Is there Anyone Here w/ OCD/Anxiety that Has These Problems Working Out?

lorajc · 01-27-18, 03:16 PM

or am I alone??

I have been a type A, anxious person with OCD my entire life....and recently I've been working on my form and trying to help issues in my life, including pain from bad posture and I've realized that I am chest breathing instead of belly/breath breathing due to anxiety....and I read in my Trigger Point Therapy book that this causes a great deal of spasms in your neck, upper body, etc. (sorry if I'm rambling). Oh and if you do chest breathe....how did you correct it? I am having a very hard time trying to.

The other issue I've noticed I'm having is when instructors say squeeze constantly in workouts (in reference to squeeze the muscle), I tend to over-squeeze and exaggerate the movement and therefore make my spasms worse....I'm discovering!! I'm ready to mute my DVDs and listen to music because of this...LOL!!

Lastly, I've discovered that I was "jamming" myself into yoga poses instead of relaxing into them because of my type A/OCD personality. I seem to go overboard and overdo things. This was, I think, exaggerating my pain also.

I've been working on myself.......so I was just wondering.........am I alone here or does anyone else have a history of this?

Please don't judge me for this....at least I'm trying to better myself....

Fidget Queen · 01-27-18, 08:05 PM

Yes, yes and YES. Not just me, but my partner and my mom have had exactly the same issues.

I would highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend you look at Katy Bowman's work. Start with reading her blogs at NutritiousMovement.com and go from there. If you want her blog in book format (the first 5 years) you can buy the Alignment Matters book. Me and my partner do her Alignment Snacks almost daily and it's changed everything for us - my partner has been a yoga instructor for 20 years and he has now completely replaced his yoga with her work.

I think reading the information voraciously was invaluable for me before doing her videos. It's all in the philosophy, and while the info in the Snacks is extremely valuable, you can only fit in so much while teaching a 20-30 min class. She will absolutely address everything you're talking about.

HOWEVER, the trap me, my partner AND my mom fell into, was applying the type-A, hyper-tense, force-yourself-into-a-pose mentality into her alignment work, which is so totally against the entire point. So, don't do that

We hurt ourselves doing it. Getting into alignment is going to mean releasing, relaxing and slowly getting your body into that place. You can't force it.

If you want to learn how to move and USE your muscles without tensing them into oblivion (which is, as far as I'm concern, the most dangerous and ignorant cue ever to worm its way into fitness), I'd also HIGHLY recommend looking into Hanna Somatics.

I personally found Somatics work through Sandra Hanna's (not related to Hanna Somatics

) Callanetics Studio. Her videos are available on the official Callanetics website, as either streaming or downloads (no DVDs). She has 3 somatic-based sessions, one of them called Daily Stretch (I think). They have helped me IMMENSELY in tandem with working on my alignment.

If you want a quick look into what Somatics is like, you can check out her: http://www.somaticsforyou.com.

Her YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/user/somaticsforyou.

And here is a quick blurb on what it means: http://essentialsomatics.com/hanna-s...ive-stretching

I also used Sandra's Callanetics workouts themselves to help learn how to work my muscles while also being relaxed. It helped me a lot (but isn't for everyone).

As far as having anxiety, that's a whole world unto itself. I'm addressing it my way, but it also isn't for everyone. Also beware - when you try to relax when you're anxious, you might feel worse for awhile. Somatic movements sometimes made me feel terrible (not always, but sometimes) because my body wasn't used to relaxing. I was sucking in and tensing everything all the time.

Good luck! It isn't a quick fix. It requires a lot of time and interest - but the good news is that you can apply every single thing you learn into other workouts and the way you move in daily life. I personally have loved the journey, because it gave me so much hope that general fitness stuff never did.

Fidget Queen · 01-27-18, 08:07 PM

Oh, and NO JUDGEMENT. That will only fuel the anxiety. Trust me.

You don't deserve to be judged or to judge yourself. It's wonderful of you to have noticed this in yourself. We ALL have it to some degree or another - whether it's enough to cause noticeable problems or not is entirely unique to our bodies and circumstances.

Scorpio6 · 01-27-18, 09:17 PM

Lora, my heart goes out to you, I have watched you on this board for several years, I know you have been working really hard on yourself, maybe too hard on yourself, and had your share of problems and obstacles. Treat yourself with as much love as you would a little child.

BunnyHop · 01-27-18, 10:02 PM

Do your favorite workouts make it easy for you to incorporate mindful/relaxed breathing into the movements?

For me, a slower, more contemplative pace and attention to the breath is really helpful.

lorajc · 01-28-18, 02:38 PM

Thanks everyone. Mindful breathing is really hard for me. I have been chest breathing my entire life due to anxiety.....and I have to REALLY concentrate to breathe properly.

I did read an article on it online and it says the only way to correct it is to practice every day!!

Do you know how much I am working on right now? Correcting form, breathing, posture, etc......LOL...(plus there is foam rolling, massaging, trigger point work, working out, yoga.......ha...ha.....)

thanks for the support....I will look into the above. I have noticed all of these things since I went off of my narcotics for pain and my body is no longer numb.

