is excercise making my anxiety worse?

[Rover92]

hi all

I started using this forum in 2017 as thats when my anxiety symptoms began. at that time i was in an u happy relationship which has now (thank god) ended in march 2018

since that time, my anxiety has generally been perfectly manageable. episodically i did become slightly more anxious than normal but this was usually caused by external pressure of some kind. after looking at some very helpful posts about self help i have managed to keep my anxiety WELL under control and I've been much better for a long time

....until lately?

i started excercising regularly at the end of January, and over the last month my anxiety has increased quite significantly. i have started using an app called Couch to 5K which aims to have me jogging for 30 mins solid by the end of a 9 week program. i ran for 15 minutes tonight and as i sit here typing away, i feel more anxious than i have done in a long time

my libido has plummeted. im single and i have no desire to.....you know.....do THAT, shall we say! looking at porn is no longer pleasureable either. 

i have read on the interwebs that in some cases, excersing can INCREASE anxiety? rather than combat it. 

has anyone else on the forum experienced this?? 

 

 

 

[gingerbreadgirl]

Hi rover 

Yes, I have very much experienced this and I felt like I was the only one. 

I have exercised for years and I love it but when my ocd got really bad exercise made it much worse, I became afraid of exercising for this reason. 

A couple of questions: what do you eat around exercising (anything?) and do you have caffeine before exercising? I looked at both of these things. I was having caffeine immediately prior to exercise which I think made the anxiety worse. Also I wasnt eating for hours after exercising which didn't help. 

Essentially though what made it better was addressing my ocd. Now I feel no anxiety around exercise I just feel good. 

Gbg

[Symps07]

Hi Rover,

I have noticed this also.

I used to do boxing training and I play badminton, and a quite often after training I would feel low or anxious, but I'm not sure why?

I never got it after running on my own, so maybe it was because I was surrounded by people and I was anxious there or perhaps it was because I was anxious all along and the exercise was burning off the anxiety and once I stopped all that was left was the anxiety?

Symps

[Rover92]

13 hours ago, gingerbreadgirl said:

Hi rover 

Yes, I have very much experienced this and I felt like I was the only one. 

I have exercised for years and I love it but when my ocd got really bad exercise made it much worse, I became afraid of exercising for this reason. 

A couple of questions: what do you eat around exercising (anything?) and do you have caffeine before exercising? I looked at both of these things. I was having caffeine immediately prior to exercise which I think made the anxiety worse. Also I wasnt eating for hours after exercising which didn't help. 

Essentially though what made it better was addressing my ocd. Now I feel no anxiety around exercise I just feel good. 

Gbg

hi! thanks for your reply. so i drink tea during the day, I'm a mobile car valeter so  our customers are always offering me a cuppa and i feel rude turning it down ! but in answer to your question, no, i dont have any caffeine immediately before or after running. and before i excercise i dont tend to eat anything either. only after when i have dinner do i eat. 

 

so it sounds asif i ought to address my anxiety issues before i resume strenuous excercise. thats cool with me. i did say to myself i would try and focus on bettering myself physically this year but clearly that must take a back seat. 

 

i can do this

[gingerbreadgirl]

Hi rover 

It might be worth trying to eat something before and/or after - I found this helped with my anxiety a lot. Good luck! 

[Handy]

Try something not so intense until your body can process oxygen better.

[dksea]

On 27/02/2020 at 06:55, Rover92 said:

i started excercising regularly at the end of January, and over the last month my anxiety has increased quite significantly. i have started using an app called Couch to 5K which aims to have me jogging for 30 mins solid by the end of a 9 week program. i ran for 15 minutes tonight and as i sit here typing away, i feel more anxious than i have done in a long time

Hi @Rover92, sorry things are hitting a bit of a rough patch for you.  I'm not an expert, but I do have some thoughts so here goes:
First, exercise, especially strenuous exercise causes the body to feel many of the same physical sensations as anxiety (higher heart rate, sweating, etc.) so it's possible that you're brain is mixing things up a bit because of those similarities.  Continuing the exercise while taking a mindful/CBT approach and having an awareness of what you are feeling could help you move past this.  Essentially you keep doing the exercise (to a degree perhaps) until your brain begins to disassociate between the two states, and stops seeing exercise as an anxiety situation.

