I too have a problem with feeling tension in my chest. Sometimes, several times a day I have difficulty catching my Breath. Ive had lung tests, one doctor says i have asthma, one says I don't. I believe most of the problem I have is anxiety. ON the other hand I am afraid that if I ignore this, i could have worse health problems. I am scared to use the inhaler because it makes me sojittery, God is helping with learning to trust him. I am feeling better since I started the program 3 weeks ago. Can someone tell me is anxiety can cause you to feel short of breath and have chest tightness a good deal of the day?

Welcome Annette,

Many of us here can relate to your 'seems like never ending' chest discomfort.

I would encourage you to take a look at Lesson 1 and look for the post "constant chest discomfort" I think our observations concerning this "anxiety related problem" will help you with your question.

You are not alone. Many of us our experiencing this same "discomfort" Be rest assured that if you have had certain tests done, (EKG, chest x-ray, stress test...etc) and they have all come back negative, then most likely your chest tightness is contributed to "anxiety"

Please take the time to read <U> all </U> the replies.

The best to ya
Hank

Also, when in an anxious state, we sometimes actually forget to exhale completely or at all..it isn't that you can't get a breath as much as it is that you haven't fully let one out. When you get that feeling..totally empty your lungs with a long exhale..you will usually find breathing in starts working again!

A tight chest tells you that you are breathing improperly. Use your diaphram to breath and focus all breathing with that as the center of it. Cave in your chest and hold it a few seconds, then release..then expand it and release...that will help relax those overworked muscles and they will feel less tense as you practice diaphramatic breathing.

Annette
I have had much chest discomfort since the Sept 11 happenings. Coincidence? I think not. I know it it just stress from several different issues - but it is still uncomfortable. My chest muscles get so tight it sometimes gets hard to take a deep breath. At night I lay in bed with a hot water bottle on my chest and the muscles seem to relax a little. I have been a bit lax on my diet (too much sweets) and exercise so I am not surprised that I feel this way. But I will remedy what I can and will get the body tension under control once more. Not a big deal.

Hi Annette,
Yes, this is anxiety symtoms, I've had this chest tightning symptom, and it is VERY unpleasant, i had it for several months and wondered how long my body could put up with this abuse before I just kill over. I've gone to the hospital/called an ambulance a few times because I thought i was choking on something. Well, I don't have it that severe anymore, thank God, mostly becuase the situtation i was in was tough and i didn't know how to deal with it, but now i'm not in that situation, and i'm preparing myself so that if i ever get put in a tough situation again, i'll know how to do a good job at handling it. My advice? Keep working the tapes! Fill yourself with positive thoughts, the mind is like a swimming pool of thoughts, some good, some bad, keep pouring good thoughts into your mind and you'll have a great advantage over anxiety and those unpleasant symptoms you've been having.

Have a nice day
Michael