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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

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Lyss123 Anxiety about the Future
  • replies: 5

Hello everyone im new here so I hope eveyone is having a good day. So I’ve been struggling with relationship anxiety for a few weeks now. I keep worrying about our future and worrying that something bad will happen. I can’t shake this thought and I’m... View more

Hello everyone im new here so I hope eveyone is having a good day. So I’ve been struggling with relationship anxiety for a few weeks now. I keep worrying about our future and worrying that something bad will happen. I can’t shake this thought and I’m losing sleep over it. My boyfriend is very supportive of my mental health and takes the time to listen and support me as much as he can I guess I’m reaching out to see if anyone else suffers from relationship anxiety and anxiety about the future and have any tips or strategies that can help me and maybe some other people out Have a great day everyone:)

AnonymousPencil How to go about getting stress leave?
  • replies: 4

In my current position I've had extreme burnout, and my anxiety has gone through the roof. I've already handed in my 30 days notice, and I feel as though my boss is being slightly vindictive in asking me to take on lots of work in the lead up to me f... View more

In my current position I've had extreme burnout, and my anxiety has gone through the roof. I've already handed in my 30 days notice, and I feel as though my boss is being slightly vindictive in asking me to take on lots of work in the lead up to me finishing. I was meant to be cutting down to 3 days a week prior to resigning, and now they're asking me to work across multiple weekends and attend the office (I work from home). I think they feel I'm being lazy, but I'm at the point where I'm just trying to survive. Counting down the days until I finish so I can take some time to look after my mental health and the consequences of the job being overworked and chaotic. I want to fulfil as much as I can before I leave, but is it possible to get a note from a doctor advising my boss that due to current stress levels I need to minimise the amount of time I am working? Or alternatively, just get a doctors certificate to take some stress leave? (Unsure if this is possible in a notice period before resigning) Thank you!

Dan172 First time anxiety at 43
  • replies: 3

G'day beautiful people. I just wanted to see if anyone else has/had something similar to myself. 5 weeks ago contracted covid, 5 days later I got shortness of breath and its still lingering but 90% better, I didn't go to hospital but I wanted to a fe... View more

G'day beautiful people. I just wanted to see if anyone else has/had something similar to myself. 5 weeks ago contracted covid, 5 days later I got shortness of breath and its still lingering but 90% better, I didn't go to hospital but I wanted to a few times, I did go to a respiratory clinic a couple of times and they said I'm doing fine. About 3 weeks after my shortness of breath started (and it was still a struggle), I had dinner, all of a sudden like a light switch had been flicked I got this overwhelming feeling of what I guess now was anxiety, never experienced it before so it was scary, I had funny silly thoughts that lasted 3 days. 2 weeks on my mind and thoughts are pretty good, however I get jitters and sinking feelings most of the time, unless I'm distracted. I feel my head listens to my body's feelings which keeps me thinking about the anxiety, if my body wasn't releasing stress hormones I would be as I was post covid infection. All this was at the the time the war started, and during the floods, I'm a pretty sensitive caring and relaxed kinda dude but never had anxiety, major stress, traumatic events, depression or the like, which I feel blessed for, my heart and feelings are with all of you that have though. My question is, is this a temporary covid thing? What can I do to stop the body's anxiety symptoms? Cheers all.

AUSb Health Anxiety - Relapsed Fears
  • replies: 4

For the last 18 months I have had increasingly worsening health anxiety ranging from pains in my chest causing ER visits thinking I’d had a heart attack to blurry vision causing optometrist visits because I thought I was going blind. Mid last year my... View more