Another thing that might be at play is that shifting your bodies activity level is affecting various aspects of your body, including neurochemistry and that change in balance is making it easier for OCD to creep back in for you at the moment.  This might be especially true if you are taking medication to help manage your OCD.  Again, allowing yourself some time to adjust and settle in to this new state of being might help things get back to more "normal" feeling.

Third, perhaps your training regimen and goals are a bit on the aggressive side and thats causing you to feel pressure and anxiety related to meeting those goals.  Maybe a more gradual approach to exercise would be less stressful and anxiety inducing.  Not having to stick to as strict of a plan maybe will help relieve some of the pressure you are feeling.

Hopefully some of that helps!  Good luck and good for you on trying to be healthier overall!

[Rover92]

On 28/02/2020 at 01:51, dksea said:

Hi @Rover92, sorry things are hitting a bit of a rough patch for you.  I'm not an expert, but I do have some thoughts so here goes:
First, exercise, especially strenuous exercise causes the body to feel many of the same physical sensations as anxiety (higher heart rate, sweating, etc.) so it's possible that you're brain is mixing things up a bit because of those similarities.  Continuing the exercise while taking a mindful/CBT approach and having an awareness of what you are feeling could help you move past this.  Essentially you keep doing the exercise (to a degree perhaps) until your brain begins to disassociate between the two states, and stops seeing exercise as an anxiety situation.

Another thing that might be at play is that shifting your bodies activity level is affecting various aspects of your body, including neurochemistry and that change in balance is making it easier for OCD to creep back in for you at the moment.  This might be especially true if you are taking medication to help manage your OCD.  Again, allowing yourself some time to adjust and settle in to this new state of being might help things get back to more "normal" feeling.

Third, perhaps your training regimen and goals are a bit on the aggressive side and thats causing you to feel pressure and anxiety related to meeting those goals.  Maybe a more gradual approach to exercise would be less stressful and anxiety inducing.  Not having to stick to as strict of a plan maybe will help relieve some of the pressure you are feeling.

Hopefully some of that helps!  Good luck and good for you on trying to be healthier overall!

ah, that makes perfrct sense! so i think a sensible idea would be to start a slitghtly less strenuous excercise regime? i dont want to stop exercising but if jogging is making me anxiety worse then clearly, its not worth it. 

i suppose weightlifting would also increase my anxiety too? as it has the ssme effect on my body as running, i.e sweating, increased heart rate etc

thanks for your input!

[Handy]

You could try walking. 

[malina]

Hi Rover,

I have experienced this too and I agree with @dksea about the possible reasons why. I don't think you should change to a less strenuous form of exercise. The only way to beat OCD is to expose yourself to anxiety. If you stick to it long enough the anxiety should start to decline, but if you stop exercising now you'll always be afraid of doing it. 

[Guest OCDhavenobrain]

On 01/03/2020 at 03:28, malina said:

Hi Rover,

I have experienced this too and I agree with @dksea about the possible reasons why. I don't think you should change to a less strenuous form of exercise. The only way to beat OCD is to expose yourself to anxiety. If you stick to it long enough the anxiety should start to decline, but if you stop exercising now you'll always be afraid of doing it. 

Exactly

And sitting analyzing why, how and when won't make you better. Get a therapist and get over OCD. Don't make OCD a part of who you are. Exercise is great!

Edited March 2, 2020 by OCDhavenobrain

[Rover92]

10 hours ago, OCDhavenobrain said:

Exactly

And sitting analyzing why, how and when won't make you better. Get a therapist and get over OCD. Don't make OCD a part of who you are. Exercise is great!

is therapy the ONLY way of overcoming OCD? or does self help work depending on the severity? ive been doing really well since i started running so I'm kinda wondering if i need therapy at all.  wishful thinking probably

[Guest OCDhavenobrain]

4 hours ago, Rover92 said:

is therapy the ONLY way of overcoming OCD? or does self help work depending on the severity? ive been doing really well since i started running so I'm kinda wondering if i need therapy at all.  wishful thinking probably

You are fooling yourself. I wish for a quick recovery for you and that involves therapy.

Edited March 2, 2020 by OCDhavenobrain

[Handy]

6 hours ago, Rover92 said:

is therapy the ONLY way of overcoming OCD? or does self help work depending on the severity? ive been doing really well since i started running so I'm kinda wondering if i need therapy at all.  wishful thinking probably

I’m doing fine with out therapy. Most people use ineffective talk therapy but ocd therapy must be handson. They must come to your place & be involved.

