What could be causing sudden exercise intolerance?

[Ulax]

31 minutes ago, ZenAlex said:

I suppose the reason I feel this way is because unfortunately some of the stuff I am trying cannot involve regular effort from me, I'm sitting and waiting to have tests done, and there's nothing I can do in the mean time but wait sometimes. I wish resolving the problem would involve constant effort and the more effort I put in, the sooner I resolve the problem.

I have no choice but to go out and walk to places, but walking is causing me depression, anxiety and triggering mild anxiety attacks and lightheadedness.

I'm also getting intermittent tinnitus.

Based on my test results, b12 deficiency is the only physical problem that makes sense, if it's not this, then I may just because worsening mental health impacting me physically, if that is the case that I'll see another psychologist, as all the self help stuff like meditation, walking etc is not working as effectively anymore.

If these things don't work, then I will likely kill myself because these issues have stolen the last 6 months of my life, when I was already suffering with MH problems anyway, but I had them undercontrol.

I have barely been able to enjoy anything during this time, and the doctors are starting to insinuate it's all in my head, which it may be.

I'm even starting to get stomach issues. I've not had a solid shit in 2 months now.

@ZenAlex Sorry you're going through all this mate. Sounds to me  like it must be very frustrating and painful to be experiencing this after having your mental health under control.

If it helps, I used to have severe CPTSD. I was bedridden by it for years. Life was constant flashbacks, dp/dr, anhedonia and pain. I was suicidal all day every day. The thing that I used to think was 'i have all of eternity to be dead, why not just stick around and see how this plays out because you never know what could happen.' Maybe that quote might resonate with yourself. That said, I respect the fact that I can't know what your situation is really like, so i understand your situation may be very different to mine. Either way, all the best with it mate.

[ZenAlex]

14 minutes ago, Ulax said:

@ZenAlex Sorry you're going through all this mate. Sounds to me  like it must be very frustrating and painful to be experiencing this after having your mental health under control.

If it helps, I used to have severe CPTSD. I was bedridden by it for years. Life was constant flashbacks, dp/dr, anhedonia and pain. I was suicidal all day every day. The thing that I used to think was 'i have all of eternity to be dead, why not just stick around and see how this plays out because you never know what could happen.' Maybe that quote might resonate with yourself. That said, I respect the fact that I can't know what your situation is really like, so i understand your situation may be very different to mine. Either way, all the best with it mate.

What worked for you?

[Ulax]

@ZenAlex (Btw, see hear feel meditation is a meditation technique by shinzen young. Basically its a mindfulness technique where you just focus on a chosen sensory experience, i.e. sight of a leaf, or thought, for a short period of time.)

What worked.

1) Antidepressant (Zoloft specifically) was the big thing for me that got me out of the severe realms, i.e. suicidality, and into the low to moderate realms.

2) Cracking meditation was the next big leap for me. Re the meditation, I experimented daily for hours per day to find some technique that worked.

What ended up working for me was the following.

Doing see-hear-feel meditation, with no labels. But I use the following interval timer.

I lie down, and close my eyes. I then only do one no labelled see-hear-feel (can be whatever sensory experience I like at the time) during the 5 second rest interval. During the 1 minute, I lie there with eyes closed and don't move, but I can do whatever I like otherwise. I do that for like an hour.

----

Also, just today I made another step forward.

I use the following timer:

I do the same thing during the 1 minute. And during the 10 second rest interval I do the same thing but this time I chant 'om', whilst focusing on whatever sensory experience I happen to choose.

Other than these two, pretty much all the other techniques I tried ended up in frustration, and more stress. Despite putting 100s and 100s of hours into practice.

---

Thirdly,  getting a CPTSD official diagnosis from a reputable psychiatrist was really important for me. It meant I could get access to a lot of disability support like welfare, in my country. I was trying to work and study before that which was just one harrowing experience after another. 

Fourthly, I also dropped out of Uni which helped a tonne. Prioritizing healing was a really important thing for me to do. 

Fifthly, cutting contact with my abusive parents, and former friends, moving away and becoming financially independent. I was early twenties when I did that. Welfare completely helped with the financial independence .

Sixth, therapy helped me a fair bit. Just having that support there with me was v helpful in retrospect. My best was probably my first, a male transpersonal therapist.

------------

Going forward, I'm pretty sure massage will be helpful for me to explore. I have a lot of body tension that needs working. Also, IFS therapy.