Just being honest.............again...no judgment please.

I would like to buy a book a doctor told me to buy a long time ago called Beyond the Relaxation Response...however, due to my husband and I not having jobs....can't afford it...oh well....there's the Internet.

Cowgirl32 · 02-01-18, 09:50 AM

Acupuncture has really helped me

JulieIL · 02-01-18, 11:38 AM

You've gotten some good suggestions, but I wanted to chime in to voice support, as well as send healing and reassuring thoughts.

Someone close to me has been dealing with this, so I can only imagine how difficult it can be. Therapy (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, specifically ACT) has been extremely beneficial to this person.

You may also explore group support, either guided by a therapist (google "Anxiety support group" your city) or even as a Meet-Up group (I was surprised to find Meet-up groups (google "Meet Up," then search your city with key word "Anxiety" or "Support"). I even found a walk/jog group that incorporated mindfulness- time didn't work but would have been beneficial to get input from trained therapist, as well as meet other participants.

The app "Pacifica" offers mindfulness training and practical exercises, as well as an online support community. My Ob/Gyn shared that, adding privately that she had been experiencing panic attacks before seeking help- I've been seeing her for years and never would have envisioned that being an issue for her. She tucks into her office for literally 5 minutes and uses the Pacifica sessions (as short as a few minutes- include music and visual cues).

The books: "Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life" and "The Happiness Trap" were beneficial, though depression was part of the picture in my situation (anxiety likely at core, which led to isolation/avoidance coping, which led to self issues).

Please take care. <<hugs>>

Julie

lorajc · 02-01-18, 07:19 PM

Thanks Julie and everyone else..... haven't had time to look anything up yet...need to.

Right now.....I can't go for therapy due to finances but I really appreciate the info and may look into it in the future if I can afford it.

I still have to look up Somatics, etc. For now I'm still practicing breathing during yoga and relaxing at night on my infared heating pad....other than that...my breathing is still horrible and I get more nervous when I notice it and I guess you could say I do panic and hyperventilate.....geez.

Fidget Queen · 02-02-18, 05:24 PM

I think my original answer totally missed the mark - sorry, I didn't quite understand what you were saying.

I've had severe anxiety and panic for almost 10 years now. And I'll say - paying attention to it has always made it worse. I do my most healing when I manage to just say "screw it" and kind of move on to other things.

That's one of the reasons I love Kundalini - it allows you to do breathing exercising without forcing yourself to "relax". Breath of Fire is awesome for that!

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01-27-18, 03:16 PM
lorajc Join Date: Jul 2005	Is there Anyone Here w/ OCD/Anxiety that Has These Problems Working Out? or am I alone?? I have been a type A, anxious person with OCD my entire life....and recently I've been working on my form and trying to help issues in my life, including pain from bad posture and I've realized that I am chest breathing instead of belly/breath breathing due to anxiety....and I read in my Trigger Point Therapy book that this causes a great deal of spasms in your neck, upper body, etc. (sorry if I'm rambling). Oh and if you do chest breathe....how did you correct it? I am having a very hard time trying to. The other issue I've noticed I'm having is when instructors say squeeze constantly in workouts (in reference to squeeze the muscle), I tend to over-squeeze and exaggerate the movement and therefore make my spasms worse....I'm discovering!! I'm ready to mute my DVDs and listen to music because of this...LOL!! Lastly, I've discovered that I was "jamming" myself into yoga poses instead of relaxing into them because of my type A/OCD personality. I seem to go overboard and overdo things. This was, I think, exaggerating my pain also. I've been working on myself.......so I was just wondering.........am I alone here or does anyone else have a history of this? Please don't judge me for this....at least I'm trying to better myself....

01-27-18, 08:05 PM
Fidget Queen Join Date: Jun 2004	Yes, yes and YES. Not just me, but my partner and my mom have had exactly the same issues. I would highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend you look at Katy Bowman's work. Start with reading her blogs at NutritiousMovement.com and go from there. If you want her blog in book format (the first 5 years) you can buy the Alignment Matters book. Me and my partner do her Alignment Snacks almost daily and it's changed everything for us - my partner has been a yoga instructor for 20 years and he has now completely replaced his yoga with her work. I think reading the information voraciously was invaluable for me before doing her videos. It's all in the philosophy, and while the info in the Snacks is extremely valuable, you can only fit in so much while teaching a 20-30 min class. She will absolutely address everything you're talking about. HOWEVER, the trap me, my partner AND my mom fell into, was applying the type-A, hyper-tense, force-yourself-into-a-pose mentality into her alignment work, which is so totally against the entire point. So, don't do that We hurt ourselves doing it. Getting into alignment is going to mean releasing, relaxing and slowly getting your body into that place. You can't force it. If you want to learn how to move and USE your muscles without tensing them into oblivion (which is, as far as I'm concern, the most dangerous and ignorant cue ever to worm its way into fitness), I'd also HIGHLY recommend looking into Hanna Somatics. I personally found Somatics work through Sandra Hanna's (not related to Hanna Somatics ) Callanetics Studio. Her videos are available on the official Callanetics website, as either streaming or downloads (no DVDs). She has 3 somatic-based sessions, one of them called Daily Stretch (I think). They have helped me IMMENSELY in tandem with working on my alignment. If you want a quick look into what Somatics is like, you can check out her: http://www.somaticsforyou.com. Her YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/user/somaticsforyou. And here is a quick blurb on what it means: http://essentialsomatics.com/hanna-s...ive-stretching I also used Sandra's Callanetics workouts themselves to help learn how to work my muscles while also being relaxed. It helped me a lot (but isn't for everyone). As far as having anxiety, that's a whole world unto itself. I'm addressing it my way, but it also isn't for everyone. Also beware - when you try to relax when you're anxious, you might feel worse for awhile. Somatic movements sometimes made me feel terrible (not always, but sometimes) because my body wasn't used to relaxing. I was sucking in and tensing everything all the time. Good luck! It isn't a quick fix. It requires a lot of time and interest - but the good news is that you can apply every single thing you learn into other workouts and the way you move in daily life. I personally have loved the journey, because it gave me so much hope that general fitness stuff never did.

