When chest tightness and anxiety strike, we often blame ourselves, asking, 'Why am I like this?' However, this is an essential signal sent by our body and brain. Modern medicine explains symptoms such as anxiety, restlessness, and chest tightness by linking them deeply to autonomic nervous system imbalance.
The autonomic nervous system in our body consists of the sympathetic nerve and the parasympathetic nerve, much like a car's accelerator and brake. When sensing stress or danger, the sympathetic nerve activates, raising the heart rate, quickening respiration, and tensing the body. While this is a natural reaction to protect our body in urgent situations, problems arise when this response occurs too frequently or with excessive intensity.
In particular, when anxiety becomes severe, the amygdala in the brain becomes hyperactivated, amplifying fear and anxiety. This stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and increases the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol. When cortisol is excessively secreted, a state of chronic tension persists, exerting systemic effects such as elevated blood pressure, indigestion, and decreased immunity. Chest tightness often appears due to increased heartbeat, thoracic cage muscle tension, and hyperventilation caused by this sympathetic hyperactivity. As breathing quickens and excessive carbon dioxide is expelled, the blood's pH balance is disrupted, which can even accompany symptoms like dizziness or numbness in the hands and feet.
The metaphor in Donguibogam comparing the heart to a 'monarch' finds a similar meaning in modern neuroscience. The brain is the 'commander-in-chief' controlling all functions of our body, and the frontal lobe and limbic system, which oversee emotions and cognition, are closely connected to anxiety responses. As anxiety and restlessness deepen, the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid, is disrupted, affecting overall brain function.
This autonomic nervous system imbalance is not merely a psychological issue; it can manifest as various physical symptoms across the cardiovascular system, digestive system, and endocrine system. Therefore, advice like 'just relax' is often insufficient. We need to listen to the SOS signals our body sends and make efforts to restore autonomic nervous system balance based on scientific evidence. The methods introduced today will serve as effective ways to support this natural resilience of the body.
