Thinking About Anxiety Causes

[BFSDiner]

Been thinking more about this lately. Trying to get my head around it. Clearly anxiety center in our body is all jacked up. Whether a virus/fungus/bacteria is causing our anxiety center to go haywire, whether we've hacked away at our nervous system for years via ongoing tension and "fight or flight" reactions, or whether we've done the same via an acute, intense episode of stress in our lives (pregnancy, toxic medications, horrible emotional trauma)... doesn't matter. What we do know is that our muscles and nerves are operating on a different level than they were before and expressing tension and anxiety symptoms at a much more easily reached threshold than before.Mild exercise - whole body (every muscle group) - with minimal weight - and just one set of 10 reps ... This has been key for me. I've been thinking about why lately. My guess is this: In the absence of movement, tension is built up. Tension equals stress. Whether this is lactic acid buildup or something else, I have no idea. But when the muscle is allowed to rest for too long, it begins to (in our case) express symptoms of agitation, irritation, inflammation, and tension. I believe it is the simple, mild release of agitation, irritation, inflammation, and tension via very simple resistance training that re-establishes a "calm" for the muscle group. Over time, this calm becomes the "norm" rather than tension being the norm, and symptoms begin to subside. Many of us sit 10 hours a day not moving. Some report improvement of symptoms by standing and working instead. Its no surprise. The simple act of having to support yourself standing equates to a very mild release of tension for the muscles. Every hour spent sitting - you should picture it as an hour of additional tension and expect more symptoms. This is why I believe hitting every muscle group is so important. Your body isn't just your pecs. So doing bench presses isn't going to help. Doing 1 set of every muscle area should. Shoulders and Arms. Back. Abs. Chest. Thighs. Squats. I even balance on one foot for 30 seconds each workout. Then walking on the treadmill - again mild - 5-10 minutes. I breathe as deeply in as I can and exhale all the way for the entire time. Your organs are also experiencing increased tension and stress. This relieves them and creates a minor fatigue and "calm" that lasts a handful of days. Then repeat. Note: I really believe you can go too far. I would do maybe 1/4 or 1/5 of the weight you normally push. Instead of 3 sets do 1 set. I believe this is also key. Killing it at the gym is not going to help. It can prolong or make it worse.Any thoughts on why exercise helps? I really believe its the mild release of tension/anxiety/chemicals(?) that build up because of whatever disorder we've acquired.

 

[LisaQ.]

Not sure why it helps, although we ought never discount the power of Endorphins in relieving stress, pain, and of course, depression. Furthermore, regular exercise is bound to improve flexibility, strength, endurance, and overall well-being. That works for us, as well as the general population. Personally, I found no difference in symptoms between working-out hard with heavy weights vs. less intense training. In the beginning, that might have been true, but I found, historically that once I reached a certain consistency in my work-outs, there was absolutely no difference in symptoms from one level to the next. Of course, now I am asymptomatic except for the occasional eye-twitch, but if I go a long period without working out, (like when recently, I had a nasty injury,) I do find it super slow-going in getting back to my pre-injury fitness level. Everything hurt a lot more and a lot longer than it did when I was younger. Whether this was BFS or just the normal aging process, who knows? Since it was only temporary, I didn't fret about it. Everyone is different, of course, but the human body has a remarkable ability to adapt, heal and repair itself. Blessings, Sue

 

[Stanz]

I beleive exercise is a must have for us twitchers. Go running, swimming, biking, weights. Makes a huge difference. We can't just be coach potatoes while focusing on every single twitch we see and/or feel.

 

[Soupy27]

Not sure why (mild) exercise helps, but it does. After a year of inertia following the arrival of BFS, I have finally gone back to the gym, and the difference is pretty amazing. Just 45 mins of workout (15 of stretches and weights, 30 of treadmill running), I feel invigorated and totally anxiety-free for hours. I still twitch, but the random hitters - most of which were postural, I believe - have died down, and the constant calf twitching is no longer as palpable as before. Don't know why I left it so long to get back on track, but I'm glad I did. I know of other 'twitchers' who are reaping the same benefits, so there is definitely something in it.

 

[FuddelGalaxy]

I have been active all of my life. I used to run half marathons, play softball and volleyball. I now walk 4 miles or do wind sprints to keep things under control. I am in my 50's. The twitching gets worse when I sit around.