01-27-18, 08:07 PM
Fidget Queen Join Date: Jun 2004	Oh, and NO JUDGEMENT. That will only fuel the anxiety. Trust me. You don't deserve to be judged or to judge yourself. It's wonderful of you to have noticed this in yourself. We ALL have it to some degree or another - whether it's enough to cause noticeable problems or not is entirely unique to our bodies and circumstances.

01-27-18, 09:17 PM
Scorpio6 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: St. Louis MO	Lora, my heart goes out to you, I have watched you on this board for several years, I know you have been working really hard on yourself, maybe too hard on yourself, and had your share of problems and obstacles. Treat yourself with as much love as you would a little child.

01-27-18, 10:02 PM
BunnyHop Join Date: Nov 2008	Do your favorite workouts make it easy for you to incorporate mindful/relaxed breathing into the movements? For me, a slower, more contemplative pace and attention to the breath is really helpful. __________________ Anna

01-28-18, 02:38 PM
lorajc Join Date: Jul 2005	Thanks everyone. Mindful breathing is really hard for me. I have been chest breathing my entire life due to anxiety.....and I have to REALLY concentrate to breathe properly. I did read an article on it online and it says the only way to correct it is to practice every day!! Do you know how much I am working on right now? Correcting form, breathing, posture, etc......LOL...(plus there is foam rolling, massaging, trigger point work, working out, yoga.......ha...ha.....) thanks for the support....I will look into the above. I have noticed all of these things since I went off of my narcotics for pain and my body is no longer numb. Just being honest.............again...no judgment please. I would like to buy a book a doctor told me to buy a long time ago called Beyond the Relaxation Response...however, due to my husband and I not having jobs....can't afford it...oh well....there's the Internet.

02-01-18, 09:50 AM
Cowgirl32 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Carolina on my mind..	Acupuncture has really helped me __________________ "The key to happiness is a bad memory"

02-01-18, 11:38 AM
JulieIL Join Date: Mar 2011	You've gotten some good suggestions, but I wanted to chime in to voice support, as well as send healing and reassuring thoughts. Someone close to me has been dealing with this, so I can only imagine how difficult it can be. Therapy (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, specifically ACT) has been extremely beneficial to this person. You may also explore group support, either guided by a therapist (google "Anxiety support group" your city) or even as a Meet-Up group (I was surprised to find Meet-up groups (google "Meet Up," then search your city with key word "Anxiety" or "Support"). I even found a walk/jog group that incorporated mindfulness- time didn't work but would have been beneficial to get input from trained therapist, as well as meet other participants. The app "Pacifica" offers mindfulness training and practical exercises, as well as an online support community. My Ob/Gyn shared that, adding privately that she had been experiencing panic attacks before seeking help- I've been seeing her for years and never would have envisioned that being an issue for her. She tucks into her office for literally 5 minutes and uses the Pacifica sessions (as short as a few minutes- include music and visual cues). The books: "Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life" and "The Happiness Trap" were beneficial, though depression was part of the picture in my situation (anxiety likely at core, which led to isolation/avoidance coping, which led to self issues). Please take care. <<hugs>> Julie

02-01-18, 07:19 PM
lorajc Join Date: Jul 2005	Thanks Julie and everyone else..... haven't had time to look anything up yet...need to. Right now.....I can't go for therapy due to finances but I really appreciate the info and may look into it in the future if I can afford it. I still have to look up Somatics, etc. For now I'm still practicing breathing during yoga and relaxing at night on my infared heating pad....other than that...my breathing is still horrible and I get more nervous when I notice it and I guess you could say I do panic and hyperventilate.....geez.

02-02-18, 05:24 PM
Fidget Queen Join Date: Jun 2004	I think my original answer totally missed the mark - sorry, I didn't quite understand what you were saying. I've had severe anxiety and panic for almost 10 years now. And I'll say - paying attention to it has always made it worse. I do my most healing when I manage to just say "screw it" and kind of move on to other things. That's one of the reasons I love Kundalini - it allows you to do breathing exercising without forcing yourself to "relax". Breath of Fire is awesome for that!