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Anxiety

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with 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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SandySue Anxiety rears it’s ugly head again
  • replies: 2

Hi members, I have suffered from severe anxiety since 2013 and in 2019 and now again in 2024. I should have recognised the early warning signs but I brushed them aside thinking that I could get on top of it myself. So here I am 2 months into what has... View more

Hi members, I have suffered from severe anxiety since 2013 and in 2019 and now again in 2024. I should have recognised the early warning signs but I brushed them aside thinking that I could get on top of it myself. So here I am 2 months into what has been a hellish ride dealing with anxiety, insomnia and no appetite. I tried natural alternatives but after 6 weeks I have had to give in to taking medication. I’m just approaching week 2 and feel that there has been no let up as yet. I’m trying to be patient as I do realise that they take time to work, hopefully. I am 68 and feel that my life is slipping away from me and that each day is wasted by not being functional. I had a part time job that I enjoyed and the thought of even attempting to return is non existent. I feel very isolated and lonely even though I have support. I just want to return to the old me again.

Lu8Lu8 How To Stay Afloat
  • replies: 2

Hi all, it’s been a while since I’ve been in here. I’m really struggling again with anxious thoughts and feeling like I’m drowning. I am struggling to even find the place to start. I am studying my masters in teaching and am currently on placement an... View more

Hi all, it’s been a while since I’ve been in here. I’m really struggling again with anxious thoughts and feeling like I’m drowning. I am struggling to even find the place to start. I am studying my masters in teaching and am currently on placement and absolutely loving it. However, I feel a little overwhelmed by the workload of uni assessments and prac teaching. I’m also stressing about going back to my regular teacher aide job once prac is done as I know I will hate not being able to teach. My partner and I are also looking to buy our first house together which has been stressful figuring out what we both do and don’t want, looking at houses and getting excited and then disappointed when things aren’t as they seem. My partner also works a lot so we barely get time to see each other and it gets lonely. I don’t really have friends either because I find it hard to make and keep friends due to personality differences. Even though I seem to be handling everything on my plate okay, I feel like I’m drowning sometimes. I get anxious and I overthink and worry about how things will turn out or if they will turn out. It can be hard to switch my mind off to go to sleep at night. I try to listen to soundscapes and meditations every once in a while which can help but often it just irritates me. I do yoga but I just don’t find the time to be consistent with it. I honestly want to start a hobby like watercolour painting to take my mind off things but I think it might just add to my stress. Maybe? I don’t know. Has anyone got any ideas that I can try to help me manage my anxiety and relax better? I am really trying to stay afloat here.

Kay-1471 Health anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi every one I. Am new here and I suffer from health anxiety really bad it started years ago then it went away for awhile and has come this year really bad every time I hear someone has passed away the way my mum did it trigger the health anxiety I w... View more

Hi every one I. Am new here and I suffer from health anxiety really bad it started years ago then it went away for awhile and has come this year really bad every time I hear someone has passed away the way my mum did it trigger the health anxiety I was with phycologist they said I suffer from PTSD and anxiety and health anxiety among other mental health issues She said it all stems back to my childhood Not sure what to do

Pete2376 Health Anxiety
  • replies: 4

Any little physical thing that happens to me, I get a panic attack thinking it's the worst and then my heart races and get into a anxiety attack. Small things like a pimple will have me thinking it's leading to cancer etc. Why am I like this. Yes, I'... View more

Any little physical thing that happens to me, I get a panic attack thinking it's the worst and then my heart races and get into a anxiety attack. Small things like a pimple will have me thinking it's leading to cancer etc. Why am I like this. Yes, I've had incredibly heavy period and it did traumatise me but could it be the reason. Is there anything that I can take besides valium that is natural and works instantly to calm me? Please help, need some advice to make me stronger, I am so mentally weak.

Mudball98 Adult Seperation Anxiety
  • replies: 5

Hi, I feel a bit odd posting this but I’m kinda desperate for support. I left my family home earlier this year and moved a few hours away for my dream job. I love the job but I’m really struggling with being alone, I’m suffering with really bad anxie... View more

Hi, I feel a bit odd posting this but I’m kinda desperate for support. I left my family home earlier this year and moved a few hours away for my dream job. I love the job but I’m really struggling with being alone, I’m suffering with really bad anxiety and I struggle. I’m pushing through but I’ve had to go on anti-anxiety medication and I’m seriously wondering if this is all worth it. We had a bit of bad news this year with family health and I think some childhood trauma has also hit me too. Has anyone else struggled with the life adjustment of moving away? I live alone as well so when I’m having an anxiety attack at home it’s even worse.

Guest_11438242 Anxiety in workplace
  • replies: 2

Hey All, been having severe panic attacks whilst at work to the extent of needing additional medication to calm down and function on an auto pilot mode. my employers are aware of my condition and I am very upfront when panic attacks take place. the t... View more

Hey All, been having severe panic attacks whilst at work to the extent of needing additional medication to calm down and function on an auto pilot mode. my employers are aware of my condition and I am very upfront when panic attacks take place. the trigger to this happening occurs when I am made to feel my best is not enough, and my workload is publicly and often scrutinised by my manager. I have spoken several times about how this affects me to my manager as well as their manager. When this happens things settle for a week or so but then the negative culture and remarks start back up again. i just got back from a week of leave and lasted one day before a severe panic attack occurred due to my managers communication to me.I feel I am at the end of my rope, I’ve tried communicating how I’m going, “letting it go” and “just get on with it” and that the only viable option for my health and wellbeing now is to resign as I can’t cope with the workload and culture.aside from my manager, I love my job and working alongside my other colleagues but I’ve given just over a year to see adequate change within the management styles. has anyone been through something similar? What did you do?

