Can worry cause chest pain?

Hi, thank you for reaching out to us at BetterHelp. My name is Stacey Shine, and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I read over the question that you submitted and am hopeful that I can help you.

You asked the question if worry can cause chest pain. This can be a complex question. First, it is always best to consult your primary medical physician if you have any physical symptoms. This is important to rule out any larger causes that are medical.  Once your primary doctor has ruled out that there is no physical cause for your symptoms, I think it is safe to say that there could be a mental issue causing physical pain. Anxiety and worry can mask themselves in many different ways, typically unique to the person. This can make it more difficult since not everyone will experience the same symptoms for pain like this.  Some people can have pain in their chest; some can have tightness in their shoulders. I have also seen people experience symptoms such as nausea and headaches. Mental distress such as excessive worry makes your body react almost as if it is being attacked. It begins having physical symptoms because you may not have any other way to express the emotional distress that you are experiencing. This is something that I would recommend pretty quickly discussing with a counselor. They can give you different grounding methods and ways to redirect your brain from worrying to thinking more positively. I know this can be a scary experience to have, so I would encourage you not to let the symptoms persist for very long without speaking to your primary care doctor and then to a counselor. If you have to wait to get in with your doctor, counseling is a good place to start in the meantime.

I hope this was helpful for you. If you are looking for an easy way to jump right into counseling, I will encourage you to sign up for Better Help, and you can speak with someone immediately—best of luck on this journey to overall better health.