--------------------------

Ending

Hope this can help dude. Especially the meditation method I tried to explain. I came up with it myself and I haven't seen anything like it around. So I have hopes it could work where other methods haven't.

Edited February 13 by Ulax

[ZenAlex]

5 minutes ago, Ulax said:

@ZenAlex (Btw, see hear feel meditation is a meditation technique by shinzen young. Basically its a mindfulness technique where you just focus on a chosen sensory experience, i.e. sight of a leaf, or thought, for a short period of time.)

What worked.

1) Antidepressant (Zoloft specifically) was the big thing for me that got me out of the severe realms, i.e. suicidality, and into the low to moderate realms.

2) Cracking meditation was the next big leap for me. Re the meditation, I experimented daily for hours per day to find some technique that worked.

What ended up working for me was the following.

Doing see-hear-feel meditation, with no labels. But I use the following interval timer.

I lie down, and close my eyes. I then only do one no labelled see-hear-feel (can be whatever sensory experience I like at the time) during the 5 second rest interval. During the 1 minute, I lie there with eyes closed and don't move, but I can do whatever I like otherwise. I do that for like an hour.

----

Also, just today I made another step forward.

I use the following timer:

I do the same thing during the 1 minute. And during the 10 second rest interval I do the same thing but this time I chant 'om', whilst focusing on whatever sensory experience I happen to choose.

Other than these two, pretty much all the other techniques I tried ended up in frustration, and more stress. Despite putting 100s and 100s of hours into practice.

---

Thirdly,  getting a CPTSD official diagnosis from a reputable psychiatrist was really important for me. It meant I could get access to a lot of disability support like welfare, in my country. I was trying to work and study before that which was just one harrowing experience after another. 

Fourthly, I also dropped out of Uni which helped a tonne. Prioritizing healing was a really important thing for me to do. 

Fifthly, cutting contact with my abusive parents, and former friends, moving away and becoming financially independent. I was early twenties when I did that. Welfare completely helped with the financial independence .

Sixth, therapy helped me a fair bit. Just having that support there with me was v helpful in retrospect. My best was probably my first, a male transpersonal therapist.

------------

Going forward, I'm pretty sure massage will be helpful for me to explore. I have a lot of body tension that needs working on.

--------------------------

Ending

Hope this can help dude. Especially the meditation method I tried to explain. I came up with it myself and I haven't seen anything like it around. So I have hopes it could work where other methods haven't.

Meditation is difficult as I have ADHD unfortunately. 

This is why Eckhart Tolle's idea on just being helped me. I didn't need to focus, just sit and let everything be as it is. I've been doing it for 1 hour a day for years.

[ZenAlex]

I also admit I'm struggling with apathy and low motivation. 

I often feel like I don't even care.

Edited February 13 by ZenAlex

[Ulax]

9 minutes ago, ZenAlex said:

Meditation is difficult as I have ADHD unfortunately. 

This is why Eckhart Tolle's idea on just being helped me. I didn't need to focus, just sit and let everything be as it is. I've been doing it for 1 hour a day for years.

@ZenAlex I get you dude. I think it might still be worth giving my recommended meditation technique a go. I'm actually diagnosed with ADHD too. Though it might have been a misdiagnosis.

I designed the technique around the idea of not needing to focus for very long.

But yeah I understand if the ADHD means that my technique isn't applicable. I get how neurotypical solutions can just be dead ends for someone with ADHD.

---------

Also, I just thought. If you have ADHD, have you considered medication. Owing to my misdiagnosis I was on an ADHD drug regiment, and involved in numerous ADHD communities. And it was a big belief of many that medication was the way to go (though not uncontroversial). I.e. stimulant medication like elvanse. Many reported that, with medication, they had massive changes in their life. Self-efficacy went through the roof, and with that many of the emotional problems went as well.

Edited February 13 by Ulax

[Ulax]

@ZenAlex Plus here is a non-directive/ being based meditation technique you might not have come across before:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CMRmeditation/

[Yimpa]

Mind over matter is the ultimate root solution of any unfamiliar health phenomena. 

Notice how, for example, medical miracles occur. So how can novel medical conditions that arise seemingly out of nowhere also not occur?

Don’t fret, though. It goes full circle; the possibility of healing yourself in miraculous ways is totally possible!

Be open to exploring this with an open and curious heart 

[ZenAlex]

1 minute ago, Yimpa said:

Mind over matter is the ultimate root solution of any unfamiliar health phenomena. 

Notice how, for example, medical miracles occur. So how can novel medical conditions that arise seemingly out of nowhere also not occur?

