As I’ve mentioned before, I have a pretty extreme problem with anxiety and panic. I was diagnosed with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and Panic Disorder a few years ago. One of the biggest problems I’ve had in the last few years is exercise. Frequently, when I do any sort of exercise, but especially weight-lifting or strength-related exercises (my favorites, since I put on muscle easily and love getting strong), my body doesn’t seem to recover well afterward.
Specifically, my heart rate stays high (around 100bpm or so), I’ll have a mild headache, my muscles will feel very tense – as if they can’t relax afterward, and I feel keyed up, wired, and jumpy. Frequently this is all enough to trigger a panic attack, and the ones triggered by this phenomena have tended to be pretty spectacularly horrible. Over time, this developed into a mild phobia of exercise.
It seems worse with certain things. For instance, a year and a half ago I started a very successful exercise program that was basically light-moderate aerobics, with the occasional use of hand weights. For instance, I might do step-aerobics while I watched a movie, and hold some light hand weights while I did it. I noticed my arms and back got stronger, and I lost a significant amount of weight (25 pounds, which unfortunately I gained back once I stopped the exercise for reasons related to worsening anxiety).
After awhile I wanted to do harder exercises, so I began doing regular strength training at home, with dumbbells and kettlebells. The dumbbells were mostly okay, but I still struggled with that wired-high-heart-rate feeling afterward. The kettlebells were the worst! I loved them the most, they were so fun to use, but afterward I frequently had a panic attack.
None of this makes sense to me, I really don’t understand why my body would react this way. I thought I’d post about it here in the hopes that someone reading this might be familiar enough with exercise science to help me out.
Today it happened again. I did 35 minutes of high-intensity aerobics. I got done, and felt pretty great. Then, half an hour later, my heart rate was still at 104, and I couldn’t seem to relax. I ate an apple, then I thought I must just need protein, because don’t body builders stuff themselves full of whey after workouts? I figured maybe my muscles were crying out for some protein. Greg boiled me up some of our farm eggs (from some very well-treated chickens, which I feel good about), and I ate two of those.
I felt better, but still not great, and my heart rate was still 100. I finally decided to take a warm bath and see if that helped. I’m sitting in the tub while I write this (don’t ask), and yeah, it’s down to 92 now, and I do feel a bit better.
Still, what the heck is going on? I want to be super strong, people! I want to do kettlebell workouts three times a week, I want my arms to pop out, I want GUNS (not those guns, these guns), and I want to not make funny noises when I lift a bag of dog food into my cart.
Is this a case of bad recovery from exercise because I’m just out of shape?
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
This is not a scientific answer, but something I’ve experienced at times. The elevated heart rate you get with exercise feels a bit like anxiety, so you start worrying about it, which triggers more anxiety and a higher HR, and so on. I try to reassure myself that it’s just exercise and it’s ok to get a little breathless, even a little uncomfortable. It’s also true that your HR stays elevated longer when you’re deconditioned. Maybe cool down with a slow walk around the block or easy pedaling on the bike and a little stretching to let your HR come down.
Hope that helps.
I see two parts. 1) Your body does this thing where it doesn’t relax, heart rate doesn’t go down as one would expect after exercise and 2) you then have anxiety or a panic attack triggered by this.
My guess is your body is so high strung that any change that resembles the symptoms of a panic attack triggers a reflexive action that brings one on.
As to why your body does that after vigorous exercise, I have no clue on. Hopefully your internet friends will have ideas.
I, too, had a thing for a while that any time I was being active and exercising regularly my body had a backlash which then would make it impossible to do anything for a while. To be working so hard to improve your health and to have that very action have such negative results is incredibly frustrating.
*hugs*
There are two things I think are probably at play here — one is that, yes, a slow heart-rate recovery after exercise is a sign that you’re not in top physical condition. So, there’s that. And the other is that once you’ve associated exercise and anxiety in your brain, when you exercise, that association will trigger anxiety, which will also keep your heart rate up. (All this assuming that you don’t have some underlying heart problem, of course. But I know you’ve had your heart checked a lot in the last few years, so I feel pretty certain that’s not at play here.)
My suggestion, which you’ll probably hate because you’re a lot like me, is that you start a lot slower and smaller.
