Starting Back From Anxiety Attacks

Training
422

[quote]Djwlfpack wrote:
Hey everyone,
Just got back from the gym and had a good workout. Did a Hammer Down: Endurance workout, with some slight modifications. I included some biceps/triceps supersets, just for kicks and giggles, and also did some forearm work at the end. Workout lasted 30 minutes.

Was able to get my glasses repaired for $10 today! I was so happy b/c my insurance only covers contacts or frames and I already used the insurance to get contacts, so I was going to be out like $200 if I couldn’t get my current frames repaired. Luckily I was able to and now I can just wait till January and get new frames and transition my current pair to my backup.

Making an effort to clean up my diet after eating like crap the last two weeks. Made a good sweep of the perimeter of the grocery store yesterday, so I’m stocked up on veggies, fruits, meat and seafood.

Today was a success since I slept like crap last night and could’ve easily just had some cereal, toast for breakfast and a sandwich and chips for lunch. Instead I had egg whites, turkey bacon and grapes for breakfast; a snack of mixed nuts and for lunch, a turkey wrap with spinach and tomatoes, along with a banana and some baby carrotts. For dinner I’m having a “big salad” with some chicken strips thrown in for extra protein.

So, despite the lack of sleep, I’m feeling good today and I think that has a lot to do with diet, but also the my mindset of not allowing last night to affect today. I also went without medication today, which is big because it would’ve been very easy to take a pill and write it off as I was just covering myself in case I don’t feel well type of thing.

I know I’m patting myself on the back here a bit, but that’s OK to do every now and then. You have to remind yourself of the good things you do in your life, I think, and not just dwell on the bad stuff.

Well, I’m gonna take it easy the rest of the night. Probably play some Animal Crossing WW on the DS. That game is super-addictive and a lot of fun.

Take care,
Dan[/quote]

You rock for having the discipline and wisdom to recognize the need for good food when you’re tired, even when you’re that much more tempted to reach for easy, cheap crap.

You totally deserve a pat on the back! You should pat your back more often - look back at the beginning of this log and think about how damn far you’ve come. If my arms were longer I’d pat you on the back too!

And yay for saving money on the glasses - right on! Good day all around. Hopefully you’ll catch up on your sleep tonight.

423

Hey guys, I haven’t posted in this thread in a while. I cut my dosage of Zoloft in half toward the beginning of the year, by accident actually, and found that I could work pretty well with it. Lately I’ve been trying to push myself more, but I’ve noticed that my heart goes nuts when I even think about raising my hand in class. This goes for pretty much any performance related situation. I can usually push through, but it’s not getting any better.

Anyway, I’m curious as to whether you guys have any experience with beta blockers. Do they have any side effects with respect to the iron game? Thanks.

424

Ha Ha “big salad”! Another Seinfeld fan? Gotta love Elaine.

Glad you are doing well! Good job on the food choices. Not easy to do when you are tired!

425

[quote]Jinx Me wrote:
Djwlfpack wrote:
Hey everyone,
Just got back from the gym and had a good workout. Did a Hammer Down: Endurance workout, with some slight modifications. I included some biceps/triceps supersets, just for kicks and giggles, and also did some forearm work at the end. Workout lasted 30 minutes.

Was able to get my glasses repaired for $10 today! I was so happy b/c my insurance only covers contacts or frames and I already used the insurance to get contacts, so I was going to be out like $200 if I couldn’t get my current frames repaired. Luckily I was able to and now I can just wait till January and get new frames and transition my current pair to my backup.

Making an effort to clean up my diet after eating like crap the last two weeks. Made a good sweep of the perimeter of the grocery store yesterday, so I’m stocked up on veggies, fruits, meat and seafood.

Today was a success since I slept like crap last night and could’ve easily just had some cereal, toast for breakfast and a sandwich and chips for lunch. Instead I had egg whites, turkey bacon and grapes for breakfast; a snack of mixed nuts and for lunch, a turkey wrap with spinach and tomatoes, along with a banana and some baby carrotts. For dinner I’m having a “big salad” with some chicken strips thrown in for extra protein.

So, despite the lack of sleep, I’m feeling good today and I think that has a lot to do with diet, but also the my mindset of not allowing last night to affect today. I also went without medication today, which is big because it would’ve been very easy to take a pill and write it off as I was just covering myself in case I don’t feel well type of thing.

I know I’m patting myself on the back here a bit, but that’s OK to do every now and then. You have to remind yourself of the good things you do in your life, I think, and not just dwell on the bad stuff.

Well, I’m gonna take it easy the rest of the night. Probably play some Animal Crossing WW on the DS. That game is super-addictive and a lot of fun.