Don’t fret, though. It goes full circle; the possibility of healing yourself in miraculous ways is totally possible!

Be open to exploring this with an open and curious heart 

I don't know. It's been so long, I sometimes struggle to even care anymore if it is possible. When that happens I just try going to sleep and seeing how that will make me feel in the morning.

 

[Yimpa]

2 minutes ago, ZenAlex said:

I don't know. It's been so long, I sometimes struggle to even care anymore if it is possible. When that happens I just try going to sleep and seeing how that will make me feel in the morning.

It’s imperative to stop caring about what is no longer serving you while also starting to embrace aspects of yourself that are in great service to your highest potential. Imagine being able to wake up every morning with this kind of power.

[ZenAlex]

4 minutes ago, Yimpa said:

It’s imperative to stop caring about what is no longer serving you while also starting to embrace aspects of yourself that are in great service to your highest potential. Imagine being able to wake up every morning with this kind of power.

Imagine regardless of what you do you struggle to really care about anything because you're that emotionally flat lined.

[ZenAlex]

@Ulax Do you think it would have been possible to resolve your issues without drugs or not?

 

Part of me finds it sad that natural solutions don't seem to work for some people and the only thing that does work is a drug that could do harm as well as good.

[Yimpa]

2 hours ago, ZenAlex said:

Part of me finds it sad that natural solutions don't seem to work for some people and the only thing that does work is a drug that could do harm as well as good.

Notice how in nature there are mushrooms that are tasty. Yet, them being either safe to eat or toxic is a totally different story. The deceptiveness of life and death!

A mushroom can also be psychedelic while another is not.

Edited February 13 by Yimpa

[Ulax]

3 hours ago, ZenAlex said:

@Ulax Do you think it would have been possible to resolve your issues without drugs or not?

 

Part of me finds it sad that natural solutions don't seem to work for some people and the only thing that does work is a drug that could do harm as well as good.

@ZenAlex Yep. Just would require more expertise and be less likely imo.

I've read numerous stories of people with severe cptsd recovering w/o meds. 

[Charlotte]

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/covid-19/long-term-effects-of-covid-19-long-covid/

 

I also developed intermittent tinnitus (many have) and as you mentioned, I too didn't have any solid feaces for months. Only now, after a year am I starting to see some digestive issues settle. I also developed severe depression and anxiety.

 

If you don't have long covid I will eat my own slippers. 

Edited February 13 by Charlotte

[Ulax]

@ZenAlex Have you tried any chanting meditations before? 

[ZenAlex]

On 13/02/2024 at 8:12 PM, Charlotte said:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/covid-19/long-term-effects-of-covid-19-long-covid/

 

I also developed intermittent tinnitus (many have) and as you mentioned, I too didn't have any solid feaces for months. Only now, after a year am I starting to see some digestive issues settle. I also developed severe depression and anxiety.

 

If you don't have long covid I will eat my own slippers. 

How am I supposed to find out? 

 

Also did you experience issues with exercising? I'm noticing massive builds up of random depression, anxiety, lightheadedness when just walking. My doctors think its just in my head, but I don't think it is.

[Yimpa]

On 2/14/2024 at 0:15 AM, Ulax said:

@ZenAlex Have you tried any chanting meditations before? 

If you count laughing yoga as a form of chanting meditation, then yes 

[Yimpa]

15 minutes ago, ZenAlex said:

Also did you experience issues with exercising? I'm noticing massive builds up of random depression, anxiety, lightheadedness when just walking. My doctors think its just in my head, but I don't think it is.

I’ve had a lifetime of depression and anxiety, so I feel you on that. Ever since I discovered my partner and we’ve built up our relationship (like a solid workout routine), we’ve been starting going on daily walks together, and it’s helped us feel more joy during our walks.

A partner doesn’t necessarily have to be with another human. Your partner can be a dog.

Edited February 15 by Yimpa

[ZenAlex]

10 minutes ago, Yimpa said:

I’ve had a lifetime of depression and anxiety, so I feel you on that. Ever since I discovered my partner and we’ve built up our relationship (like a solid workout routine), we’ve been starting going on daily walks together, and it’s helped us feel more joy during our walks.

A partner doesn’t necessarily have to be with another human. Your partner can be a dog.

I understand but it's not what you're thinking. It's not a case that I'm alone with my thoughts and I feel depressed WHILE exercising.

I can be alone with my thoughts just fine, but exercise/physical activity itself is causing me to feel like shit after.