Why Does Exercise Make My Anxiety Worse? - Part 1 (Podcast Ep 019)
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- For many dealing with anxiety and panic issues, exercise can be a real struggle because it may lead to INCREASED anxiety or even full-blown panic. Let's take a look at this problem, what causes it, and why it's so worth taking the time to solve.
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Doesnt matter what I do now.. Heavy hike, run, sex.. I panic. I get nauseaus, dizzy and my mind races.. Sucks bc been to the ER and Doctors too many times and " they say im really healthy" I feel for everyone out there who suffers. This coming from a former top football player.. RB. Fireman/ EMT, Rescue Swimmer (USN). Im 40 now and somedays are better than others but rn..in a panic attack bc of physical exertion. God help us pls.. 💗🙏💪
This is spot on. The cold flashes were what triggered me before. Now I'm running on the treadmill at 7 mph for a mile straight, then alternating between slower speeds and higher speeds from there. I'm improving constantly after going so long without cardio. I feel liberated after letting go of my fear.
Of course there is a big mental aspect to panic attacks, but I think you are missing something. I worked out (weightlifting) for years, loved working out and the way it made me feel. Next thing you know I start having panic attacks every day. Same with you, Dr.s told me to keep exercising, so I did. It took me a while to put it together and realize the workouts made my anxiety/panic way worse. It took awhile because I'd feel great while working out and the rest of the day. It wasn't until the next day or even 2 days later that I'd feel the effects. It wasn't mental, it was a physiological change in the body. I've never determined exactly what the problem is, but working out produces lactic acid, causes protein breakdown and increased urea. Increased adrenaline, increased cortisol. Intense exercise also activates the sympathetic nervous system, you know, fight or flight. Intense workouts are a stressor. I'm sure intense exercise has many more effects and I'm still researching. It may just be a combination of all of those things and not one specific thing. To this day I still have to be careful not to over do it at the gym and make sure to take some time off. If you have bad anxiety and panic, the low intensity exercise should be much more tolerable. Walking, restorative yoga, tai chi. Good luck to everyone.
I need to watch this every time I go to the gym
My panic attacks/anxiety came back after doing exercise, they were the worst I’ve had so now whenever I exercise or try to it triggers my panic attacks
So glad you did this video! I haven't seen anything like it. I tried about 4 or 5 months ago because of the benefits that I've heard. Full blown freak out mode! I think it's the way my mind has interpreted panting and raised pulse. Out of all the panic symptoms I have dealt with, heart palpitations are the most dreadful.
Auset Amunet that's exactly how I get once I feel a palpitation I go into a panic attack and then shock idk what to do its taking my life over..
Yeah,it all relates to the fear of fear or fear of adrenalin itself.Exercising makes your body release adrenalin,and some people see that adrenalin as something to be afraid of,or the beggining of a panic attack(which is ultimately a HUGE amount of adrenalin in your body),and they fear it,and their body releases more adrenalin so they fear more and the body releases more and it goes on and on and on...
Have no fear.
Victor Ouriques
Well said!
Absolutely, I get panic attacks every time I have a vigorous workout and my heart starts pounding... I feel embarrassed and I have to leave the gym. Sometimes I feel so alone with this terrible attacks. Thank you for this. Nobody in my family and friends can understand it, only the people that go through it.
Sprint training or spin cycling helped me a lot with this problem, when you learn to interpret a temporary max heart rate as pleasure and not pain then you've cracked it; also stay away from heart rate monitors as they increase the anxiety and remember to replace electrolytes lost in sweat such as sodium, potassium and magnesium with a good workout drink as cramping with further elevate your health anxiety. Good luck people, the good times aren't far away.
I start feeling like I'm going to pass out
I'm always convinced im having a heart attack. Even though ive had a totally clear bill of health.
Captain Pants what do you think it's is please help I'm having the same issue
Captain Pants
Same, because when we have anxiety our heart starts to beat faster...
When we exercise, our heart beats reminds us about the physical condition of anxiety....
It's a vicious circle, but we have to get out of it. Hard I know =(
Colin Scott, exactly the same for me and I’ve been completely examined and they tell me I’m healthy as can be
The first symptom of a heart attack is not a pounding heart. It's a chest pain like there is an elephant sitting on it. That's the sensation you will feel. Convince yourselves. Panic attacks are uncomfortable, but not dangerous. This is what Dr. Harry Barry said.
