My chest feels really tight and wince with every breath. i am currently under a lot of stress and suffer from anxiety attacks. how can i resolve this?

Check with your doc: While it is most likely anxiety, it is important to see a doctor when you have difficulty breathing and tightness in your chest. To treat the anxiety, take several slow deep diaphragmatic breaths (in through your nose slow 7s, hold 5s, out slow 7s). Medications may help alleviate some of the anxiety symptoms while psychotherapy is the best treatment to address underlying causes and coping skills.

How about a book?: There is a great book to teach a technique called: relaxation breathing. I think it could really help. The book is called: "the relaxation response" by herbert benson. It describes an easy to do system, whereby you can teach yourself to relax by performing certain exercises 5-10 minutes once or twice a day. Good luck to you.

Meds and CBT: Obtain evaluation with a mental health professional who can assess anxiety and come up with a treatment plan. Many different interventions are possibly helpful but you have to try something different than what you are doing.

Stress: Recommend a therapist to help you with stress management & coping skills.

Anxiety: Schedule appointment to start psychotherapy to help you learn stress management & coping skills to manage your anxiety better. Cognitive therapy is a powerful tool.

Painful breathing: I agree with my colleagues that this could be anxiety symptoms -- panic attacks often do show up as difficulty breathing, chest tightness, etc. However, the "wince with every breath" part troubles me -- do you mean it's actually painful to get a breath? In this case it's important to see a physician to examine your lungs and breathing too. Anxious people can still have physical issues.

Tight chest: First step is thorough workup by your family doctor to rule out breathing problems & other medical factore, then if all clear, consult a psychiatrist for further evaluation & management of your anxiety symptoms.