View Full Version : Does exercise really help anxiety? please help.....
stacey2712
29-04-09, 11:54
I'm sick of feeling as though I'm going to be sick, it's been 3 weeks since I was sick with a stomach bug and I'm fed up of staying in bed praying the feeling will go away which they never do. Feeling really determinded to beat my anxiety just need a push in the right direction, first of all does exercise help with the feelings of anxiety nausea etc? secondally do i feel so bad 24/7 because i stop in bed all day, watch tv, on my laptop and constantly thinking about being poorly.
I need to get better and quick, Im training to be a teacher and go on placement next tuesday for 6 weeks aghhhhhhh! And i refuse to panic the minute i have to walk out the door, I'm usually a very determind person but my nausea from the anxiety and my emetophobia don't mix well at all. I need to get a grip because the longer it goes on the harder it will be.
I will beat this and all you will aswell I'm sure of it. Anyway going back to the orginal question does it help?
Thank you ..X..
Hi
I believe exercise does help. If im feeling low the last thing i want to do is get up and go for a walk or run but i force myself to and i always feel better after. It takes you rmind off how you are feeling.
I have to stretch every evening due to an old knee injury and some evenings when all i want to do is sleep (as this is the only time i dont feel panic and anxiety) i force myself to stretch. With the correct breathing and pushing the barriers of pain when muscles stretch it takes my mind off of the panic and anxiety. Dont deliberately start causing pain to yourself people but push the boundaries and give you rmind something else to think about- after all this is in our head.
I have noticed a lot of guys and girls on the forum say 'i will not let it beat me and i will not quit' etc
Surely this is not accepting panic as we are well aware that its there and we are still fighting it. It must be better to put in our minds 'feel crap, now im aware get on with something'. Everytime we say positive thoughts in my mind its a way of fighting.
Try saying nothing. Anyone elses thoughts on this?
eternally optimistic
29-04-09, 16:24
Hi
I agree with SC.
I needed to start walking several years ago, really to try and overcome becoming agraphobic, knew it was creeping in.
Walking to the shop was an effort, which was minutes away.
I walk now, anything from 2 - 7 miles when I can.
Being out and about definitely helps and gives me a buzz when I have completed it.
I've just bought a treadmill to get me going.
Good luck.
Exercise definitely helps me. Yes, it's a struggle to keep it up but I find that when I make myself exercise, I do feel better
I also struggle with nausea too as I'm an Emet (although it's never been diagnosed) I find it difficult to know whether the anxiety makes me feel sick or if the nauseous feeling makes me anxious :blush:
It's hard going getting started with building a routine to exercise, but give it a go, you'll be pleasantly surprised :bighug1:
Hi
I am sorry to hear you're feeling rotten- it is awful hard sometimes to deal with panic and anxiety.
I don't know if it helps generally but it makes me feel less helpless. I feel like I am actually doing this to get better- I realize it may or may not be helping me .....but I tell myself it is ! So it makes me feel like I am fighting a battle against my GAD and depression, instead of being felled by it.
I read somewhere that if you get up early and go for a walk or exercise and don't climb back into bed- you fall asleep easier at night. I have actually noticed this but you go through the first couple of days really tired.
I found this works. If you haven't tried it maybe you should ask a friend to walk with you if you are unsure. I hope you are feeling better soon
Take Care
Bluebelle
Yes it does help anxiety....after you feel tired but positive because you have done somthing that can only be making your body healthier! it helps my anxiety alot.....unfortunatly it does not touch my de-relization which is the worst because this makes me excercise alot less!
Hi
I have noticed a lot of guys and girls on the forum say 'i will not let it beat me and i will not quit' etc
Surely this is not accepting panic as we are well aware that its there and we are still fighting it. It must be better to put in our minds 'feel crap, now im aware get on with something'. Everytime we say positive thoughts in my mind its a way of fighting.
Try saying nothing. Anyone elses thoughts on this?
Im not totally sure whats meant by this? Tell yourself you feel rubbish and get on with something with that in mind.. or say nothing at all??
