Exercise anxiety ?

[jamus75]

I really want to start exercising and really pushing myself. I'm 37 and healthy besides the anxiety and panic attacks. Problem is I have a fear of getting my heart rate up then having a panic attack, raising my already elevated pulse too high.

[justconfused]

I really want to start exercising and really pushing myself. I'm 37 and healthy besides the anxiety and panic attacks. Problem is I have a fear of getting my heart rate up then having a panic attack, raising my already elevated pulse too high.

I have a similar problem. Mine is when I exercise hard and feel my heart beating hard and can feel it beat in my head then I just quit. It feels like it will explode or give out or cause some kind of vessel to pop. My girlfriend (who went to the gym to work out as well) will ask why did you stop and I'll explain what I just said. She always says "well yeah everyone does that, but what do you think is supposed to happen when you push yourself?" Well I don't know it's just scary to me. It just feels like it shouldn't happen.

[dazza]

Most if not all with health anxiety (particularly HEART) will develop an overwhelming fear of exercising, or indeed, often any activity which causes excess physical movement.

This is very, VERY common.

Embarassingly, I gave up exercising for some 8 months for this very reason.

Simply walking up a flight of stairs caused me HUGE phsychological issues - which triggered a fear of death - which ironically caused symptoms which felt like a heart attack was imminent.
By the time I'd got to the top of stairs, having built up more and more fear on each step, my heart was going bonkers and my anxiety in full flow.

The trouble is, it feels SO real. This is what makes anxiety disorder so powerful... it's ability to create what feels like REAL, life threatening situations, even though actually, it's absolutely ridiculous and total bull shit.

I finally bit the bullet and started playing squash again. This was the final piece of the CURE puzzle for me.
It was hard proof that there was nothing wrong with my ticker.

My advice would be to find a sport you enjoy. The enjoyment element should keep the thoughts / anxieties at bay.

Simply pumping iron down a gym would not have done me any good. I loathe gyms and wouldn't have handled all the other people around me.

Do a one-to-one sport with a close friend. Like badmington, squash, tennis, etc.

[justconfused]

Most if not all with health anxiety (particularly HEART) will develop an overwhelming fear of exercising, or indeed, often any activity which causes excess physical movement.

This is very, VERY common.

Embarassingly, I gave up exercising for some 8 months for this very reason.

Simply walking up a flight of stairs caused me HUGE phsychological issues - which triggered a fear of death - which ironically caused symptoms which felt like a heart attack was imminent.
By the time I'd got to the top of stairs, having built up more and more fear on each step, my heart was going bonkers and my anxiety in full flow.

The trouble is, it feels SO real. This is what makes anxiety disorder so powerful... it's ability to create what feels like REAL, life threatening situations, even though actually, it's absolutely ridiculous and total bull shit.

I finally bit the bullet and started playing squash again. This was the final piece of the CURE puzzle for me.
It was hard proof that there was nothing wrong with my ticker.

My advice would be to find a sport you enjoy. The enjoyment element should keep the thoughts / anxieties at bay.

Simply pumping iron down a gym would not have done me any good. I loathe gyms and wouldn't have handled all the other people around me.

Do a one-to-one sport with a close friend. Like badmington, squash, tennis, etc.

The one-to-one sport is a great suggestion. Before I became this way I played baseball for my whole life. I would like to get back into that, but I think you may have just given me a great idea to slide back into exercising. A sport for two people and being with someone close could help while exercising at the same time. I think I'll try tennis. Never really played it, but always thought it looked fun. I am so out of shape. I went and played racquet ball a few days back with my girlfriend and my forearm that I used to swing the racquet was killing me for days.

[justconfused]

Lol. After I made that post I looked up what squash was and realised it is the same thing that I just talked about playing. Here in the U.S. we call it racquet ball. It is fun! I played for my first time last week and was so sore after like I said. A reminder that I definitely need to get in shape.

[francesca1126]

don't do cardio then!! Left weights, thats still exercise, I joined the gym for my anxiety the first day I did a lot of cardio...my heart was racing like crazy so i decided not to do that and just do the weight machines