As someone who deals with anxiety and has used avoidance as a coping mechanism, exercise helps. Just know you’re not the only person who has dealt with this kind of stress; it can be mitigated once you know what strategies work for you.
Off My Chest
RULES:
I am looking for mods!
1. The "good" part of our community means we are pro-empathy and anti-harassment. However, we don't intend to make this a "safe space" where everyone has to be a saint. Sh*t happens, and life is messy. That's why we get things off our chests.
2. Bigotry is not allowed. That includes racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and religiophobia. (If you want to vent about religion, that's fine; but religion is not inherently evil.)
3. Frustrated, venting, or angry posts are still welcome.
4. Posts and comments that bait, threaten, or incite harassment are not allowed.
5. If anyone offers mental, medical, or professional advice here, please remember to take it with a grain of salt. Seek out real professionals if needed.
6. Please put NSFW behind NSFW tags.
Short term, you gotta work it off. Make your body use the energy up so that you can get to an even keel long enough to work on practicing the usual breath control, progressive relaxation, mindfulness, etc. That stuff isn't likely to succeed without practicing when you're not in crisis. But the more you can exercise, structured or not, the less your body is going to be able to escalate the anxiety experience.
Even just pacing works, if you go hard. Really move every step, move with intent and energy.
Other people have given great advice already. Let me suggest you find some kind of counselor, therapist, or coach. They can provide IRL perspective and guidance.