Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Exercise Really Does Help

Hi guys,

I thought I would post this for people who might be in a similar situation to me, and glance through this board...
I have been suffering with my stomach for ages now, but it has been the last couple of years that anxiety came into the mix and made everything a lot more complicated.
In the last several months, my anxiety has begun to spiral out of control and has taken over my life in large part.
I began reading an anxiety self-help book and one of the things that it was big on to conquer any form of anxiety or depression was EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE.
For the last couple of years, I have struggled with my weight and have made numerous attempts to get into exercise but seem to always fall off the wagon.

I recently started training with someone at the gym and working on cardio on my own for the past several weeks.
This week, I have noticed a real improvement in how I am feeling.

Last week, I got stuck in a major traffic jam and had a major meltdown!

As soon as I got home, I was a huge mess.. I went to the gym for an hour, and felt a million times better.
This week I have since been stuck in traffic three times, and I have not had one full-out panic attack. I felt uncomfortable, sure, but it is such an improvement over what I was like before.
I have not weighed myself, but my clothes also feel a little looser (which is great for those bloated days!) and a couple of people have commented that I look slimmer.

Anyway, the point is, I have always made half-hearted attempts at exercise for weight-loss but I am really putting the effort in for my emotional health and I do think it's helping.

To be fair, I am also listening to the Hypno program (I am almost done) and have been put on Effexor to help me cope with the anxiety. I am sure that is helping a lot too, but I feel the immediate effects after exercising which is great.

I just wanted to pass this along so if anyone is on the fence about exercising to help deal with anxiety, they should definitely give it a shot and feel encouraged by my experience!

Cheers!

Steph

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~~I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell-I know right now you can't tell~~Matchbox 20
IBS-D,pain.

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