# General anxiety disorder and taking meds to cope during tournament



## Aldar (Oct 17, 2012)

I am a yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do and I also have a couple of years experience with Karate and shaolin-do. We have a tournament coming up and it's the first I've ever competed in. My problem is that I have  general anxiety disorder (with a bit of Agoraphobia) and being in that situation is really something I'm worried about. I do take zanax for the anxiety, but I will be sparring and I would imagine that that medication will greatly impact my performance (can either give me a 'buzz' or make me fatigued). Of course I really need to be at %110, especially since I'm 41 and I agreed to enter the 18-39 division at my instructor's encouragement. I am not worried about my performance or skill level when sparring in class, but I fear that without the meds I wont be able to concentrate on the match at the tournament, just everyone looking at me or worse, just back out at the last minute. Maybe I should just try a half dose, but it will still effect me. Anyone else ever in a similar situation?


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## Goldendawn8 (Oct 17, 2012)

Hey, I understand your situation quite well in that I find myself getting over anxious and paranoid in unfamiliar situations and places. 
I recommend taking St. John's Wort on a daily basis due to its calming effect. I would also consider meditation on a regular basis and soon after you arrive at the competition. A meditation reaching a more relaxed/in control state of mind by minimizing your internal chatter, going internally to your place of power and comfort, and then finally addressing your concerns with a clear mind and breaking them down to the point where they can be washed away to a point of insignificance.


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## oaktree (Oct 17, 2012)

You should really discuss your medication and dosages and concerns with your doctor.


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## Aldar (Oct 17, 2012)

Well I do see a psych regularly and I do know my dosage. I was just worried taking it when I have to compete even though that is just the type of situation I need the meds for in the first place.


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## jezr74 (Oct 17, 2012)

I agree with oak tree, and don't mix drugs without checking in with your doc as it might have a side effect

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


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## celestial_dragon (Oct 17, 2012)

high, I also have anxiety do to the gulf war of 1990, i take celexa, for it. It doesn't give you a buzz. Ask your Dr. about it.


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## Bill Mattocks (Oct 18, 2012)

Aldar said:


> I am a yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do and I also have a couple of years experience with Karate and shaolin-do. We have a tournament coming up and it's the first I've ever competed in. My problem is that I have  general anxiety disorder (with a bit of Agoraphobia) and being in that situation is really something I'm worried about. I do take zanax for the anxiety, but I will be sparring and I would imagine that that medication will greatly impact my performance (can either give me a 'buzz' or make me fatigued). Of course I really need to be at %110, especially since I'm 41 and I agreed to enter the 18-39 division at my instructor's encouragement. I am not worried about my performance or skill level when sparring in class, but I fear that without the meds I wont be able to concentrate on the match at the tournament, just everyone looking at me or worse, just back out at the last minute. Maybe I should just try a half dose, but it will still effect me. Anyone else ever in a similar situation?



I can't say that I have your exact experience, but I have Diabetes and take medication for it and spar in tournaments sometimes.  

The most important thing is to understand your medical condition, as others have said.  Don't put yourself in a situation where you might get hurt.

However, after that, perhaps I can add a couple things that might help you.

Have you been to a tournament before?  If not, you might benefit from actually seeing what a tournament looks like.  The sparring, especially at your level, is no big deal.  At your age and belt color, you may find there is no one in your division anyway; they you either win automatically by default, or they put you in a different division.

Take a look at similar sparring on Youtube, you might get an idea what it looks like at YOUR level (don't look at black belt level sparring)

In TKD and most other styles, you'll be wearing protective gear and you'll be point-sparring.  So it's one point and stop, one point and stop.  It's over quickly win or lose.

There is no shame in losing.  People who compete have already won in the sense that they have the guts to step into the ring.  When I lost my first several tournaments (and I'm over 50 years old), one of the younger people in my dojo had something to say about it, and my sensei stopped that cold.  He said "When you have the guts to step into the ring, then you can talk about how other people did in competition.  If you haven't got the guts to do it yourself, you have no standing to say jack to anyone else, whether they won or lost."

Consider it a learning experience no matter what.  If you lose, you learn,  if you win you learn.  Learning is good.

Relax, enjoy.  Some of the nicest people I've met in martial arts so far outside of my own dojo were people I sparred with.  We've become Facebook friends, we like each other.  We share a common bond.

Good luck, be safe, and have fun.


