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stress or medical issue?

I get a tightness in my chest, subconsciously start taking shorter breaths, feel like I want to just lay down in a ball (but I don't actually lay down). Its not painful, more like a dull ache over my heart and general tightening feeling. After a couple minutes of the shorter breaths my lungs ache a little bit. It feels like my forearms tighten or the blood pressure rises and my blood is getting hotter. Lack of being able to concentrate, my mind races without focus, typically have to do something mindless until it passes or I become listless; sometimes lasts 5 min, sometimes longer or comes back a couple hours later. Sometimes associated with loss of appetite or slight nausea if I am around food at the time. Comes on typically after I get something in the mail that stresses me out (going through a divorce) but I don't know if its a directly related trigger or I just become more self-aware during these times and its coincidental.

I'm male, 29yrs old, in average physical shape (5'11.5" and 180lbs), go to the gym or do other physical exercise twice a week. Just had a physical and bloodwork that all came back fine (dr even said cholesterol was great, hydration excellent, etc). I've been going through a lot of stress in my personal life; divorce, change in jobs, etc.
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Avatar universal
It seems as though it is stress and /or anxiety. Going through a divorce is extremely stressful and the symptoms could be consistant with what you are describing. A doctor once told me that if it was a heart attack, you could change positions, stand up, lay down and the pain would not go away. That may or may not be true but it sure helped me to not freak out when I had chest pains after bad news :) You may want to talk to your doc about panic attacks/anxiety disorder. Also, make sure your blood pressure is okay as well. Good luck to you, meditation is awesome or really anything that helps you to relax
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1756321 tn?1547095325
From the Ancient Minerals article Need More Magnesium? 10 Signs to Watch For...

"If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you may be at risk for low magnesium intake.

1. Do you drink carbonated beverages on a regular basis

2. Do you regularly eat pastries, cakes, desserts, candies or other sweet foods?

3. Do you experience a lot of stress in your life, or have you recently had a major medical procedure such as surgery?

4. Do you drink coffee, tea, or other caffeinated drinks daily?

5. Do you take a diuretic, heart medication, asthma medication, birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy?

6. Do you drink more than seven alcoholic beverages per week?

7. Do you take calcium supplements without magnesium or calcium supplements with magnesium in less than a 1:1 ratio?

8. Do you experience any of the following:
Anxiety?
Times of hyperactivity?
Difficulty getting to sleep?
Difficulty staying asleep?

9. Do you experience any of the following:
Painful muscle spasms?
Muscle cramping?
Fibromyalgia?
Facial tics?
Eye twitches, or involuntary eye movements?

10. Did you answer yes to any of the above questions and are also age 55 or older?"
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