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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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PsychedelicFur My Overthinking + Anxiety Fiascoes
  • replies: 1

In the matter of a couple of weeks my anxiety, overthinking and extreme overanalyzing has become more problematic. I feel weak. And ultimately I feel like a Prisoner trapped in my own mind. I feel like a delicate antique cup. I feel like I am an easi... View more

In the matter of a couple of weeks my anxiety, overthinking and extreme overanalyzing has become more problematic. I feel weak. And ultimately I feel like a Prisoner trapped in my own mind. I feel like a delicate antique cup. I feel like I am an easily triggered and very gentle person who requires a substantial amount of reassurance and tender loving care. I get drained so easily for social interactions. I feel like such a failure because socializing to me has become a 'chore' or a 'duty' rather than something I should be doing for enjoyment/amusement. I struggle with my sleeping. I have an abnormal sleep schedule. Eventually I succumb to afternoon naps, just to help me get through the rest of the day. In romantic relationships, I get jealous.. I overthink, I never feel 'enough' and I tear myself apart. I have had relationships in the past with abusive men who have compared me and even admitted to admiring other women's beauty over mine. So naturally, I do get jealous. I get triggered easily. I feel like I am not even 'functioning' as a human being at the moment. And I feel like my antidepressants are not exactly doing their job. I'm struggling with my self esteem and I don't even feel like a 'rational' human being at the moment. I feel so alone with my thoughts. I battle with these negative thoughts on a daily basis. It becomes so exhausting. Eventually I just lay under my blanket on the sofa and watch television, because lately that has been my only comfort. I feel so stuck and so alone. I feel like I'm failing. I am on university break at the moment and I feel so lost and confused. I am recognizing that I am also processing a lot of trauma. My mother was psychologically and emotionally abusive so that really modified my rational thinking. I remember getting yelled at as I sat in the bath, bawling my eyes out. As she yelled derogatory terms at me as I wept in pain and confusion. I remember getting screamed at by my ex boyfriend at a supermarket as I made an innocent mistake and started having an anxiety attack. I remember how he shouted at me in his car, telling me how pathetic and immature I was because I got the trolley disc stuck in the coin dispenser. Signed,PF.

saraahh234 disorder eating and the voice 'ED'
  • replies: 2

hi all, just seeking fellow blue voice participants who are struggling with eating disorders.

hi all, just seeking fellow blue voice participants who are struggling with eating disorders.

Leroymiss1 Anxiety with everyday life. I can’t drive anymore.
  • replies: 6

So I’ve been dealing with a little anxiety over the past few months, but last week it came to a head. I drove to work and had an anxiety attack on the way. Now I’ve had a week off work and don’t think I can go back. I haven’t driven my car in a week ... View more

So I’ve been dealing with a little anxiety over the past few months, but last week it came to a head. I drove to work and had an anxiety attack on the way. Now I’ve had a week off work and don’t think I can go back. I haven’t driven my car in a week as well as I’m too anxious to do that. I’ve seen an occupational therapist and I have my psychiatrist next week and started on my antidepressants 2 weeks ago. Everything seems to cause it, little things like cooking as well, not really sure where to go to from here? I’ve had a history of depression and I just hope that if I don’t go to work that my depression doesn’t come back. It really is debilitating at the moment. Any help would be appreciated.

AGrace SELF HELP TIPS FOR MANAGING ANXIETY
  • replies: 300

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas for helping you manage symptoms of anxiety. Feel free to add to the list, or let us know what works for you... Mindfulness – Grounding exercises: noticing your environment, bodily sensations, and breath Progressive Mu... View more

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas for helping you manage symptoms of anxiety. Feel free to add to the list, or let us know what works for you... Mindfulness – Grounding exercises: noticing your environment, bodily sensations, and breath Progressive Muscle Relaxation – Creating a Tension and Release effect with all the muscles in the body Opposite Actions – By listening to calming music, taking a walk, talking, enjoying sunshine Safe Place Mental Imagery – Visualising a place where you can go in your mind to feel safe Calming Affirmations – To help recognise that the moment of panic will pass Exercise – A valuable way to exhaust excess adrenalin built up in the body [Moderator's note: this thread is for sharing what has worked for you to manage your anxiety. If you need support to manage your anxiety and would like to discuss this with the community, please start a new thread. See also: Anxiety management strategies Worry worry worry ]

