I've tried to talk to my last two T. about this & no one will touch it. So that makes me feel like I'm 'really' crazy or they were crappy T. So now I'll put it out there to you.
I've had this phantom pain since I was a kid & I still get it now. Its usually brought on by a combination of feelings. Hopeless, helpless, depressed etc all piling on top of ea other. When I was younger & I got yelled @ or degraded, when I was an embarrassment to my parents or just plain stupid I'd get this horrible shooting pain in the middle of my chest like an electrical shock & it would radiate up my throat, across my shoulders & down my arms. Sometimes to my fingertips. Hot spots were my chest, shoulders & elbows & the pain would linger there for as long as an hr. It was a pain full of darkness, evil self -loathing & constantly berating my thoughts. Crying made the pain almost unbearable so as a kid I'd try to counteract the pain w/a physical pain like elbowing a brick wall or something.
It was an extremely intense pain & in the past 2 yrs its come back after a 9 yr absence. Its much more intense now, it takes my breath away or double over, still feels like an electrical shock & can run into my hands & cramp them for hrs. I use my hands in my work so I can lose days of work from this. The pain might not be as intense, but can linger for days.
I've also noticed thru the yrs that I can control it a bit. If I concentrate really hard on my negative emotions it'll come in short bursts. I don't bother to counteract the pain anymore like when I was younger, I just let it run its course.
I think this pain can also sabotage other feelings I have bec its so heavy. Its the worst when the exact opposite feelings come along. If someone is genuinely nice to me or caring this pain jumps on top of it & kind of swallows it up so I don't have it anymore. So my brain hears something nice, but its like gunfire in my chest if I try to believe it.
Sorry if it sounds corny & maybe that's why other T kind of skip over explaining it.
Any thoughts?