Stress and Chest PainStress and chest pain: Stress affects health in many ways, but chest pain is surely something to think about. Is your chest pain and stress connected? That's what you'll learn today! Stress and Chest Pain: First of all, experiencing chest pain is different from experiencing many other "stress symptoms". Well, the feeling of chest pain is quite sudden, isn't it? You're just enjoying the course of the day, and then it hits you. It literally feels like something "hits" you. So let's settle the relationship between stress and chest pain now... What's Your First Impression? What's your first impression you get when feeling pain in your chest? "It's coming from my heart!" When people have pain in their chest, many automatically think "heart attack". A heart attack has to do with your heart. Chest pain has to do with your chest muscles, not your heart. Well, many types of chest pain have little to do with your heart. So are stress and chest pain connected? According to John Cantwell, M.D., "A great number of them [chest pains] are stress related." But how? When you undergo stress, tension is generated in your chest muscles. This can also cause your heart to have an unsteady and uncontrollable beat. Have you ever started breathing very rapidly because you were stressed out? If so, even this (hyperventilation) can cause chest pain. Why? Because when you stressed out, your body produces more adrenaline, a hormone which makes you breathe faster. Also, this same hormone increases your heart rate, and makes your muscles contract (tighten). As you can see, when your muscles contract, especially your chest muscles, you start to get the painful feeling which you may mistake for a heart attack or other heart problems. Save Yourself The Pain Like I said earlier, we always start to think chest pain means a heart attack or at least something to do with the heart. Why do we think that? It's because of the world we live in. The media that surrounds us. Think about... whenever you hear about heart attacks, do you start panicking? Do people around you start panicking? They probably do. But why? It's because heart attacks are the only thing most people can relate to the "chest". So why am I bringing this up? When you get chest pain, if you think it's a heart attack, you will feel even more stressed and anxious, which will increase your chest pain. I'm bringing this up to help you keep your head up, and not panic if you ever experience chest pain. You can have the peace of mind that every occurrence of chest pain isn't necessarily a heart attack, but probably stress related. You can save yourself from this "domino stress effect". Even I was surprised when I first learned about stress and chest pain. Remember; thinking that chest pain is a heart attack will only make you more anxious. And speaking of being anxious... Stress = Anxiety = Chest Pain? You now know that stress and chest pain are related, but how about anxiety, a very close relative of stress? If you face too much stress in your life, then you can also end up having anxiety. What is anxiety? First of all, it's normal for everyone to have this problem sometime in their lives. In that respect, it's just like stress. Well, it's similar to stress. Anxiety is a psychological disorder, where you feel uneasy and fearful all the time. It makes your whole body feel different. You think different, you act different, and you're not yourself. Just like when you're stressed! So, if you are always stressed, day in and day out, anxiety could possibly be a result. So anxiety also causes chest pain? Yes. Anxiety also can cause the similar uneasy feeling you get in your chest when you're stressed. You start feeling tightness in your chest when you're anxious. Well, stress and chest pain have a lot in common, right? But this is only the beginning. What I mean by that is there is still a lot more to be known on the exact cause of chest pain. Stress is only one of them. Stress and Chest Pain: A Little Clearer Now? Well, this brings us to an end of this "stress causing discussion". You know exactly how stress and chest pain are related. You also know not to panic if you ever feel pain in your chest. You see, people go through a lot of stress as it is. So when they mistake the tightening of their chest muscles for a heart attack, it can greatly increase their stress levels. Since you know that chest pain is mostly likely not a heart attack, please tell them that. It will save them a lot of stress. Just like how it saved me a lot of stress (in case I ever do experience chest pain!). So please don't take this information lightly... Alright, that's enough seriousness for today. Like always, remember; this website is for YOU. Feel free to use the helpful tips and techniques for reducing your stress forever!
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