What if exercise causes anxiety?

[ert]

Does anyone know what it means when exercise causes anxiety?

I can be OK and without anxiety while dormant but after about 2 or 3 weeks exercising I start having general anxiety and acute attacks. The first week or two I feel good to be exercising, getting stronger, etc. but my sleep isn't as good. Then I start noticing my daily anxiety levels raise and each day just keeps getting worse until I completely stop exercising.

This seems to be tied to the level of exercise I do. If I just lift weights every other day then it takes longer for the anxiety attacks to start happening. If I do something like jogging it comes on much faster, sometimes within just a few days. It never gets better even if I start with incredibly light exercise and build up over several months. The anxiety always builds up with the level of exercise.

Anyone have any idea what is going on? This is literally driving me insane and I can't find any information at all on what this could be because everyone says exercise should help with anxiety (!). The doctors I have talked with have no idea. I have had blood-work done many times but it always comes back normal.

[EebyJeeby]

Hi ert,

It's funny because I was having a conversation about this kind of thing with my partner earlier today. I was saying how I had developed a negative attitude to cycling, after we spent last summer trying to build up my strength and doing regular (and quite rigorous bike rides). One the last occasion, we did one hill too many and, exhausted and not able to go on, I just fell in a heap of tears and frustration.

We decided that it was down to a form of performance anxiety - we set ourself goals and milestones and as we push ourselves more and more, the more stressful it gets (perhaps subconsciously). I'm not really fit at all and do need to take more exercise (hence the conversation), but I don't particularly enjoy it and it just gives me something else to stress about it seems.

I'm going to stick to walking in the countryside for now, as the point of the walk for me is to take in nature and wildlife, which provides a healthy distraction from analysing how many miles I've done or how quick I'm going.

Eeb x

[ert]

In my case I don't have any particular feeling towards the exercise itself.

To me it feels like the exercise is having some sort of physical effect on my body that is either increasing my stress/anxiety or more likely decreasing my body's ability to deal with stress/anxiety.

[giddy]

Hi there
Maybe you are doing too much too soon and exhausting yourself? When your exhausted anxiety seems much worse.
love Helen

[ert]

I have considered that and it could be a possiblity but I'm working out at a relatively light load. I don't feel tired after exercising or sore the next day. I find it hard to believe I'm doing too much as I have being doing at least some minimal amount of exercise all my life until this anxiety problem came up.

I was thinking some about this last night as I was tossing around unable to sleep again. I have not exercised at all in two days yet the effects still linger. At night it feels like my body is revved up. I'm hot and have to keep moving around. Why would exercise cause this? Everything I have read says exercise should have the opposite effect. I'm not exercising close to bedtime. I do my workouts in the afternoon around 2 or 3 PM. Besides, like I said the negative effects last for days after I have exercised.

This is completely contrary to everything I can find on exercise and health.

[alicia123]

There might be another explanation. When you exercise you produce adrenaline and cortisol, as you do when you are overly anxious and particularly in a panic attack. It could be that you are overproducing adrenaline and this is creating the chemical/hormonal conditions for an attack.

I am free of anxiety and PAs now, but when I had it I went along for an adrenal gland test just to make sure there wasn't a problem with it. There wasn't, but it was nice to know. There is a free ebook that explains it all better than I can - PM me if you want the address.

alicia