Rigorous exercise stresses the body. When the body is already overly stressed and symptomatic due to overly anxious behavior, stressing it even more can make you feel much worse. ... Moreover, some people experience an increase in symptoms while exercising rigorously.
This video made me smile especially the "OMG" bit. A smile is a start great video. Thank you sir
I enjoy the benefits of exercise. But recently I have been dragging my heels getting it done. I feel anxious before starting and just before each exercise. It can take me all day to get through a short routine.
Would really love to see a Part II to see how you tackled this problem. The thing that crushes me right now is not exercising due to that damn adrenaline dump that makes you feel like you're about to lose control. In fact, it's that warm bodily sensation that comes with the racing heart that I get in the same environments (eating out, amusement park, meetings, stuck in traffic, etc) that I always fear I'm on the verge of happening.
You seem to have described that perfectly and would love to hear what worked for you.
Thanks and take care.
I can't thank you enough for explaining this and so many other things, you helped me to not feel alone.
just wanted to say THANK YOU !! you are the best one who understand it and explaining it
if i just saw this video 2 years earlier i think i would have saved myself the horrible time i went and still going through
thank you again
I started exercising five months ago and just a month ago I got my first panic attack in years, worst that before and now I can’t, won’t exercise because I know it’ll trigger my panic attacks
I'm so fucken happy I'm not alone although its a shitty thing to go through i hope others find a way out of this shit hole. I'm trying ro excercise and go back to how i was.
hello
you sir are Fantastic .. I recently came across your podcasts and they are awesome i suffer from G.E.D & AGORAPHOBIA...please keep making them ... shout out from Socal hope to hear back from you soon...
Hi Joe! Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words. I'm doing by best to get more episodes out as my schedule allows. I'm glad I'm able to help in some small way.
That Anxiety Guy I'm where you used to be I'll be sitting down or stand up or just at any given moment I stretch and if my left arm or anything connected to it is sore I get a. Palpitation and I get sever anxiety and won't use my left arm afraid of getting a heart attack because of the stress and anxiety is it just panic attacks it happens for a few days goes away for a few weeks and happened again I need to figure this out please respond.
This was very helpful. I am a physical educator whose life long anxiety has reared its ugly head. 2 months ago I landed in the hospital because I had a panic attack from hell. Both my medical doctor and therapist said to continue exercising because anxiety won’t kill me. Well...let me say it sure feels like it will. Today I went on a hike and things went sideways. This video is great for me AND my students who suffer as well. Strangely I knew encouraging them to continue to move at a pace they could tolerate was right. Now when it comes to me (I think because I’m older) I am terrified. I hear you saying, feel the fear and do it anyway. Thank you.
Your videos are so helpful to my recovery thank you my friend
Looking forward to Part 2.
Would love to see the steps you mentioned would be included in part 2! I have struggled with this for a while even though I used to love to exercise. This one was very helpful as there is very limited info out there on this topic and this is just what I needed! please do part 2!
Haha. I'm 100lbs overweight. agoraphobic with panic issues. I TOTALLY relate to this. I'm dreading a BJJ class tomorrow night, worried about anxiety. BUT MY QUESTION is regarding the treadmill: did you feel EXTREMELY off-balance once you stepped off the treadmill. If I walk on one for 2 minutes, it's hard to walk for a minute when I get off the treadmill--being on it for 30 minutes seems like it might be incapacitating.Anyway, I'm SO glad I discovered you. I'm much better at 44 than I was at times in my 20s and 30s, but I'm also now--regrettably--on Xanax and klonopin....they help, but I'll NEVER build my self-confidence up using them (even though I've kept the doses low). I can't wait to listen to more, but had to pause it and write this before going back to the podcast!!
So sorry for the long delay in responding! That "off balance" sensation when stepping off the treadmill is completely normal, common for everybody, and as always - completely harmless. Same rules apply. Accept that its just a sensation, that it won't hurt you, and that the best approach is to learn to relax into it without adding fear by fighting or trying to escape the feeling. Your brain and body will re-adjust to solid ground pretty quickly if you don't add fear to the situation. Great question!
Thank you so much. This will help me push through working out.
