[How do I] Exercise without bringing on anxiety?

[NicNak]

I was hoping to get some feedback regarding excercising and keeping my anxiety levels down.

Anytime I exhurt myself too much, I start to get symptoms of anxiety and often times have a panic attack.

Does anyone have any tips to help prevent this?

I am hoping to go back to the gym possably in the spring. I use to love it, but found the anxiety got too much.

Is it possable with that endorphin release of a work out can cause the anxiety?

I was in the best shape of my life then, ate very well and always kept hydrated during my work out and made sure I replenished nutrients after my work out.

I had a tramatic incident a few months before I stopped working out.

Also I believe there would have to be an adrenelyn release as well, which seems to increase my anxiety as well.

I use to weight train and would love to get back into it, if I can without the anxiety symptoms creeping.

Thanks for any input

 

[Daniel E.]

Re: excercise without bringing on Anxiety

A point that seems to be made in this book (hard to tell with the free preview) is that slowly increasing the intensity of your exercise may help:

Coping with Trauma: Hope Through ... - Google Book Search

 

[NicNak]

Re: excercise without bringing on Anxiety

Thanks very much Daniel

 

[Daniel E.]

Also, regarding a possible, partial explanation:

Both external situations and internal bodily cues of arousal (such as increased breathing rate) can elicit a learned alarm. For example, some people experience panic attacks when they exercise because the physiological arousal leads to bodily sensations similar to those of a panic attack.

Why Do We Panic? - Psychlinks

 

[NicNak]

Thanks Daniel. That makes sense. Maybe I will start walking or swimming instead, I enjoy it and it is low impact and will keep my breathing steady, instead of a vigirous work out

I just remembered my personaly trainer had told me the strenght training did put the body into almost a fight or flight mode on it's own. I did fine for many years, but I had not had the anxiety or panic attacks at that point.

After I started having the anxiety and panic attacks, it got almost impossable for me to work out without having the symptoms.

 

[ExerciseGuy]

Hi NicNak,

I too started having problems with anxiety/panic symptoms when working out. But it all came down to my thinking and once I worked it out/challenged my thoughts, they went away.

One thing I noticed about weight lifting, is that it can raise your heart rate and the strain of the exercises can leave you feeling off. That can lead to anxiety issues, especially if you start to wonder if something is wrong.

I've always weight trained, and I found that I had to start using lower weights and doing slightly higher reps (18-20). That seems to work much better and doesn't leave me feeling shaky and anxious.

Also, make sure you're not over-doing it. Your muscles only have so much glycogen