Chris1979 Physical pain makes me think I will have a heart attack
  • replies: 2

I used to be a heavy drinker till about 3 years ago. Had a break down, went to hospital, thought I have a heart attack but they couldn’t find anything wrong. Changed my life a round to work less, relax more, be more healthy and look after #1 more. It... View more

I used to be a heavy drinker till about 3 years ago. Had a break down, went to hospital, thought I have a heart attack but they couldn’t find anything wrong. Changed my life a round to work less, relax more, be more healthy and look after #1 more. It certainly changed a lot in my life but the trauma of going to hospital stuck with me. And ever since then that thought of having a heart attack stuck with me. Sometimes I’m really good for month, other times anxiety is just raging inside my body. On days like today, having shoulder and arm pin from a muscle tear it just sets my anxiety off. Only been back to hospital 3 weeks ago ( 3rd time in 3 years) and they tell me I’m all good. Anyone else is dealing with that or having details of a good counsellor or therapist? Thanks heaps

Meg1977 Confused
  • replies: 4

Hi supportive people I need some help.Ive been kinda up and down lately and ive come to realise im freaking out about my son. He is 17 and is in year 12 and is a very shy and reclusive person. He of course doesnt love school and im constantly getting... View more

Hi supportive people I need some help.Ive been kinda up and down lately and ive come to realise im freaking out about my son. He is 17 and is in year 12 and is a very shy and reclusive person. He of course doesnt love school and im constantly getting messages from teachers saying he haant handed up work and then I get so overwhelmed about it and I feel physically sick. I am starting to panic about how I will cope when he finishes yr12 and has to get a real job. This may not seem like a huge deal but it consumes me so much so that it affects our home live and my work life cos I obsess ova it. I need ways to handle all of this and to not 'lose it' as hubby says. Some days I feel as though I have to go thru "all the drama" to get to the other side but im sick of feeling this way. Any help or advice will be greatly apprieciated. (Have tried to get into docs but thats another story ) thanx

shadowprince Anxiety about Past Mistakes
  • replies: 7

Hey so, I've made some bad mistakes that I really regret because I used to be an addict. Some of them really stupid and questionable, others that hurt people I care about. It's been a quite a while since I've done these things and I've focussed on be... View more

Hey so, I've made some bad mistakes that I really regret because I used to be an addict. Some of them really stupid and questionable, others that hurt people I care about. It's been a quite a while since I've done these things and I've focussed on becoming a better person through counselling. But every now and then, I'll see something that'll trigger a spiral of anxious thoughts and overthinking, usually centred on thoughts that tell me that I'm still a bad person, no matter what I do to change myself. That my past mistakes will always haunt me no matter how much I improve myself. I'd just like some advice for dealing with these anxious and intrusive thoughts.

tourist Insomnia induced Panic attacks & Anxiety - and how it stopped
  • replies: 1

Hi all, First of all I would like to say a big thank you to Beyond Blue as it has helped me immensely over the past few weeks, including talking to people in the middle of the night on the phone service. I also found a lot of comfort in reading all o... View more