Wow, I'm so bloody disappointed that you never made the part 2. I just watched this because I was googling Pilates tutorials, determined to start doing exercise despite the extreme panic attacks I get when I exercise. I started off searching 'Pilates for beginners' but that looked too intense, then 'Pilates for old people' which still looked intense, 'Pilates for overweight people' still looked too hard, 'exercise for overweight people' and I still couldn't do it, then 'exercise for anxious people' which just bought up a ton of stuff to do with breathing exercises (trigger) and then I eventually stumbled upon this video and it was the first thing that has made sense and spoken to me in a really, really long time. My partner and I watched like this was a damn revelation but there's no part two! I can't begin to tell you how overwhelmingly disappointed I am right now, I think it would be worth removing this video and uploading a version without mention of part two as it really built me up then let me back down again. For 17 minutes I felt like I had hope and now I feel completely lost again.
Danielle Bowman breathing exercises also trigger my panic attacks, since my panic attacks/anxiety came back, I can’t exercise without feeling like fainting and I can’t control myself
Why does everyone have anxiety these days?
Thank you for your video. I struggle with this. I appreciate your help and insight.
This is the challenge I’m facing now.
I don’t know if this is going on or not, but my body temperature is very low when I get these “attacks”- 95 degrees F. I feel like I have a fever and feel nauseous and dizzy. I used to exercise every day. Did this for about 10 years. I was super fit. Then I started to get super sick within 1/2 hour after exercising. Really bad illness that had me bed bound for a year, nearly bed bound for 2 years. I’ve been to the ER several times- they told me it’s “anxiety”, and I did hear from others that it could be exercise intolerance.
Can exercise intolerance due to anxiety cause low body temperature? I shake uncontrollably and sweat profusely amount for up to an hour generally speaking. I used to get severe chest squeezing, tight solar plexus, and a really hard time breathing. It feels as though when I start moving around and working there is a huge amount of adrenaline being released and I have no control over it. I’m not sure it’s just anxiety still. I don’t feel scared to exercise or work- I miss it!!! I am terrified of feeling sick like this and I do realize that could trigger panic attacks.
I can only last about 10 minutes of activity. Oddly, if I take breaks by the end of the day I can work almost normally. It takes me all day to get there though. I need advice and help.
WoW I thought I was crazy, I was always fit but I hurt my leg which put me on my ass for about 3 months, during this period my anxiety seemed to evaporate, then about 2 weeks ago I start to get back into exercise and my anxiety and all its compliments returned and I couldn't put this down to changing circumstances, it had to be the exercise that was causing it. Now I know, and that may be enough help, I too will not stop exercising, I will also lengthen my cool down and meditate after,,thanks.
This was fantastic - will there be a part 2?
+mgb1970 Its been on my to-do list for months now! I'm gonna do my best to tackle it in the next two weeks if I can make the time. Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate that! :-)
Great video, thanks
Living in New Zealand you either do sport or people look down on you in school, whether they realize it or not. Giving those who aren’t ‘sporty’ social problems, anxiety, and other mental based problems develop.
This is fantastic thank you so much life saver literally
I like it. elevated physiological responses body responses. Sounds familiar 🤔
hello sir thank you for the work your doing. i need a part 2 for this plz
Hey Drew, great stuff. what do you think of the idea that even moderate and certainly heavy weight training can be detrimental to the anxiety sufferer because it keeps the nervous system stressed? I used to love lifting weights and now I hardly touch them for fear of making my symptoms worse.
I do acknowledge that very heavy lifting for prolonged periods can stress your CNS and even have negative emotional impacts. Its possible. But ... we're not talking about that level of training here. There's middle ground between training for a national level powerlifting meet and sitting on the sofa so lets just start with the basics and keep it light and lower intensity and by the time you get to the point where you have to worry about CNS fatigue you'll be way ahead of the anxiety issues.
Thankyou drew!!! ❤️🙏
Is there a part 2 yet?
