Ever felt a sudden, sharp chest pain during high stress or worry moments?
Uncomfortable chest pain can make a person imagine the worst, like a heart attack. Often, it might just be anxiety causing it.
Can anxiety cause chest pain? Certainly. So, let's take a deeper look into this relationship, its possible triggers, and when to seek assistance.
Can Anxiety Cause Chest Pain?
Absolutely, it can.
Albeit scary, these symptoms are manageable with the right techniques and support. Learning calming mental strategies or reaching out to professionals can offer relief.
Anxiety and Chest Pain: What is the Potential Link?
Chest pain doesn't usually mean something's wrong with your heart or lungs. It's important to know that anxiety can cause many physical symptoms.
This happens as anxiety puts your body in a "fight-or-flight" mode, releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
These hormones prime your body to face perceived threats, with chest tightness or discomfort as potential side-effects.
This feeling can be really frightening, particularly when you're not sure what's happening.
You might experience other signs such as palpitations, difficulty breathing, or even fainting.
This leads us to a question: Can pain increase heart rate? Yes.
When anxiety strikes, hormones flood your body. A racing heart can add stress, making a bad physical and emotional situation even worse.
What Does Anxiety Chest Pain Feel Like ?
Anxiety-related chest pain is again very peculiar and may present in an altogether different manner in different people.
Some of these describe the pain as a sharp and intense stabbing sensation.
Others describe it as a dull ache or a crushing feeling.
Sometimes, it is localized in one specific spot and at other times, it is a spread-out pain that you can feel across the chest.
Interestingly, this discomfort doesn't always stop at your chest. Can anxiety cause rib discomfort? Yes, it can.
Sometimes, if the anxiety tenses up the muscles in the chest and ribcage, there may be more pressure or discomfort around the ribs.
This may feel alarming, but this is mainly a result of tight muscles rather than a medical problem.
Why Does Anxiety Trigger Chest Pain ?
The physical signs of anxiety can be explained by how stress impacts your body. Here’s how it works:
Muscle Tightness
If you are stressed, your muscles will become tense, especially at the shoulder, chest and ribcage level. However, this tension can result in uneasiness or aching sensations.
Hyperventilation
People tend to overbreathe or even hyperventilate without realizing it and will feel uncomfortable in the chest, lightheaded or even numb.
Adrenaline Surge
The flood of adrenaline during anxiety episodes can result in a fast heartbeat, lightheadedness and even a feeling of pressure in the chest.
These physical sensations are very real, even though their cause is emotional.
Anxiety often interacts with other body systems, making ordinary sensations feel stronger or more painful.
For instance, you might hear people wonder about anxiety and nerve problems—and there's a link.
Anxiety doesn't directly cause nerves to deteriorate but might increase your awareness of what is occurring in your body, making ordinary sensations seem amplified or painful.
Related: Panic disorder and chest pain.
Diagnosing Anxiety Chest Pain vs. a Heart Attack
Probably the most worrying thing about chest pain due to anxiety is that it could easily be mistaken for a heart attack.
Both can lead to chest pain, brevity of breath and palpitations. However, there are some key differences:
Anxiety-related chest pain usually develops rapidly as a reaction to stress and may subside when you relax.
Signs of a heart attack are not likely to improve and may include signs such as left arm pain, nausea, and the feeling of excess sweating.
However, caution is always better.
If you're uncertain whether your chest discomfort is due to anxiety or a more severe issue, see a medical professional urgently to rule out heart disease.
Coping with Chest Pain from Anxiety
Anxiety can sometimes cause chest pain, which can be alarming and intense. Luckily, methods are available to manage it. Here are a few strategies:
Learn Relaxation Techniques
Deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or mindfulness exercises can soothe your nervous system, easing anxiety and its physical symptoms.
Stay Active
Regular physical activity is a proven method for managing anxiety. It helps by burning off extra stress hormones, improving your general mental health.
Speak to a Specialist
Therapy options like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are perfect for tackling the primary sources of anxiety. A therapist can help you re-interpret your thinking habits that add to anxiety symptoms.
Medication
Duration of high anxiety may demand specific medicine for symptom control. Your doctor will cooperate with you to establish the most effective treatment.
Understanding that stress can impact your body is already addressing the issue.
When you comprehend what's happening, you can start finding solutions to alleviate both the emotional and physical symptoms.
When You Should Get Medical Help
Knowing when chest pain demands medical evaluation is essential. If you face any of these conditions, don't hesitate to seek help:
Enduring, escalating, or severe chest pain.
Discomfort spreads to your arms, jaw, shoulders, or back.
Breathlessness, fainting, or a fast heartbeat that doesn't improve with rest.
These might be signs of a severe issue, like a heart attack, which should be checked by a healthcare provider.
Next Steps
If you're encountering frequent chest pain or physical symptoms of anxiety, getting suitable help is essential.
At Freedom Psychiatry Center, we grasp how daunting anxiety can be.
Our compassionate team is experienced in treating anxiety, depression, and related conditions by making personalized care plans based on your needs.
FAQs
Q1. Where is anxiety chest pain located?
Chest pain associated with anxiety can be located centrally or on the left side; the right side can spread across the chest or localized around ribs or area of the upper abdomen.
Q2. How do you get rid of chest pain from anxiety?
To help relieve chest pain associated with anxiety, you can apply some methods such as deep breathing, relaxation like mindfulness, exercise to burn out the tension and addressing stressors through therapy and self-help.
Q3. What are 6 common non-cardiac causes of chest pain?
Muscle strain
Acid reflux or heartburn
Anxiety or panic attacks
Respiratory issues like asthma
Costochondritis (inflammation of chest cartilage)
Digestive issues like gas or bloating
Q4. Can chest pain be caused by stress?
Yes, stress can cause chest pain as a direct result of muscular contraction, overbreathing, or as part of the fight or flight response which affects all aspects of breathing, the heart included.
Q5. What is the 3-3-3 rule for anxiety?
The 3-3-3 rule is helpful during anxiety or when you feel overwhelmed to help get you back down to earth. What do you observe? List three things that you notice and three sounds that you hear. Finally, move three parts of your body to help shift focus.
Q6. How do I stop worrying about chest pain?
To get out of this state, say to oneself that anxiety may cause symptoms resembling some other conditions, and then proceed to relax by doing breathing exercises.
Consult a doctor to be sure that you do not have an underlying condition simultaneously for an added feeling of reassurance.
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