It’s not uncommon to feel heartache or a “sinking feeling” in your chest when you’re sad or going through emotional distress. This sensation can vary from mild discomfort to quite intense pain. There are a few reasons why sadness elicits this physical response in the heart region.
The brain and emotions have a strong connection to the body. Stressful emotions like grief, loneliness, despair, anxiety, and depression can trigger physical sensations including chest pain and shortness of breath. The brain sends signals to the body during these emotional states. When you feel sad, angry, stressed, or anxious, your brain releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These can cause physical reactions like increased heart rate, tightened chest muscles, and reduced blood flow to the heart.
In some cases, emotional distress can even precipitate more serious heart conditions like high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, and heart attacks in those with existing heart disease. However, in people with healthy hearts, the chest pain is benign – albeit uncomfortable. The good news is that for most people, the chest pain or discomfort associated with sadness and crying is temporary and harmless. Understanding why it happens and how to ease it can help you manage these sensations.
Why sadness causes physical chest pain
Here are some key reasons why sadness elicits chest pain and discomfort:
1. Tightened chest muscles
When you feel intensely sad, stressed, or cry deeply, the muscles in your chest naturally tense up and contract. This applies to the major pectoral muscles as well as intercostal muscles between the ribs. Tightened chest wall muscles can elicit mild to sharp chest discomfort, stabbing pains, or pressure in the chest. The tensed muscles compress the chest area and reduce space for your heart and lungs to expand freely.
2. Reduced oxygen
Deep sobbing during crying episodes causes irregular breathing patterns. Holding your breath, breathing rapidly or shallowly, and gasping between sobs reduces oxygen supply to the heart and lungs. Low oxygen can lead to chest tightness and breathing difficulty. The lack of adequate oxygen can also trigger your heart to beat harder and faster in an effort to circulate oxygen through your body. This can precipitate palpitations and chest pain.
3. Increased stress hormones
Cortisol, adrenaline, and other stress hormones released in the bloodstream when you feel sad and cry trigger your body’s “fight or flight” response. These hormones cause your heart to beat faster to distribute blood quickly. They also raise blood pressure and trigger muscle tension. All of these physical reactions can cause chest tightness, pain, and pressure.
4. Heartache
The emotional pain of grief, loss, loneliness, and despair is commonly perceived in the physical heart region. Researches believe this is because the nerves in the heart and emotional processing centers in the brain are closely networked. Your body may translate the emotional “broken heart” as physical chest pain.
Why the chest hurts specifically
The chest area is especially prone to physical symptoms when you experience emotional distress like sadness for several reasons:
- Your heart and lungs reside in your chest, so any tension and changes in breathing/circulation are felt there.
- The chest contains many major muscles that tense up, including the pectorals and intercostals.
- Nerves connecting your chest organs to your brain get signals of emotional pain.
- You tend to feel emotional hurt from heartbreak in the chest region.
In essence, when you feel sad or cry, your chest is ground zero for the physical manifestations of emotional stress and sobbing. From muscle tightness to breathing changes to neurologic signals crossing, your chest region experiences the brunt of it.
What does the pain from crying feel like?
The chest pain associated with crying and emotional hurt can vary from person to person. Some common descriptions include:
- Tightness
- Pressure
- Constricting
- Soreness
- Dull ache
- Sharp, stabbing pains
- Heart palpitations
- Sinking feeling
- Hard to breathe
The pain intensity ranges from mild to fairly severe based on how intensely you are crying and the depth of sadness. Most people describe it as an uncomfortable tightness and pressure sensation. However, some may experience painful stabbing, vice-like ache, or heavy sensations depending on the cause of sadness and individual differences. The pain is usually diffuse in the center of the chest near the sternum, but it can sometimes radiate to the left chest area over your heart.
How long does the chest pain last?
