Should I get medication for anxiety?

I feel the same about sparring, I do spar but whenever I think about it I get nervous. It's not the fact I'm scared of getting hit, I don't know what it is. So I think it's a common problem.

I wouldn't suggest medication. Just do it more and more and it will become natural.

 

The problem with all medications that as soon as you start using them and they help - you will depend on them from now on.

What is the deep reason why you are getting nervous? You get nervous maybe because you feel "you need to prove something" to somebody or "impress somebody"? Or afraid of getting hurt? Find the root of your problem and deal with it then, rather than dealing with the branch (anxiety) with a help of medication.

Hope it helps!

 

Try meditation. It's proven to help with anxiety

 

Experiments prove nothing, pal. They just support or do not support a hypothesis.

 

Sounds like you should Try it .

 

Scrap is a wise man.

 

I had this problem. After about ten fights or so at the age of 15 I was getting so nervous before some bouts that I ended up just shelling up and getting beaten by guys I should have been beating. I would be sitting in the dressing room shaking, going to the toilet every 5 minutes and my limbs would start aching. I just got to the point where I thought enough is enough and I just let it out to my coach and explained what was wrong. It helped me out that I knew that my coach knew what I was going through and I felt a lot less pressure. Two years later I'm on 31 fights and I still get nervous but have a more don't give a **** attitude and look forward to fighting because I'm not beating guys I shouldn't be beating! You've just got to realise that a fight is just a fight. One guy will win and the other will lose and if it's you who loses you're going to go back to the drawing board and come out the other end as a better fighter.

 

Just stop having expectations for yourself and fight for the fun of it. You do like fighting right?

And spar more. Like, so often that being in that situation is like going to work. Tell yourself stupid stuff before you go to the gym like "Alright, time to go get in a fight."

Enjoy the experience and don't attach it to an outcome. You'll find the outcome improves when you do this.

 

Former LHW contender Bob Olin was noted for his anxiety, near panic, I've read, before fights...And then going out and fighting his ass off.
Gene Tunney said that, before the first Dempsey fight, his biggest fear was the fear would keep him from fighting his fight.
Do you think that artificially masking that emotion would be beneficial to your performance?

 

Don't take medicine, I was prescribed ativan for anxiety and it did nothing but make me cloudy and slow down my reaction. even if i took it on a monday, i wouldn't feel 100% till about wednesday. Those benzos are nothing but bad news.

 

when i feel fear i start enjoying it. Thats what i want, that fear. If you dont have that fear, something is wrong with you, thats the part of boxing and its beautiful. If i dont feel that fear, my life would be boring and i would feel like ***** cause i stopped doing something what makes me alive, that fear would miss me.

if you dont have fear it means that you are too confident/you dont care much and you would get your ass kicked.

 

You want to feel excited and alive but not nervous. I've had problems in my first couple of fight and before sparring sometimes. The thing of it is, I was never afraid to get hit but I feared humiliation. Go in there and relax have fun with it. the first time i get hit in the mouth in sparring it goes away, however bouts are a different issue. I would get really nervous before my first couple fights and I had the jitters I was stopped and got beat up my first couple of fights not because of lack of skill or ability but fear getting the best of me. Until my 4th fight I just said the hell with it i'm going to go out there and have some fun. That was the first fight I won and by far my best performance and it was in front of the biggest crowd I've fought in front of. Also Mike Tyson the baddest man on the planet used to be scared going in to the ring but he knew how to use it. That made me feel much better when I realized everyone feels it

 

meditation and prayer made my anxiety and depression disappear. I had PTSD from my 3 deployments to Afghanistan/Middle East. It all disappeared one day when i started meditating, and reading the Bible. I mean it seriously all disappeared. It was an awesome experience when all my anxiety and depression just went away. Positive thinking and believe in oneself, can bring us anywhere in life.

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." - 2 Timothy 1:7