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Anxiety and Exercise

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Anxiety & Panic Disorders
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Posted 6/14/2008 8:56 PM (GMT 0)
Greetings all,

I know that we anxiety sufferers are supposed to diet and exercise and that is supposed to help our anxiety...both of which I am doing regularly...I'm eating well and exercising a lot.

However, I have found that sometimes when I exercise at a high level...play basketball for example...I tend to lose my breath (obviously) and that causes panic.

Anyone else ever exercised and had panic arise from it?

Thanks!

D

Posted 6/14/2008 9:33 PM (GMT 0)

Hey D,

I am not sure why you get short of breath unless your having a bit of exercise induced asthma.................check this out with your physician.

Take care.

Kitt

Posted 6/15/2008 5:13 AM (GMT 0)
Breathing is directly linked to heart rate and vice versa. Obviously both increase when we are anxious or panicy (as well as when we exercise), so my guess is you've subconsciously made a connection in your mind relating anxiety to heart rate/breathing and thus have developed a fear response to heavier breathing and/or increased heart rate.

This happens to me a lot, throughout the day and especially when I'm in bed. If I'm not thinking a lot then I'm probably noticing my breathing, which I have a fear response to... the fear increases my breathing... and it goes circular like that, haha.

This is my opinion anyway. But exercise is good because endorphines can numb anxiety and remove pent up energy, so you should do it as much as possible no matter what.

Posted 6/15/2008 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, my i can relate. I have actually went the other direction... stopped exercising because of the fear of panic and heart flutters. You should be proud that you are still doing what we all know can help us out. I am trying so hard to talk myself into getting back on that treadmill... even if i have to start out at 2 miles an hour it would be better than nothing. Im probably not the best to give advice on this since im not using it myself but just remember when you start feeling that way that you are okay, your body is just reacting in a normal way to cool down with the heavier breathing and such. Good luck to you...
Posted 6/15/2008 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
DCoach,

Another (non-life-threatening) possibility is what happened to me: many folks here know that I was diagnosed with acid reflux which caused a lot of shortness of breath until I found out. I would get it *sometimes* after exercise, climbing stairs, or just walking back and forth while conducting workshops (as well as just randomly). Before I knew what it was, I was terrified that some serious breathing condition would kill me, so I'd get panicky just about every time it happened.

percycat
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