On edge after exercise and battling panic attack.....

[D Ray Morton]

Hi everyone.

You may have seen my posts in the HA forum.

Ive been feeling hyper sensitive numb and pins and needles daily in the hands/feet/legs within 20mins of waking up on the morning. These sensations go on all day to one degree or another. And extreme times cause a major panic attack or have me on edge all day as they wont go away. Im being positive trying to meditate and eat well etc. Doing everything i can. Blood pressure has been checked, all senses feeling etc checked. And all ok. Waiting on bloodwork now.

So exercise is usually a great way to battle anxiety so I have started swimming and now running.

But even that makes me anxious as hell. I just done 30run run(easing in not too fast) felt ok until 25mins until i felt all tingling and bit light headed. Got home and feel so on edge im all numb and twitching. Its really frustrating me im doing all i should yet the sensations wont go : (

Can anyone else relate to this after exercise at all?

Even when i meditate and do deep breathing I feel extra anxious at times which is crazy as these things are meant to make me better : ((

[Mashy]

I think I might know the feeling. When they checked your BP did they check for the difference between sitting and standing? I have orthostatic low blood pressure and feel really tired/light headed and often have pins and needles when I wake up.

With excercise, it often brings on panic for me. I think its the shortness of breath and fast heart rate makes me think I'm having an attack and then causes one. If I start to feel a bit panicky I usually stop and walk until that feeling goes away. I think it's the same as with meditating, that sometimes it makes you think about how you're feeling and then you think youre feeling stressed and then it just brings on anxiety.

Hoping some of that made sense :/

[beatroon]

Yeah I know what you mean! Weirdly I sometimes feel worse after a run/towards the end of a run than I did in the beginning. I think it's to do with being sensitised to fast breathing etc so your body thinks 'Oh I must be panicking'. Maybe try some weight training or yoga? They're meant to be very good aren't they.

[Lissa101]

I used to get this all of the time. It culminated in me having a panic attack at the end of a 5k ParkRun which scared me so bad I gave up running completely. In hindsight it was a really bad decision as I'm now having to build up my running fitness again and I really could kick myself for letting it go.

There's are lots of ways you can keep run-fit if you want to ease off on longer runs for a bit. Do speed/hill/stair intervals. Or run 1 mile as fast as you can. Or just jog for 15 mins if keeping really fit isn't a big deal for you.

I don't want to advise you keep up a hobby that is distressing you but if you previously liked running then don't let the anxiety ruin it. Find a balance where you can keep it up but don't end up in a vicious cycle of anxiety over it x

[D Ray Morton]

I think I might know the feeling. When they checked your BP did they check for the difference between sitting and standing? I have orthostatic low blood pressure and feel really tired/light headed and often have pins and needles when I wake up.

With excercise, it often brings on panic for me. I think its the shortness of breath and fast heart rate makes me think I'm having an attack and then causes one. If I start to feel a bit panicky I usually stop and walk until that feeling goes away. I think it's the same as with meditating, that sometimes it makes you think about how you're feeling and then you think youre feeling stressed and then it just brings on anxiety.

Hoping some of that made sense :/

Hi Mashy,

Thanks for reply.
They didnt but ive had blood pressure tested a lot over the years and always been fine thankfully. So dont think it will be related.

Yep I relate to what your saying thats exactly what I do when i start to feel dodgy now is walk. Very frustrating as exercise is vital to me and running used to help. Im praying its just a really bad bout and this will subside. Touch wood. Hope you are well.

---------- Post added at 20:41 ---------- Previous post was at 20:38 ----------

Yeah I know what you mean! Weirdly I sometimes feel worse after a run/towards the end of a run than I did in the beginning. I think it's to do with being sensitised to fast breathing etc so your body thinks 'Oh I must be panicking'. Maybe try some weight training or yoga? They're meant to be very good aren't they.

Hi Beatroon,

Thats it. I wonder if thats it, getting hot and heart beating which mirrors a panic attack affects I guess. Obv i have over sensitive feelings at the moment with pins and needles and they felt x10. So I guess this feeling is making us feel like that. Hope you are well. Thanks for msg

---------- Post added at 20:45 ---------- Previous post was at 20:41 ----------

I used to get this all of the time. It culminated in me having a panic attack at the end of a 5k ParkRun which scared me so bad I gave up running completely. In hindsight it was a really bad decision as I'm now having to build up my running fitness again and I really could kick myself for letting it go.

There's are lots of ways you can keep run-fit if you want to ease off on longer runs for a bit. Do speed/hill/stair intervals. Or run 1 mile as fast as you can. Or just jog for 15 mins if keeping really fit isn't a big deal for you.

I don't want to advise you keep up a hobby that is distressing you but if you previously liked running then don't let the anxiety ruin it. Find a balance where you can keep it up but don't end up in a vicious cycle of anxiety over it x

Thanks for reply Lisa.

Thats sad about the park run yes. But anxiety can make us do that at times. Good thing your starting again.

I had actually been swimming a lot, but not seen i started to get the numbness and pins and needles. So I hoping it will just go soon and i can ease into it all again.