If 35 minutes of aerobics gets your heart rate way, way up and then it takes this long and is this stressful for you to get that rate back down, you’re doing too much too fast and too hard.
Try 10 minutes of moderate (not high!) intensity aerobics and see how you do. Do 10 minutes a day for a week. Then try 12 minutes, and see how you do. Do 12 minutes a day for a week, etc. etc. etc.
The more exercise you can do that DOESN’T trigger your anxiety (shorter workouts, lower intensity, less fear that your heart will freak out, etc.), the more likely it is you’ll be able to break this cycle in your brain. And while you’re doing this slower program, you’ll also be gradually building up your physical conditioning, which means by the time you’ve worked up to those 35 minutes of high impact aerobics on a regular basis, you’ll be in good shape for that intensity both mentally AND physically.
I don’t have anxiety related to exercise, but have struggled a LOT with chronic pain and exercise, which also leads to a cycle of fear. When I start having a lot of pain flare-ups, I often have to stop what I’m doing and start over from the beginning again. I go back to ten minute walks instead of 40 minute ones, I cut my strength training in half, etc. It’s like roller coaster exercise — I do the intensity when I can, and when I can’t, I try to accept that and slow things down. This has made a big difference for me both physically and emotionally in the last couple of years.
Good luck, toots!
This happens to me alot lately too. I just finished raking the grass for an hour or better and when I came in I couldn’t calm down, my heart was racing, and I was sweating more than I should have been. This happened alot this past winter when I over did it playing hockey. It is scary to be very out of breath or over exerted and I think an anxiety prone person worries and feeds off of this fear. I suspect we need to re-teach ourselves how to react to this stress, just like all the other triggers.
Cam – I think you’re right. Part of my intention in getting a weekly exercise regimen in place is to retrain myself to get used to the sensations associated with anxiety. I had a bad attack today, and it did help to know that I’d exercised hard a couple weeks ago and I was okay.
I have the same problem. I started up with some serious running to train for a marathon. My body is so preconditioned to anxiety that it goes there at the slightest added stress. Listen, the best thing you can do is to read the book “Hope and Help for your Nerves” by Dr. CLaire Weekes. It will give you complete understanding in a very clear way why your body reacts that way. IT is a MUST read for anyone that struggles with anxiety. IT has changed my life! If you have any questions feel free to email.
Michelle
Yeah, I have read that book. It’s very good. It wasn’t the cure-all that it seems to be for a lot of people, but it’s a valuable edition to the library.
Hi Hollie,
Trying to find something about anxiety/panic attacks after exercising I came across your article. I run about 28 miles/week.
Its good to know we are not alone on our daily anxiety episodes. Nobody else can understand, as you said, how devastating it is to go through them and sustain hope that it’s going to end.
I have experienced anxiety after exercising and always think something must be wrong with either my heart or general health, but hubby reminds me that I eat fairly healthy and exercise daily. (Also I’ve been in the doctor and have had therapy for some months)
In my view, the problem here is not the exercise itself but the thoughts accompanying it. We start exercising with the thought behind our heads that the panic attack it’s going to happen afterwards and that’s exactly right. Its easier said than done, but we need to start unmasking the monster (PA) without any fear, and think of it as a friend rather than an enemy. With time we will be able to sit by it, through it and eventually he’ll leave us alone.
I tell you this because I used to fear going to sleep, I would have panic attacks just thinking about it through the day and at night I would be all freaked out; the only way I overcame it was facing that fear, accepting it as a friend and not running away from it. Now I can go to sleep just fine. It took me a few months but it’s conquered.
Peace might be with you and strength through the journey.
Ang
Hey Angelica!
Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you don’t have anxiety anymore, that’s wonderful!
I am happy to have just found this post, as I think this might be the problem I am having too. Lately, I get all shakey and weak and my heart rate/BP goes up when I exercise. And then I get panicked that I have something seriously wrong with me like a heart or lung or blood sugar problem. I have a really hard time distinguishing between the symptoms/feelings of a panic attack, normal results of exercise and something that may be a sign of a health concern. Haven’t found anything that works or helps with this, so I appreciate your comments. Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad it was helpful! It does sound a lot like what I go through when I exercise hard.