Take care,
Dan

You rock for having the discipline and wisdom to recognize the need for good food when you’re tired, even when you’re that much more tempted to reach for easy, cheap crap.

You totally deserve a pat on the back! You should pat your back more often - look back at the beginning of this log and think about how damn far you’ve come. If my arms were longer I’d pat you on the back too!

And yay for saving money on the glasses - right on! Good day all around. Hopefully you’ll catch up on your sleep tonight.

[/quote]

Thanks as always for the kind words, Jinx. I did catch up on my sleep last night, so I’m feeling refreshed today.

426

[quote]wfifer wrote:
Hey guys, I haven’t posted in this thread in a while. I cut my dosage of Zoloft in half toward the beginning of the year, by accident actually, and found that I could work pretty well with it. Lately I’ve been trying to push myself more, but I’ve noticed that my heart goes nuts when I even think about raising my hand in class. This goes for pretty much any performance related situation. I can usually push through, but it’s not getting any better.

Anyway, I’m curious as to whether you guys have any experience with beta blockers. Do they have any side effects with respect to the iron game? Thanks. [/quote]

Congrats on cutting down on your meds. Sorry you have problems in class and other performance related situations. The best advice I can give is to try and not put any pressure on yourself and just react normally to the situation.

I don’t have any personal experience with beta blockers, but from people I’ve talked to, they have worked well. Talk to your doctor about them.

427

[quote]AG1 wrote:
Ha Ha “big salad”! Another Seinfeld fan? Gotta love Elaine.

Glad you are doing well! Good job on the food choices. Not easy to do when you are tired![/quote]

Seinfeld is my favorite show…although “Curb Your Enthusiasm” by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David is right up there. Elaine rocks!

Yes, eating well when you are tired is a pain, but I’d rather put the few extra minutes in and eat well and feel better than eat quick and crappy and feel run down all day.

No way I could’ve exercised yesterday if I didn’t eat well.

428

[quote]Djwlfpack wrote:
AG1 wrote:
Ha Ha “big salad”! Another Seinfeld fan? Gotta love Elaine.

Glad you are doing well! Good job on the food choices. Not easy to do when you are tired!

Seinfeld is my favorite show…although “Curb Your Enthusiasm” by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David is right up there. Elaine rocks!

Yes, eating well when you are tired is a pain, but I’d rather put the few extra minutes in and eat well and feel better than eat quick and crappy and feel run down all day.

No way I could’ve exercised yesterday if I didn’t eat well.[/quote]

I made the mistake of doing the Elaine dance once. My brother makes me do it everytime we watch that show! Love Curb Your Enthusiasm.

429

[quote]AG1 wrote:
Djwlfpack wrote:
AG1 wrote:
Ha Ha “big salad”! Another Seinfeld fan? Gotta love Elaine.

Glad you are doing well! Good job on the food choices. Not easy to do when you are tired!

Seinfeld is my favorite show…although “Curb Your Enthusiasm” by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David is right up there. Elaine rocks!

Yes, eating well when you are tired is a pain, but I’d rather put the few extra minutes in and eat well and feel better than eat quick and crappy and feel run down all day.

No way I could’ve exercised yesterday if I didn’t eat well.

I made the mistake of doing the Elaine dance once. My brother makes me do it everytime we watch that show! Love Curb Your Enthusiasm.[/quote]

The Elaine dance is one of my wife’s favorite episodes.

We’re making our way through Season 4 of Curb right now. We didn’t have HBO until last year, so I had to go out and buy Seasons 1-4. Definitely well worth the money, though.

I’m glad that David decided to return for another season, which is due to air sometime in the spring of '07.

430

Hey everyone,
Just got back from a nice run. Figured I better take advantage of the nice weather while I can, since we’ve only got about another month left before the temperature begins to drop off. Then I’ll be forced to run on the indoor track or even worse, the treadmill (yuck!).

Trying to decide if I’m going to go to my BJJ class tonight. I want to go, but looking ahead to the schedule, I know I won’t be able to go for the next few weeks after this, so I don’t even know if it’s worth it go once and then miss another 3-4 weeks.

I need to figure things out…and talk with the owners and see if my deal still holds up.

Take care,
Dan

431

Hey everyone,
Just got back from the gym and had a great workout. Today was the final day of my current program before I switch back to the Hammer Down: Strength program on Monday.

Here’s the stats:
DB Snatch, 3x5: 75
BB Bench Press, 3x5: 205
Clap Push-ups, 3x10: BW
Clean & Press: 3x4: 145
DB Lunges, 3x6: 45
Lat Pulldowns, 4x10: 140, 150 (3)
DB Front Raises, 2x12: 25

Tomorrow I’ll try and get in an endurance workout, but it might have to wait till Sunday as I have 2 games to cover for work.