[dksea]

10 hours ago, Rover92 said:

is therapy the ONLY way of overcoming OCD? or does self help work depending on the severity? ive been doing really well since i started running so I'm kinda wondering if i need therapy at all.  wishful thinking probably

Its up to each person.  If you put in the work its possible to manage on your own, but some therapy is probably beneficial.  Whether or not you should get therapy and how much depends a lot on how strongly OCD is affecting your life.  If you feel like things are mostly under control and you are leading a life you feel good about then maybe you don't need any help.  If you are struggling then it might be better to get help, at least at first to get you on track.  

Think of a therapist like a coach or personal trainer.  Some people can exercise and improve on their own.  Other people benefit from a personal trainer or coach.  It all depends on what your goals are, how much you want/need to change, and the time and money you can invest in the situation.

 

 

6 hours ago, OCDhavenobrain said:

You are fooling yourself. I wish for a quick recovery for you and that involves therapy.

Thats simply not true.  Therapy is a fantastic tool and can be very beneficial, but not everyone needs it, and people can and do recover from OCD without professional help.  I absolutely encourage anyone who is struggling, especially when they start, to access therapy if at all possible, but different life circumstances and personal traits mean you can't declare there is one and only one exact path for all sufferers.

[Rover92]

Interesting. thanks for the advice.  it doesnt really affect my life in any measureable way, i dont avoid going places or doing things and I'm able to function perfectly normally. i know the severity of OCD can vary so i suppose thats why im curious as to how necessary therapy is in my particular situation. i don't really see how, for myself, therapy will be worth it if all they're going to tell me is "well, lifes full of uncertainty and we just have to live with it" (sorry if that seems blasè!)   because i feel the only thing that seperates me from others is that not knowing things for certain bothers me more than it logically should. i just need to accept that we all have to deal with uncertainty as humans. thats life! 

I'm pretty happy with my life generally. it's not perfect but who cares? it could be better but it could always be better! 

 

oh, and another thing. went for a longer run last night and i felt absolutely fine afterwards. i think i just needed to give my bidy time to adjust to the changes i was putting it through. normal service has resumed still a teeny bit anxious but I'm far better than i have been in a good couple of weeks so, I'll chalk that down as a win! 

[malina]

I think that OCD, like everything in life, goes up and down. I had therapy when I was younger, stopped for about 7 years and then had a relapse and I'm back in therapy again. I was going to see my therapist weekly and now I'm only going monthly and hope to stop altogether sometime in the future. If I stop therapy and at some point feel as though I need it again, I know where to go. If you're managing well, good for you! If you find yourself not coping and feeling like it's getting on top of you, therapy can help. I don't think you have to go to therapy, but it's there as a tool. 

[gingerbreadgirl]

I agree with malina I don't think you have to go to therapy if you don't feel the need - but just be aware that you run the risk you will relapse in future. I have had long periods where ocd hasn't bothered me at all but it's always come back. 

Also I don't think you necessarily need a therapist to do therapy. There are some great self help books around which are as good if not better than going to a therapist. 

[Handy]

There are tv shows about ocd therapy   Obsessed TV. OCD Boot camp. Etc

[dksea]

One more point related to what Malina and GBG touch on above.  Working with a therapist or engaging in active self-guided therapy doesn't have to be something you do on a regular basis to be beneficial.  If you are going through a difficult time it can be helpful, for example, to maybe be more focused on it and go regularly but when things get back on track you might not need as much help anymore.  It doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach basically.  Use it when you need it, don't when you don't.  

[Rover92]

UPDATE: ive been doing ok ish lately. my anxiety is still, overall, higher than it was before i started running. I'm wondering how long it'll be until my stress levels return to a normal level? i was pretty bad today initally, but come midday i was feeling better. if this keeps up i may have to take up walking instead. its just not worth feeling anxious or stressed for. why inflict that upon myself? it doesnt improve my mood atall, which apparently is what its supposed to do.

my sex drive is still non existant. I'm half considering taking a testosterone test. i know anxiety does have an effect on libido but maybe it'd be worth testing my 'T' levels just so i know either way

[Handy]

It happened to me once. So I got a blood screening & my thyroid was overactive. This causes more anxiety.  It’s an easy test. Eventually figured it out & cured myself. But if it’s the thyroid you lose weight.  I was eating 4000 to 5000 cal day just to maintain weight.