Does exercise help when HA is very bad?

[BrokenGirl]

I'm falling into a downward spiral again and I desperately want to get out of it.

I was a stay at home mom for years and gradually my HA started to get worse. 2 years ago I went back to work. It was life changing to say the least. And I mean this from a HA point of view. My anxiety improved so much when I started working again. I still had it, and had bad bouts of it, but compared to what it was before I went back to work it was just so much better.

I've been off work sick with my back for about 2 months now, and I've just found out this week that my job is gone. I'm gutted over this. Obviously from a financial point of view, because my income was the only income coming into our household. But my anxiety is building again also. I do suffer from general anxiety but I can handle it and it always passes. But health anxiety is on a different level for me. In the past, when I get fixated on something, the only way I can get peace of mind is to go to the doctor. Sometimes she might refer me, but more often than not she can tell me there and then that whatever symptom I have is fine.

Breast anxiety is a massive one for me and one that I can't control once it takes hold. I've had many many trips to the doctor over the past few years over this, had referrals and a few mammograms. And everything always came back clear. But I've fallen into the breast anxiety rabbithole again, and I'm scared I can't get out of it myself. I'm not going to go into the current symptoms, but before I did my monthly check today my anxiety about it was sky high, I was terrified and I was convinced I would find something. Not a very good frame of mind to have when you're checking to see if everything is ok!!

I know I can't go to my doctor now over this, so I want to do whatever I can to help myself. My diet and exercise are poor lately. If I change my diet to a healthy one and start exercising every day (perhaps going for a small jog to begin with), would this help with my HA? I know exercise especially can help with general anxiety and depression, but can it help with HA too? And I'm talking bad HA here, where you can't get those awful thoughts out of your head, and you have a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach from worrying about something in particular. I've no energy either and all I want to do is curl up in a ball.
Has anyone here had success with HA from doing exercise, and probably cardio exercise where you're burning up lots of energy? I don't know how I'd even start to exercise though, as all I seem to be doing now is dragging my legs around after me

[ankietyjoe]

The short answer is yes it can, but it's not going to be the ultimate solution for HA. You probably know as much as anybody else here that HA is specifically habitual as much as anxiety based.

What I would say about diet and exercise in my experience is that is builds a solid foundation of health, that allows you to feel and think much more calmly and without anxiety. Being sedentary and eating badly is a source of stress, and that alone can create feelings of anxiety, which in your case may be manifesting as health anxiety.

To start with, going for a brisk walk is by far the best form of exercise you could do. You could use Google maps to create a route of say 3-4 miles, and then time it so you know you're walking at about 3mph, and that should be plenty to get the benefits of exercise. There's little value in pushing too hard as you won't really feel any additional benefit right now, and it might actually cause more stress in the short term.

I would do it in the morning as well as you then get your burst of sunlight/vitamin D which helps keep your body clock in check and should provide you with a bit more energy throughout the day too.

Just remember to keep challenging your HA thoughts too. It's as much about internal thought patterns as general anxiety.

[pav1984]

Assuming you are fit and healthy then I would say a definite yes. I remember when I was training for a running event. My anxiety was lower when I exercised.