pains in chest and back

[dmc929]

Hi everyone,
I havent  written since April 13th. It was about my weak legs at that time. Since then that symptom seems to have
gone away, thankfully. But as all of you know very well, another one always takes its place. The last couple of days,
I have been having chest and back pains. It is not all over. It will be one spot, and that will go away and then it will be
another spot. When I went to the doctor about my legs I told them I sometimes get these pains, but it usually goes away the same day. This is on and off for the last couple of days. I was reassured it is NOT my heart, which I do freak
out about.Of course I am still freaking out since it has not gone away as fast. I am not short of breath,or nauseated.It
just feels like my muscle is sore. I always seem to hold alot of my tension in my upper body. I  have the heating pad on right now and I do take a low dose xanax every night. I was taking .5mg. and I told the doctor I wanted to try and
get off it, so i was told to break it in half and take that for awhile before I stop. I just am so tired of taking something
to function. I also do meditation and yoga. You think with all that I would be fine. I just dont understand this. I am
not a young kid. I am sure I could be a mother to most of you. Sorry I am going on and on, but I just needed to vent
somewhere. I work and everyday when I get up I never can just get up and say  WOW I feel great today. The mind
immediately starts its inventory of my body. Why does it feel like I cant take a deep breath, what pains are going to
start up and on and on. I look at the people I work with and they all seem fine, and I wish I could be like that. But like
me, maybe they also hide how they really feel. I go into the bathroom and pray and trying some meditating and try
and smile when I might be shaking inside. I will somehow get thru this. I know I can. I miss the REAL me, which is
a very happy and funny person. Well thanks for the therapy session. It helped alot. Hope I didnt put some of you
to sleep. Actually I better get to sleep. I have to get up for work. Thanks again for reading this everyone. God Bless!!

[ativan]

Hi there my daughter has the same pains in her chest and back as long as you have been told alls well please dont worry, my daughter also has her anxiety there because she shallow breaths, I know the feeling of wanting to get up and feel ok,Anxiety sufferers always find mornings difficult, but you are doing the same as me your putting yourself through a scanning machine each morning, I bet you wake with a little fear and it goes to the part of the body that your worrying about. also at work you look at people and think why cant I be like them, I also do that, But just think of a big shopping mall and take a look around you and everyone looks ok, if everyone was was givan a red ballon and told to hold it up if they felt alittle anxiety there would be a sea of red ballons im sure. Im in the u.k so its 8.15am hear so I bet your still tucked up in bed. be strong you will get through this.take care
janis

[JSGeare]

We're here for you! By the way, "mom," why not put in some profile data and really make that big leap into being a member here? There's no doubt in my mind that you would be a HUGE asset on this forum, som please jump right in. I'll bet you find that helping is great therapy for YOU, as well.

I think I have some GOOD news for you. Your expression of frustration with the "rut," is, in my experience, sort of like one of those gentle shocks before the big quake hits, sort of like distant thunder from an approaching storm, portending a BIG CHANGE. I say so because that was true in my case. I can draw an actual boundary between the time I was just sick of being sick -and recovery.

I did, in fact, wake up one day and realize that I was missing out on life. I realized that it did not HAVE to be this way. And from that point forward, things began to change. And those changes were sweeping, across my entire life. My impression -my opinion- is that the energy and motive to change sort of builds up in us over time until it kind of jumps out and we take a few "giant steps" instead of "baby" steps. Sometimes, you donm't really see it until you look "back" and realize how far you've come. The signal that things are about to change in you is that sense of being sick and tired of being sick and tired, of wanting your life back. WANTING YOUR LIFE BACK -go figure: without that, you're not getting your life back. And you do have that, so you CAN have it back.

Your mention of yoga has inspired me to spill some ink about that, which shall take the form of one of my usual brilliant journal entries...let me get to work on that while it is still fresh in my mind.

Oh, and by the way: if you're my mom, and I'm 60, that would make you....what? 75, at least. Not bad, not bad.

[cj29]

Anxiety can be a vicious cycle, but you sound like you are on your way to understanding it.  Recognizing that it exists is a HUGE step foward.   The next step is confronting it.  Have you talked to a therapist about your feelings.  In my experience, just learning about the anxiety/panic cycle gives you knowledge, which is power, to overcome this.  Health anxiety, especially, can be nerve wracking; in my experience, along with many others, I tended to become oversensitized to my feelings and tended to 'scan' for problems.  I also tended to catastrophicsize my symptoms.  What you describe is very common to what many people have been through on this forum.