The duration of chest discomfort associated with sadness varies based on how long you cry and the severity. Mild sadness and tearing up briefly may only cause fleeting chest tightness. Heavier sobbing can trigger chest pain that lasts for several minutes up to hours. In some cases, a profound emotional breakdown with gasping and prolonged crying can elicit chest soreness lasting days. The discomfort usually diminishes as your breathing and heart rate settle down after crying. Chest pain lasting more than a few days is uncommon and may warrant medical assessment.
| Duration of crying episode | Usual duration of resulting chest pain |
|---|---|
| Teary/few tears | Seconds to minutes |
| Mild sobbing | Minutes |
| Moderate crying | 30 minutes to 2 hours |
| Intense sobbing | 2 to 6 hours |
| Severe breakdown with gasping | Up to 2-3 days |
As you can see, more intense episodes of crying and sadness correlate with longer durations of chest discomfort and tightness after the incident.
What helps relieve the chest pain from crying?
The chest discomfort associated with crying due to sadness is ultimately temporary and harmless. However, you can try these self-care remedies to find relief faster:
1. Deep breathing
Practice deep, even breaths to oxygenate your body, relax chest muscles, lower stress hormones, and calm your heart rate down after intense crying.
2. Cold compress
Apply an ice pack or cold, damp cloth to your chest to numb pain and ease soreness in the pectoral muscles.
3. Massage
Try gently massaging the chest area after crying to help relax tense muscles. You can use an essential oil or cream to make it feel more soothing.
4. Stretching
Gently stretch your arms overhead and your chest muscles out to one side to release tension after sobbing heavily. Avoid overly aggressive stretching that strains.
5. Warm shower
Standing under warm water can promote circulation and loosen up the chest muscles tender from tensing up during crying.
6. Herbal tea
Sip a mug of chamomile, ginger, peppermint, or other herbal tea to unwind both emotionally and physically after crying.
7. Over-the-counter pain medication
For moderate to severe muscular chest pain after prolonged sobbing, an over-the-counter painkiller like acetaminophen can provide relief.
8. Reduce future crying
Finding ways to address the underlying source of sadness, such as counseling, can help minimize future crying episodes and associated chest pain. Practicing mindfulness, meditation, and calming exercises may also help.
When to see a doctor
Occasional chest discomfort from crying and sadness is usually harmless and temporary. However, seek medical evaluation if you experience:
- Persistent or worsening chest pain > 5 days
- Pain accompanied by dizziness, sweating, or radiating pain down the arms
- Difficulty breathing
- Passing out
- Risk factors for heart disease like smoking, obesity, diabetes
These signs may indicate an underlying medical condition requiring diagnosis beyond just episodic crying and sadness. It’s better to be evaluated and rule out issues like heart disease, panic attacks, or lung disease if your symptoms are severe or persistent.
Does crying cause permanent chest pain damage?
The occasional chest pain and tightness from crying when you feel sad does not cause any permanent physical damage. Once your crying settles down, your chest muscles relax, breathing calms, and any inflammation resolves, the discomfort dissipates. The pain is merely temporary, not indicative of damage.
However, frequent, intense sobbing and breakdowns may strain the chest muscles leading to chronic soreness or injuries like pulled muscles over time. But with rest and healing, even these issues ultimately resolve. Only people with pre-existing heart disease are at risk of problems like potential heart attack from intense crying – healthy hearts can endure the temporary strain.
When to seek counseling
While occasional crying pain is normal, chronic and unresolved grief, loneliness, depression, and sadness is unhealthy. If you regularly experience:
- Intense crying episodes > 3 times per week
- Feelings of despair, worthlessness, or hopelessness
- Withdrawal from others and isolation
- Fatigue, lack of motivation
- Suicidal thoughts
Professional counseling and therapy may be advised to address the root causes of your crying spells and ongoing sadness. Treating the underlying emotional turmoil can help minimize chest pain from frequent crying. Anti-depressant medication may also be recommended in more severe cases of depression.
Conclusion
Chest discomfort is very common when you cry due to sadness. The pain results from muscle tightness, breathing changes, stress hormones, and nerves signals crossing to the brain during emotional distress. Intense sobbing can cause chest soreness lasting hours up to 1-2 days. Trying relaxation techniques, OTC medication, massage, stretches, and warm showers can ease the pain faster after crying. While the chest pain is ultimately harmless, recurrent or worsening symptoms should prompt medical evaluation. Addressing root causes of sadness through counseling is also advised for chronic criers to reduce chest discomfort episodes.