GWB
Years ago

How to overcome Anxiety attacks in Basketball?

I haven't played basketball in over a year, as I suffer from a generalised anxiety disorder. The disorder sometimes manifests in panic attacks and fear of sudden death. Until a year ago, I had been playing the game non stop for 15 years. However now, any time my adrenaline goes up, a panic attack usually ensues. I am making small steps towards getting back on court. I was wondering has anyone else dealt with this kind of anxiety about exercise or Basketball, and if so, how do you go about overcoming it?

I have been doing hour long walks daily, and a small amount of occasional weights. However, my fitness isn't anywhere near where it was when I was playing. I have been checked out by drs, had ECG's and blood tests done, and they say I am at no real risk of having a health issue arise through vigorous exercise however I still find myself scared of the idea, and the pursuit of fitness is sure to be an uncomfortable one. How do you get mentally in the zone of confidence and just playing in the moment again? If anyone has dealt with this before please let me know. Cheers.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Like general anxiety attacks, facing your fears is the key to overcoming them. The anxiety is an irrational fear which you talk yourself in to, like when you feel "trapped" on the court (ie you can't just walk off mid-game because you're stressing...well you can but it would be pretty embarrassing).

You have the doctor's confirmation that nothing is seriously wrong so take your time, ease back in to it, and before you know it you won't be thinking those same thoughts.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I've been through a similar problem the last 18 months. Whilst I can't play anymore due to medical issues I started coaching juniors again after being out of it for many years. To start with it was tough and I even had to leave aba games as a spectator often, mostly at half time, due to being in a crowd and thinking too much. Now while it's still there a bit I'm a lot better. I think you will have to take it slowly and build yourself up to more things. One of the ways I found that helped was to have someone to talk to to keep your mind off it whether it be watching a game, shooting around or even a bit of 1 on 1. You will be surprised at how many people have experienced some level of anxiety and be willing to help.
Another thing that helped me was buying a pulseometer that checks your pulse. Whenever I felt my heart was pounding I would just put it on and check it for peace of mind. As soon as I saw it was normal I felt a whole lot better. You can get them on ebay for around $35 and you can carry it around in your pocket anywhere. It's really good because I can logically think it through and rule out the physical and it's my mind playing tricks.
I also see a psychologist regularly and he's been good to just talk to. Your GP can set up a mental health plan and the 1st 10 visits are subsidized.
So my advice would be to just take small steps and build yourself up slowly. It's tough but will get better, there will be setbacks along the way but have a support network in place to help.
Good luck.

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Tornado  
Years ago

Set yourself small progressive goals towards your ultimate goal. Each time you achieve and conquer a goal you'll be one step closer to your ultimate goal. When you stumble or feel anxious, look back at what you have achieved, feel good about it and use that as determination to overcome the hurdle you find yourself at. Enquire with personal trainers and notify them of you anxiety, some will be willing to help you.

Some other notes which you might find helpful;

Challenge your negative thinking. There is always a different way to view things. Look at the evidence for and against your negative thoughts. Challenge these thoughts. Ask yourself "what kind of advice would I give a friend?"

Practice your fear. Identify some of the situations that are bothering you. Visualise in detail facing the fear and getting through it. Then gradually practice doing something that you fear doing. Your fears are generally worse than the reality.

Be willing to be anxious in order to overcome anxiety. You can't get past it if you aren't willing to go through it.

Accept imperfection and uncertainty. You don't have to be perfect to make progress. You don't have to know something for sure in order to do it. Doing it is better than worrying about it.

Hope that helps and best of luck!

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.  
Years ago

be easier on yourself, sport is probably a good avenue to ease the anxiety - so do not give up on that.

Important to get that mind / body balance.

Have you seen a psychologist / psychiatrist ? Speak with your GP and get a referral.

All the best for the future.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I suffer from anxiety and depression and the basketball court / exercise in general is the best possible thing for it for me, so I'm not sure what to suggest.

Maybe a good start would be building up your fitness through running to the point where you are confident of being in control physically before you take to the court in an organised setting again.

And just start out with something small: pickup at the park with mates.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

great responses to this - the hoops community should be proud

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PlaymakerMo  
Years ago

Some really positive and constructive posts made already. I'm impressed.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I've never experienced anxiety attacks to any degree although I used to be always quite nervous before games in juniors.

