Thread: Am I stressed

I'm a man so the pregnancy worries don't apply, but..

Years ago I was in a job situation that was very stressful - basically there were a lot of people depending on me doing my job correctly - and I was having real problems. This was when I was about 28

I started to have chest pains, shortness of breath, dizziness, racing pulse. I had taken first aid training, so I knew all the signs of heart problems, and I had them all.

I went to one doctor, they did a bunch of tests, found nothing wrong. I didn't believe them went to another - who gave me some sort of anti-anxiety medication. I didn't take the medication, just the perscription startled me:

I've always hated mind altering drugs of all sorts - and here I was about to start taking something to calm me down. I have such a strong negative mental reaction to that sort of thing, that it really schocked me. The rational part of my brain took over - Sure, while some people in their 20s have heart attacks, it is really rare - especially if they have already been checked by a doctor and nothing wrong was found. In fact the risk is almost certainly lower than the everyday risks we accept - driving, crossing the street, etc. I decided that I would just accept the small chance that I might die suddenly as just another risk in life.

This cleared things up for me very quickly. With the stress over my imagined medical condition gone, I was able to realize that my other problems were not so bad either. No one was going to die if I didn't do my job right, no one was even going to loose their jobs. Just my reputation might be slighly tarnished.

Since then, I have had occasional slight chest pains, and have just ignored them. Its been 20 years now, I'm not dead yet.

One note though - my diagnosis with anxiety / panic attacks came back to haunt me years later. I decided to learn to fly an airplane - and when I went for the medical check it was almost denied because of my problem long before.

So - my advice (after my long rambling post) is: See a doctor (which I think you have already done) - but believe them. You will know soon if you are pregnant, but if the test was negative, I think it is very unlikely (maybe someone knows how unlikely).

At your age, it is also very unlikely you have a life threatening medical condition. You can have a doctor do an EKG to check your heart, but odds are there is nothing wrong.

Tell yourself that you take all sorts of risks every day - crossing streets, riding bicycles, etc. These are more serious risks than the small chance you have some medical problem, and you accept the risks. If you get chest pains, know that it is almost certainly stress, and nothign to worry about. It "could" be a heart problem, but you could also be hit by a bus that jumps the curb the next time you are at a corner.

I understand how serious stress can be. It isn't easy, but rather than worrry about small risks, just accept that they are part of life.