The shocking cause of my panic attack

I had my first panic attack when I was 19 years old.

I've always been an anxious person, my worries had just never manifested into a panic attack before. My nervous system hadn't ever been rattled in that way.

So, there I am, 19, almost 20 years old, freaking out thinking I'm having a heart attack or something. Conveniently, I'm sitting in my car in a parking garage when it happens so I do what anyone would do... I drive to urgent care.

And the doctor told me that I was not actually dying, but I had experienced my first panic attack.

The other day I was thinking back to what my life looked like around the time this happened. What could have caused this panic attack to appear?

I thought of a few things that could have been the cause...

1. I had recently moved to Los Angeles. However, I don't know if I'd consider 8 months recent. At this point I'd honestly STOPPED being stressed about being alone in a big city. I was FAR more anxious during the first seven months of living in LA. I felt pretty settled during point of my panic. So I ruled that out as being the reason.
2. I was actively auditioning for dance gigs, and if you've ever attempted to work in the entertainment industry, you know auditions are pretty stressful. But again, I'd been auditioning for 8 months. You'd think I would have had a panic attack at the first or second audition if that was the cause of my anxiety. So maybe it wasn't that....
3. I was working out A LOT more. As previously mentioned, I was pretty stressed my first 7 months in Los Angeles... and as a result I gained about 40lbs. And 8 months in, I was ready to GET RID of it. So I exercised a lot... I'm talking: a few hours of dance + the gym + HIIT or cardio everyday.

Knowing what I know NOW about how movement affects anxiety, I'd say #3 is definitely the reason for my panic attack.

Why were my workouts to blame?

As I said, I've always had anxiety. So in general, my nervous system is elevated more than it is for a person who doesn't have anxiety.

And exercise GREATLY affects the nervous system.

(This doesn't mean all exercise is bad, but the way I was exercising was bad for my anxious brain)

Every workout spikes your nervous system a little bit. And that's actually a good thing for someone with anxiety! The right amount of acute stress is beneficial because it makes the body and mind more capable of dealing with big stress when it unfortunately sneaks into our lives unprompted.

But when you workout FOR LONG HOURS and at a HIGH INTENSITY you spike your nervous system a lot.

This is dangerous for someone who already has a heightened nervous system.

And the result of training that way is you will feel more anxious, more frequently because your nervous system is overwhelmed.

That's what happened to me.

I was born stressed and now at 19, forcing my body to workout at a high level for 3+ hours everyday... my body couldn't handle it. And the result was one big panic attack.

Unfortunately, young Molly didn't know that. So, she kept working out that way for years. Then she started having 1-3 panic attacks EVERY DAY.

I'm proud to say I don't workout that way anymore.

I no longer get 1-3 panic attacks everyday.

I am back to my normal anxious self (the tolerable anxiety).

? The takeaway is this: If you have diagnosable anxiety... you need to be careful about how you exercise.

Be strategic about the workouts you choose and the routine you build.

If you want to learn more about HOW to build your routine, check out my FREE masterclass on the topic: https://mollymcnamee.com/stress-freebie/

?? Let's chat in the comments... Have you ever had a panic attack? Or has your workout routine ever made you more stressed (for any reason)?

#StressRelief #PanicAttack #FitnessCoach