This isn't about therapy, but I know the psychotherapy posters here best, and you are all so helpful, so I thought I'd ask you all about something that happened to me. I'm very embarrassed by it, but I want to understand what happened and see if you think I am going crazy or something.

Sunday night about 10 pm, I started getting some chest pains. Not bad, coming and going, annoying. I ignored them. About midnight I went to bed. The chest pains were more frequent and getting really painful. In bed, I could not get comfortable, the pain was really intense and constant, on the left side of my chest. I was even moaning in pain, and I am very good about handling pain, have a high tolerance (I had 2 babies, no meds, I'm strong as an ox). After about an hour I got up. I had never had chest pains like this before and began thinking I might be having a heart attack. I looked for heart attack symptoms on the Internet; I couldn't even type with my left hand, because it hurt too much to raise my left arm. I was all alone. The Internet information made me think I might very well be having a heart attack. I was getting scared. I called my husband (we are separated) and asked him to come get me to take me to the hospital. While waiting for him, I tried to get ready to go. I couldn't even bend over to put my socks on, I was in too much pain. I was very agitated, and walked repeatedly from one end of the house to the other. The pain was excruciating. If I stood still, if felt worse, so I kept moving.

I began thinking I could not even make it to the hospital with my husband. When he arrived, I told him to call 911, and the fire station guys came immediately. They made me sit still, gave me oxygen, and hooked me up to the EKG machine. My blood pressure was through the roof (like 190 over 120). They decided that my heart was fine and that it must be something else. They didn't know what. Maybe musculo-skeletal. They could tell it hurt a lot, I couldn't do basic things like raise my arm or give myself a hug. They wanted me to go to the ER to have it checked out. So husband took me to the ER. By the time I got there, I was feeling somewhat better. They did tests at the ER and again said my heart was fine, and maybe I had pulled a muscle or something or it was something to do with my lung, but they didn't really test for these things. I was not hurting much anymore at all. I went home. I was fine the next day, although very sore on the left side of my body (under my breast and above and below). I am still sore, but see no bruises or evidence of injury. I did nothing strenuous on Sunday to pull a muscle. And this hurt way more than a pulled muscle!

What happened to me? I feel so stupid I had this "fake" heart attack. I was really in pain! It seems like I faked this or something. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me. I feel so dumb. Am I going crazy? Manufacturing in my head feelings of severe physical pain? I am such a strong person, how could I make up all this pain? I am sure the fire station crew and ER people think I am some hysterical woman making it all up. I really appreciate your thoughts.