Hi all, First of all I would like to say a big thank you to Beyond Blue as it has helped me immensely over the past few weeks, including talking to people in the middle of the night on the phone service. I also found a lot of comfort in reading all of the posts in these forums and seeing the support and understanding that happens here. My story occurred over a very brief period of time and has made me feel like a 'tourist' in this experience of panic attacks and anxiety (hence my user name). I caught the flu about a month ago and was actually sicker than I thought and due to the symptoms only slept a few hours a night for about 4-5 days. As I live alone and have secure work with sick leave entitlements I just did the usual things and thought Id be able to ride it out. And then I didn't sleep at all for one night. This is when the anxiety and fears of not sleeping began to happen. The fear of the fear of not sleeping then caused me to not sleep for another two nights at all and I started experiencing what has since been diagnosed as constant panic attacks and a severe anxiety disorder on and off for almost 4 days. I thought I was going mad and losing my mind. A visit to my trusted GP resulted in some medication being prescribed and a relative travelled from interstate to stay with me. The panic attacks slowed but the constant 24/7 anxiety symptoms remained and I thought my life was over. I couldn't stop it happening as much I fought it with breathing techniques, distractions, etc. However at 3 in the morning one day when I awoke in fright I was reading the forums here and saw someone mention Dr Harry Barry and Claire Weekes. I watched Dr Barrys 13 minute video called 'Dr Harry Barry: Overcoming Panic Attacks' and followed the advice to not fight the panic attack- but let the symptoms flood over me. I was back asleep 30 minutes later. I used his techniques over the next 3 days (and the very similar approaches by Claire Weekes) and have now had 2 days of 'normality' and excellent sleep and am starting to wean off the medication. Its early days but this seems to have worked well for me. I will continue to also have some counselling, but as a 'circuit breaker' and a potentially long term management technique this has given my life back after only a month when I thought it was all over. I'm not a doctor, but wanted to provide my story to help others, just as all of your stories helped me when I needed it at my darkest moments. Thank you all!

Juliet Family won’t let me talk - undermining my illness
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone! Just feeling a bit frustrated at the moment. It seems every time I bring up my depression or anxiety no-one in my family wants to listen and they just want to change the subject or literally get away from me. It is as though they think I... View more

Hi everyone! Just feeling a bit frustrated at the moment. It seems every time I bring up my depression or anxiety no-one in my family wants to listen and they just want to change the subject or literally get away from me. It is as though they think I am just whining about the same old subject and they don’t want to hear about it. I feel I want to talk about it as it is my everyday life! I’m not sure why they don’t want to listen but it seems like selfish reasons to me. They don’t want to hear all that negativity. Miraculously both of my eldest sisters let me know this week that they have had depression but they were able to come out of it on their own. Haha My eldest has let me know she had depression when she broke up with her husband and currently suffers from anxiety also! Amazing. My sister just above me in age who is much more responsible also just told me she also has anxiety. And when she caught a plane recently, because the guy next to her was fearful, he also suffered from anxiety. It is very frustrating when I have had both since 17 and I know they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. All of a sudden, you get sad = depression, you feel stressed and overwhelmed, must = anxiety. No doctors or medication necessary though you just definitely have it. All of this is insulting to me after having Major Depression and Major Anxiety for the last 26 years. If only I could give them (they are beautiful sisters) but if only I could give them one day of anxiety or depression just so they could understand.

-Noah- Service Animals
  • replies: 3

Okay so hi im new here, Basically I have a lot of issues with my anxiety and it’s effecting my day to day life, I have panic attacks in class and in public, I have had days off because the thought of going out made me sob (and usually does), I get ov... View more

Okay so hi im new here, Basically I have a lot of issues with my anxiety and it’s effecting my day to day life, I have panic attacks in class and in public, I have had days off because the thought of going out made me sob (and usually does), I get overwhelmed really easily and as a result shut down and won’t be able to function for a good while after. What’s worse is that sometimes my way of responding to these things isn’t the healthiest (things such as scratching or digging my nails into my palms or skin). In short it’s an issue. And a little while ago I went down a rabbit hole and found that you can get service dogs to help with this kind of thing, such as interrupting these sh behaviours, alerting to oncoming attacks, helping owner through attack, getting the owner to a safe spot ect ect. However I am consistently stuck in a loop of convincing myself that it’s not that bad and I don’t need one, and that I only want one for attention and that I’m faking it. But at the same time I genuinely think this would help me. I only see a therapist once a month and our session has just passed so I don’t have anyone to talk with about it. Before chatting with my parents and bringing up the idea I want to make sure that I qualify for one and know as much info as possible. So basically my question is: Does this sound like enough of a reason do try to get one of these animals? And how would I begin the process of getting one if the answer is yes? Any help would be amazing, Noah