Chest Pain Stress: Linking Stress and Health

Chest pain can have cardiac causes, digestive causes, muscular-skeletal causes as well as respiratory causes. But it can also be caused by stress, anxiety and panic.

The Mayo Clinic states: “If you experience periods of intense fear accompanied by chest pain, rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing (hyperventilation), profuse sweating and shortness of breath, you may be experiencing a panic attack — a form of anxiety.”

Chest pain stress has often been described as a sharp pain under the heart, coupled with palpitations, or heart that feels like it’s beating too slowly, or a heart that feels like it’s shaking and irregular. You may have any or all of these symptoms.

So we know that chest pain due to stress, panic and anxiety is possible… but the next question is, why?

It is due to a cycle called the fear-adrenalin-fear cycle. When the body becomes stressed and tired, it is more susceptible to overreaction. So something, which may not usually bother you (such as a small stress), manages to get under your skin – big time.

So a mild event causes a big reaction. And you’re likely to believe that something is drastically wrong with you – perhaps you think you’re about to have a heart attack on the spot. It’s the fear which makes the sensation worse.

This is a great quote about chest pain stress:

“The soreness and pain are merely muscular chest-wall strain, brought on by tension.” This is what Dr Claire Weekes says in her book, “Complete Self Help for Your Nerves”. If you suffer from anxiety, stress or panic attacks, I urge you to get a copy of this book and read it.

Dr Weekes goes on to say, “The nerves of your heart have become so sensitized by fear that they answer the slightest stimulus. A sudden noise may suffice to make your heart ‘rattle’; or, more puzzling still it may suddenly beat quickly for no apparent reason.”

From a spiritual/aura standpoint, the heart chakra is affected by chest pain stress. The heart chakra (energy center) sits in the middle of the chest. The solar plexus (nervous system energy center) sits below the heart chakra, just above the belly button. The throat chakra sits just above the heart chakra, in your throat.

So the energy which is getting pent up in the solar plexus expands outwards and upwards, affecting the heart chakra.Chest pain arising from stress, anxiety or panic is actually very simple to treat. Just relax.

Just relax?! Yeah right. You have no idea what you’re talking about!!

Did I just read your thoughts?

I said it was simple, not easy! The task of taking your mind off your chest pain and using your thought energy in a more useful way is not easy.

The first step is to accept that your chest pain is caused by stress, anxiety or panic and not something more serious. For this reason I recommend a visit to your primary care physician.

Then, once your doctor has conducted the relevant tests and told you that stress is the cause of your chest pain, you need to accept that finding.

Next step is to consciously relax. I wrote a page called “101 ways to reduce stress” which you will find helpful.

Then, you just wait for time to work its magic. It’s that simple.

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