Panic Attacks Are Back

[MarkyMark88]

He was very thorough in telling me some of the reasons for this and what it is .There were a few different tests we did for said reasons which all came back negative. Which is why the tests and diagnosis of this anemia doesn't bother me that much. It's the, "we incidentally found something while testing you for this." And that fear stems from hearing stories and reading things in the past. That's my biggest problem.

I do practice relaxation techniques but exercise is key for me with relieving stress. I find it easier to relax and sleep better after a good workout. It also puts my mind at ease to know I'm only strengthening my heart, cells and body because of the workout.

I agree with your points in regards to workouts exacerbating anxiety as you experience the same symptoms as with panic attacks. When I was having panic attacks regularly I became afraid of exercise. The lightheadedness and elevated heart rate would play tricks with me at one point I did have a panic attack in the middle of a workout. In fact, that's when I had my first one. But I had to retrain my brain to realize those are normal sensations you get when exerting yourself.

[ankietyjoe]

What you're saying is very familiar to me. The evolving nature of fears surrounding the heart.

One thing I would suggest/urge is to try and not focus on the exercise strengthening your heart, because there's actually nothing wrong with your heart. I think that alone is a logical, but slightly anxiety supporting way of looking at things, if that makes sense? It's almost bordering into an OCD type behaviour where your brain fears repercussions if certain actions aren't undertaken.

Only you can gauge where the sweet spot lies with your exercise, but a lowering of volume will possibly still give you the calming and sleep benefits without pushing your CNS too much. Maybe try HIIT for a bit, as although it's high intensity (duh), the duration is low enough not to keep cortisol spiked for a very long time.

But going back to this idea that you need to keep topping up your heart health with exercise...maybe try and break that mental connection a bit too?

[MarkyMark88]

I believe my therapist put OCD down as part of my general anxiety on a form I needed him to fill out for work. There was a time I would poke and prod my body to make sure everything felt the same on one side as the other. If i felt a bump somewhere there better be a bump in the exact same place on the other side of my body.

As far as the mental conditioning relating to working out it's hard for me to break that cycle. It's not so much I'm exercising because, in my head I'm telling myself if I don't do this my heart will weaken, it's more along the lines of what it does for me as therapy. (At one time I was definitely more in that mind set.) That's one of the main reasons I got into boxing. Another workout I discovered is rebounding. Basically jumping on a small trampoline. The science behind putting your body through these types of exercises are incredibly beneficial. Not only physically but what these exercises do for your mind as well. But, if in the back of my mind I KNOW what I'm doing is benefiting my heart, I think that's an ok thought to have.

[ankietyjoe]

It sounds to me like you have a choice here, and that choice is whether you look after your mind or you look after your body. Now ultimately, the two are linked to such a great degree that you can't really make the choice of one or the other, but if you focus only on the physical, your mind WILL suffer as well. If you focus only on the mental, it will be months or years before your body really suffers, especially as you're starting out from a 'fit as fvck' starting point.

Yes it's hard to break the cycle, that's true of everybody in your/our position, but it still has to be done.

You can keep yourself in condition by just doing HIIT for 6 months. Yes, the intensity is high, but the duration is so low (relatively) that you're not spiking cortisol for long enough to stress the CNS. Maybe try and make the transition to only doing HIIT over the next month or so and pull back on the weights/boxing as they absolutely will keep you stressed, 100%.

As much as exercise does benefit the heart, you're only focusing on that and it's causing issues. In a way it's like saying salt benefits the electrical transportation of energy to the cells, and therefore only eating salt.

Nobody is telling you to stop exercising, merely suggesting you kick back on intensity.

[StilnotDead]

Hey there, i used to have heavy health anxiety, heart attacks were what i feared even though I gym every single day of my life. It got so bad that I could nt be alone and if i was to be alone i would drive myself to a hospital and wait there until somebody got home.. u know just incase.

I know you've heard this a million times before but fear feeds fear i know my pshycologist told me that over and over and I never bought it. One day I was sitting in the car waiting for a friend who had run into a store. I was fine and boom just like you that rush of impending doom came all over me, as i was sitting there planning how to get out of this i heard a knock on the window... it was a friend from hi school that i hadn't seen in more than a decade... he said hi and just started asking question all excited and you know we were really good friends because even i was excited, after he left ten mins later i had realised i forgot about my anxiety..... and thats when i realised fear feeds fear.

The big trick with this is not to say let me not think of this ( if i tell you dont think of waffles .. you will be thinking of waffles.) Distract yourself is also a nice short term solution but i feel its aversion to a point... a person sort of needs to get to that point of ok this is happening, its happening a million times before and im probably going to feel bad for the next hour at most... and move on... sometimes taking the power away from it greatly diminishes its intensity.

I would not lower exercise intensity...if you start limiting the things you know you are capable of doing you are giving it more power over you. Its also aversion. In my humble opinion and i know everybody is different Acceptance was a absolute anxiety killer.

Sorry for the SA Hope you are doing better now though !!

[ankietyjoe]

I would not lower exercise intensity...if you start limiting the things you know you are capable of doing you are giving it more power over you. Its also aversion. In my humble opinion and i know everybody is different Acceptance was a absolute anxiety killer.

There's a big difference between avoiding normal situations (going to the shops, seeing friends) and reducing something that is scientifically proven to increase stress, adrenaline and anxiety. Just because you're capable of doing something, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do right now.

But acceptance is definitely an anxiety killer, for sure.