Chewing gum really helped me stay calm (during warmups and throughout the game). Chewing gum in addition to some of the help posts above may help with your problem.

Good luck getting back out on the court:-)

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KingJames  
Years ago

+1 "great responses to this - the hoops community should be proud"

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Dazz  
Years ago

Anxiety attacks CAN be triggered by your body's inability to process its adrenal response. In which case there are medications that can really help.
Monoamine oxidase Inhibitors are one option.
The important thing to understand is that it's not just "all in your head," you MAY have an easily treatable medical condition. Talk to a doctor, and if necessary a Psychiatrist. (Unfortunately whilst we associate Psychiatrists with serious mental illness, this is also within THEIR area of expertise.)

Try to examine what specifically is making you anxious, and positively dismiss those issues. A psychologist will be able to help with this. If you are in Australia, you can get Medicare funded psychological sessions by getting your GP to do a Mental Health Plan.

I thing I have personally found helped was laying off the Caffeine. (I was a Coffee & Iced-Coffee addict.)
Also, watch your alcohol intake. Whilst alcohol will initially lower anxiety, the rebound can be worse. So don't drink for 24~48 hours before the big events.

Lastly, doctors can prescribe low doses of benzo's for temporary relief of anxiety. Personally I found they did nothing, and actually made my sleep worse (rebound) but they work for some people.

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.  
Years ago

good point above - keep off the stimulants - coffee, red bull, monster etc - increases heart rate and blood pressure.

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GWB  
Years ago

Hey, some good advice here. It seems to help solidify the consensus opinion I have been getting. As for diet, I don't drink caffeine really at all. I don't have too much sugar, I eat pretty well really despite a few too many carbs. I suppose the problem for me really seems to be mental. I have asked the Dr, and he doesnt want to hear of it being anything else. I haven't mentioned the Adrenal problem you suggested though Dazz.

I am fairly confident it is mental. But once I hear the pounding of the ball on the court and the running - it gets all a bit overwhelming. Which sucks because I love the game and it use to be the place in the world where I would always want to be. As for running to get fitness back up first, I have been doing a very little bit of that. I walk for about an hour, but at the moment I throw in a couple of 2 minute jogs in. The cold air doesn't help though and tends to make me feel a bit crap however. I am looking at doing very light training at the local rec center. Once I am use to the environment again, and a little bit of sweat, then playing the game becomes conceivable.

Has anyone tried other meds for anxiety? I worry about side effects for those however.

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GWB  
Years ago

I seem to have a sudden death/heart phobia thing. I have no reason to think it will happen to me - a person who the Drs have given the all clear - but when im in the situation the possibility is debilitating. I am sure this doesn't go through most of your minds hey? lol. It never use to go through mine. If I can get back on the court like I use to be, I would want for little else in life. I am a simple guy. lol

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Anonymous  
Years ago

My experience with anxiety started from seeing a workmate have an unexpected seizure. Unexpected for him as he'd never had one before (he later told me). From that point, for a few years, any time I had a creak in my body, a pain in my chest (indigestion or something), a slight dizzy spell, I was convinced it was my turn to have one. It got to the point where it turned in to anxiety attacks. Very scary when you first have one as you don't know what it is, and all you want to do is remove yourself from the situation, which isn't always possible.

There was absolutely no medical reason for me to think this way but the brain does funny things to you. But the good news is, because it is all in your brain, it can be overcome too.

Something else that hasn't been mentioned yet is breathing. Its the cure-all for anxiety. Long deep breaths, holding the breath, then slowly exhaling. Might be difficult to do in the middle of a game but try doing it before the game and you will be so much calmer. Just google the proper method and practice it.

Be careful of the meds. plenty of horror stories out there about the addiction creeping up on you. I can see why - I take them for flying and man, do they make you feel gooooood!!! I get that you love basketball and its a big part of your life but I don't think a doc would prescribe you meds for that anyway. If the anxiety was starting to take over your life then medication can be a last resort but it doesn't sound like you'd need that.

All in all, you have recognised the "problem", you want to resolve it, and I think thats a big step towards getting better which is definitely doable.

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GWB  
Years ago

Anonymous. I zoned in on Basketball - but it definitely has control of my life. Theres not many things I can do now that I use to

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Ah ok then. Get yourself to a trusted doctor then and get some professional help. It's ok, definitely something you can manage with some "brain training".

