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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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rainynight11 I feel like a phoney at times
  • replies: 13

I’ve been accused of faking having anxiety. I struggle badly with social activities and being around large group of people. It’s rear for me to go to social events as it’s difficult for me. I worry all the time about everything. I use to exercise reg... View more

I’ve been accused of faking having anxiety. I struggle badly with social activities and being around large group of people. It’s rear for me to go to social events as it’s difficult for me. I worry all the time about everything. I use to exercise regularly by myself and would shop for food and stuff regularly by my self or with 1 other person who also needed stuff. Because I’m capable of doing that, I’ve been accused of lying by people who are trying to prove I’m a phoney. My understanding is shopping isn’t a social activity unless you are doing it for fun with another person. That, I really do. At times I do wonder if they are right about me being a phoney since I know anxiety can stop people from being able to shop, but I still manage to.

maddie_faye Feel like going crazy at home
  • replies: 2

I really hate being stuck at home even if it’s for a day or two with no where to go and I’m really worried about getting covid and not being able to leave the house for 7 days as it would be really bad for my mental health. as i get extremely restles... View more

I really hate being stuck at home even if it’s for a day or two with no where to go and I’m really worried about getting covid and not being able to leave the house for 7 days as it would be really bad for my mental health. as i get extremely restless and it makes my anxiety worse been stuck at home all day literally having nowhere to go out too. Isolating for 7 days is something I couldn’t cope with and I might as well Stay in bed all day because there would be no point in getting up, sometimes I feel like this just staying home for a day or 2 with nowhere to go I feel like screaming I have to have somewhere to drive to otherwise I get agitated and depressed. It’s gotten worse since I have my license and car because I hate seeing my car sitting in the carport all day and not being driven.

visitor0495 Hearing The Distant Sound of People Talking as People Talking About You?
  • replies: 3

Hi, I have suffered from anxiety and depression for years. I am currently not on medication and waiting to see a therapist. I sometimes get paranoid that people say things about me, but I guess that's not uncommon with anxiety. Within the last year i... View more

Hi, I have suffered from anxiety and depression for years. I am currently not on medication and waiting to see a therapist. I sometimes get paranoid that people say things about me, but I guess that's not uncommon with anxiety. Within the last year it is as if my mind is translating the sound of people talking in the distance into things that they may be saying about me. This usually happens when the talking is in another room and muffled, so I can not actually hear what they are saying if I tried to listen. It just seems to be triggered by excess noise and the sound of chatter. I moved into a small and noisy apartment three years ago. I am still not used to living in such a noisy residence as I lived 24 years of my life in stand alone homes with more distance between houses and thicker walls. I can always hear the muffled sound of people talking outside and noise everyone makes. I am able to analyse these thoughts or sounds when this happens and question them. It's not that I am 100% certain that people are talking about me. It's almost as if I just hear them say it. They are always far enough away that if I actually wanted to hear what they are saying, I would not be able to. It's never a clear voice that's as loud as someone talking to you in the same room. It sounds like a muffled whisper of something negative being said. I am unsure if this is not uncommon for people with anxiety and depression or if it's possibly a different mental illness, e.g., schizophrenia or something. There is a neighbour that gives me anxiety because they are constantly sitting outside talking and our front doors are right next to each other. When I am home and I constantly "hear" them saying things about me. I do not think he particularly likes me, but that's life. I am sure that even though he may say something, he would not be doing it as much as I "hear" it. This also happens at work in the presence of coworkers and customers. I don't think it's Schizophrenia because I am not randomly hearing voices when it's completely quiet and no one is there. It's only triggered when there's multiple people nearby and I can hear the sound of them talking in the distance. I think some of it has to do with low self esteem associated with anxiety as the things I "hear" are things that I am embarrassed or not confident about. Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this at all?

StevenN_ Extreme anxiety and stress on school.
  • replies: 7

Im 14 and in Year 9. I'm currently seriously affected by anxiety and worry. I've been falling behind in school work and unable to complete even simple tasks. Today I was in music and we learnt music composition. I had 0 literally 0 idea about what we... View more

Im 14 and in Year 9. I'm currently seriously affected by anxiety and worry. I've been falling behind in school work and unable to complete even simple tasks. Today I was in music and we learnt music composition. I had 0 literally 0 idea about what we did and it was so hard to understand. I just felt butterflies in my stomach and I asked everyone but they seemed to kind of ignore me. I felt so fragile, lost and desperate. This feeling has been happening every single day since I had covid around 2-3 months ago. Everyday I'm shaking and so scared to go to school. I feel like no one understands me and think I'm just lazy but I can't physically complete my work or be motivated to do anything because I'm avoiding the thing thats hurting me in the first place but its only making it worst. Seeing everyone so happy and so ahead of the work compared to me has damaged me. Why is that I've tried so hard but gained so little. I've been crying almost everyday. I know i sound so stupid but im at tipping point. I have so much stress with assesment tasks because I'm not understanding it since I'm fighting my brain everyday. I want to ask for help but im scared of burdening people. im so sad

Ianna I am so anxious about my health
  • replies: 6

I have no confident to tell anyone close to me about my situation but I know I have to express my feeling and hopefully can make me feel better. It was exam week for uni student recently and I have been spending my entire week sitting in library stud... View more

I have no confident to tell anyone close to me about my situation but I know I have to express my feeling and hopefully can make me feel better. It was exam week for uni student recently and I have been spending my entire week sitting in library studying from 9am to 10pm everyday. I am currently suffering from back pain recently and I know it is probably due to long time sitting previously. But every time I get issues related to my physical health I am scared of it, I will be so worried about myself and I don't want to let my parents to be worried about me as well. Therefore I will choose not to tell anyone and solve it on my own like visiting my GP. However, I can't stop thinking about it and I always relate minor health issue to severe illness, which I have no idea why. I can't control my mind, I just feel so anxious and the feelings often persist, affecting my mood. I have past history of anxiety and still taking regular medications. Every time this feeling come, I will have no idea what to do and feel so lost Sorry I don't know what am I talking about but my mind is like a mess I just hope to get some comfort and alleviate my anxiety.

