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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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RamonaQ How to reduce anxiety and FOMO
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone,I am a 23 year old female-identifying person who has recently noticed a spike in my FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and anxiety. I have just returned from a camp for a university sketch comedy show, but the experience, which should have been f... View more

Hi everyone,I am a 23 year old female-identifying person who has recently noticed a spike in my FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and anxiety. I have just returned from a camp for a university sketch comedy show, but the experience, which should have been fun, was instead very anxiety-inducing. Here's why: I constantly worry about getting the most out of everything I do. I am a singer, but there were actors (loud, funny people who tell stories) at camp too. I wanted to be in their presence, but simultaneously felt the need to try and strengthen relationships with my singer or band friends. I was constantly looking around the room trying to find interesting conversations, and was also worried people would notice this and think "wow she's so opportunistic."A lot of the people at this camp are very bubbly and high-energy, dishing out lots of compliments and positivity. I smile and laugh often, but I'm fairly soft-spoken and less verbally expressive. I often tried to match this energy when complimenting or saying hello to people, but worried they would realise I was not being genuine.I stressed over which cabin I slept in. I was in the "quiet cabin" but the "general cabin" seemed super fun, so I ended up sleeping there for one night. In the morning, I accidentally left too early for breakfast, and THEN was upset that I had missed the morning conversations as everyone went down to eat!!! I thought "for god's sake, will I never be satisfied?"I was very tired the entirety of the camp - I could have slept more in the quiet cabin but didn't want to be thought of as boring, or miss out on things.I am currently seeing a therapist, but thought this forum might be a good place to write about this as well. I do realise that I am only 23, and if I overthink and deliberate over every single thing I say or do then I am going to have a very long and unecessarily painful life. I know I'm very blessed, and privileged, and that these problems are not worth this amount of stress. Unfortunately this is not enough to make me stop.I'd love to hear any advice or suggestions for reducing anxiety and FOMO. Thank you

Matchy69 Cherophobia The fear of being happy
  • replies: 101

Hi I think have this Cherophobia and wonder if anyone else has this. I am scared when I am happy that something bad will happen as this is the usual case with me all out through my life.I seem to want to be unhappy and just waiting for something bad ... View more

Hi I think have this Cherophobia and wonder if anyone else has this. I am scared when I am happy that something bad will happen as this is the usual case with me all out through my life.I seem to want to be unhappy and just waiting for something bad to happen.How do i overcome this fear or do I just live with it as this is the safe option.I am scared of heights so i stay away from hsights so do i just stay away from happiness? Your thoughts are welcome. Take care, Mark.

N_D Withdrawing from one medication to try another
  • replies: 3

I have GAD, Bipolar 2 and have recently been diagnosed with CPTSD. I’m currently on medications. My Dr wants to trial another medication. ( He has commented that it doesn’t seem to be doing anything for my anxiety p, which I agree with ). It’s been a... View more

I have GAD, Bipolar 2 and have recently been diagnosed with CPTSD. I’m currently on medications. My Dr wants to trial another medication. ( He has commented that it doesn’t seem to be doing anything for my anxiety p, which I agree with ). It’s been a month since I’ve been of my previous medication and my anxiety is sky high and getting headaches, which I understand to be withdrawal symptoms but I’m not improving. Why can’t he tell me it’s all withdrawal symptoms or if I’ll need another medication and just prescribe it so I don’t have to live in this limbo? I’ve read online forums that say withdrawing can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months and don’t know whether to keep persevering🧐

Eagle Ray Facing challenging health issues
  • replies: 13

I wasn’t sure where to put this post. Will just mention that for anyone with health anxiety it might be stressful, just so you are aware if you would prefer not to read it. As I’ve written elsewhere in the Trauma/PTSD section I’ve been diagnosed with... View more

I wasn’t sure where to put this post. Will just mention that for anyone with health anxiety it might be stressful, just so you are aware if you would prefer not to read it. As I’ve written elsewhere in the Trauma/PTSD section I’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune liver disease. The specialist gave me fairly depressing info at the start, that I had about 10-12 years before I’d need a liver transplant to stay alive. Through my own research and a helpful support organisation I’ve learned this is not necessarily true, and many go on to live a fairly normal lifespan. So I felt like I was coping ok with it and there was hope. But over the last year or so I’ve experienced increasing periods of quite severe shortness of breath. Heart tests last year showed mitral valve regurgitation. Pulmonary hypertension (affecting the lungs) has an association with both the liver disease and mitral valve dysfunction. I’m going to contact my GP for possible further testing as the symptoms are now worse than last year. But my reason for posting is if it is pulmonary hypertension the prognosis is not great. It’s described as a universally fatal disease and without treatment death can be in 2-3 years. I know I shouldn’t get ahead of myself and I know the initial info I was given on the liver disease was not entirely accurate, so if I do find out I’ve got pulmonary hypertension it’s not necessarily the end for me. But I just felt the need to post as I live alone and deal with all these things on my own. I have to advocate for myself with medical professionals but it feels such a lonely battle at times. I don’t tell much to friends or relatives as I don’t like to worry them or bring bad thoughts. But I’ve had the strong feeling in the last year and a half I’m facing my own mortality. I guess I just feel alone with it. Is anyone else dealing with similar issues and what strategies have helped you manage any health anxiety? I have a trauma history with a lot of very stressful experiences throughout my life and sometimes I feel like my body’s had enough and is packing it in.

