Gym anxiety

[Tasguy]

Hi everyone two months ago I had a panic attack at the gym. I've had ECGs done 24hr heart monitor and the doctor upped my meds but today at the gym I still get anxiety. Worried my heart will race out of control and have a heart attack. I've had panic disorder for 5 years anyone know how i can stay calm while I excerise

[Cristante]

Hey Tasguy!

First of all sorry to hear about your panic disorder! Sucks!

You may have already tried this, but heres my method.. CLASSICAL PIANO MUSIC, HEADPHONES IN.

Sounds simple enough i know but it really works for me, i get anxious almost every morning over nothing half the time, but classical music via headphones and really just focusing on myself and ignoring my surroundings as much as possible does wonders sometimes.

Dont stress about a hear attack mate, just take it slow, and ease yourself back into the gym. Theres 365 days in a year and many more years ahead. The worst thing you can do is rush into things, you have all the time in the world 🙂

Hope this helps!

Cristante 🙂

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Tasguy,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for your post.

Can I just ask, are you worried that you're going to have a heart attack at the gym or another panic attack? I think the answer to this probably varies a little depending on whether there's a chance you're going to have a heart attack or its anxiety playing tricks on you.

One of the techniques that can happen in therapy is called exposure therapy, and I feel like this might be helpful for you too. The idea is that it exposes us to the source of our anxiety (in a slow way). An example might be that if someone is afraid of spiders, one of the steps in exposure therapy could be looking at pictures of spiders. Just easing into what causes that fear.

For the gym specifically, maybe that looks like slowly getting your heart racing (which causes that fear) but only for short periods of time. It might be something simple as doing star jumps for 30sec/1min - so you can see and feel how your heart rate goes up, but know that it will come down and not necessarily lead to a panic or heart attack.

The more that you are able to get that reassurance, the easier it will become to stay calm.

Hope this helps,

[Tasguy]

Thanks cristante I haven't tried it before normally genre music but I will definitely give it a go.

[Tasguy]

Romantic I guess it's both but more a heart attack or cardiac arrest. I have no reason to believe I'm going to have one anytime soon but I fear my heart rate will race out of control and cause one. My anxiety levels rise as soon as I enter the gym. My heart rate going up is not too much of a problem it's when I cool down if I c my heart going down but goes up a little bit I start to get anxious which makes it go up even more. It's very depressing

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Tasguy,

Thanks for your post.

Even though you don't see your heart rate going up being a problem, I think it's probably still a good thing to try anyway. Having that experience of seeing your heart rate go up naturally and come down naturally is going to help. You may find even that your heart rate does come down and goes back up again, but then does came back down again. The other thing you'll be able to see by doing this is that your heart rate can go up high/very high, but still not cause a heart attack, which I know you said is one of your fears.

It's important to know that lots of things can cause heart rate fluctuations, not just exercise and heart attacks. Anxiety/panic attacks, even temperature and dehydration can cause changes. Even though it is difficult, keep trying to remind yourself of the logic and evidence (including your ECG's and heart monitor).

Hope this helps,