Struggling with Anxiety and Running Performance

I’m 23 now but I used to run cross country in middle and HS and my anxiety got so bad while in high school I actually stopped going to practice my senior year bc of the 6am summer runs lol. My advice would be to do what you can to manage the stress and anxiety such as seeing a therapist, avoiding drama as much as possible at school. You are not a disappointment btw and my run times slowed down a ton after puberty, mental illness, school etc but just doing what you can and trying to enjoy it as much as possible could help especially if you have good teammates!

yo! as someone that's had anxiety my whole life and been diagnosed since 2018 i get it. for me what hyped was: 1. developing strategies for calling myself down during panic attacks (especially square breathing and meditation/grounding techniques); 2. having a talk-therapy practicing therapist in high school to talk about all my worries related to school stuff/social drama (which def helped me rationalize some of my anxious social thoughts); 3. not talking to/being as close with people in my life that had constant drama that was making me anxious (where possible), and/or gently explaining to them that i didn't have the mental space to deal with (insert drama topic) rn; 4. and much, much later getting on medication, specifically prozac, (which was more for my depression but helped my anxiety and OCD too)! i'm also an athlete so i get it. if you have any questions/want details feel free to dm me!

The only thing I can say is that it takes time and it gets better 💕 there are going to be times when you fall and feel like dog shit, but you'll learn that it's okay to "fail" and that you don't need to be afraid. It's defined a process though. After two years of being on meds and a bit of therapy I can definitely say it gets a lot better, even if it still sucks. Hope this helps 🤗shoot me a chat if you ever want to talk

Anxiety and depression affects every aspect of my life...I couldn't imagine being an athlete with it. The shortness of breath and fatigue, and increased HR would kill my performance. Sorry your going through this...your not alone