How Running Away can Actually Solve Your Problems

Everyone has felt anxious at some point in their life, whether it’s about an exam, an important interview, or whatever the circumstances may be. Your heart races, you sweat, feel nervous and overwhelmed, avoid stressors, worry about the unknown, struggle to think clearly, lose sleep, feel fatigued, and experience stomach knots. The list just goes on. Now, imagine feeling these things constantly. That’s called generalized anxiety.

My anxiety is just as listed above: it’s just a constant dreaded feeling about the unknown that exhausts me. If I don't get immediate closure on something that causes me stress, I tend to ruminate, which spirals into panic attacks and a feeling of losing control. I always expected the worst to happen, and it was even worse when my predictions came true, which just reinforced my way of thinking. Things began to shift for me in 2020 – I went to the gym with my mom for the first time. At first, I was unfamiliar with most of the equipment, except for the treadmill. So I started running on it, and that's when I discovered something surprising: I actually enjoyed it. Being at the gym gave me a sense of relief. For the first time, I could clear my mind and focus on nothing but my movements, all while listening to music and drowning out the world. The gym then became a place where I could clear my mind and find mental relief, and I started to look forward to it as a way to cope. It provided me with a mental break and helped alleviate some of the anxiety I felt on a daily basis. Now, I go almost every day. The gym now has become an important coping mechanism for me, allowing me to manage my anxiety.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR ANXIETY

According to Women’s Excellence (n.d), there’s an estimation of 264 million people worldwide that have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is the most common form of mental illness in the United States. Anxiety can have multiple forms, but this blog will cover General Anxiety Disorder (GAD). As defined by the DSM5, GAD is excessive apprehension about the future (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2019). One will feel anxious, worry, and fear about circumstances, which can increase stress and even lead to chronic stress. Anxiety is expressed in 3 ways: cognitively–in which one will consistently ruminate over their stressors, physiological–where one’s arousal is increased, and behaviorally–where the person will exhibit avoidance behaviors. Anxiety and stress are also known to cause somatic symptoms along with mental strain (Women’s Excellence, n.d). Intense anxiety and chronic stress can lead to both somatic and mental health issues, such as hair loss, digestive problems, lack of appetite, and headaches—many of which I have experienced as well.

The physiological symptoms of anxiety rely on the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Anxiety triggers the SNS, which is responsible for your fight or flight response. This nervous system becomes hyperactive along with the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal), which is responsible for developing adaptive responses to physical and psychological stressors. When there’s dysregulation in the HPA axis, anxiety symptoms manifest.

PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS

Anxiety sensitivity is when you tend to overreact to anxiety-related feelings, thinking they'll lead to something catastrophic. An example of this is always expecting the worst. Research shows that short-term aerobic exercise can help reduce this by getting you used to the physical sensations you fear, like a fast heartbeat, showing you that while they feel uncomfortable, they’re not dangerous. (Anderson & Shivakumar, 2013).

Self-efficacy is how confident we are in our ability to handle threats, and how anxious that makes us feel. Exercise is thought to boost self-efficacy by helping people cope with physical challenges, and as fitness improves, so does confidence, which suggests that exercise with the right level of challenge is effective for boosting self-efficacy and reducing anxiety (Anderson & Shivakumar, 2013).

 ENCOURAGING EXERCISE - WHY SHOULD I?

Studies have shown that at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 5x a week can significantly help alleviate physiological and psychological side effects of anxiety (Anderson & Shivakumar, 2013). I personally like to split my time between the stairmaster and the treadmill. I warm up with the stairmaster and then use the rest of my time on the treadmill. The exercise doesn’t have to be running, it can be anything that will make you breathe more heavily, sweat, and get your heart racing (with caution!). All the heavy breathing exercises help to calm the body down, intake more oxygen, and get your blood flowing. Some more aerobic exercises include swimming, walking, dancing, and cycling to name a few; there are aerobic exercises for everyone out there.

Exercising can also be used as a distraction, or a “time out” (Anderson & Shivakumar, 2013) from daily activities. As I mentioned earlier in this blog, working out has helped me take my mind off anxiety-inducing circumstances because I treat this time as a distraction. Exercise releases endorphins, natural painkillers that improve sleep, reduce stress, and boost mood (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, n.d.). That "runner’s high" is a result of these endorphins, which help alleviate stress and pain as well.

In general, regular exercise leads to changes in how the body functions. Consistent aerobic exercise can help lower the body's stress response, including the sympathetic nervous system and the HPA axis, as explained above. In addition, exercise helps with other problems (as listed earlier). Regular exercise helps build confidence, take your mind off worries, and cope in a healthy way. So, as you can see, there are many benefits to exercising. Sure, I may have found the miracle of the treadmill by luck, but I hope that my readers find this blog by luck and encourage themselves to start gyming! Start somewhere small and see what works for you and soon enough, exercising will be something you will look forward to.

Here are a few things to remember:

• You don’t have to go to the gym, home workouts and outdoor running works just as well!
• Find what works for you and maintain a regime
• Rest days are just as important, don't push yourself
• If you need motivation, go with a buddy! That way you can keep each other motivated and accountable

Some general tips that have helped me cope with my anxiety as a fellow student:

• Keep an agenda or planner, that way you can see everything at once and can help you plan ahead on tasks
• Maintain a regimen and schedule
• Try to complete tasks early (at least 1-2 days early)
• Try to arrive early to scheduled meetings (classes included) (5-10 minutes ahead of time does wonders)
• One thing at a time! Start with the easiest task and work your way up to the hardest/most time consuming task
• SLEEP! Sleep is very important. Even though the anxiety of not completing assignments and other tasks builds (and from experience, guilt as well) running on little to no sleep will actually make your productivity decrease.
• If things get overwhelming, take a step back, take deep breaths, and evaluate the situation. Your brain won’t be able to think clearly when it’s overwhelmed.

Works Cited

Anderson, E., & Shivakumar, G. (2013). Effects of exercise and physical activity on anxiety. Frontiers in psychiatry , 4 , 27. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00027

Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (n.d.). Exercise, stress, and anxiety . Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Retrieved October 11, 2024, from https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/exercise-stress-and-anxiety

National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2019). Table 3.15: Mechanisms of stress-related hair loss . In StatPearls (Internet). Retrieved October 11, 2024, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519704/table/ch3.t15/

Stress and anxiety…it’s not just in your head - women’s excellence. (n.d.). https://www.womensexcellence.com/blog/stress-and-anxiety-its-not-just-in-your-head

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