For the last 18 months I have had increasingly worsening health anxiety ranging from pains in my chest causing ER visits thinking I’d had a heart attack to blurry vision causing optometrist visits because I thought I was going blind. Mid last year my GP put me in touch with a mental health counsellor and I spoke to him up until early this year about different cognitive behavioural therapy methods that he thought could help me. CBT didn’t work for me but talking helped and things eventually started to get better by themselves around Christmas and as such I stopped seeing the counsellor. One of the main fears I had struggled with a lot last year was of airborne carcinogens, I had an incident at work that involved me spraying roundup without the correct PPE and it caused me a great deal of stress and crippled my ability to function for weeks. Looking back on it now I know that it is extremely unlikely to have caused any issues as it’s only prolonged constant exposure to roundup that poses serious health risks and people spray it in their backyards etc without masks everyday, never the less at the time I was petrified and still go through spurts of worrying about it. Recently I have accepted a new job and am due to start soon, the new job will require I move an hour from home to my girlfriends house. As the move has gotten closer and closer I have begun to have worries, predominately again about airborne carcinogens and my partner's house. I am finding myself in the same position as I was with the roundup and am petrified of the house I am moving to containing asbestos, so much so that I have had a building inspector look and take samples to test for asbestos, which he indicated there most likely is. We are waiting to see what comes back from the tests but I don’t know what I’m going to do if they are positive. I know that thinking rationally asbestos isn’t an issue unless disturbed or prolonged exposure but I still find myself worrying and falling down the rabbit hole. I don’t know what to do in this situation - I can’t give up on this job as it’s one I’ve always wanted and I can’t let health anxiety control my life or impact my ability to function, but I’m also worried about what will happen to my mental health if the asbestos tests are positive and I have to live in such close proximity to something that I am so afraid of.

Notmyfirstrodeo Seriously anxious about my partner’s health
  • replies: 6

My husband has a couple of chronic health conditions that could become life threatening in the long term (although don’t for many people) that I am struggling to cope with. He is actually doing fine! Some annoying symptoms, but in good spirits and fe... View more

My husband has a couple of chronic health conditions that could become life threatening in the long term (although don’t for many people) that I am struggling to cope with. He is actually doing fine! Some annoying symptoms, but in good spirits and feeling generally well. My trouble is I have a history of going off on these debilitating anxiety spirals that last for a month or so before they dissipate. My last one was in December/January, which I had just gotten over, but the last 3 days have been bad and I’m so scared it’s the start of another long haul. I cry frequently. I take a medication, but I’m already on twice my usual dose (was put up in my last episode). I just can’t seem to stop fixating on the worst possible outcomes and what it will mean for my family (we’ve got three kids). I’m afraid I won’t cope, that the fear will be unbearable and my kids will suffer. I know it’s crazy to be making myself miserable right now by thinking I won’t cope with something that may not happen or might be a long time at down the track, but once I get started I find it so hard to step off the loop. Dr Google is my worst enemy, but I do it compulsively! I have done CBT last year and I use the beyond blue helplines. How do you deal with obsessive negative thoughts? Any ideas on how I can stop the behaviours (like googling) that just make it worse for me?

Towers_chris9009 Anxiety anxiety anxiety 😵😵‍💫🤯😪
  • replies: 3

So this week have been working from home due to covid. My anxiety levels have been last pretty much everyday it's seems like it's difficult to talk to anyone about it even when I get reassurance from my family it seems it doesn't minimise thinking th... View more

So this week have been working from home due to covid. My anxiety levels have been last pretty much everyday it's seems like it's difficult to talk to anyone about it even when I get reassurance from my family it seems it doesn't minimise thinking the absolute worst , everyday extreme loneliness fear of not doing my job properly even though my boss has praised me for my hard working efforts but I don't seem to recognise my hard work feel of no self worth numbness dizzy spells is just some of the symptoms I've been facing pretty much all week I feel as though it's not going to pass and I fear something is terribly wrong but I know its just in my head but the fear feels so bloody real!!!! The extreme butterflies in my stomach the heart palpitations urrgghhhh.......ABSOLUTELY ANNOYING IS ALL I CAN SAY!!! The battle I face with myself I feel so alone.....

cno1234 What changed in your life when you turned 30?
  • replies: 3

I've been feeling really at a loss lately. I can't work out if I'm young or old. I don't feel old, but I know I've been around for thirty years. Feels overwhelming like I'm not ready to cope with the changes that come with being 30. I get the sense t... View more

I've been feeling really at a loss lately. I can't work out if I'm young or old. I don't feel old, but I know I've been around for thirty years. Feels overwhelming like I'm not ready to cope with the changes that come with being 30. I get the sense that time is moving on and I'm no longer in my youth, or that it is moving away from me. Anybody else feel the same? What has changed for you since turning 30?

