In a reassuring story coming out of your bedroom at 3 a.m., the person who posted on Reddit seven years ago with the same symptoms you’re experiencing right now followed up on the thread a couple years later to say that it was nothing.
Yay, they survived! So you’re going to survive, too!
“It’s just so heartening to see that someone went through the same thing as me and came out of it fully alive,” you told reporters. “Like, Part of me already felt like it was just my anxiety making everything worse, but now I know it for sure. I’m so glad I don’t need to see a doctor and can forget this little health scare ever happened.”
Sources were a little wary about these takeaways, saying they felt like you should probably still consult a medical professional, and not just go by the experience of a random stranger who posted on Reddit almost a decade ago.
“Why would I need to see a doctor?” you said. “I know I’m going to be fine! @namelessuser22443 lived at least another five years after experiencing chest pain, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath. It’s just my anxiety messing with me, I’m going to be just fine!”
Okay, girl!
While doctors agreed that anxiety can make symptoms worse and that health anxiety is a very real thing, they also said they always recommend consulting a medical professional if you’re experiencing chest pain. They added that while it’s important to stay calm and rational, completely blowing off the symptoms you’re experiencing isn’t the right course of action either.
“Yeah, I really wish she would come see me about this,” your primary care doctors told reporters after learning of your symptoms. “I’m not sure if it’s anxiety or not, but I am sure that medical tests are more accurate than just agreeing with a random user on Reddit.”
You, however, were suspicious of your doctor’s motives.
“She’s just trying to get more money out of me,” you told reporters, who kind of felt like that might be true. “@namelessuser2244 has nothing to gain by relaying their experience on Reddit, my doctor has everything to gain by coercing me into getting several expensive tests done.”
Sources honestly couldn’t argue with your logic here –– and even though your doctor begged them to see reason, they now felt like she was manipulative and money-hungry.
As of press time, you were happy with your decision, but you still weren’t able to sleep because your heart hurt, like, really bad.
Okay, maybe consider going to the doctor, babe!