WishyBee Spiralling with trivial thoughts
  • replies: 12

I’m hoping someone might have some insight or advice if they have dealt with similar issues to me.I seem to be most affected by trivial mistakes I have made in my life. I am triggered by a small remark (the worst if it comes from a stranger) somethin... View more

I’m hoping someone might have some insight or advice if they have dealt with similar issues to me.I seem to be most affected by trivial mistakes I have made in my life. I am triggered by a small remark (the worst if it comes from a stranger) something like “please move you’re blocking the exit” or a car horn tooting at me will send me spiralling into continuous negative thoughts and over analysing. This will also bring up a lot of trivial mistakes from my past, some mistakes I think about are from when I was a small child, so time doesn’t seem to lessen the affects of these incidents, they just accumulate. I know logically that these remarks/incidents are mostly meaningless and sometimes nothing to do with me personally, but the way I feel about them is utterly devastating. If I try and share these thoughts with family and friends I really start to give myself a hard time to the point where I feel suicidal. I have no control over when or what I will be triggered by or how long I will be agonising over these things. Sometimes I could be feeling this way for ten minutes, sometimes it’s for days. I cannot sleep during these times and I get by on autopilot as the thoughts are all consuming. I have had plenty of traumatic events and major problems in life that I don’t agonise over it’s only the insignificant things that seem to affect me. Has anyone else experienced this or found an effective coping strategy?

Mic_Quid Getting the right help
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if this is the right discussion forum for this but I thought I would have a go and find out. I've had anxiety for a long time, probably all of my life. I have seen psychologists and have some strategies that allow me to mana... View more

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if this is the right discussion forum for this but I thought I would have a go and find out. I've had anxiety for a long time, probably all of my life. I have seen psychologists and have some strategies that allow me to manage the symptoms. However the underlying anxiety still remains and rears its ugly head from time to time. I have also had some issues with frustration/anger, being quick to get quite frustrated and upset/angry. I think it's related to feeling anxious and a "bandwith" issue if that makes sense. It's something I have been working on and I thought I had been doing well until an incident yesterday. So essentially, I feel like I need some help in being able to not get so frustrated. I've read some things about taking deep breaths and counting backwards and the like but that would require a presence of mind that I don't know I had in that instance. Can anyone suggest how I can approach this? Is it a go see a Dr and get a mental health plan thing or are there other groups I can reach out to?

JacintaMarie Hi had bad thoughts
  • replies: 7

HiHow are you? I've been going okay, but at work, I've been getting an inner feeling that my management isn't very good & this afternoon, I did something wrong, which triggered me. I feel bad that I'm thinking this. I'm the only one. I think everyone... View more

HiHow are you? I've been going okay, but at work, I've been getting an inner feeling that my management isn't very good & this afternoon, I did something wrong, which triggered me. I feel bad that I'm thinking this. I'm the only one. I think everyone just accepts that their normal & my bloody mind doesn't! I don't trust my inner feelings anymore. How do you know if its anxiety or your warning? Another bad thing is sometimes I feel my management is all show & no substance. I'm terrible for thinking this, to be fair, my grandmother is also abit like that, looks nice but no substance. She can't help it, it's who she is. I am glad my brain isn't like that, bur sometimes I wish I could fit in. They just give me "weird" looks, though this is my anxiety I guess. I'm a terrible person for saying this! I cannot ever tell this to my management, they'll be horrified! Also, my team leader, I'm not very good at communicating with her, work stuff I just cant talk right, others are fine but I'm crap, but non work stuff, is okay. I learnt, I think, she's the type of person, where she's always right, as long as she's right, no problem. I am a horrible person! Thanks for letting me rant!

Fzyy Health anxiety!
  • replies: 5

Hello, Im sure other people suffer from health anxiety and I do too, and it’s really bad. Considering my age, I’m very young but even the tiniest throb, headache, cough worries me and it’s draining me faster and worse than my own health can. It’s ext... View more

Hello, Im sure other people suffer from health anxiety and I do too, and it’s really bad. Considering my age, I’m very young but even the tiniest throb, headache, cough worries me and it’s draining me faster and worse than my own health can. It’s extremely scary and I can’t seem to find people with similar constant Symptoms that come with their anxiety, no matter how much research I do so I’m convinced it’s something bad. Which makes me feel unmotivated to do absolutely anything, I leave things to the very last minute and I can’t even keep up with basic hygiene because I feel like there’s no use, also makes me feel awful. When I do get random boosts of motivation (rarely) or feel like I can calm down, I immediately can’t anymore, I tense up or get even slightly anxious that something bad will happen after that and that’s the only reason I was allowed to be “normal” for a bit, so I leave that and force myself to feel more down and empty, But in general everything feels meaningless at the same time. If anyone feels similar I’d love for a reply!