Apricit123 Thanatophobia
  • replies: 3

Does anybody experience thanatophobia also know as death anxiety.? I have this and it's so hard to live with everyday I always scared I'm going to die.

Does anybody experience thanatophobia also know as death anxiety.? I have this and it's so hard to live with everyday I always scared I'm going to die.

44Max44 Cardiac/Exercise anxiety, heart palpitations
  • replies: 9

Hi, So I used to work out and exercise quite a lot and never had any problems with my heart, but recently I've started to get anxious about the health of my heart and have been paying close attention to my heart rate a lot of the time. I went to the ... View more

Hi, So I used to work out and exercise quite a lot and never had any problems with my heart, but recently I've started to get anxious about the health of my heart and have been paying close attention to my heart rate a lot of the time. I went to the doctors around a month ago and they told me I had above-average blood pressure and a high pulse but said it's probably due to high amounts of stress and my anxiety which makes sense to me. I tried working out today but couldn't even get through a few sets of weights before I started getting what I think were heart palpitations every minute or so, kind of like my breath was taken away but just for a split second, which just made me super anxious and made me stop exercising just 15 minutes in. I've never had heart palpitations like this during exercise before, and I used to do much more intense workouts so this is a very new issue for me. I'm concerned because I'm not sure if this is just due to my anxiety and because it's the first time I've worked out in quite a while, or if it's a legitimate heart problem that I should be concerned about. I don't get chest pains or anything, it's just the very occasional (maybe once or twice a day) heart palpitation while not exercising and regular heart palpitations when I'm exercising. I have a blood pressure measurer at home and the last time I measured it my heart rate was slightly over the average and my blood pressure was slightly over normal too. I'm not sure what to do. I want to keep my heart healthy by exercising regularly, but whenever I try to exercise I get heart palpitations that just make me anxious and very hesitant to exercise anymore. Even if it is just my anxiety causing these heart palpitations they are still very unnerving because it's a very unsettling feeling and makes me worry that I'll have a heart attack. Does anyone else have similar issues or advice? It'd be very much appreciated. Cheers

Anxiousmind07 I have made a big commitment to buy a house with my partner and now I am suddenly Anxious
  • replies: 8

Hi All I have been dating my partner for nearly 2 years now. I am so in love with him and have never had any doubts in our relationship and have always thought to myself that I am so lucky to have met my person. We live together and recently just pur... View more

Hi All I have been dating my partner for nearly 2 years now. I am so in love with him and have never had any doubts in our relationship and have always thought to myself that I am so lucky to have met my person. We live together and recently just purchased an apartment together and we move in in 4 weeks time. However, over the last few days, I have had a huge increase in anxiety (it has been nearly 2 years since I had an anxiety attack) and am starting to doubt our relationship. And I honestly have no idea why. How can I go from feeling so great and positive to having doubts. Just two weeks ago we were talking about starting a family. I have felt experienced feelings of overwhelming anxiety in past relationships that have ended, so maybe I am panicking that if I feel this way then the relationship needs to end. I am having really intrusive thoughts and thinking about the worst things that could happen. I have gone back to my doctor and I am taking medication again (day 3) so hoping this will start to help. I am reading up on intrusive thoughts and how to cope with them, but how do I distinguish between an intrusive thought and an instinct. Any suggestions on how to cope or share a similar story would be greatly appreciated.

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