being active or exercising makes me more anxious

[natalie5555]

hey guys just wanted to ask if anyone else has this.. When i tried exercising before a few months after my panic attacks started it would actually make me feel worse when its supposed to make u feel better for example i used to go out for walks quite alot and when i got home my heart rate would obviously be higher from the walk but it would stay higher for about half n hour :/ and now if im cleaning the house after I've done i feel so anxious and on edge its weird. Its like anything that gets my heart rate up for a certain amount of time makes me more anxious when I've been told it helps with anxiety i don't get it lol

[Rushway]

Hi,

It's a barrier I found...I used to have the same thing - you exercise, your heart rate goes up, so you worry, so your heart rate goes up, so you worry some more...etc, etc....until you break the cycle and realise that your HR will be higher but will go down again after rest, then you will start to benefit from the exercise....it does help but you need to keep at it....

Also try to ease yourself gently into the exercise and gradually increase the amount after you break the cycle of worry...it's a guaranteed way of getting rid of adrenaline and works for sure...

[ankietyjoe]

I had exactly the same thing very badly a couple of years ago. I discovered it after I stupidly did a relatively heavy workout thinking it would release endorphins, make me feel better etc? It ultimately put me in hospital the resulting anxiety was SO bad afterwards. One of only two times in seven years of suffering from anxiety that I've ever called an ambulance, the first being the first proper panic attack I ever had.

Anyway!

I discovered that your body can recognise exercise as tissue damage and in my case put me into mild shock (yes, really).

This is a separate issue to the sensation of a raised heart rate causing anxiety.

What I found that was I could do a brisk walk as long as my heart rate stayed relatively low (around 100-110bpm). I still felt a little weird, but after a couple of weeks of getting used to it my head learned it was ok. I used to walk around in the flat taking my pulse every 3-4 minutes to make sure it didn't go too high.

It's true to say that exercise helps, but it has to be a VERY sedate pace to start with and takes a while to get used to.

[natalie5555]

cool thanks guys i will try that, i will try easing my way into it :)