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Impact on Aerobic Performance/Ability to Exercise

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james71711
james71711

Obviously we are told that exercise is key to tackling anxiety but does anyone find that their anxiety literally makes them less able to exercise?

To elaborate, I get shortness of breath from anxiety and find that I can't run as far or as fast as I used to, because I am breathing so hard. At my lowest point with anxiety, I tried going for a run and literally couldn't jog 100 metres due to breathing so hard and my heart pounding so much (I am used to running half marathons so this isn't normal).

Like most people on this forum, I have had all the tests going for heart and lungs and am basically otherwise healthy.

This frustrates me so much because I enjoy exercise and would use it as a tool to tackle my anxiety but I occasionally find that I basically can't exercise due to the anxiety - a vicious circle.

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  • RetiringOffHere
    RetiringOffHere james71711

    Edited

    You're not alone on this. I've tried doing little exercises like jumping jacks and I get winded easily now cuz the anxiety issue. Once my heart starts beating fast it's like my brain thinks it's a panic attack coming along and it takes a lot more time to get my breathing back to normal than when I wasnt experiencing this anxiety problem

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