anxiety and panic attacks

[Agelesslass]

was doing well with my return to C25k, then had awful anxiety attacks which drained me of energy. The purpose of my running was to help with anxiety but my body had other ideas. Is anyone else affected by anxiety like this?

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Oh dear...

So, so many of us feeling or having felt exactly what you are feeling... myself included, hence my having to start C25K again in 2020/21 to get back to where I was.

We often advise our new runners that C25K is good for body and mind...but sometimes.. the mind becomes the enemy...the trick is, turn it back into a friend.

I wrote a post...I'll find the link... you may find it helpful.

healthunlocked.com/bridgeto...

Part 2 is on the way!

Pop into Catch Up Corner too...a great place to take the weight off your shoes, and your mind.

Just know...you are most definitely, not alone. X

[Agelesslass in reply to Oldfloss]

Thanks Oldfloss, I appreciate your post, I can’t believe I’ve succumbed to anxiety, it goes to show it can happen at any time to any of us. I know running would help my anxiety relief, it’s so frustrating, I will look at the other post, thanks again.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Agelesslass]

It can and does...and its hard to get through...but you can and you will...just slow and steady, being kind to yourself.. we are here x

[Agelesslass in reply to Oldfloss]

thank you so much. 😊

[Cmoi Graduate]

Hi Agelesslass , I've experienced anxiety, though in a different way from you.

Are you able to say whether your anxiety attacks are related to C25K and/or running itself, or is it that the anxiety has left you too physically (and possibly mentally) drained to feel up to running?

If it's the former, maybe just try to get out for walks instead. There's no point in putting yourself under extra pressure right now. Walking will help your fitness, and you can return to C25K when you feel like it, but maybe with different routes and or times of day for running, so that the context isn't exactly the same.

If it's the latter, and you feel up to going out, maybe just try going back to an earlier week of C25K. It doesn't matter if you're doing less than before, you'll still be doing something, which is a huge achievement in itself.

Also, if you're taking medication for your anxiety, and particularly if it's been changed recently, do check what potential side-effects are listed. I have absolutely no medical qualifications, but it would be a pity for you to be thinking that it's your body letting you down when in fact it might be medication-related.

I hope you feel better soon.

[Agelesslass in reply to Cmoi]

Thanks Cmoi, the anxiety is the latter of what you posted, I’m not taking medication even though the GP wants me to. I know running would ease this anxiety and it’s so frustrating to be like this, all this anxiety is due to having a lot of health issues in the last two years.

[Irish-John Graduate]

I live with severe PTSD. Jane Fonda and Hollywood have a lot to answer for in portraying PTSD as being the "crazed and unpredictable" affliction. I, and so many others, live with a constant hypervigilance and a resulting striving against a perrenial and potentially overwhelming feeling of dread.There are days I don't want to leave the house - let alone go for a run.

But I do. The "triggers" outside are not "really" real and I have to focus on that, as mentally exhausting as that process is. Getting the "Fight or flight, freeze or fall" physical and mental reactions under control is very, very, very wearying.

But - and I am being brutally honest here - the thoughts of the day that probability seems to ensure that I will be informed of something terminal and fast acting, or suffering a tremendous physical setback - major Stroke, major Cardiac breakdown, Dementia onset in some form eg etc - I sure as hell don't want to add the depression and mental stomach punch of "I should have -"

So, I go out the door and spend the vast majority of my runs "in my head" for the first portion, and then the running takes over and I don't even remember when my thoughts turn from "What if this, that or the other happens (all negative disaster averting thoughts and possible responses)" to "I'm relaxed and enjoying this"

Life for EVERYONE is completely uncomfortable AL. Some of us are more aware of that fact than others - either through experience or instinctively - and it is knowledge that can really confine us if we let it. The trick for me is to imagine a "safe" life and then being forced to watch a documentary about it. That scares me more than the ten thousand and one potential disasters I can dream up in any given environment. Such a documentary would portray a sad, lonely, grinding, bitter and very pointless existence - not a "life" in any real sense.