Apricit123 Intrusive thouhts
  • replies: 7

I got so many intrusive thoughts everyday.. like I check ingredients in food I'm worried to take medication incase it has a different ingredient it's so frustrating and a scary place to be in I hate feeling like this

I got so many intrusive thoughts everyday.. like I check ingredients in food I'm worried to take medication incase it has a different ingredient it's so frustrating and a scary place to be in I hate feeling like this

adele90 Anxiety related to fear of heart attacks and strokes
  • replies: 9

Hi all, new to this. Thought it may help me talk, I suffer from sever anxiety all related to heart attacks and strokes. I'm 25 years old, generally live a healthy lifestyle. But my anxiety is taking over. I'm so scared I'm going to have a stroke or h... View more

Hi all, new to this. Thought it may help me talk, I suffer from sever anxiety all related to heart attacks and strokes. I'm 25 years old, generally live a healthy lifestyle. But my anxiety is taking over. I'm so scared I'm going to have a stroke or heart attack I have all the physical symptoms, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizzyness, blurred vision, sharp pains in my head etc I'm constantly looking in the mirror to see if my face is dropping, and constantly asking friends and family if I look weird, which i never am. I'm starting to fear being alone, and have started to hate driving alone. I always need to know what street I'm on and ALWAYS need to know where the nearest hospital is just incase. I'm barely sleeping, Is this story fimiliar to anyone else? If so any light or guidance on what to do would be great. Im really loosing it over here and it's just getting too much to handle. All my friends and family think it's a joke so I don't tLk about it to anyone I just sit in a panic of sweat constantly. I was recently told if you smell burning toast it means you are about to have a stroke, so naturally all I have been Smelling all week is toast. I'm really losing the plot here any words of wisdom would be great or advise on what I might be able to do. Have been to the GP for help, she sent me home and told me to relax. Obviously that is hard to do. Thanks for listening

Deeway Do you ever feel like your heart is weak?
  • replies: 7

My Anxiety makes me feel like my heart is so weak like it can't keep beating and I gamer an almost constant feeling of dizziness it's very scary and off-putting. I feel like I can't do anything by myself because I'm scared of fainting or collapsing w... View more

My Anxiety makes me feel like my heart is so weak like it can't keep beating and I gamer an almost constant feeling of dizziness it's very scary and off-putting. I feel like I can't do anything by myself because I'm scared of fainting or collapsing which hasn't yet happened so I'm not sure why this anxious feeling is so persistent. All I want is to get back to my normal life, this doom in my belly needs to go it's not welcome here! I do so well for a few weeks then if anything in life goes wrong I regress so much. Can others relate?

CourtneyJ Brainwashed by diet culture
  • replies: 5

I'm angry. Angry and confused. I've been overweight my entire adult life. And I've spent all of that time obsessing about it. Hating the way I look, hiding my body under big clothes and trying to find ways to lose weight. And the more restrictive I g... View more

I'm angry. Angry and confused. I've been overweight my entire adult life. And I've spent all of that time obsessing about it. Hating the way I look, hiding my body under big clothes and trying to find ways to lose weight. And the more restrictive I get my with my diet the more my instinct is to rebel against it and just eat everything I see. Constantly reading internet articles trying to find the magic bullet that will work. Wading through confusing and often contradictory diet advice from multiple sources (most of them totally unqualified to give advice). And I'm tired of all of it. I'm angry that I can't seem to let go of diet culture. I feel like I'm trapped inside it and I'll never get out, and I'll never be happy. I'm a 30 year old intelligent woman who should be able to apply logical thinking and reasoning to solve a problem. But I can't do that with my diet and weight. I just want to forget every piece of information I've ever consumed about diet and weight loss and free myself from this mental prison.

PsychedelicFur Autism & Anxiety
  • replies: 6

Hello everyone, I’m really struggling. I quit my waitressing job of seven months just last week. It became too much with the unpredictable hours, demanding and challenging tasks, extremely loud noises at functions and bright lights. One of my supervi... View more

Hello everyone, I’m really struggling. I quit my waitressing job of seven months just last week. It became too much with the unpredictable hours, demanding and challenging tasks, extremely loud noises at functions and bright lights. One of my supervisors treated me poorly too. He grabbed me by my sleeve once and dragged me like a dog. He would also come and hug me from behind without my consent. And him and other workers would not take my autism seriously. they even said “everyone has a bit of autism.” And “when you become a Journalist you can write an article about folding napkins.” Eventually, I got the courage to leave. As I had to work ridiculously long hours and I found the socialising to be extremely detrimental to my mental health. Plus I would have to constantly mask my autism. It was deeply painful and problematic. I’m struggling with my autism and my anxiety right now. I feel like I don’t belong. I have cancelled two social events that were over last weekend because I simply did not have the energy to attend. I feel like such a failure because I quit my toxic place of employment and I did not attend two social events that I was meant to attend. Plus my dad recently got involved with a lady who was insensitive towards his depression and anxiety. And I have been worried about how detrimental that must’ve been for his psychological health. Lucky he stopped talking to her. And also my partner’s father said something really insensitive about my autism earlier last week. Which is making me feel uncomfortable and scared to speak to him now. I feel like I can’t go to him for guidance or support. My partner understands and says he will try to keep me separate from his father until I feel comfortable but I told him I didn’t want to make any dramas or hassles. I tend to not like confrontation or drama. I just feel so lost and stuck. I don’t know what else to do. PF