaded smiling mind - yesterday I tried doing it and all I could think about was how tight my throat was but I guess it relaxed me eventually that I fell asleep lol

[Rach93]

I also cannot stop thinking I am having a heart attack because of these symptoms when I google everything I’m experiencing points to a heart attack! I just keep telling myself if I was to have a heart attack it would of happened by now & something would of shown up on all the tests they did in the Emergency.. it’s somewhat keeping me sane 🙁

[Emmen]

Dear Rach,

The worst thing to do right now would be to Google your symptoms. I've been guilty of doing that far too many times as well and the only thing that did was to make me even more anxious.

Anxiety can make the body feel all sorts of unpleasant things and that can convince us that we're seriously ill. Personally what helps for me is to to do mindfulness activities on an app called Smiling Mind. I realise my symptoms reduce in intensity and frequency when I practice mindfulness and that convinces me further that those symptoms are just a result of anxiety. I see you've already downloaded it, and I hope it turns out as useful for you as it has been for me.

Kindly,
M

[Rach93]

Hi Emmen,

thank you for your reply. I have learnt the hard way not to Google because all it really says is that I’m dying or having a heart attack! I am going to stay clear of googling. I have been up to the emergency tonight for the second time this week and they can’t find anything and have ruled it out to be anxiety and some muscular problems in my chest causing the pain.

I will definitely practice mindfulness more now to help with the symptoms and hopefully it will help me with the overthinking. I asked as many questions as I could tonight to reassure myself that it’s nothing serious that will cause me to die. I think I needed to hear it.