I personally dont see how its better to afirm in your mind how crap you feel!? If I could get away with believing it Id be saying I wont let it beat me etc.. Where as all I seem to have in my mind is how cr*p I feel, which doesnt help me one bit.
If positive affirmations work (and its obvious why they would), then I see nothing wrong in it and I think its a good thing to do.
As for me Im struggling getting on with everyday stuff at the moment, cleaning the house etc etc.. I feel utterly shattered, by body is aching and my joints are cracking again (I had 6 weeks free of it), my appetite is off and I also feel nauseous.. I feel like all I want to do is sleep and Ive no idea why (Ive recently been sleeping at night for a change).
Go for it, youve nothing to lose Im sure:yesyes:
:yesyes: yes it does - the adrenaline that is pumping around and anxious persons body is there purely to help you perform -thats its role, to help you fight or run!!!!! - so when you feel very jittery and worked up - get up and do something!!!! preferably very energeticly - after an hour of fast walking, running, swimmimg aeroboics etc etc you will feel much much better - you will sleep better, and look better too:yesyes:
:yesyes: hi, the mindfulness pratice i am doing currently as taught by jon kabat zinn deals with these exact issues - you say to yourself i feel crap? you feel crap becasue you have an anxiety disorder that is active at present? it makes you feel ill? - however you are not ill, and you can ignore these thougts that say you are ill - you can make the connection between your mind and body if you can becoem aware of what is going on in your body - you can stop beign alarmed at sensations and feelings in your body,a nd you can pinpoint and identify the thoughts that you are belieiving that will start a process off in your body?
if you are frightened, you are frightened - so what it wont kill you - fear is an emotion - if you become afraid of that emotion it gets stronger and scarier - if you connect this emotion to the physical sensations in your body, you will see that the scary thoughts you believe are a cause of the physical sensations in your body - there is nothign wrong with acknowledging you have these scary thoughts but then CHOOSING to ignore them - they are thoughts thats all - CHOOSE to beleive the truth instead.
excercise is good but so is relaxation - i was so full of adrenaline in 2007 tha ti could not settle - now i can do nothing and not worry, i can be calm and still. or if i choose to i can go exercise to help my body, becasue i know it is good - at the end of the day no matter what you do to help yourself - ht eonly way to be happy and free is to stop believing the constant negative thoughts we have - they arent tue and they ruin our lives :)
[quote=nikkinik;493834]Im not totally sure whats meant by this? Tell yourself you feel rubbish and get on with something with that in mind.. or say nothing at all??
I personally dont see how its better to afirm in your mind how crap you feel!? If I could get away with believing it Id be saying I wont let it beat me etc.. Where as all I seem to have in my mind is how cr*p I feel, which doesnt help me one bit.
If positive affirmations work (and its obvious why they would), then I see nothing wrong in it and I think its a good thing to do.
As you are aware there is no right or wrong answer - different things work for different people. I am no expert on curing panic and anxiety and neither is anybody else on this forum. There are many ways of dealing with it and i am only adding how I deal with it.
I have found out and with the help of Paul Davids book 'At Last A Life' that instead of fighting it as thats all i have known - do nothing. Whenever i feel something odd it will be panic and anxiety. Now im aware all i do is think about it in my head so instead of fighting it saying i will not let it beat me and i will not give up im increasing its importance. It makes me think about it more. If i say 'i feel crap - so what' im still going to feel the same. Im not talking about repeating it to myself over and over - im saying it once when i know its there and get on with something. If i feel crap i do something and my mind drifts away back to reality (whatever i was doing at the time). No amount of telling myself positive things is going to help because im not ignoring it.
If positive thoughts work then dont change them
Hope this explains things better
As you are aware there is no right or wrong answer - different things work for different people. I am no expert on curing panic and anxiety and neither is anybody else on this forum. There are many ways of dealing with it and i am only adding how I deal with it.
I have found out and with the help of Paul Davids book 'At Last A Life' that instead of fighting it as thats all i have known - do nothing. Whenever i feel something odd it will be panic and anxiety. Now im aware all i do is think about it in my head so instead of fighting it saying i will not let it beat me and i will not give up im increasing its importance. It makes me think about it more. If i say 'i feel crap - so what' im still going to feel the same. Im not talking about repeating it to myself over and over - im saying it once when i know its there and get on with something. If i feel crap i do something and my mind drifts away back to reality (whatever i was doing at the time). No amount of telling myself positive things is going to help because im not ignoring it.
