Sports for Anxiety: What Worked for You?

Trail riding on horseback is very relaxing. For me just being around horses is relaxing. You might volunteer at a horse rescue.

Honestly, team sports have always made me feel stressed because I feel like I have to contribute and succeed for the good of the team, not to mention having to keep up with the rules and game progress and the social aspect of it. No thank you! But I love being active outside of team sports and definitely find it helps me manage my anxiety. I really enjoy a good elliptical session by myself with a book/podcast/music/tv. (Or my phone occasionally—I’m actually on the elliptical right now!) But mostly, what helps me most to be active when I don’t feel like it—other than knowing it will help me feel better—is my dog! He needs and deserves daily walks, but we always say he’s taking me for a walk for my mental health. Playing tug or chase or frisbee with him are also fun ways to be active, and hiking together is our favorite! Plus, having my dog with me while walking or running saves me from the anxiety of awkward about people seeing me walking around by myself like a weirdo. He also loves to “help” me when I’m doing yoga or stretches in the floor, and while that is not actually very helpful, it does make me laugh, which is still good for my anxiety. Good luck finding ways to be active that you enjoy! :)

Running. Hands down the best. Cause honestly. When you are running and you start feeling anxious it just pushes you to run faster.

I played softball for years growing up and it helped tremendously with my anxiety. Just being active in general helps so even if you can't do sports, walking, yoga, swimming, biking, etc. will help for sure 😊

For me swimming is a really good exercise it's very calming relaxing and it also helps with my pain

I hate team sports (not saying you wont) but the only exercise that's made me actually excited and motivated to keep pushing has been yoga. All of my insecurities melt away and I'm not worried about not being able to perform a certain action yet like I was with sports. If you're just looking for exercise you could try going to a yoga studio or doing yoga at home

I have chronic pain and weakness, so sports have always been pretty much off the table for me. Still, I've been pushed to be active even by family members that know about my disorders. I always really loved swimming-- it's very low-effort, you can take breaks whenever you want, and if you feel insecure about your body type, hey, nobody's judging you if you tread through water in an old t-shirt and basketball shorts. I just got a subscription at my local YMCA and I'm gonna take water aerobics classes starting tomorrow. Those classes happen in shallow pools you can stand up in, so you don't have much fear of drowning (trust me, I get it)! If swimming isn't your thing, then I would at least start off with taking short walks. I don't like walking in a new place alone, but maybe for your first walk you can get a family member or a safe person to go with you. I found that doing your first walk with someone makes it much less daunting to do it on your own! Make yourself a cold drink, or cut up fruit and take it with you in a Ziploc, and put on a podcast. I try to fit a walk in whenever I can, even if it hurts a little bit. I have no doubt that all of this has been said as I'm several hours late to the party, but I wanted to share just in case I had something new. :)

Well, I do competitive horse riding, and I had a major injury off of one ride. I'm fine on the horse and off. The only time my anxiety spikes during the sport is when I'm getting on, or doing something that I haven't done before. But doing activities that you love, that help you relax while doing them, is good for the brain

I don't like exercise and team sports just give me more anxiety, but I love swimming on my own. It's a really calming activity and good exercise that isn't cardio. Even just going for a walk is good to get your body moving. I also love yoga because it gets you moving without feeling like a lot of work

I played roller derby. It was kind of traumatizing lol since it's such an aggressive sport but it gave me an unbelievable amount of confidence and taught me how to focus and relax under pressure

I was a competitive dancer and I think it really helped my anxiety! I think any sort of team sport can be helpful because while it is very anxiety inducing at first, you get to know your small group and you can be more confident in your skills while also being able to connect with people who also like your specific activity. Idk if that made sense or not but I hope I could help a little bit. ❤️