So, I chose to re-enter the 'battlefield" and cope as best I can, which is all any of us can do anyway in any situation, and live in "scary but adventurous" times while keeping as level headed as I can.

It's tough, it can be lonely and it sure doesn't make for a stable lifestyle or career - but you wouldn't believe how many people say "I wish I could do/had done/ as many things and/or gone as many places as you".

And when you then realise you definitely wouldn't swopnplaces with them - you start accepting that, yes - you are "different" from the Norm, but that doesn't mean you are broken. You just operate with a different "operating system" that is more complex for you because you basically have to learn "on the job" rather than having others to emulate, imitate and take notes from.

It probably feels the same way some days as the early explorers cotting through the bush into Cannibal territory. Crazy or Living Life? - you get to decide

And when it comes to running AL. We all know that the toughest distance is not an ultra-marathon but the wee stretch that gets us out the door.

Maybe the ONLY thing about how our running goes that we actuaydo have control over. (And even then, I inevitably fooster around for a few minutes making SURE that my door key is securely contained and won't fall out while I run lol)

Take it easy my good VRB - but do take it, life is for living and it's not guareeed to be always negative either 🙂

[Agelesslass in reply to Irish-John]

thank you for your post Irish-John, I will take what you’ve said on board, I appreciate your reply. Take care and be kind to yourself ☺️

[Dendev75 Graduate]

I’m sorry to read this Agelesslass, I’ve been keeping up with your posts and it’s sad to see this has happened again to you. It’s so difficult when an attack occurs and just leaves the body (and mind) completely drained, how can that happen when you’ve been fit enough to run? I don’t know the answer but it can happen to anyone at any time and when it happened to me it took a while to come to terms with (and medication) I felt weak (in my mind) having to take it but I know I needed it. Getting back out walking helped me immensely and led to getting back on ct5k, I’ve since come off my meds and feel strong at the moment but I’m always nervous it could happen again, if it does my plan of action is to carry on walking until I can run again, I feel better having a back up plan when our bodies and minds don’t behave. Good luck to you and take care of yourself while you get back to your journey once more - and you will ❤️.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Dendev75]

Well done you x

[Dendev75 Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Thank you 🥰 x

[Agelesslass in reply to Dendev75]

thank you so much for those encouraging words Dendev, I have medication that my GP prescribed but am too scared to try it because it has been reported to have not so nice side effects. I am going to try and do a shortish run today to see how I get on. 😊😊

[Dendev75 Graduate in reply to Agelesslass]

I know where you’re coming from with the meds, it’s a scary feeling relying on something that we don’t know how our body or mind will react to it, luckily they worked for me and I felt like I had a safety net there but I do feel relieved that I no longer need them. Good luck today and don’t put too much pressure on yourself, take care 🥰.

[Agelesslass in reply to Dendev75]

thank you, tried Sertraline and they made me worse, now GP says try Metrazapine , I might have to which I’m dreading.,

[YorkieRunner]

Good morning Agelesslass, unfortunately, I have suffered the same. I was on medication for one thing and the side effects of the medication was promoting anxiety. I stopped the medication but the side effects can still raise their head. I’ve just read a book by Ant Middleton - The Fear Bubble as I am always open to any help or ideas I can find. It’s well worth a read. On days when I just cannot face a run outside, which thankfully are not many, I just walk or go to the gym and use the treadmill. I try not to be too hard on myself and usually the overwhelming fear/anxiety is a transient emotion, for me, and tomorrow’s feeling can be totally different. It really is a one day at a time, work in progress but with each day, hopefully the mindset gets stronger. Take care and good luck.

[Agelesslass in reply to YorkieRunner]

Thank you for your reply, I think it was medication that started my anxiety soaring too. I will take your advice about reading the book. Thank you so much. Onwards and upwards 🤞🤞