If positive thoughts work then dont change them
Hope this explains things better[/quote]
I never said you were an expert and hopefully didnt imply it either.
Ive just never (until today) seen/heard that take on things, you and Emma (?) have opened my eyes to this approach. Everything Ive read (or tried to read, concentration is impossible sometimes!) tells me to be positive, that a negative (however small) thought just kinds of feeds the problem.. I know myself, the second I think something negative it would spiral off into other stuff (Ive always been a negative person anyway). I wasnt saying you shouldnt do whatever feels right for you, it was just a new idea to me.
I wasnt having a go, I know no more than the next person and at the moment nothing is working for me(!), it was just my opinion and a quick question as I didnt understand whether you were saying say 'X' to yourself, or say nothing at all.
Thanks for clarifying.
I never said you were an expert and hopefully didnt imply it either.
Ive just never (until today) seen/heard that take on things, you and Emma (?) have opened my eyes to this approach. Everything Ive read (or tried to read, concentration is impossible sometimes!) tells me to be positive, that a negative (however small) thought just kinds of feeds the problem.. I know myself, the second I think something negative it would spiral off into other stuff (Ive always been a negative person anyway). I wasnt saying you shouldnt do whatever feels right for you, it was just a new idea to me.
I wasnt having a go, I know no more than the next person and at the moment nothing is working for me(!), it was just my opinion and a quick question as I didnt understand whether you were saying say 'X' to yourself, or say nothing at all.
Thanks for clarifying.[/quote]
Never took your post as a if you were having a go. Was just trying to explain myself better. Its very hard as you are aware to describe what we go through.
I found positives put an added strain on me to get better. My family would encourage me and i tried to pull myself together and get up and do something. I dont like too much pressure - it makes me want to bolt from a situation so instead i tried the opposite. The bottom line is we have to keep trying and find a method that works for us, this isnt easy and we are in this together. Im really sorry that nothing seems to be working for you. If you want a chat please pm all the best
Simon
it's probably not a stomach bug, it's probably anxiety fyi. I know cause i have it all the time. If you relax it will go away or move to another party of your body.
stacey2712
02-05-09, 16:54
No its not a stomach bug cos i had that already and now i feel sick all the time due to my anxiety.......
:D this is hard to talk about without ppl thinking you are telling them what to do? - what im saying is that after suffering anxiety for most of my life, alot of that time it isnt just anxiety, i am actually suffering from a debilitating anxiety disorder - the only way i have been able to find peace and calm even when i dont feel good or things in my life are rubbish is through acceptance and mindfulness - this is the ancient practice of awareness meditation and it can change you completely - i have stopped running away form symptoms and thoughts and situations i didnt like -which is what cause so much anxiety and depression - this desire to feel differently to how you feel now - so you feel anxious and your stomach is upset - what mindfulness teaches is that that anxiety you are feeling is an emotion and how you are relating to that emotion is making things worse for yourself - if you accept you are anxious instead of trying very very hard to be rid of it - you may come to feel differently about yourself and your situation - all i can do is say that i have found peace in practicing mindfulness even when my own personal situation is not a happy one - anyone who is interested i would recommend 'full catastrophe living' and 'wherever you go there you are' by jon kabat-zinn and also the 'mindful way through depression - freeing yourself from chronic unhappiness' also by jon kabat-zinn - these books are for anyone who wants to find an alternative way to relate to their emotions and their lives:yesyes: i got them off amazon:winks:
Hi stacey, it's bob. Excercise will help, definatly. Or whats the worst it can do. Get you out of the house. Get your blood pumping. Get those endorphims rushing about making youn feel better, an thats just jogging. I hope you are having one of your better days.
Look at all these other people who ave answered you, they have more specific help than I do. All these people who care enough to try and make you feel better about yourself. See you are special. Speak with you soon.
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