u/AnyListen3838

Hey folks, 29M here. I believe I have a panic disorder and it caused me to have cardiophobia, as I struggle with exercise-induced anxiety, any increase in heart rate (running, stairs, jogging) triggers palpitations and panic, so I stop quickly. Has anyone experienced this and fully recovered enough to return to normal cardio? What helped you? Any advise welcome, thanks a lot.

29M here. I’ve had panic disorder/anxiety for about 3 years after a major panic attack. Before that I was extremely active, loved football, basketball, running, cardio, jump rope etc. Never thought about my heart or breathing.

At first, my anxiety was very obsessive. I used to constantly monitor my heartbeat, BP, struggle to sleep, and wake up in the middle of the night with adrenaline/cortisol spikes. Over time I mostly got through those symptoms by stopping fighting my body so much.

But one thing still remains: cardio/exertion-related anxiety. Walking is mostly okay, but even a small jogging, running, stairs, or anything that noticeably raises my heart rate can trigger palpitations and panic. When I try to jog for example 3-5 second later I stop because of the feeling, anxiety kicks in.

The strange part is that once the panic settles, the symptoms calm down too. It really feels like my brain learned to associate elevated heart rate with danger.

I am currently trying gradual exposure / CBT-style methods by myself, but I’d really like to hear from people who experienced something similar and recovered. Did you fully get over it and return to normal exercise/cardio again? Any methods, success stories, or advice would genuinely help. Thank you so much in advance!