Excercise and Panic Attacks

Enrique · Post by **Enrique** » Sun May 04, 2008 11:20 am

Hello everyone. I notice that when I excercise or do strenous activity for more than 30 minutes, later on that night I get panic attacks. What might me causing this and do I have a chance at continuing to work out. I love to work out because it keeps me in good shape, but panic attacks have discouraged that in me.

cuttingirl · Post by **cuttingirl** » Sun May 04, 2008 12:36 pm

i don't know how old you are or what your health status is, but I'm assuming you are medically fit to exericse. Ok, What are you doing for exercise? Are you working out at a gym or at home? I ask because I have also had this problem. Not every time, but sometimes. There are a couple of factors at play here, at least for me: if my anxiety level is very high, if I'm exercising very hard, if I am in public, and if I start the what-if "spiral" then somehow my body's experience of exercise- the adrenalin, increased heart rate- is interpreted and experienced as anxiety during or after exercise. But other days, I work out hard and feel great and relaxed afterward. I have learned to listen to my body and mind -I still work out every day in some fashion but I do what my body and mind need. This could be a hard run followed by weight training. Maybe a yoga dvd at home. Keep your exercise options open and remember that hard exercise and panic share similar physiology but one is good for you one is counterproductive. Good luck!! And don't stop exercising.

chucksanxiety · Post by **chucksanxiety** » Mon May 12, 2008 11:03 pm

I have the same problem, my first major anxiety attack happened right after I got out from the gym. I drove strait to the er. luckly I had to wait a couple of hours and the symptoms were gone by the time I saw a doctor. Since then I had anxiety on the way to the gym, after the gym and even on vigorous walks. Getting your heart rate up and the strain exercise puts on your body is physically simmular to a panic attack. What really helped me out was just getting back into it slowly. Starting off slow and adding a little each day, I can workout again. I know its hard to back off an exercise routine, but it might help.

Mary Wargo · Post by **Mary Wargo** » Tue May 13, 2008 6:56 am

I read a very good book by a well known Endocrinologist (Diana Shwarzbein) who believes that getting your heart rate too high when exercising increases adrenaline too much and can make anxiety worse in people who already have anxiety. She recommended not going over 90 when exercising. I'm sure not everyone agrees on this but I thought it was interesting, as some people say exercising makes their anxiety worse or actually brings on panic attacks.

Enrique · Post by **Enrique** » Tue May 13, 2008 11:55 am

Originally posted by Mary Wargo:
I read a very good book by a well known Endocrinologist (Diana Shwarzbein) who believes that getting your heart rate too high when exercising increases adrenaline too much and can make anxiety worse in people who already have anxiety. She recommended not going over 90 when exercising. I'm sure not everyone agrees on this but I thought it was interesting, as some people say exercising makes their anxiety worse or actually brings on panic attacks.

Hello Mary, how are you today? Doing Great i hope. Well, i'm actually interested in the book you mentioned here. What's the title called? Oh, when you said going over 90 did you mean 90 minutes? Thank you for the reply and hope we can continue to help each other out. I'm on my session 2 CD's and feel a little better just in the fact of knowing that i'm not alone. I've never met a person face to face that deals with panic attacks, so this has obviously made me feel alone. But i know the future is bright and what lies ahead is going to be life in abundance.

Enrique · Post by **Enrique** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:05 pm

Thank you for the reply chucksanxiety. Yeah you know, i use to work out for about an hour a day 5 days a week, sometimes even 6. I got my first panic attack during a night in which i could not fall asleep, earlier that day i had worked out pretty hard. 4 years later i got another panic attack Nov. 2007 and ever since every time i work out more than 30 minutes or simply work out hard i generally have to fight off a panic attack. i have this thing with the heat also, but i think it's probably all in my head. Well, thank you for the valuable info and hope we can continue to help each other out.

Enrique · Post by **Enrique** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:10 pm

Originally posted by cuttingirl:
i don't know how old you are or what your health status is, but I'm assuming you are medically fit to exericse. Ok, What are you doing for exercise? Are you working out at a gym or at home? I ask because I have also had this problem. Not every time, but sometimes. There are a couple of factors at play here, at least for me: if my anxiety level is very high, if I'm exercising very hard, if I am in public, and if I start the what-if "spiral" then somehow my body's experience of exercise- the adrenalin, increased heart rate- is interpreted and experienced as anxiety during or after exercise. But other days, I work out hard and feel great and relaxed afterward. I have learned to listen to my body and mind -I still work out every day in some fashion but I do what my body and mind need. This could be a hard run followed by weight training. Maybe a yoga dvd at home. Keep your exercise options open and remember that hard exercise and panic share similar physiology but one is good for you one is counterproductive. Good luck!! And don't stop exercising.

Thanks, i know me. i won't. but it does help to know that the physiological feeling felt from a a panic attack mimick those of the adrenaline after working out. This is alot of help, thank you and hope we can continue to help each other out.

Mary Wargo · Post by **Mary Wargo** » Tue May 13, 2008 2:02 pm

Enrique - The book is titled The Schwarzbein Principle II by Diana Schwarzbein. It's not a book on anxiety but deals with improving your metabolism. The 90 she mentions is the heart rate while exercising. It's too tough of a principle for me to follow but I thought her ideas on the exercise stuff were interesting.