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Also, don't google symptoms and causes and all that stuff. You'll start to develop every associated disorder under the sun! Leave it to the professionals and concentrate on your breathing.

All the best.

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GWB  
Years ago

Cheers everyone. I look forward to the day I am back on court. And I think it will be sooner rather than later!

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I have also been diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder/panic attacks and have similar issues when playing sport, although social soccer rather than basketball. A lot of great advice in this thread and would echo some of the thoughts above about talking to people and keeping busy during games. I find my anxiety is worse at half time and when going goalkeeper when your not running and your mind has time to wander. I find that keeping busy in the game/talking to people during breaks helps keep your mind from wandering.

Only other thing I would recommend is meditation/mindfulness. Sounds a bit hippyish but I found it really helped with dealing with these sort of situations and correcting the shallow breathing which can bring on the anxiety. There is a lot of apps for your mobile that help you out with this, I use one called headspace, where you spend 15 minutes or so a day just reflecting and being guided through thoughts/briefing etc. May be worth trying out.

All the best!

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Freddy  
Years ago

Fantastic responses here and I'm glad there is a serious approach to what is an important issue.

I suffered from severe anxiety and panic Attacks for a number of years as a direct result of 3 unexplained seizures.

It was debilitating to the point of having trouble leaving the house. After numerous gp and specialist visits I had enough of being recommended Zanax and the plethora of other pharmaceuticals that would "help".

I went down the path of natural medicines, and found the result whilst potentially some placebo affect helped my state of mind.

I took St Johns Wart tablets, Kava tablets and fish oil each morning. And then another round if I was putting myself into an environment that I knew could cause me issues. I removed a lot of stimulants such as caffeine and excess sugar from my diet, and began practicing meditation for the use of correct breathing techniques and the ability to focus on the internal energies of my body. This all lowered my general feeling of anxiety, which meant when I did feel an attack come on I could react in a more accepting manner to my body, instead of going right over the edge immediately. It allowed me to confront the fears and rationally process them.

Within a period of 3 months my anxiety had subdued significantly and now 12 months on my panic attacks no longer occur.

Good luck, and remember you are not alone as this thread has shown. But please stay away from the prescription pills, it's the wrong path.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

My advice is don't be scared of considering the right (correct) meds. I take anti-anxiety meds for another reason and I don't have any side-effects or any issues with addiction. If panic attacks are stopping you from doing something that you love (and which is overall good for you) then I would get a referral to a good doc to discuss options for medication. The current generation of meds are a million times better/safer than the "scary" old ones like valium.

And ignore any posts/suggestions imply that it's somehow
"your fault" due to your attitude/diet etc and that you should be able to "fix it" just by changing your attitude/behaviour. If you have a genuine anxiety disorder it can be a simple tiny mental chemical imbalance that can be trivially addressed with the right meds. Yes, it could also "just" be psychological but I would suggest its definitely worth finding out which by seeing a professional.

Just my 2 cents...

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Anonymous  
Years ago

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Anonymous  
Years ago

"The current generation of meds are a million times better/safer than the "scary" old ones like valium. "

Something other than benzos, I assume?

"And ignore any posts/suggestions imply that it's somehow
"your fault"..."

Thats a little unfair. The posts that say its "your fault" are clearly said to be a positive way of saying the issue might be all in your head, and that means in can be overcome with the right way of thinking. Of course explore all avenues but I know my issue is completely in my head, and once I found that out, I was able to control it a lot better with simple non-medication solutions.

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Nobody  
Years ago

Dr GOOGLE is the worst thing anyone can ever do for any "research" into any medical condition.

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Rat10  
Years ago

Hi GWB, my best friend is a very skilled therapist who is living overseas but has done a lot of work and research into anxiety and panic attacks recently. I thought I would seek out his advice to see if he could assist you. This is what he says:

Firstly, it's not a chemical imbalance problem and medications for panic are pretty ineffective and can have bad side effects. What we are dealing with is a conditioned loop where Bball makes your heart beat fast which leads to anxiety which leads to your heart beating faster which leads to more anxiety etc

A good cognitive behaviour therapist (cbt) should be your first port of call. Work with them over a few months. You could also try mindfulness meditation. It works even though it may be slower than cbt.

There's also a book that he recommends called "Panic Attack Workbook" by Dave Carbonell that you should get.

Hope this helps and Really hope you get back on the court soon mate.

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