Had quite the morning. My computer crashed and I had to re-boot EVERYTHING! Thankfully I didn’t lose any files and everything is OK…only bad thing is that I lost all the songs on my iTunes, so I’ll have to re-download them over the next few days.

Take care,
Dan

432

Hey everyone,
Well, I managed to get to the gym this morning…I skipped the first game I was originally going to cover b/c I don’t have the space for it. Still have to go to the football game @ 2:30 but at least my day’s a little easier to manage.

Anyway, the Endurance workout went well. Did the same thing as Wed. where I threw in some direct arm work.

Tomorrow I might go to the gym and do HD: Strength, if not, I’ll go on Monday.

Take care,
Dan

433

Hey everyone,
Just got back from the gym and had a great workout. As stated previously, today was my return to the Hammer Down: Strength program after doing something different for the past 4 weeks.

Here’s the stats from the workout:

Jump Shrugs, 8x3: 135 (yes, that’s a lot lower than before. Looking back, I wasn’t doing the move with enough explosion, so I dropped the weight and made sure I focused on speed)

Max. Holds 120% Squat 1x6 sec.: 305
Max. Reps 90% 1/2 Squat, 1 set: 245x4

Max. Holds 120% BB Decline: 255
Max. Reps 90% BB Decline: 225x4

Weighted Pull-ups, 3x3: BW + 32.5 lbs.
Seated Calf Raises, 3x12: 100

Seated Cable Rows, 3x5: 170

Hand Crawls, 3x4: BW
Power Cleans, 3x4: 145

Reverse Wrist Curls, 3x5: 50

Workout lasted 50 minutes. Felt good and strong all the way through, which was good. Weight hasn’t changed much since I last did this workout, and the surprising thing was my squat hold went up after not training it for a month.

Tomorrow I’ll be going to my BJJ class! I can’t wait. I managed to clear my schedule so I don’t have to work on Tuesday evenings, so I should be able to attend at least once a week from now on.

Went through a mix of emotions this weekend. Saturday was a tough day in the home as my wife’s alma mater, Oklahoma, lost to Oregon (they were screwed by the refs, though) and my alma mater, Florida State, lost to Clemson in the final seconds (another bad instant replay call hurt FSU).

Sunday appeared to be heading down the same course, as my NY Giants were getting thumped by the Eagles, but Eli and the boys rallied and won in OT…it was great!

Unfortunately, I did get a bit of bad news. My grandmother, who’s been battling Alzheimers the past few years, has started to get really bad and it’s now to the point where my mom and her sister are having to look into putting her into a home. My grandfather is against the idea, but he can’t take care of her 24/7. The other day she got really angry at him and said that “they” said she couldn’t stay with him anymore.

It’s sad and hard to deal with. I’m sure if I was closer to home it be even harder to deal with.

I hope she’s able to get the care she needs and gets it before something bad happens while she’s still living at home.

OK, just had to get that out there since it’s been on my mind all morning.

Take care,
Dan

434

Hey everyone,
Just got back from doing a Hammer Down: Endurance workout at the gym. Workout went good, considering the fact that I haven’t slept well the past 2 nights. My wife’s pretty sick, so she’s been tossing and turning, which is keeping me up since I’m a light sleeper. Been making sure to eat good and trying to relax during the afternoon to let my body rest a little, and it seems to help.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend my BJJ class last night. Once again, I got screwed with my work schedule and had to go out and cover a game b/c one of my freelancers bailed at the last minute. I was very annoyed at this development, to say the least.

Tomorrow I’m going to go for a run and do some work on my heavy bag in the a.m., since I have a long afternoon/evening of work.

Take care,
Dan

435

I can’t say I know what the solution is in this post modern rat race, but I really hate the whole idea of nursing homes for a variety of reasons. I worked in a very upscale one many moons ago in Phoenix (well Scottsdale) and I quit after 2 weeks. It tore my heart out, I couldn’t take it. I hope things work out OK for your grandparents.

–Tiribulus->

436

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
I can’t say I know what the solution is in this post modern rat race, but I really hate the whole idea of nursing homes for a variety of reasons. I worked in a very upscale one many moons ago in Phoenix (well Scottsdale) and I quit after 2 weeks. It tore my heart out, I couldn’t take it. I hope things work out OK for your grandparents.

–Tiribulus->[/quote]

Yeah, I’m not too fond of nursing homes, either. But unfortunately, both of my parents still work full-time, as do my aunt and uncle. And, my grandmother needs full-time care and no one feels safe leaving her alone, so the nursing home route is the only way to go. Hopefully the place she goes to is nice.

