exercise and panic attacks?

I suffer with panic attack disorder and for the most part I was able to handle them without medication but as life stresses increased my attacks increased and became more severe. I now use medication to help with them. If you know you are having one yes it is easier to recognize that it is a panic attack and it will go away but I know that once you are in one they are very difficult to come out of. Breathing is what helps me. I've never had one after working out but I will assume it's because your heart rate is up and your breathing is labored. I would try breathing exercises to help bring down your physical heart rate and then hopefully your mental heart rate (ie state of panic) will reduce as well. Good luck!!! :flowerforyou:

This used to be a once in a while thing, but now it seems eating
is triggering them. Maybe something in the digestive process?

I have this issue sometimes, so I understand where you are coming from! I used to have severe anxiety attacks while at the gym (or work, home, etc... lol) and took medication to control them. Recently, I discussed with my aunt (who is into herbal supplements and general healthy lifestyles) how to control my panic/anxiety issues without the aid of medicine. She suggested several things (if I'm repeating other posters, please forgive me): 1. Take time out every day to meditate and focus on yourself. Taking time to think about your day and focus on your energy can really eliminate a lot of the fear/worry that people with anxiety live with daily. 2. Take up a relaxing physical activity, like yoga. 3. Avoid caffeine at all costs. 4. When you are at the gym and feel the signs of anxiety, find a focal point somewhere. It could be a clock on the wall, your water bottle, whatever. By using a focal point that is stabilized, it is easier to retrain your mind into realizing that nothing is happening to cause you worry at that moment it time. It sounds silly, but the more focused and calm you can be, the easier it is to get through a workout. I also listen to music to keep my mind busy; I sing the songs in my head as I work out and keep my brain busy... haha! I hope any of this helps!

I suffer from them too, had them at the gym because I felt too exposed so I quit the gym and started walking early morning/late evening and bought things like Zumba for the wii, because I don't have panic attacks at home. I used to be on antidepressants, anti anxiety meds and diazepam but don't take the long term ones anymore. And when I'm exercising consistently I get less attacks, it happens more when I have a big gap and start at the beginning again.

If you're interested in some websites with food listings, I'd be happy to pass them along! You're definitely not alone out there in this!

Please?

Ack, sorry, just got this! I have to remember to check my old posts!
http://www.anxietypanic.com/nutrition.html
http://www.anxietynomore.co.uk/food_and_anxiety.html

I also include a B complex vitamin for stress management and have added nutritional yeast, which is supposed to cut down anxiety too. Good luck!

I feel for each one of you that has panic attacks caused by exercise. I thought I was the only one. I am almost 35 now, but when I was 25 I was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation. I had the RF ablation procedure to cure it, which it did cure it, but the symptoms I had were so bad when I'd have AF that I think i suffered from PTSD because about a year after I was cured, I had a panic attack while squatting at the gym and ever since then, after intense workouts I almost always at least get anxious, but sometimes go into a panic attack. It's usually worse anxiety the harder I work out, so on squat day, or deadlift day, which are the most strenuous, full body workouts, I get more on edge. Also, I have 1 day a week that I run 3 miles and that workout always makes me really anxious.

I work out at home now (just preference and cheaper, and I have a really nice gym) and if the wife is not home and I'm working out, it adds to my stress levels (just the fear i'll die and nobody will know I guess lol).

And, more recently the panic attacks hvae become a little more frequent. BUT, I'm learning to deal with them. All the same symptoms I get during a panic (tingling in my body, light headed, can't control breathing, or short fast breathing, and racing heart) are what happened during Atrial Fibrillation attacks, so I think my brain made that connection. What used to be the most wonderful feeling after a hard workout is now a scary anxious feeling. You all know or remember that nice, drained, comfortable feeling. That feeling scares me now.

And lately, I seem to be more sensitized to any sensations in my body, so immediately I get on edge. I have gotten in very good shape since those AF days (lost over 140lbs now and am getting more fit by the day!), so I am getting over the racing heart symptom. But, the dizzy symptom still scares the crap out of me. The tingling i can live with.

Well, now when I have a panic attack or am going into one (and I know when it's coming because i get that pit in my stomach first), I try to take really deep, very slow breaths, breathe out, hold it, breathe in hold it, etc. That usually fixes the dizziness. I try to just keep my wits, and keep telling myself that I had one yesterday or the day before and I am still ok, and I know it's just anxiety. Seems to be helping, instead of fearing it, just letting it come on. But, just because I overcome one today, doesn't mean i'll be that calm about it tomorrow. I seem to still highly fear some of the attacks, and other times I am a lot more strong willed and I just basically say "alright, kill me, I don't care" and let it come. Usually when I can get my mind into that gear, the anxiety stops immediately lol. Go figure.

The panic still holds me back. I work out pretty hard, but if I didn't worry about having a worse panic attack by pushing myself harder, I would run harder, faster, I'd lift weights harder, etc. So, it still affects my life. I also turn down outings with even my good friends for fear that I will have an attack in front of somebody.

The people I know in my life, or that I don't know, who I believe don't understand panic attacks, I fear the most having an attack in front of. Because I'm sure from their point of view it's like "what in the world is wrong with you?" And I don't like being embarrassed.

I don't frown upon anyone for taking any medication for this either. I personally refuse to as I'm a stubborn prick lol. I won't even take advil or excedrine or whatever for a headache. But, sometimes the panic gets so tiresome to deal with that one starts wishing they had a break from it. I do think this every now and then, that maybe I should just go on Zoloft or whatever and stop dealing with it. But, that doesn't fix anything, that's just a bandaid. That's how I view it.

It seems the way to win this war is to accept panic for what ti is, keep putting yourself in the situations that cause you panic, even if it takes 100 or 1000 times, and densensitize. Sometimes I worry about a workout and am hesitant to finish or to even start, but on the occasion I let the panic fear win, the next time that workout is up I am even more worried, so now I try not to let it dictate.

Just earlier this week in fact, I was 3 sets of squats into a workout, and during the last set of squats I started feeling a little on edge. I said to myself "I know what that is, I'm not going to let it stop me". I went into a panic attack, but I just kept lifting weights, and I don't know if it was the exertion or what, but the panic actually diffused very quickly when I continued my sets. Probably played into the fight/flight syndrome and I burned up the extra adrenaline or something. So that time I won, but still the next time I always think "well it might be different this time".

Ugh what a tiresome, endless cycle.

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