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. Remember, this is anonymous and the Beyond Blue team are here to help if you need it This section is for people who are experiencing anxiety 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 your 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 worthwhile 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

All discussions

Blue_Lou Therapy
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Out of interest. Has anyone tried psychotherapy and hypnotherapy for GAD? I've seen a psychologist for a while but I'm finding I'm know longer improving. Although I am way more educated, my physical anxiety symptoms often come back with a vengeance. ... View more

Out of interest. Has anyone tried psychotherapy and hypnotherapy for GAD? I've seen a psychologist for a while but I'm finding I'm know longer improving. Although I am way more educated, my physical anxiety symptoms often come back with a vengeance. Just wondering what other techniques people have used, and what's worked for them. thanks

JEF15 Anxiety & depression
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Hello Im having a very hard time. Im the lowest I have ever been and my anxiety is at its peak. My health anxiety is taking over. Im currently on a wait list for psychologists. I don't take ADs, I used to for 15 years but I came off them over 6 month... View more

Hello Im having a very hard time. Im the lowest I have ever been and my anxiety is at its peak. My health anxiety is taking over. Im currently on a wait list for psychologists. I don't take ADs, I used to for 15 years but I came off them over 6 months ago. My husband doesn't really understand MH so I don't speak to him much about it all. I just hid away and cry most days. Getting out of bed to just make breakfast is the hardest job. But I push myself to do it for my kids. My husband wants all of us to go away this weekend with his family and Im dreading it. I don't know how to function around people. I really don't know what to do. Some days I function ok, and I think "yay its a good day" And then by night time Im crying again. I just thought I'd post to chat with others who feel like this, because relating to someone always feels nice.

Moses C. Great Discovery For Anxiety & Depression
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comment below if you have any questions I remember when my anxiety & mood went higher than it's normal bad level for month and i discovered it's because i was thinking too much about these negative feelings by frequently responding harshly to them. I... View more

comment below if you have any questions I remember when my anxiety & mood went higher than it's normal bad level for month and i discovered it's because i was thinking too much about these negative feelings by frequently responding harshly to them. I started ignoring the feelings and stopped negatively exploding to them within a few days my anxiety & mood went back down to it's normal bad level. Wasn't a full fix but wasn't a worse situation also lol.When you respond to a single attack of anxiety/depression by repeatedly exploding or getting extremely down from the attacks, it creates a new "worse feeling" and stick around longer for days or weeks. Try to ignore the episode by not getting extremely upset, eventually the new worse feeling loses it's power eventually and goes back to normal bad feeling (better than a worse feeling). You only need to ignore few attacks, not all.It's a hit or miss game. Sometimes you will have enough willpower/strength to ignore them. Like the bible says ignore the devil and eventually he loses alot of power.

Pyrolee Work stress, family stress, responsibilities
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HiI'm under an immense amount of stress but trying my best to keep composed and getting by as happily as possible. I'm currently married and have a 3 month old. I'm just under a large amount of stress trying to provide for my family, wanting to purch... View more

HiI'm under an immense amount of stress but trying my best to keep composed and getting by as happily as possible. I'm currently married and have a 3 month old. I'm just under a large amount of stress trying to provide for my family, wanting to purchase my first home with my wife but can't due to my wifes visa restriction and the government not helping or giving us any information about it. We literally get no help from the government and keep getting answers like just wait just wait when it's been nearly 7 years with no answers or explanations. My work also is contributing to my stress, the work load and work is fine its my boss who's making my life a living hell. He's tried to dodge paying my weekly wages, gets very aggressive and abusive out of nowhere. So far my solution for work is to leave this job to deal with this stress and also don't want to work for an abusive boss, but the problem I have now is this government issue, I feel like I've been told we should only care and do things within our reach and this issue I feel like it's out of my reach due to negligence and incompetent workers which is effecting my life and my familys life, not sure what to do next. I feel like I'm letting my family down

On the Low Down Anxiety Related Involuntary Shaking/Spasms
  • replies: 3

I had my first panic attack in my early 20’s right as I walked into a job interview, it was mortifying as I couldn’t stop my entire body from shaking and could barely speak because my heart was racing so much. I’m now in my early 40’s and rely on bet... View more

I had my first panic attack in my early 20’s right as I walked into a job interview, it was mortifying as I couldn’t stop my entire body from shaking and could barely speak because my heart was racing so much. I’m now in my early 40’s and rely on beta blockers to cope with job interviews, work meetings (when I had a job) and all manner of social situations. If I don’t take these I feel unbearably self conscious and get these embarrassing involuntary neck/head spasms as if I have some form of Tourette’s, but it isn’t Tourette’s...it’s just the physiological symptoms of my anxiety and low self esteem coming out. These spasms/anxiety attacks are the bain of my existence so I have to always have beta blockers or sometimes, Benzos on hand so I don’t make a complete idiot out of myself. Basically, if I feel like people are looking at me when I’m speaking and I can’t have my hand up near my face (depending on where/how I’m standing or sitting) then my head and neck jerk around terribly. I’ve been dealing with this for so long now, that I usually know when it’s going to happen so I either avoid the situation, take beta blockers in preparation or if the attack hits me when I’m not expecting it then I find an excuse to get the hell out of there...I know this all stems from a complete lack of confidence but understanding it and it’s triggers doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. Does anyone reading this have a similar issue? Do you think it’s completely curable with therapy? I’m so tired of living like this.

