Could there be a reason why Exercise could suddenly be inducing anxiety?

[ZenAlex]

Even just going for a 1 hour walk which is sometimes relaxing, increases my anxiety/restlessness, I'm getting a tight chest. It doesn't feel mental, I have a good handle on my thoughts after therapy and meditation and there's no big external stressor in my life. It's all internal.

It's all happened in the last few weeks all of a sudden for seemingly no reason.

I'm tracking my calories and my nutrition, and nothing much has changed in my life. I drink no alcohol, caffeine or drugs etc. 

I booked an apt with my doctor because right now I'm having to avoid doing much exercise because of this. It feels just out of nowhere this is the case, and it's stopping me from doing what I love in Hiking. 

I am physically fit and healthy.

[sholomar]

If you suffered from years of anxiety your nervous system may simply be burnt out. You need to make sure that you're getting plenty of rest and not spending all your time staring at a screen during your downtime. You need to have a heavy emphasis on recovery if you were in a prolonged heightened state.Work on that ventral vagal nervous system using activities like playful socializing and mindfulness.

https://www.holistichelp.net/blog/autonomic-nervous-system-dysfunction/

I will feel jittery if I do a long 5 to 10 mile jog or hike especially on a sunny day where UV rays put extra stress in my nervous system. I still have some bad habits though that I'm working on. There's a number of people on this forum I suspect are either sympathetic dominant or dorsal vagal dominant.Having  gone through all this myself I see it in others.

https://themovementparadigm.com/how-to-map-your-own-nervous-sytem-the-polyvagal-theory/

https://www.reddit.com/r/nosurf/comments/ovjmwh/gray_matters_too_much_screen_time_damages_the/

Something to consider is that when you are purging past trauma your body will release the stored tension randomly and in various ways. Detached mindful observation is helpful in these cases. Animals who generally don't hold in trauma to the same degree humans do will shake off their tension after a stressful situation.

https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/therapeutic-tremoring-shake-off-stress-and-trauma

Edited October 10, 2023 by sholomar

[Schizophonia]

Increased cortisol/adrenaline.

Did you try inosine ?

You can make a smoothie with lot of calories + inosine + salt + ashwagandha, it would be help a lot to calm down HPA axis after exercising.

Otherwise, Mirtazapine works very well, especially at small doses (7.5 to 15mg max), but it is quite drastic.

[ZenAlex]

50 minutes ago, sholomar said:

If you suffered from years of anxiety your nervous system may simply be burnt out. You need to make sure that you're getting plenty of rest and not spending all your time staring at a screen during your downtime. You need to have a heavy emphasis on recovery if you were in a prolonged heightened state.Work on that ventral vagal nervous system using activities like playful socializing and mindfulness.

https://www.holistichelp.net/blog/autonomic-nervous-system-dysfunction/

I will feel jittery if I do a long 5 to 10 mile jog or hike especially on a sunny day where UV rays put extra stress in my nervous system. I still have some bad habits though that I'm working on. There's a number of people on this forum I suspect are either sympathetic dominant or dorsal vagal dominant.Having  gone through all this myself I see it in others.

https://themovementparadigm.com/how-to-map-your-own-nervous-sytem-the-polyvagal-theory/

https://www.reddit.com/r/nosurf/comments/ovjmwh/gray_matters_too_much_screen_time_damages_the/

Something to consider is that when you are purging past trauma your body will release the stored tension randomly and in various ways. Detached mindful observation is helpful in these cases. Animals who generally don't hold in trauma to the same degree humans do will shake off their tension after a stressful situation.

https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/therapeutic-tremoring-shake-off-stress-and-trauma

Over the last 5-6 years I've kind of gone through stages of 6-9 months on a technology detox and felt better, but recently had a bout a year of spending a lot of time in front of screens, and have just come away from such a lifestyle again in the last 5 weeks or so. 

But my symptoms now in some ways are worse than ever.

I've never had an issue with exercise causing me anxiety. I literally cannot go out for a walk for an hour without noticing it gradually leading to more irritability/anxiety/depression. 

I have the fitness to do it but its like the stimulation itself is causing me to feel worse and I notice my general levels of anxiety have in some ways gotten worse. This sucks. I feel so bad because at times I've made such good progress then gone back to screens thinking It wouldn't be so bad because of my other lifestyle habits are healthy.

I hope I'm able to recover from this. I've never had panic/anxiety attacks before but recently got them.

I'm holding on for now, hoping that if I continue on the right path I'll see improvements, but if not then I cannot live like this and I'm out.

[ZenAlex]

2 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

that's okay, i think you're doing a good job:) 

when you go for walks, i suppose it becomes overwhelming because you are being left to yourself and forced to focus on your own thoughts and emotions, without any distractions available? some exposure is, of course, necessary, but perhaps you could adjust your pace a little? i.e. make sure that you have things that help you feel safe as you begin to leave your comfort zone. for example, while going for walks you could call a friend or your family, or listen to music or a podcast. you could also ask a friend to come with you. this way, you'll get in some daily movement, you'll socialise, have somebody to come with you and you won't be so alone:)

i have anxiety, too, and know that walks can be overwhelming because it feels like i have to pretend i have somewhere to go when i really don't, which can cause me to feel (existentially) lost. walks don't always have to feel that way though:) there can be joy in moving your body through space for the sake of it, perceiving your environments, feeling and being in the moment. perhaps if you push through, you'll start to see the benefits, too.

It's nothing to do with lacking distractions. I know how to manage my thoughts.

I know the difference between my thoughts making me anxious vs me just feeling at unease for no reason.

Just like there's a difference between being depressed about something vs feeling depressed for no reason at all.

It's got nothing to do with comfort zones or patterns of thought, it's not that sort of thing.

You can feel anxious because you've drank too much caffeine, it's not always to do with that.

[ZenAlex]

4 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

but there must be some kind of reason though, right?

Agreed, I've been trying to figure that out for a while, and lifestyle habits can play a part, and improving my lifestyle habits helps, I have improved my symptoms in some ways, but that being said, things have never returned to the way they were before I got all these problems several years ago.

It's like sometimes a switch flips inside of me. Around age 23 it's like a switch flipped and that was it. I've been able to make changes to make myself feel better, but there's always an unease there on a daily basis.

Btw sorry if I am a bit snappy I'm just irritable. 

[ZenAlex]

2 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

do you think the walks make you anxious because of a psychological/psychosomatic or a physiological reason?

no worries

I don't think so. They never used ot make me anxious, it;s not going for a walk that makes me anxious right now.

It's not a case of something make me anxious, it's like I'm not scared of caffeine but the effect of it makes me feel anxiety.

What i'm saying is right now any form of exercise is increasing my anxiety.

[ZenAlex]

Just now, Judy2 said:

sometimes my anxiety temporarily increases when i go for a run. i assume that has something to do with the physical exhaustion being triggering to the mind? although it can go both ways and sometimes it helps...and i'm not sure a walk is physically "stressful" enough to cause anxiety in that sense.

do you keep consuming caffeine then or is this just an analogy?

Nah i haven't consumed caffeine in 4 years. Alcohol is a rare occurrence. No drugs/cigarettes.