Why You Can Actually Trust Safety With Panicked Anxiety And Scary Pain In The Chest

The body is not the enemy.

Your body is always trying to protect you. Always communicating with you.

And I know feeling pain in your chest is super scary, it's a big old message you're getting and you need to pay attention.

Just remember that regardless of the stories we tell ourselves, our bodies are never fighting against us and the body never lies.

You know the term, "don't shoot the messenger?" Well, this applies to your pain protective system, even when you have scary symptoms like anxiety and pain in the chest.

The sensations we feel in our body, including pain, are simply the messenger. 

Now, anxiety and pain in the chest are absolutely things you should go get checked out.... definitely heed the message and go see your doctor.

But if you're reading this before getting in to see your doctor then I'm glad, because It will help your anxiety and your chest pain, or whatever pain you have with anxiety (my most common one is stomach and head pain!), to know that the pain you feel with your anxiety is simply the messenger.

Your pain is the messenger your brain sends to let you know it's not comfortable with your current situation and it wants you to take a look at it, maybe make some changes.

Often with chest pain and anxiety, it's not a heart attack, but you do need to rule that out. Again, I'll repeat, go see your doctor. Make sure you rule out serious stuff, always, when your brain sends you messages through its handy, reliable pain messenger.

But please also know that the more common reason for having anxiety and pain in the chest, is that there are some emotions your current or past life circumstances are bringing up that you haven't taken a chance to feel and process yet.

The body remembers who you really are, what your real beliefs, values and comfort zones are. When your boundaries are crossed or challenged, the body responds. When you cannot speak the words you long to speak out loud, your body will speak for you. When you bury feelings and pretend you're OK, the body will let you know that it isn't.

 

Your body carries your trauma and your memories like imprints in the tissues. Even if we cognitively do not recall everything that's happened to us, the body does.

Anxiety is the feeling of panic in your body that your boundaries have been crossed... it's not a thought or thing that happens to you... it's the emotion and sense of panic felt through physical symptoms. 

These physical symptoms often look like muscle tension, poor digestion, foggy head, headache, shaking hands, poor motor control, and pain in any part of the body.

Using body-based techniques teaches you how to learn the language of your body-mind, how to tune into sensations and start to understand the compassionate messages they're giving you. It's a big part of what I teach and fundamental to mind-body recovery.

When we learn to befriend the body and our experience, no matter how uncomfortable, we automatically start to feel much safer. If we can find peace and safety in our bodies, we can find peace and safety with our symptoms and vice versa.
 

Here is a guided audio on establishing safety and a video teaching nervous system regulation through breath and vocal vibration.

Sending you love and support, you've got this friend.