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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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BeyondBlue Hi! Check out this post if you're not sure how to start
  • replies: 0

Hi there and welcome to the Anxiety section of the Forums First of all, thank you so much for joining us here. We think it’s amazing that you’ve taken this step to getting support and learning from this Community. You are very welcome here and we are... View more

Hi there and welcome to the Anxiety section of the Forums First of all, thank you so much for joining us here. We think it’s amazing that you’ve taken this step to getting support and learning from this Community. You are very welcome here and we are really interested in what you might want to add to these conversations. We get it, having anxiety makes it hard to share in a public place. Remeber, this is anonymous and the Beyond Blue team are here to help if you need it This section is for people who are experiencing anixiety in some form in their lives. This might be in social settings, at work, or just in the day to day. You don’t need a diagnosis to post here. If it feels like the right spot for you post, go right ahead! We know that feeling anxious can make it hard to reach out so we want you to know that getting this far is amazing and a great start. A few tips for getting the most out of this section: Get involved when you can! Posting and replying is the heartbeat of this community and you DO have something worthile to share (when you’re ready ) Every experience is different. There is no competition here. We know how challenging anxiety can be and how it comes in all shapes and sizes. What you are experiencing will be respected and supported here. Trust yourself! You are the expert in your experience. This community works because people like you share what has worked for you. Thank you for getting involved and taking a look. We can’t wait to hear from you! Beyond Blue

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Orangeicy Ditching fake friends
  • replies: 8

I had a group of friends that were starting to freeze me out. I gathered my courage and finally asked them individually if I had made a faux pas to upset anyone. The reply I got from them individually was "no" but still my messages were being ignored... View more

I had a group of friends that were starting to freeze me out. I gathered my courage and finally asked them individually if I had made a faux pas to upset anyone. The reply I got from them individually was "no" but still my messages were being ignored and being in person around them still ignored me. My anxiety went ballistic. I struggle badly with low self esteem and during all of this I couldn't sleep, couldn't focus, snapping at my family and kids..felt like I was losing my mind. So I decided to pull back. Decided that they can come to me if they want me and if not that's fine too.Seems good on paper, right? Not wasting energy on something if it's not meant to be.But of course I am still upset. And being a small town I will run into them. And then what. Smile and nod? I can't make the break too bad with everyone's kids at the same school but I just feel so odd. So weird. And that voice in the back of my head that won't shut up.I really thought that when people grow up they "grow up"! That they stopped the games played at highschool then I didn't like then or now. I just feel like I can't find Real people. True people. The people who accept you for who you are without any motives. Rant over.

Maggie S How long for new medication to be effective?
  • replies: 2

I would like to hear any experience you may have with side effects when commencing medication, and how long it takes to feel better. I have been prescribed a new medication (switching from one type to another) and have been on this for 6 days for dep... View more

I would like to hear any experience you may have with side effects when commencing medication, and how long it takes to feel better. I have been prescribed a new medication (switching from one type to another) and have been on this for 6 days for depression and anxiety. It feels like I have taken a step back in my recovery. It’s hard to distinguish between existing symptoms or side effects from new medication. Do you just push through knowing the benefits will come in time? (I am of course, being advised by my GP and Psychiatrist, but was interested in your feedback too).

SamHose Somniphobia + insomnia
  • replies: 3

I'm currently really struggling and am wondering else anyone else has hypno / clino / somniphobia and have any tips on how they deal with it because I've had about 3 break downs over the past 3 days because the unconsciousness + dreaming and the not ... View more

I'm currently really struggling and am wondering else anyone else has hypno / clino / somniphobia and have any tips on how they deal with it because I've had about 3 break downs over the past 3 days because the unconsciousness + dreaming and the not knowing you're asleep kinda scares the sh*t outta me, its been on and off like there was a long period of like 4 months where I was fine and sometimes it comes back like this and I really struggle with it, its especially worse because I started a new Anti anxiety + depression medication and the side effects have been pretty bad so that is provoking me to be more on edge that usual as-well. sorry for the rant just wanted to know if anyone had any tips or advice on how to change the way I see or feel about sleep. It's all really bad and yeah it's making me lose sleep and also making me not be able to fall asleep unless I'm just completely exhausted that I just clock out unwillingly. I'm an 18 year old guy and at a pretty important stage of trying new medication and therapies and discovering what I want to do in life so all this is really knocking me back and making things worse considering I'm at one of the most important times of life. Thank you to anyone reading this or giving me advice I honestly appreciate it so much. Just hope it gets better. Love you all.

fitzfitz Impending Doom
  • replies: 4

I am convinced that since having the covid vaccine, a side effect is increased anxiety, to the point its now affecting my daily life. The heightened level is just getting worse, and the feeling of impending doom is constant. Nothing has changed in my... View more

I am convinced that since having the covid vaccine, a side effect is increased anxiety, to the point its now affecting my daily life. The heightened level is just getting worse, and the feeling of impending doom is constant. Nothing has changed in my life, to cause this, and I don't know how to stop it.It's triggering panic attacks, which I have multiple times a day. Help