Peter_A Its back
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After many years of coping with anxiety reasonably well, im now feeling overwhelmed. Meeting other peoples expectations seems to be a real worry for me. Ive always worried, i think, too much about what other people think. Something as silly as sellin... View more

After many years of coping with anxiety reasonably well, im now feeling overwhelmed. Meeting other peoples expectations seems to be a real worry for me. Ive always worried, i think, too much about what other people think. Something as silly as selling my boat seems to have set me off this time. Ive had boats for about 20 years and its become a chore to look after so i thought, thats it, ill sell the boat and no more boats for me. Now im feeling anxious/guilty that im depriving my wife, mother in law and friends of somthing they enjoy. Not that we were doing it very often anyway. Ive finally told my wife how im feeling and broke down in tears. Dont want to worry her but i do want her to support me but she doesnt seem to understand. I guess someone who hasnt experienced it cant understand. I dont want to go back to the major depression i went though many years ago. Hoping i can get through this and get back to "normal"

Lenny__ Anxiety
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My anxiety has officially ruined my sleeping pattern i can never get a good 7-8 hour nights sleep i am also sick of struggling to breathe and overthinking and feeling numb in my arms and face. Can someone please tell me how you manage your anxiety

My anxiety has officially ruined my sleeping pattern i can never get a good 7-8 hour nights sleep i am also sick of struggling to breathe and overthinking and feeling numb in my arms and face. Can someone please tell me how you manage your anxiety

Lyssaa Scared of job applications
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Hey everyone,I'm 18 years old and at the end of the month I'm going to start applying for a new casual job. My current job which I've had for nearly two years now isn't giving me many hours at all, and I believe it's because I'm now one of the older ... View more

Hey everyone,I'm 18 years old and at the end of the month I'm going to start applying for a new casual job. My current job which I've had for nearly two years now isn't giving me many hours at all, and I believe it's because I'm now one of the older and therefore more expensive employees. It's been a long time since I've last handed out resumes and I'm getting so much anxiety over it. My plan is to hand out a bunch of resumes in person as well as applying to places online, but the thought of handing out resumes in person literally gives me so much anxiety that I feel sick to my stomach. I don't know why, but I have this intense feeling that whoever at the front counter is taking my resume is going to judge me or think I'm a massive loser. I'm also afraid that nowhere is going to be interested in hiring me. I've deciced to wait until the end of the month to hand out my resumes because I'm going on holiday in a week for most of the rest of the month, so there's really no point in applying anywhere until I get back. Despite having made this choice I have this horrible sick guilty feeling in my stomach, like I should be working more right now even though its not a choice that I'm getting less hours at work. I know my fear of handing out resumes in person because they're going to judge or hate me is completely irrational, but I'm still feeling this awful overwhelming sense of anxiety. Does anyone have any kind of reassurances for me, or any ways to manage this anxiety? Lyssa

Natalie22 Changing MH professional. Asked to be reallocated to someone new
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Hi. To end my year I bit the bullet and called and asked if I could see someone different. I was seeing a MH social worker for a few months. Don't get me wrong she was lovely but in that time I had several incidents which made me uncomfortable and I ... View more

Hi. To end my year I bit the bullet and called and asked if I could see someone different. I was seeing a MH social worker for a few months. Don't get me wrong she was lovely but in that time I had several incidents which made me uncomfortable and I left thinking WTF.When I mentioned some medication I was taking she told me that I she stop my medication and find new doctors. I felt that I had to defend my team and why I was taking the meds.She has admitted that she does not really like doctors and has trust issues and this has clearly came through in the sessions. I have to admit that I am anxious around doctors so I don't think this is a perfect match.At our last appointment I mentioned an incident at work and she told this terrible story about when she was an early social worker.slightly relevant but...Then I mentioned how a gp treated me like a drug seeker but finally read my file and she went on about her story about needing drugs and yes she sounded desperate,Sorry about all my rambling but I am super tired.Am I being totally unreasonable for leaving her even though she is someone who has got to know me well.My neurologist wants me to see a psychologist and she keep telling me 'the gp can't do anything to you as long as you see me'. I don't know what that is even supposed to mean.I have anxiety and I am very stressed.It has been a lot of misinformation and I don't think very successful.I have issues at home and she said her role was to support me with that but there has been no strategies for my MH

SamH Parental Anxiety
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So over the weekend my son bumped his head falling from play equipment at a park, landing on his head which caused a deep cut to his head. I was in complete power mode my partner and I grabbed my son from the ground then to the car applied first aid ... View more

So over the weekend my son bumped his head falling from play equipment at a park, landing on his head which caused a deep cut to his head. I was in complete power mode my partner and I grabbed my son from the ground then to the car applied first aid and took him straight up to emergency as it was a bad head injury. The doctors were so great treated straight away head injury was glued etc.but since this incident I cannot move past this, I keep stressing about my son doing anything now, All I can think about is protecting him ,I lay in bed crying of a night thinking about the injury, Feeling mum guilt and stress about it , and I keep questioning the whole scenariothinking about the what ifs