I wish I could do more, but living halfway across the country makes it difficult.

Thanks for the support.

437

Hey everyone,
Just finished a great workout! Started off with a 3-mile run, which I finished in 23 minutes. Not great, but I’m happy with an under 8-minute per mile pace at this point.

After a 5-10 minute cool down, I returned home and went to work on my heavy bag. I worked a lot of jabs, jab-straight, jab-straight-hook and jab-straight-jab-straight combos. Then I threw in some jab-straight-knees. Finished it up with some “freestyle” rounds where I just threw whatever combos I felt like.

Did some stretching and also used a tennis ball (thanks to Tony G’s article the other day) and worked out some huge knots in my shoulders. He’s right, it really will make you want to cry. I couldn’t believe how tight I am. Time to schedule another massage.

Tomorrow it’s back to the gym for my second HD: Strength workout.

Take care,
Dan

438

you know i just found out i have social anxeiety…which is kind of strange cuz i am very social but also it does make sense. Maybe i havent been paying attention or reading your form alot but have you told a doctor, or family member about the attacks.

I tell you im trying to get down to the bottom of anxiety and hope i never have it again…I mean it gets worse and i know.

439

Hey everyone,
Sorry I haven’t posted on here in a couple of days. I’ve been very busy with work, but I also didn’t post because I’ve made another change to my workout routine.

After starting back on the Hammer Down Series, I just didn’t feel that “spark” like I had the first time I went through the program. Perhaps fate intervened because when Alwyn Cosgrove’s “7 Keys to Athletic Success” was posted on here, it was the shot in the arm I needed.

I realized I needed to change things in my routine and Cosgrove’s article provided the template to set that up. One of my sticking points has always been my lack of flexibility and mobility, and I think this new program definitely addresses those areas, while at the same time working on building size and strength.

Also, a big thanks to Jinx Me is in order, since she was kind enough to clue me in on her current routine, which is set up very similar to what Cosgrove lays out in the 7 Steps.

So, I’ll be on a 4-day upper/lower body split. That leaves 1-2 days for BJJ/Muay Thai kickboxing and 1-2 days off.

Here’s the stats from today’s first workout:

  1. Mobility 10-20 reps of each:
    Fire Hydrants
    Supine Bridge
    Prone Scorpion
    Hip Corrections

  2. Injury Prevention
    Toe Points 2x15
    Cable Abductions 2x10

  3. Core
    Cable pullover crunch 3x10: 130, 140
    Knee raises 3x10: BW

  4. Speed/plyometrics
    A. Box Jumps 3x10: BW
    B. Clen and Press 2x12: 95

  5. Resistance
    1A. Front Squat 4x6-8: 165x6
    1B. Stiff-legged Deadlifts 4x6-8: 155x6

  6. Pistols 4x8: BW (still weak at these)

3A. Seated leg curl 4x8: 80, 90
3B. Sumo Deadlift 4x6: 225

  1. Engery Systems Work
    Skipped this today. Typical session is from 12-20 minutes.

  2. Flexibility
    Did some work on the Foam Roller and then stretched. This portion lasted 10 minutes.

Total workout time was around an hour. Felt good and strong throughout and the stretching/foam roller stuff at the end was nice.

Stretching and warming up properly are two things I’ve neglected in my training, so it’s time to really work on those areas, and I think this program definitely addresses those needs.

I think the carryover into my BJJ classes will be noticeable, too.

Take care,
Dan

440

hey dan, just checking in - good to hear you’re training hard.

i think nursing homes can be fine; it’s about what’s best for the individual in the situation. you gran will likely get more care and attention there than she would on her own. visitors also helps :slight_smile:

have you been dealing with anxiety lately, or are things still somewhat ‘dormant’ in that area? do you experience low level anxiety even when you’re not hit with acute attacks?

441

[quote]Jinx Me wrote:
hey dan, just checking in - good to hear you’re training hard.

i think nursing homes can be fine; it’s about what’s best for the individual in the situation. you gran will likely get more care and attention there than she would on her own. visitors also helps :slight_smile:

have you been dealing with anxiety lately, or are things still somewhat ‘dormant’ in that area? do you experience low level anxiety even when you’re not hit with acute attacks?[/quote]

Hey Jinx.
Thanks again for the new program, I owe you one :slight_smile:

Yeah, I think my grandmother will be fine in a nursing home. I wish I lived closer so I could visit, but can’t really do anything about that at the moment.

As for my anxiety, it’s been dormant, which has been nice. I just try to take things day-by-day instead of looking too far ahead and try not to stress about work, and that seems to help.