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## WC_lun (Oct 18, 2012)

If you have concerns about your medications, your doc is the one to talk to, not us.  If you are taking the meds already, your body should be used to it enough that it won't impact your sparring.  If itts a one time thing for the tournament, I would REALLLY advise you yo talk to your doctor.

Bill post says a lot about tournaments that you should pay attention to.


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## Aldar (Oct 19, 2012)

I have been taking this medication for a while and I know it can either give me a 'buzz' or make me fatigued. So my question is, do I go without the meds and most likely be distracted by my anxiety of being in the open around that many people, or sacrifice a bit of focus and take the meds? I think I will take just half so maybe I'll be somewhere in the middle.

Thanks for you responses.


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## Dirty Dog (Oct 19, 2012)

There's no clearcut answer, and even amoung the medical community, treatment for this sort of thing is fairly controversial.

Personally, I am part of the group that thinks treating anxiety disorders with addictive, dangerous medications is a bad idea for anything other than the short term. I belive that the solution lies in indentifying the underlying issues that manifest as anxiety and learning to deal with THEM, rather than dulling the mind (which all anxiolytics do). Treat the *problem*, not the symptom.


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## Carol (Oct 19, 2012)

Aldar said:


> I have been taking this medication for a while and I know it can either give me a 'buzz' or make me fatigued. So my question is, do I go without the meds and most likely be distracted by my anxiety of being in the open around that many people, or sacrifice a bit of focus and take the meds? I think I will take just half so maybe I'll be somewhere in the middle.
> 
> Thanks for you responses.



Go without the meds and work on developing your coping skills for the anxiety.   Folks at tournaments are going to be way more focused on themselves than they will be on you.  If it doesn't go as planned, put what you learned in to a plan of action for the next time.  All the best.  :asian:


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## HammockRider (Oct 19, 2012)

I take anti-anxiety meds myself and I have a similar problem. . I try to distract myself from my anxiety by focusing on what's going on in the moment. Like others have said focus on relaxing and enjoying what you are doing. Don't let anxiety push you around. I also agree with what Carol and DD have said. Try and find the underlying issue for your anxiety and deal with that. Get to the root of the problem. 

Don't mix pharmaceuticals with herbs or anything really until you talk to your doctor. There isn't a lot of data on how these things mix with each other and since your anti-anxiety meds affect your brain function, well you don't want to mess with that. And be careful about cutting or stopping your meds. I did that once. A month later I found myself in the ER 3 times within a week because I thought I was having a heart attack. Turns out each time I was actually having a panic attack. That was an embarrassing, inconvenient and costly mistake. 

Every thing I've written here is based only on my own experience as someone who suffers from anxiety problems. This is all my long winded way of saying check with your doctor before messing with your meds, try to get to the root of your problem so you can eventually reduce or discontinue the meds( with your doc's approval). The fact that you have the guts to go to a tournament means you're not letting anxiety control you, which is means you've already won.


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## brownie710 (Nov 5, 2012)

.5mg of Xanax is the psychomotor equivalent of having a BAC of .08, the limit at which you are considered too drunk to drive. That said I'm sure you wouldn't enter a competition after drinking enough to be drunk. I can appreciate you concern and don't know the reasons your school encourages you to enter competition. Our school encourages us to compete to have us experience duress and learn to cope with it (we are primarily a self defense based art) so taking anything away from that dynamic would be self defeating. A long term anxiolitic such as Celexa or Zoloft may be a better fit but consulting your prescribing psychiatrist would be a wise move.


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## K-man (Nov 5, 2012)

I'm not sure if the tournament has come and gone, but anxiety before such competition is perfectly normal. My concern is some the advice you are being given.  DD is right on the money, as usual.  Xanax is not for regular use and although you didn't say so, I'm assuming that, as you are under a psychiatrist, you only take the drug occasionally, not regularly. Even so, as you have been taking the medication for some time, you will have tolerance and although your reflexes may be slowed, taking your medication may indeed make the situation more tolerable.  Only you can make that decision.  But beware of other more regular meds and don't mess with SJW.  Good luck!


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## MikeBielat (Dec 3, 2012)

I have often felt the opposite during tournaments. The local ones would take forever and a day to get to my division and by then, any and all anxiety was long gone... Lol.

All I have to say about this is that you have come all this way in your training. Be confident in yourself. If you are confident then you have already won.

There is a saying: 
*"If you doubt yourself in a one-on-one fight... you are outnumbered."*


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