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Anxiety

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Chris_B Forums etiquette: give support to receive support
  • replies: 0

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newb... View more

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newbies are welcomed when they first post, and we understand that it’s a big step to post for the first time on a forum like this, especially if you aren’t feeling great. It’s important to remember, though, that these forums are a community of real people, just like you, not a one-on-one support environment like going to see your psychologist. To get the best out of being here, one of the best tips we can offer is give support to receive support. Being a good community member means: participating in different threads (not just your own), replying to people who have taken the time to reply to you (even if it’s just to say thank you), and... posting words of emotional support and encouragement when you see others who are hurting and reaching out. You don’t have to feel obliged to solve the problems of others: that’s not what we’re here for. But you can offer empathy and what you’ve learned from your own life experiences, even if it’s just a line or two, eg. “I don't know what to say, but I want to give you my support and tell you I care about what is happening to you and hope life will get better soon.” Try to develop an interest in the journeys of others here on the forums. You may be surprised at how good being an active, caring member here can make you feel. For those of you who have had good experiences giving support here on the forums, please post in this thread here and let us know how it has helped you on your journey.

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Guest_16276285 Feeling like a failure and hopeless everyday due to not finding a job post grad
  • replies: 5

Hi Beyond Blue forum! I am writing this as I have recently finished up my bachelors degree in nursing and have not landed a job as a FT registered nurse. This has been weighing heavily on my mind and emotions as I constantly compare my self to others... View more

Hi Beyond Blue forum! I am writing this as I have recently finished up my bachelors degree in nursing and have not landed a job as a FT registered nurse. This has been weighing heavily on my mind and emotions as I constantly compare my self to others in my cohort who have successfully landed a graduate position where as I have not. Everyday I break into tears have a feeling of doom when thinking about my future as I hate the uncertainty about it all. I had my whole future centered on gaining a graduate position after finishing uni - for context I was waitlisted and could be contacted up until next August, but the waiting game is hard and as the days go by I give up hope on receiving a position. I was wondering if anyone had any good coping mechanisms as I feel like I should be proud of myself but I dont, I feel like I wasted years of my life on a degree to not even land a job. My mind is just stuck in a negative cycle of telling myself that I did not do good enough in life.

Guest_25939418 Nausea & anxiety
  • replies: 2

Does anyone else out there suffer from nausea and anxiety together?I get overwhelmed with nausea and that leads to anxiety

Does anyone else out there suffer from nausea and anxiety together?I get overwhelmed with nausea and that leads to anxiety

tina House mate and Landlord exteamly bad drama
  • replies: 1

Hi my name's Tina I am stuck in a horrible Share house due to Rental crisis.My Landlord is extremely rud,Sexuast and ignores women.also one of my House mate he is very very loud between 9pmand 3am I am really struggling with this.I have tried mention... View more

Hi my name's Tina I am stuck in a horrible Share house due to Rental crisis.My Landlord is extremely rud,Sexuast and ignores women.also one of my House mate he is very very loud between 9pmand 3am I am really struggling with this.I have tried mentioning to close the kitchen door because of noise he seems to ignore me.i have lost alot of sleep due to this he also bangs to the walli share

MoodedOut Letting others down
  • replies: 1

Just wanted to share something, I had a pretty horrible anxiety attack today. I wanted to try out a new food place and I took my parents along, but it didn't seem like they really enjoyed it. Now I just feel really selfish for making others try somet... View more

Just wanted to share something, I had a pretty horrible anxiety attack today. I wanted to try out a new food place and I took my parents along, but it didn't seem like they really enjoyed it. Now I just feel really selfish for making others try something that only I want to. I feel like I should have taken them to a place they were used to. I know my parents still emjoyed going out and going there and part of this is my anxiety but it's always hard to go through these kind of things for me

Sal2645 Anxiety driving friends away
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone. I’m writing because I’m struggling a lot at the moment with my friendships. I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself to behave a certain way so that people will like me because I often get stuck in thought patterns that I’m inherently... View more

Hi everyone. I’m writing because I’m struggling a lot at the moment with my friendships. I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself to behave a certain way so that people will like me because I often get stuck in thought patterns that I’m inherently unlikeable and no one wants to be around me so I really have to make an effort to be tolerable to be around. This is something I’ve dealt with my whole life so it’s nothing new and I know I’m just overthinking. But lately my friends have been doing things without me and not inviting places which just is my worst fear and means that my overthinking has become a reality. Its my fault because I’m constantly worried about how I’m acting and assume that no one wants to talk to me so I rarely reach out to people first. I’m always over analysing everything I do and people’s reactions so I’m probably not that present in the moment and look like I’m not enjoying myself. This means that because I’m worried about bringing the mood down and being boring, that I actually am ruining the mood because I just don’t engage. Obviously this would drive my friends away and it’s just hard because it solidifies the fact that I think I’m insufferable to be around because now im not apart of anything anymore.Before I could kinda pretend to be normal but now because I’m getting invited less and less, there is more pressure in my head when I’m with my friends because I’m trying to make them like me again, but obviously that just makes it worse cause I’m more anxious than normal. I just feel like I’ve done this to myself and have no idea how to fix it.

bellyk8 Debilitating social anxiety
  • replies: 10

I'm reaching out because i want to know if there's anyone that shares my level of social anxiety (to the point that it interferes with everyday life and has for years). I find it difficult to maintain eye contact with people that are talking to me, t... View more

