Training and anxiety

Training
24

I think what got me through anxiety years ago was thinking that I’m not important and that the people around me are doing the same things I am and are not having problems. One favorite thought that frightened me in the beginning was to envision myself in the context of the universe, and that I’m so insignificant, and my fears are so insignificant that I should just calm the ‘f’ down and handle what I can the best way I can. Sure, I’ve had anxiety during Covid and even now, but I can usually roll back the feelings and get a firmer footing.

One thing that surprised me, back at my worst, was using the video game Diablo to build self confidence. It sounded surprising at the time, but fighting the games monsters was a distraction, a way to blow off steam, and fun… Flying is my remaining anxiety sink, and I do the best I can. Turbulence doesn’t freak me out, it’s the dwelling on the ‘human factor’. I even took ground school to try to deal with my fear of flying, and was up to spins and stalls when I had to drop dreams of being a pilot, saving me more money for bikes.

For riding, one of my past docs told me that no one has died while exercising. Exercise really helps, and getting sun on the skin and light in the eyes helps incredibly. (Keep your eyes closed)

Anxiety doesn’t have to be debilitating. Anxiety can signify a ‘loss of control’ and exerting some control over your life helps too…

In the worst of it, decades ago, carrying a small vial with a tranquilizer helped too, knowing that if I needed it, I could get help, but never using it, helped free me too.

Think outside the box, and get the help where ever you can.

And quotes from books and movies helped too:

  • Arthur: All my life I’ve had this strange feeling that there’s something big and sinister going on in the world.
  • Slartibartfast: No, that’s perfectly normal paranoia. Everyone in the universe gets that.

I’ve developed a deliciously dark sense of humor too. Do the best you can, and shove the rest.

25

Definitely helps me to workout in the morning instead of night for same reason. Less wound up and still half-asleep–no time to dread I’m usually deep into the warm up before I wake up. I also make a rule to dig deep on the last interval and pretend I’m winning the race and do second to last in the drops/aero position so gives me something else to focus on.

26

I was digging through the archive for some old replies and came across this post. Even though it’s from last year, the topic is still super relevant for a lot of us.

It’s strange how intense effort, when your heart rate really goes up, can mimic the exact symptoms of panic, and your brain starts freaking out even though you’re just pushing hard on the bike.

I dealt with this myself and had to work a lot on the mindset side of it. I even did a few sessions at Legacy Healing Center around this, just to learn how to tell the difference between “good physical stress” and actual mental panic.

What helped me the most on the indoor trainer was doing short, controlled intervals. It helped my body get used to those heart rate spikes without immediately triggering that fight-or-flight feeling.

27

I still fight with anxiety, but at least TR doesn’t give me many ramping workouts that seem to always crush me lol. New anxiety is going into a workout fearing my HR or something will make the ftp prediction mad, especially when the prediction is at 300 for the first time. Thinking of upcoming or past race efforts still jack up my HR mid workout randomly but go back down when I try to ground myself again. It also helps to trust my body and abilities and the prescribed workouts are just right.