Set yourself small progressive goals towards your ultimate goal. Each time you achieve and conquer a goal you'll be one step closer to your ultimate goal. When you stumble or feel anxious, look back at what you have achieved, feel good about it and use that as determination to overcome the hurdle you find yourself at. Enquire with personal trainers and notify them of you anxiety, some will be willing to help you.

Some other notes which you might find helpful;

Challenge your negative thinking. There is always a different way to view things. Look at the evidence for and against your negative thoughts. Challenge these thoughts. Ask yourself "what kind of advice would I give a friend?"

Practice your fear. Identify some of the situations that are bothering you. Visualise in detail facing the fear and getting through it. Then gradually practice doing something that you fear doing. Your fears are generally worse than the reality.

Be willing to be anxious in order to overcome anxiety. You can't get past it if you aren't willing to go through it.

Accept imperfection and uncertainty. You don't have to be perfect to make progress. You don't have to know something for sure in order to do it. Doing it is better than worrying about it.

Hope that helps and best of luck!

be easier on yourself, sport is probably a good avenue to ease the anxiety - so do not give up on that.

Important to get that mind / body balance.

Have you seen a psychologist / psychiatrist ? Speak with your GP and get a referral.

All the best for the future.

Some really positive and constructive posts made already. I'm impressed.

+1 "great responses to this - the hoops community should be proud"

Anxiety attacks CAN be triggered by your body's inability to process its adrenal response. In which case there are medications that can really help.
Monoamine oxidase Inhibitors are one option.
The important thing to understand is that it's not just "all in your head," you MAY have an easily treatable medical condition. Talk to a doctor, and if necessary a Psychiatrist. (Unfortunately whilst we associate Psychiatrists with serious mental illness, this is also within THEIR area of expertise.)

Try to examine what specifically is making you anxious, and positively dismiss those issues. A psychologist will be able to help with this. If you are in Australia, you can get Medicare funded psychological sessions by getting your GP to do a Mental Health Plan.

I thing I have personally found helped was laying off the Caffeine. (I was a Coffee & Iced-Coffee addict.)
Also, watch your alcohol intake. Whilst alcohol will initially lower anxiety, the rebound can be worse. So don't drink for 24~48 hours before the big events.

Lastly, doctors can prescribe low doses of benzo's for temporary relief of anxiety. Personally I found they did nothing, and actually made my sleep worse (rebound) but they work for some people.

good point above - keep off the stimulants - coffee, red bull, monster etc - increases heart rate and blood pressure.

Hey, some good advice here. It seems to help solidify the consensus opinion I have been getting. As for diet, I don't drink caffeine really at all. I don't have too much sugar, I eat pretty well really despite a few too many carbs. I suppose the problem for me really seems to be mental. I have asked the Dr, and he doesnt want to hear of it being anything else. I haven't mentioned the Adrenal problem you suggested though Dazz.

I am fairly confident it is mental. But once I hear the pounding of the ball on the court and the running - it gets all a bit overwhelming. Which sucks because I love the game and it use to be the place in the world where I would always want to be. As for running to get fitness back up first, I have been doing a very little bit of that. I walk for about an hour, but at the moment I throw in a couple of 2 minute jogs in. The cold air doesn't help though and tends to make me feel a bit crap however. I am looking at doing very light training at the local rec center. Once I am use to the environment again, and a little bit of sweat, then playing the game becomes conceivable.

Has anyone tried other meds for anxiety? I worry about side effects for those however.

I seem to have a sudden death/heart phobia thing. I have no reason to think it will happen to me - a person who the Drs have given the all clear - but when im in the situation the possibility is debilitating. I am sure this doesn't go through most of your minds hey? lol. It never use to go through mine. If I can get back on the court like I use to be, I would want for little else in life. I am a simple guy. lol

Anonymous. I zoned in on Basketball - but it definitely has control of my life. Theres not many things I can do now that I use to

Cheers everyone. I look forward to the day I am back on court. And I think it will be sooner rather than later!

Fantastic responses here and I'm glad there is a serious approach to what is an important issue.

I suffered from severe anxiety and panic Attacks for a number of years as a direct result of 3 unexplained seizures.

It was debilitating to the point of having trouble leaving the house. After numerous gp and specialist visits I had enough of being recommended Zanax and the plethora of other pharmaceuticals that would "help".

I went down the path of natural medicines, and found the result whilst potentially some placebo affect helped my state of mind.

I took St Johns Wart tablets, Kava tablets and fish oil each morning. And then another round if I was putting myself into an environment that I knew could cause me issues. I removed a lot of stimulants such as caffeine and excess sugar from my diet, and began practicing meditation for the use of correct breathing techniques and the ability to focus on the internal energies of my body. This all lowered my general feeling of anxiety, which meant when I did feel an attack come on I could react in a more accepting manner to my body, instead of going right over the edge immediately. It allowed me to confront the fears and rationally process them.

Within a period of 3 months my anxiety had subdued significantly and now 12 months on my panic attacks no longer occur.

Good luck, and remember you are not alone as this thread has shown. But please stay away from the prescription pills, it's the wrong path.

Dr GOOGLE is the worst thing anyone can ever do for any "research" into any medical condition.

Hi GWB, my best friend is a very skilled therapist who is living overseas but has done a lot of work and research into anxiety and panic attacks recently. I thought I would seek out his advice to see if he could assist you. This is what he says:

Firstly, it's not a chemical imbalance problem and medications for panic are pretty ineffective and can have bad side effects. What we are dealing with is a conditioned loop where Bball makes your heart beat fast which leads to anxiety which leads to your heart beating faster which leads to more anxiety etc

A good cognitive behaviour therapist (cbt) should be your first port of call. Work with them over a few months. You could also try mindfulness meditation. It works even though it may be slower than cbt.

There's also a book that he recommends called "Panic Attack Workbook" by Dave Carbonell that you should get.

Hope this helps and Really hope you get back on the court soon mate.