Viaxoxo School and exams
  • replies: 5

Hi!I'm in high school. I often feel overloaded with some of my assignments all being at the same time and I am a master procrastinator so I get stressed and leave my assignments to the last minute and then get more stressed. Do you have any strategie... View more

Hi!I'm in high school. I often feel overloaded with some of my assignments all being at the same time and I am a master procrastinator so I get stressed and leave my assignments to the last minute and then get more stressed. Do you have any strategies for studying and how to work consistently? I've tried a few things but they don't really work...Thanks

blondietraveler Worrying about asbestos
  • replies: 2

Hi, I’m working in construction, I love my job and everything but I have one problem, my biggest fear is asbestos and the other day I went to a site I was wearing all PPE but think I breath little bit of asbestos the site was clear of a asbestos exce... View more

Hi, I’m working in construction, I love my job and everything but I have one problem, my biggest fear is asbestos and the other day I went to a site I was wearing all PPE but think I breath little bit of asbestos the site was clear of a asbestos except the items that I had to touch it has asbestos I’m really worried about that disease I have breathing issues and feel so scared about cancer, I can not stop think about it :,(

VioletSunflower I feel like I'm smart enough for the degree I'm doing
  • replies: 6

I'm almost at the end of the first year of my Bachelors. I feel like I'm nowhere near smart enough to do this degree, in all of the core classes I'm completing I'm getting lower marks than in the elective classes I'm enrolled in. if I can't achieve t... View more

I'm almost at the end of the first year of my Bachelors. I feel like I'm nowhere near smart enough to do this degree, in all of the core classes I'm completing I'm getting lower marks than in the elective classes I'm enrolled in. if I can't achieve the best results in the classes that are in my field then should i even be doing it? Everyone seems to be grasping the content so much easier and quicker than I am, which is making me doubt myself even more.

Aussie.Girl Should I quit my job?
  • replies: 6

I was working as a dog bather/trainee groomer at a grooming salon and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately that salon has since closed, but one of the groomers started up another business and offered me a job with her. We worked well together at the othe... View more

I was working as a dog bather/trainee groomer at a grooming salon and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately that salon has since closed, but one of the groomers started up another business and offered me a job with her. We worked well together at the other salon, but now that she is the boss: - She is booking far more dogs than we can reasonably get done in one day and expects me to stay 1-2hrs overtime every day to help finish them. - She went on a 5wk overseas holiday at the last minute and left me 100% alone to handle everything. I have had very limited training as a groomer (due to no time because of the number of dogs) so she is incredibly lucky that I have been grooming my own dogs for years and was able to handle things on my own. - She has started complaining about and criticising everything I do. Even things I used to get praised for are 'wrong' now. To be clear, this is not constructive criticism. Examples include openly mocking my work, and saying things like "why are you so slow", "try harder" etc. - She complains endlessly if I am 5mins late or have to leave on time. I live an hour's drive (one way) from the new salon, so sometimes traffic is awful and I end up late even when I leave an extra 20mins to get there. She is 5mins away and is regularly 5-10mins late. I have tried to explain to her that she either needs to hire more staff or book less dogs, but she insists 'we' can handle it and she doesn't trust anyone else (yet I do everything wrong??). The whole situation is stressful and frustrating and has made my anxiety so much worse than it needs to be. I want to quit, but I know I would feel awful for leaving when she is so overbooked (because there is no way she could do that many dogs on her own). I also know it's her fault that we are so overbooked so idk. I can't keep going the way things are though; something has to change. I have already started doing 4 days instead of 5, but she just books the same number of dogs in a shorter time frame so it hasn't really helped. It just increased my overtime. Maybe I will tell her I'll stay till the end of the year to train my replacement, and then leave, but I'm not even sure I can tolerate this for that long. Any advice would be appreciated.

Amanda2000 zoom anxiety
  • replies: 7

Whenever I have a zoom meeting for work, I just worry so much beforehand and rehearse what I'm going to say over and over again in my head all weekend. I've tried various things like not looking at myself on the screen etc. but nothing seems to help.... View more

Whenever I have a zoom meeting for work, I just worry so much beforehand and rehearse what I'm going to say over and over again in my head all weekend. I've tried various things like not looking at myself on the screen etc. but nothing seems to help. It's the feeling of "being watched" that gets me. During the meeting, I feel like I'm shaking/heart racing/unusual voice and then I worry that the others will notice my strange behaviour. Public speaking has always made me nervous but zoom seems to be worse for me. I know my anxiety is so unnecessary but I just cannot rationalise within myself to calm down.

AimeePullman Recommendations please... Anti anxiety medication that does not effect orgasms
  • replies: 4

I am looking to help my partner find an anti (social) anxiety medication that does not effect sexual function, in particular climax. He has tried two SSRI's and they both helped the anxiety but they block climax. Is there someone in this forum who ex... View more

I am looking to help my partner find an anti (social) anxiety medication that does not effect sexual function, in particular climax. He has tried two SSRI's and they both helped the anxiety but they block climax. Is there someone in this forum who experienced this and was able to overcome it? Thanks in advance