Anxiety and Panic Attacks effects on working out?

[edwardsm88]

Over the last five years my anxiety keeps flaring up(more that the normal constant low level general anxiety) for a whole host of different reasons, to name just a few standard ones: thinking I have a heart condition, feeling I'm loosing control, various heath anxieties (leg clot, brain tumour) and I even lost my ability to walk for 6 months! Now, on my final leg of recover after I thought I had seen it all... it's back. I'm extremely into Gymnastics and train very hard and feel that my anxiety over loading my nervous system is slowing my recover. As I am sure that this is true, not something that I have invented (but would love confirmation on), I can't ignore it. As I am trying to actively rid the anxiety so I can train harder and recover quicker it feeds it. I;m pretty fed up now and am starting to think that it is just in my nature to worry and if it is not one thing it will be another. Can anyone offer any advice on how to break this cycle? I need some fresh motivation and a pick up:)

Thanks Again for listing to me babble.

[whybother]

i stopped wrking out because i thought i would drop dead from a fatal heart problem. I have had ecg's because i was getting really bad palpitations like 20 a day. But it was just anxiety. when i used to work out i used to get chest pain and racing pulse and fast breathing. so i just don't do it anymore

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Hi edwardsm88, I think at times we can just over think everything to much and our brain goes into overdrive which causes more anxiety.

You say you lost the ability to walk for 6 months? how did that happen if you dont mind me asking?

[edwardsm88]

I used to feel like that as well when it came to working out, or even walking up the stairs for that matter. The raise in heart rate is associated with anxiety and sets it off. If you persevere though I found that it can actually help. Anxiety can only make your heart go a certain speed never really as much as a anaerobic exercise, so if you can try making your heart go as fast as you can working out, a couple times a week and see that nothing happens, it gives you something you can look back on and say: my heart is nothing close to as fast as then so I'm fine. Bit weird I no but it worked pretty well for me.

Yer Gotagetthroughthis, it is never about the particular symptoms it's ultimately about practicing to catch your self worrying and actively turning your attention, as the dealing with your worrying is just more worrying :). It is still funny how much you can worry and not even be fully aware of it. As for the walking incident: It started with extremely high levels of stress causing a kind of breakdown, made me very tired and fatigued. Then the anxiety came in, I was trying to rest as much as possible so I could recover and get strong, thinking if I did not rest I would not get better. Not knowing I was recovering from (mental fatigue) rather than muscular. I actually rested so much by avoiding standing too long, walking and then even moving around my house, I began to loose muscle mass as I was not using it. This made me think I was not resting enough till it got to the point that I was not strong enough to walk without aid. I know this is the most ridiculous story ever. It actually makes me laugh what anxiety can cause in extreme cases to someone that is perfectly healthy. :)