Anxiety attacks that come and go

[abc123xyz]

Hi I am new to using beyond blue and the online forums. I believe I suffer from anxiety, OCD and sometimes depression, although I have not seen anyone about this. The OCD is constant and I am forever rechecking things even when I know in my head that I need to stop but I just can’t. I get anxiety about different things such as health concerns and things that are out of my control, such as the “unknown”. I am currently expecting my first child and have been getting anxiety a lot about this lately. Things such as labour, financial situation, how to raise a baby and my living situation. Out of nowhere I will just start panicking and crying and be sad and angry at the same time. Then a couple of hours later I’ll be completely fine again and feel stupid for losing control. Does anyone else go through things similar to this and is there anything that you’ve tried that helps with it?

[smallwolf]

Hi abc123xyz,

welcome to beyond blue.

Mere male, but the thoughts you had were things my wife and thought about when we had our kids. I would worry over finance. I even bought a couple of books before I first child was born. They were thrown out in the first week as they did not really cover what we were going through. Having a child, your first child, creates a big change in your life, and I would suggest your thought are natural.

Are you able to speak with anyone about your thoughts? Your partner? Parents? Friends? Doctor? etc.

But you asked about things that might be helpful (and I assume you refer to your anxiety)... firstly you could look at the threads on the forum that relate to grounding and mindfulness. If you like reading, then a book like "the happiness trap" would give you coping techniques. Lastly, there are apps like headspace and virtual hope box you can install on your phone.

Final bit of information is a link you might find helpful...

https://healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au/pregnancy-and-new-parents

Tim

[AROD]

Hi,
I am in a very similar situation in the sense of having the same worries about life. I have suffered from anxiety from as long as i can remember, i recently lost alot of weight and i was really worried about a test i was going to have. The day i had the test i had a panic attack at the shops it was really scary and embarrassing. Luckily my husband came to the shops but since then i am having mini attacks at work, shops again etc they are getting less frequent but i currently see a counsellor and that really helps me. However she is currently recovering from an illness so i joined here to speak to people because sometimes i feel like i am the only one with these concerns