Breathing difficulties, pounding heart, chest pain gets worse when I try to sleep.

 Anxiety can absolutely cause those symptoms, Jake. 

 i've had everyone of them and know exactly how you're feeling. 

 The difficulty breathing, pounding heart, chest pain. Panicky feeling,And many more! 

 millions of people have these symptoms due to anxiety and stress. Mine started in my 20s and at that time there was no Internet support. I felt like I was the only one in the world with this and thought I had some horrible disease which fortunately I did not.

All due to anxiety and stress over many years! 

 The fact that all your test came out normal tells you that this is anxiety related. 

 keep in mind that any symptoms related to anxiety cannot hurt you. They feel scary and weird but that's all they can do. What you need to do is learn how to manage the anxiety so that your symptoms subside .

 all anxiety starts in the brain so you need to calm down the brain to calm down the body. 

 another thing is that alcohol will make everything worse because it competes with a feel-good hormone in the brain. 

 The first thing I did was speak with a counselor about why I am so anxious and stressed out in the first place. It really helps to vent to someone in person who can help and they see this every single day. It's hard to deal with this alone. 

 next, a couple times a day I listen to meditations for anxiety on YouTube. They really calm down my mind and body and my symptoms greatly diminished or go away. 

 I use earbuds for a better effect .  They teach you how to separate negativity and anxiety from yourself.  So many to choose from including ones for depression, sleep, stress, whatever you want.

 another very important audio meditation to listen to is for your breathing. It's very important to know the proper breathing technique and why it is so important. Go to YouTube and search for 10 minutes breathing meditation.  The time you start to get anxiety symptoms you go right to your breathing. It shows you how to stay in the present moment. 

Do an experiment. Listen to these as often as you can and when your symptoms calm down you know itS all due to anxiety. 

 I also have some mindful meditations for panic. 

 Somethings I have learned over the years……

try not to take life too seriously 

 be good to yourself… This is not your fault 

 don't sit around and think about your symptoms because they will only get worse 

 stay active and social, do things you enjoy 

 don't forget to laugh and smile because it's been proven that all these things actually make positive changes in the brain 

Mindfulness  is a technique to manage stress and anxiety that is used all over the world. There is a book with that  same title that many people have read and have regained control over the anxiety. It's a white book with a ball of string in the cover. 

 hope you feel better soon 

Sounds like panic attack. See a doctor

Hi Jake,

I know exactly what youre going through. I am currently experiencing problems with breathing as well. I feel like my chest is super tight and cant take a deep breath. It sometimes feels like a numbing sensation, but its just a horrible feeling over all. Ive had this for about 2 months now. X-rays comeback clear nothing wrong with my lungs, oxygen intake is 98% which is great. Heart is fine. I recently went to the dr and he scheduled a Pulmonary test to make sure all is well. My app is on 9/18. I sometimes too wake up in the middle of the night with my heart beating out of control or suffocating. Dr says its the anxiety. I dont take meds of any kind. Im trying to do this the natural way. Keep calm, what has helped me is staying calm, breathing slow and not focusing so much on it. I know is hard but thats all i have, it also helps if you raise your hands over your head, that helps me to get a deeper breath. Anyway, hope this helps, youre not alone, good luck, if you have any further questions can message me.

Hey Jake i get this in a daily basis. My chest is so tight i feel like I'm suffocating. I also don't sleep well cos i jerk awake gasping for breath.bits ad if I've stopped breathing. I no most of it is cause be me breathing from the top if my chest and not from my diaphragm is my belly. I also yawn constantly and sigh all the time. I try to listen to YouTube breathing exercises but it's hard when ur in a panic. It is the worst feeling ever

Hey jake. Anxiety can do crazy things to our bodies im currently in the middle of severe anxiety it suxs. Makes you feel crazy like your losing your mind. Have you spoken to your doctor about meds or some therapy???

Hi Jake, this is my first post on this forum. I'm sorry ur feeling so bad. I understand exactly how you feel tho. I also suffer from terrible breathlessness and pounding heart, sweating, blinding headaches etc and this is also worse at night.  My doctor has recently told me I have an ectopic or extra heartbeat and it can be often caused by anxiety. I think these things are worse at night because it's all quiet and in the darkness it's all too easy to concentrate on your erratic breathing and pounding heart.

i think the best thing is to get checked out with your doctor and as long as you know you have no serious medical issues the main thing to do is try and accept these symptoms for what they are. Symptoms. God knows it's not easy. I've been suffering with serious anxiety for 40 plus years now and I'm only just getting my mind around it.

its the physical symptoms though, as you know which perpetuates the anxiety.

  I'm still working on it! I just wanted you to know you are not on your own.

x