Hi, I have had Panic for 4 years now, and it is weird how it can manifest in different situations. I have been an avid exerciser for years and have never had my panic interfere with my exercise routines until lately. Now when I go running or go to aerobics class it feels like I am having a heart attack afterward and is very scary. But I know it is panic. It does suck when you are trying to do something good for your health and then the after effects are terrifying sometimes. The other day I went running and had a panic attack afterward that lasted for an hour, I am forcing myself to go again tonight and will keep forcing myself even though it is scary, I am not going to let my Panic win. But this blog was helpful so thank you for all the posts it is good to know you aren’t alone.
Thanks for writing! I’m so glad the post helped you!
Holly, I totally understand what you are feeling post-exercise. I get the exact same thing: tense, jumpy, mild headache (right in middle of forehead above my eyes) don’t sleep as well, sweat more easily, etc.; basically, the exact opposite of what exercise is “supposed” to do for an anxious person. I always knew that exercise was somehow associated with increased anxiety levels, as I would never exercise a day or two before an anxiety-provoking event. But recently, it became much clearer. With the arrival of my daughter, I didn’t have much time to exercise, and I seemed to be sleeping better and generally less “anxious.” Then, I decided I needed to get back into a routing, and all of a sudden the anxiety was back.
Unfortunately, I don’t know what to do…deal with the anxiety or stop exercising. Have you ever had any luck discussing with a doctor? I would love to know if there is anything to do to prevent this, i.e., take a particular vitamin, avoid certain types of exercise, whatever…
Although I didn’t have an answer for you as to why, it helped me to read that I’m not the only one out there that suffers from this. Do a search on the web, and all the hits discuss the great benefits of exercise for the anxious and depressed. ugh.
This is a great thread – thank you for starting it. I’ve suffered from anxiety for a long time, but just within the past 8 months it has been SOO much better. Recently, it’s creeping back. I was trying to figure out if there was some correlation. It occured to me that for the past 8 months I’ve been a lazy sloth, and in the past two weeks I decided to get my butt in gear, so I’ve been exercising and lifting weights regularly. I thought “this is crazy, exercise is supposed to reduce anxiety!”…so I did a Google search and came upon this blog and a few other sites. Go figure – I was sleeping great and feeling calm and happy for 8 months. I start exercising, and last night, I slept only about 3 restless hours and I feel super jumpy. I had that feeling of dread like “oh no, not again, after 8 glorious months the anxiety is creeping back.”
I did find some info online that says lactic acid produced by exercise can trigger anxiety – not sure if there is a way to reduce lactic acid during exercise, execept maybe scaling back a little.
Thank you everyone for your thoughtful posts!
Simon
Hi everyone ,ive had this problem for years with intense exercising or endurence training which would cause intense anxiety ,sleep problems ect , like the exercise overcharges my nervous system ,the only remedy ive found is reducing stress including exercise is one when done at intensity ,also having the doctor increase your seretonin levels with an antidepressiant ,seems increasing seretonin lifts your stress threshold . Seems some people just have low seretonin and increasing levels will make a remarkable difference ,theres a story about a world class marathon runner who had overtraining problems ,was prescibed the ssri prozac then went on to win 3 world titles .
i think some people who suffer from anxiety have a dreadful fear of death, so when you are excercising you will be concentrating a bit too much on your heart rate, there may be a trust issue between you and your own body, you may think your body is not able to handle basic aerobics, weighlifting etc. there is a some logic in the argument of people who suffer from anxiety think they have an undiagnosed heart problem and they may think they will suffer a sudden death after excercising. I personally suffer from anxiety and all these thoughts went through my head when excercising so i booked in for a excercise stress test with my local doctor and i was fine. i personally think fighting anxiety is like a war, fight fire with fire. you have to realise that anxiety tries to undermine you, keeps you from doing certain things. you have to stand up to it but more importantly you have to recognise that you have anxiety and fight it with every fibre of your being, if you find anxiety is making you fearful of doing average everyday activities like excercising go out and do some mild excercises and dont do too much too fast. build up a tolerance to anxiety and recognise you are not going to die as these irrational thoughts are only thoughts. i still suffer from anxiety but its not as bad as it used to be. excercise raises seretonin levels and cheers you up. (it cheers everyone up and raises confidence levels when you see results from excercising regulary).hope this helps. hello from ireland