M1ssjess89 I have convinced myself I have MS or a neurological disorder.
  • replies: 11

I feel absolutely ridiculous. This will be my third post. Since March I've had really weird symptoms and with the weird symptoms my anxiety has shot through the roof. Atleast 50% of the time I feel my body is in panic mode. I have a nervous/tight tum... View more

I feel absolutely ridiculous. This will be my third post. Since March I've had really weird symptoms and with the weird symptoms my anxiety has shot through the roof. Atleast 50% of the time I feel my body is in panic mode. I have a nervous/tight tummy, my chest is right so I find it hard to breath properly. I've been getting pins and needles or just rubbery feelings. It's never in a whole leg or a whole arm, it's just parts of it. So it'll be like a part of my hamstring, or a part of my calf muscle, or a couple toes. I also get random itches or skin crawling. I get skin crawling over my stomach. I have this sick feeling to my stomach something is so very wrong My doctor has given me a referral to see a neurologist in 2 weeks. I'm now so worried he will find something. My doctor thinks it's just my anxiety, but he'd rather give me the assurance. Do you think this is anixety? I cannot stop thinking and I'm so focused on every little physical symptom I'm feeling. I'm so scared. And I'm trying so hard to help myself. I keep busy, I lift weights and go for walks/runs. I eat well, sleep as well as I can. I do try breathing but I find it difficult. Mindfulness is something I absolutely avoid as I focus on the tingling. Right now I have tingling in my shoulder blades.

blues23 How do you deal with the monster in your head ?
  • replies: 9

As above im really struggling today , I did call up beyond blue , how do you deal with the destructive things in your head that tell you to do destructive things in order to cope with your anxiety? How do you cope ? I’m finding harder and harder ever... View more

As above im really struggling today , I did call up beyond blue , how do you deal with the destructive things in your head that tell you to do destructive things in order to cope with your anxiety? How do you cope ? I’m finding harder and harder every day to cope and be happy ( or at least pretend to be happy ) I have to have some sort of normal face in order so people can’t see how bad I actually am feeling

Gemmm9 New member with anxiety struggling at corporate job
  • replies: 10

Hi everyone, I’m new here. I have battled with anxiety for what feels like the most of my life. I am 25 years old. I’ve been feeling VERY down lately and I think I may be experiencing depression. Out of the 7 days of the week, I would say I’m miserab... View more

Hi everyone, I’m new here. I have battled with anxiety for what feels like the most of my life. I am 25 years old. I’ve been feeling VERY down lately and I think I may be experiencing depression. Out of the 7 days of the week, I would say I’m miserable 6 days. I regularly exercise and eat a very healthy diet. I have a good support network of friends and family. My issue comes down to my own brain. I can’t switch off and worry about everything and anything. I had a really bad experience when I was 17 years old and my parents took me to see a psychologist. The psychologist immediately put me on medication. I was on anxiety medication for two years but I felt spaced out constantly and not myself at all. I was so airy fairy... My family and friends noticed that I was a completely different person. I was numb. i decided to get off the medication on my own and stop taking it ( would not recommend, I had terrible withdrawals and ended up in hospital) from then I always struggled with my anxiety. currently- I am in a corporate government job that is a highly stressful . I am struggling to communicate with colleagues. I feel I can’t make eye contact with anyone and whenever I need to present to a group, I am crippled with anxiety for days and cannot sleep properly. I am finding that I now struggle to remember words and I struggle to put sentences together. I wake up at least 8 times per night. I have lost all my confidence and I constantly worry people are thinking how dumb I am ( I understand this is irrational but that’s how I feel). I cry nearly every day after work. I have panic attacks on a weekly basis. I’m at the point where I have decided I need to quit my job and do something that is less stressful. some questions I’m hoping you all can help out with... 1) is there anyone on here who has left a corporate job due to anxiety and how did you feel in a less demanding job? Did you then find something else to ‘worry’ about or did it help you find peace? 2) has anyone had good experience with anxiety medication and would it be worthwhile me trying it again.. are all anxiety medication the same? Or could I find my ‘fit’? 3) any other thoughts/ comments would be appreciated Gemmm

Humpty Anxiety
  • replies: 8

I work in retail have done for 40 years but all of a sudden im finding when im at work i get bad anxiety and i freak out then i have to go home and now im too scared to go back to work

I work in retail have done for 40 years but all of a sudden im finding when im at work i get bad anxiety and i freak out then i have to go home and now im too scared to go back to work

Humpty Anxiety
  • replies: 5

Please give me any tips on how to control anxiety i actually call it the dragon

Please give me any tips on how to control anxiety i actually call it the dragon

Frustrated mumma Throat anxiety
  • replies: 5

Hi guys When I get anxious or am starting to have a panic attack I start thinking im either going to swallow my tongue or choke or my throat is going to close up. I honestly have no idea why I have these intrusive thoughts and I have no trauma etc to... View more

Hi guys When I get anxious or am starting to have a panic attack I start thinking im either going to swallow my tongue or choke or my throat is going to close up. I honestly have no idea why I have these intrusive thoughts and I have no trauma etc towards that area. Any advice on how to not let it affect me in my throat, tongue etc? I'm so over it