I'm reaching out because i want to know if there's anyone that shares my level of social anxiety (to the point that it interferes with everyday life and has for years). I find it difficult to maintain eye contact with people that are talking to me, to the extent that i cannot fully focus on what they're saying to me because i'm so anxious + heavily focused on maintaining eye contact with them. I avoid social events at all cost (which means that i don't have much of a social life but i am introverted so that doesn't bother me heaps), if i have to go to them (family or work related event) i will dread it for days ahead of the event, if there is alcohol involved i use that as a bandaid effect to ease the severe discomfort i experience. If i find myself in a group setting with people or even going to the shops and see someone i know i will enter fight or flight mode and shut down mentally/physically, like i can't even function properly. There is so much more i can say but basically i am sick of feeling like i have to hide all the time and be severely distressed by things that any normal person would not be in their everyday life, and i shouldn't be in fight/flight mode over. I feel isolated at work because i don't actively engage with my coworkers (unless it is a work related question) to avoid the anxiety that comes with making small talk or banter (i'll avoid the lunch room and go out for a walk at lunch). I also used to wear sunglasses when working in an outdoor job often to avoid direct eye contact which made me feel much more at ease. I know all these coping mechanisms are not healthy, but i have been like this for years. I don't know what triggered the social anxiety, i was a shy person in school and only stuck to one or two friends, never groups of people. I understand that exposure therapy seems to be the only way out of SAD (i am medicated for anxiety however it doesn't seem to have an effect on my SAD), but i feel like at my age (33), being in the workforce and having a partner etc, it should have dissipated? I know rationally that there is nothing to fear from people talking to me but i can't help it. I should also note that my partner is pretty much the only person that i don't struggle / think about eye maintaining contact with. One psychologist asked if i thought i might be autistic, but i am fairly sure it is social anxiety. If anyone out there is going through the same thing please know you're not alone.

Jaylou Generalised Anxiety disorder
  • replies: 4

Hi All,I have suffered form anxiety most of my life but recent changes at work has me spiralling badly to the extent it's crippling. I went to my GP and I did a MHCP and she has me on medication which is helping somewhat. I am booked in for my first ... View more

Hi All,I have suffered form anxiety most of my life but recent changes at work has me spiralling badly to the extent it's crippling. I went to my GP and I did a MHCP and she has me on medication which is helping somewhat. I am booked in for my first therapy appointment in January buy I was hoping to get some ways to help cope until then?

grovi I had a car accident
  • replies: 4

And it was entirely my own fault. I tried crossing two lanes of traffic on a street that I've done it a million times before. It was really busy and a guy opened up a gap for me. I was so focussed on missing an accident in those later lanes that i fo... View more

And it was entirely my own fault. I tried crossing two lanes of traffic on a street that I've done it a million times before. It was really busy and a guy opened up a gap for me. I was so focussed on missing an accident in those later lanes that i forgot for an instant to double check the closest ones which seemed completely clear. Noone was hurt, and there was only really minor damage to the cars. I just didn't see him. The insurance has accepted all claims but I'm still so wrecked with guilt over the situation. I'm so ashamed that I can't bring myself to tell anyone. I'm so scared to get back in the car because I'm paranoid that I'll miss something somehow. And I'm so scared that this is going to become one of those things that just stays with me for years and years to come. I have had major issues with guilt / shame anxiety in the past. It's partially the lack of personal concequence that's really messing with me. Everything ended so neatly and almost too well. I am thankful for this but at the same time I feel as though I should have been fined, punished somehow. On the one hand I feel as though I deserve to have this anxiety, but I don't know how to stop feeling this way, and I really don't think I can handle dwelling on this kind of shame again for as long as I did last time.

Guest_10063 OCD Advice
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone, I've been recently diagnosed with OCD and sometimes finding it hard. My obsessions sometimes are if I don't do a compulsion that I will be cursed and forever think about that compulsion. I have been doing good at home dealing with my obs... View more

Hi everyone, I've been recently diagnosed with OCD and sometimes finding it hard. My obsessions sometimes are if I don't do a compulsion that I will be cursed and forever think about that compulsion. I have been doing good at home dealing with my obsessions and compulsions but now I find when I leave home, I am sometimes obsessed about things outside, like not walking over something correctly, the way I look at things and when I am driving if I see things, sometimes I need to turn back around and look at them again. It gives me a lot of anxiety; I am working with a psychologist and psychiatrist at the moment and trialing medication for the anxiety. I also sometimes hate doing things on certain numbers. I was wondering if anyone else may have the same obsessions as me or is dealing with a high level of OCD that could probably give me some advice. I do know a lot of it starts when I am angry or stressed and I try to deal with that emotion and identify it, we are doing exposure therapy and making slow progress, but I had a massive break down yesterday where I broke down crying saying how much I hate having this disorder. So, if anyone is going through OCD themselves or have managed to control it, I would love to hear from you and any advice you may have will be great. Thank you Kindly

Guest_10046 Stress
  • replies: 1

Hi all, I finally got the courage to get up and go to the doctor's office to ask about what places or websites support anxiety disorder, panic attacks and to get more information. I am 18 years old and female. Because I am constantly stressing and ha... View more

Hi all, I finally got the courage to get up and go to the doctor's office to ask about what places or websites support anxiety disorder, panic attacks and to get more information. I am 18 years old and female. Because I am constantly stressing and having anxiety attacks, my youngest sister is 12 years old and she weighs similar to me. Everyone always says something about how "skinny" I am, they will always make comments saying, "you wouldn't even make a shadow", or "you are thinner than a piece of paper". It can be very hurtful, and I can't ever seem to put on weight, I eat so much but never put any weight. I went and got my blood drawn yesterday so I am hoping that my results will come back all good. I would like to see if anyone else struggles with putting weight on? Also I have stopped eating foods that I usually love to eat and enjoy and I only eat maybe if I am lucky to get hungry. I will eat a small packet of cookies, a honey sandwich, and a packet of chips. I want to know any other ways to put weight on or improve my anxiety. Thanks. Charlimay04.