Psychology Today | 10.11.2026 19:28
When the cardiologist frustratedly told me, “Look, I can’t tell you what every little thing you feel in your chest is,” I immediately felt invalidated, shamed, and guilty for having wasted his time. But I had been feeling discomfort in my chest for a while, and my primary care physician had referred me to a cardiologist as a precautionary measure. I was only following doctor’s orders. While the wisdom of hindsight tells me that I was experiencing anxiety, not a cardiac problem, I did not know it at the time, and I was relying on the cardiologist to give me some peace of mind, not to make me feel silly.
