anxiety.. martial arts a good idea?

[konky]

hi there. i've been suffering anxiety for around 8 months now. it all started after i took a bit of cocaine at a party. the day after it just seemed like a comedown but the effects seem to have persisted since then. i have shortness of breath (when i focus on my breathing or heart rate only, often have an increased heart rate and occasional palpatations. i also have a seemingly constant 'fuzzy' feeling in my head and occasional altered vision.

i was actually taken to hospital a couple of days after this where they did an ekg (i think that's what it's called, where they test your heart?) and the also tested my pulse and blood pressure. they said everything seemed fine and suggested a blood test but i had to leave hospital since i had work early the next day and so didn't get the test done.

since then i went to the doctors and they tested the same things (but still no blood test) and results came up fine. i've been constantly worrying about terminal illness fearing something had gone wrong and i was going to die but i am re-assured it's more than likely anxiety/panic disorder.

i drink alcohol nearly every day as it really takes the edge off and makes me feel somewhat normal. i hate doing it but it's the only thing that relieves me. I also have a history of marijuana smoking which was almost every day for 2 years (though i've been clean a year or so.

anyway recently i've been watching a lot of mma and i want to get into wing chun, ju jitsu and thai boxing with a view to possibly compete in the future. i'm really worried that something is going to go wrong though, and my body might just crap out while doing the lessons.

any advice? would this be an ok thing to do?

[jmoid]

Well martial arts are supposed to be good as a confidence builder, but if it's something that's likely to bring on your anxiety maybe you should consider working up to it? Do you do any regular exercise at the moment? If not it might be best to start off just doing some general exercise first, just to remind yourself that your body can take it.

[miles]

I'm a black belt kickboxer/mma.

I did have to stop for a year because of my anxiety, but getting back into training now.

MMA is an excellent form of exercise. Just things to be ready for:

The warm-ups and exercises are hard when you first go, you will feel exhausted and perhaps dizzy. You don't have to complete everything, just keep going and have a rest. A good place will not expect you to be superhuman. Tell them about your anxiety problem and they'll keep an eye on you.

Your body will gradually change, you'll lose a lot of weight quickly and get more core body strength. Usually people say it takes about 3 months to get into it, and suddenly feel like you're enjoying yourself rather than pushing yourself to keep going.
You'll know when this is happening when you see other beginners arrive a month or so later and they can't do a few press-ups as you're alongside them doing 50 without trying!

Look around for the best classes and arrange to visit them and watch. Go to a full contact one, where you'll do sparring when you get to a higher belt. It's fun.... honestly! When you get a few belts behind you, and you've got fit, there's nothing as much fun as a few rounds of kickboxing. You will have learnt how to move and block etc. so it's hard for your opponent to hit you, and you never use full power.

The friends that you will meet will support you. If you join as a white belt, then the other white belts will move upwards with you, male and female, and you'll develop close supportive friendships with them. (remember, if you're learning to throw someone over your shoulder, there has to be trust between the people), so you get to trust and value them.

As you approach 3 or 4 months people will drop out, and you'll be left with perhaps a group of eight people that are left, and then you'll work and support each other as you near black belt. Can take a few years.

You will end up strong and confident. As a side benefit, if you're ever involved in a scuffle or someone mugs you, when you get about half way up the belts you realise how easy it is for a trained fighter to 'take out' an untrained person.

It's not cheap.... Any decent place will let you go and watch, and perhaps even let you sample a few sessions. Some (ours do) give you 6 months free to see how you go. You can get the equipment you need online or at the place you choose to join.

As an example of how you can develop, I'd never done any martial arts until I was 42! After about a year, as my 'party trick' (I did go every day) I could throw a kick (rear roundhouse) so fast and hard that I could knock a heavy punch bag about 6 feet high off its fixings to the wall and across the room. Just by learning the correct technique and gaining body strength.

Go do it, it'll be the best thing you've ever done.
If you ever feel like leaving mid class because it's all too much.... don't! Go to the side of the Dojo, have a drink and a few minutes rest, look at your buddies, fat, thin, old, young, all sweating and looking stupid as they attempt things that are new to them..... then get back on the Dojo and join in.

Good Luck!

[Vixxy]

exercise is one of the best things you can do for anxiety and depression. Just start out slowly and build up. Good luck!

[Ecclesiastes]

Exercise is definitely the best physical way of lowering anxiety, much better than alcohol. I've been doing karate for the last year or so and it's been tremendously helpful.

If you sign up to the right kind of place you will be encouraged to do the exercise at whatever pace is comfortable until you've got some experience, so don't worry about whether your body is up to it.

[micka]

Hi

Loads of group sport and physical exercie batters anxiety, but only when you get to a level that you are happy with. It then lends itself to restful sleep and life performace.

It can be negtive if you are trying to acheive something from your training and not getting there. In the midst of the acheiving and not getting there, it becomes a mind thing and that causes more trouble.

I found to give things a blast with exercise and set small goals, hit them and you feel good.

I'm always monitoring my breathing and heart rate and I can't sleep when doing this.

Anybody else do this?