Anxiety and Excercise (VCD)

[bluepianist]

Hi guys! Wondering if anyone knows about or has experienced VCD (vocal chord disfunction). I'm a freshman in college, and this is probably the fourth/fifth year experiencing it. It started as a freshman in high school on the xc team. My anxiety was already bad and race anxiety really added a sprinkle of fun to my life. I enjoy competition and teams, but anxiety severely affected my running capabilities. A doctor prescribed an inhaler, but some of my running mates told me it could be vocal chord disfunction-so I went to a speech therapist and she pretty much confirmed it. But, there is a whole lot of uncertainty in the diagnosis of it.

So, as I begin to run my throat begins to burn a little and my neck feels strained. I can get in oxygen but it feels like it comes in at a diminished rate. I really really want to keep running but because of this problem it feels more like a punishment than exercise. My cross country experience was pretty great when I was part-time varsity, but as soon as I realized the flaws in the team and coaching, my anxiety spiked, and running has been sorta scary ever since. P.S. I quit junior year.

I'm now realizing that there's not much of a point to this post, so I'll try to formulate some questions...

How do you decrease anxiety while exercising? What can you do to relieve yourself from past negative team experiences? And does anyone know what to do about vcd? I just want to put a lil stretcher in my vocal chords so that the darned things stay open!!!! (ps, I know that's medically false)

[Hidden]

Wow! Your situation is totally new to me. So sorry you are having those issues. You have taught me something new. I encourage you to keep investigating and looking for resources for the VCD. As to the other...maybe reading about bullying might help. I struggle with past issues of being bullied at school and being made fun of for being different. You are not alone in this. There is strength in maybe starting something that might help you and others around you that might be suffering too from similar situations. Sometimes book clubs can be empowering. I was reading about black book clubs this weekend and found it very interesting. While this particular one is geared toward girls, it might give you some ideas. I am looking at art, and poetry right now myself for healing of past traumas. Good luck, hang in there and keep posting!

nonamebooks.com/

[bluepianist in reply to Hidden]

This was extremely helpful, thank you so much.

[Funkyfaerie]

Hi,

I had this back in the 90's.

At first it was worrying, but once I was told what it was and nothing nasty that helped me relax a little.

My doctor sent ne to the ear, nose and throat department at the local hospital.

They gave me exercises to do, which I followed and did every day, and no raising my voice or singing, it took a good 6 months or more, but I've never looked back.

Best Wishes

[bluepianist in reply to Funkyfaerie]

Thank you!

[Hidden]

Hi Blue, I hope your week is going better! Later I had one more thought regarding your post. I used to listen to the Diane Rehm show when she was on NPR, and she struggled with voice issues which later were diagnosed as "Spasmodic Dysphonia." She learned to live with it and worked as a radio talk show host with it! I read her biography. She is a fascinating person who learned to live with not only her voice issues, but also depression and growing up in an immigrant family (Arab). She has had other health issues as well. I found her inspiring. Anyhow, her voice issues were perhaps somewhat stress related as I recall. Food for thought...

[bluepianist in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the follow up Elishe! I think I'll look into her story, sounds like I could definitely take some tips from her!