You are the man 👍🏻 right on point
Thank you Drew needed this ! Charlene from group 👍
Nice vid thanks for the info
Thankyou so much god bless
This comment is really late but well ,here it goes :my anxiety with exercise started along with my bulimia.I would binge and i didn't want to vomit , son i would run.I have run a marathon and i have been running for a while,so i am used to running.But with the bulimia i just wanted to burn the calories ,so i would run 6 km up hill.And the more tired i was the better,the less i could breath the better. And I was also perusing the runners high cause im addicted to it.I have to do it everyday , not kill my self everyday but try and sweat out the food i eat.so i prefer not to eat anything cause in that cause i HAVE TO exercise.Is a nightmare
iv been working out for a year now , and i deal with severe panic attacks that make me feel like i’m going to have a heart attack and sometimes when i’m working out i feel my panic coming on and i can’t tell if i’m having a heart attack. everytime i get my heart rate up i feel like my heart is gonna explode i’m 23 and my heart rate will go up to 170 sometimes when i work out
Panic and anxiety will tell you that you're having a heart attack every time. Part of this process is allowing those experiences (yes, this is really scary) so that reality can teach us that the anxiety is wrong. Unfortunately, we can't actually learn this lesson until we have the experiences that always wind up OK. We can't just decide to believe that its just anxiety. We have to show our brains that this is true.
I would love to be able to call you I really need help with my anxiety stacks after exercise
I'm in good shape I recently did a spin class for an hour super high intensity cardio two steps up from my regular cardio I got anxiety attacks small ones throughout the day and the following morning and then they were gone apparently this is a fight or flight change in your brain because it was out of the ordinary 6 a.m. full on balls to the wall cycling so it could be a natural after math feeling of getting away from say a lion or something there is some evidence showing that this is what it could be look up studies there are some
Really good vid
Part 2? Please
It helps me
Where is part 2 ;(
was there ever a second video?
That Anxiety Guy I'm where you used to be I'll be sitting down or stand up or just at any given moment I stretch and if my left arm or anything connected to it is sore I get a. Palpitation and I get sever anxiety and won't use my left arm afraid of getting a heart attack because of the stress and anxiety is it just panic attacks it happens for a few days goes away for a few weeks and happened again I need to figure this out please respond
Justin Martinez
I'm recovering from this. We have to rewire our brain. We have to redefine the meanings/emotions because we (you and I, and people like us) focus on the physical symptoms then we make it worse.
Where's part 2?
so you can create panic attack symotons by exercise. they are same.
because Adrenalin is produced at both time.
I always wondered why i get tensed after doing exercise. this is the reason.
so you are created a panic attack on your own without a fight or flight response in it we have anything to overcome pnic disorder
like if after execise you hve a fake panic attack like situation overcoming it will actually help you to overcame panic attacks at public situations.
is it
sir please reply.
anyone please reply.
i want a discussion on this thought
The only way out is through! .. you need to face your fears and do the things that scares you the most ..then your anxiety won't disturb you anymore.
I can relate to you, it’s a thing I’m having real trouble with at the moment, thinking I have a heart condition but really it’s the same symptoms I get though my panic disorder
it rsaises cortisol and makes some poeple that exercise anxious
Great video
Ps: You and joe rogan sounds alike hehe
Not even close! Lol
Yup. Exercise makes me worse.
I'm having panic attacks every day even if I go take a walk I try to do is simple push up or sit up experience the shortness of breath which is the most part that affects me the most is the shortness of breath like I can't get any air in part. Just yesterday I tried doing push-ups I did one set of 10 push-ups and then I felt the shortness of breath so I stopped just sit still try to catch my breath meditate for a few minutes and then I did another 10 sets a push ups same feeling I did the same process and then I was okay I think I'm going to start exercising little by little over coming this panic disorder. Great video by the way I hope your doing good
I go through the same thing. you just have to be brave and just take it day by day.
Well my question is, what if you are not getting anxiety during the workout... but it seems to hit you after you’re done. I always think 🤔 m about to have a heart attack maybe an hour or 2 after working out.
This happens to me. My first panic attack with left chest pain happened 24 hours after a hard bike ride.
What about random heart palpitations--they occur at any time whether I’m exercising or not and it’s so scary. I’ve been told that it’s fine by a heart doctor but I still can’t not get nervous when it happens.
Patty Boucetta I have the same issue. I’ll experience them while at the gym and brain sensations and feel like something terrible is going to happen.
This is one of the first things I've learned about my anxiety in a long time...Nobody talks about this! I've experienced vomiting and even blindness during exercise, in addition to meltdowns. Maybe this caused a really nasty reinforcement?
It's always been so infuriating to hear exercise being touted as a miracle drug when these symptoms happen, that honestly, an additional component to this for me may have been *spite.* It's frustrating to see advice that doesn't match up with your personal experiences at all, so this could be really handy in relearning some of the negative brain-traps involved. Thank you!