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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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MissJ94 Workplace Harassment
  • replies: 1

I work night shifts. The last few nights ive been on at work have been quite traumatic for me. It began sunday night where the staff member was on a facetime call and switched the camera onto me to engage in the conversation. I had made it very clear... View more

I work night shifts. The last few nights ive been on at work have been quite traumatic for me. It began sunday night where the staff member was on a facetime call and switched the camera onto me to engage in the conversation. I had made it very clear i wasnt willing. Monday day time the staff member seems to have made an instagram account to stalk me. He had liked a photo of mine, the profile has literally nothing on it. Tuesday night back at work and things go next level creep. Asking for my number then using the reason he is applying for a job and asked if i could be a referee, initially thought thats fine with me but now regretting handing over my mobile number. Then asking personal questions, some i was ok to answer, others i didnt answer. It was at this point i made it very clear i already have someone and am not the slightest bit interested. But he persisted. Continued to stating he looked for me on social media pages and found my profiles. Then he started asking me if i know why hes asking so many questions as though he wanted me to fall head over heels for him and say because he likes me???? All i said was no whats your reason. And he would just reply "i think you must know the reason", i refused to answer and got back to my work. Later that night he stated the car i drive and where i park at work, not that there were at least 5 other cars in the carpark and he doesnt arrive or leave work when i do. Not long later he send me a message request on one of my social media accounts. A completely random message where i asked him what the hell hes talking about. He said to just watch the video under that message and it was a really disturbing video that could be taken sexually. I ignored. Then he said hes going to swap his monday shift to work on wednesday(i dont work mondays but i do work wednesdays) and he commented that i didnt ask him why so i turned to him and asked why just for him to reply with "i think you know why". Again ended that conversation. I had told my mum, guy im seeing and a friend all about this. When i got to work wednesday night he turned up and i went into a panic. My mum got worried and called the police to my work. After speaking to them they really just made me feel like im over reacting but may be able to get an APVO out on him but i need more of his details. I spoke to them crying and shaking uncontrollably, was that panicked i even took my mask off and not fearing ill be fined for that! Am i overreacting??

Bibbetyboo Intrusive nightmares
  • replies: 3

I have always had really vivid dreams and really vivid nightmares the kind that could be made into films. Before i became pregnant I smoked a lot to block these bad dreams out even at the expense of the good ones. I dont watch movies anymore or liste... View more

I have always had really vivid dreams and really vivid nightmares the kind that could be made into films. Before i became pregnant I smoked a lot to block these bad dreams out even at the expense of the good ones. I dont watch movies anymore or listen to much music so as not to stimulate my overactive imagination. after my child was born (12 month ago next Sunday) it took a while but the nightmares are back. They are so draining i have not had a good night sleep for a while and they put me in horrible moods in the morning. Often they’re related to the past, things i regret and feel guilty about and things i wish never happened. They’re exaddutated and very triggering. Sometimes my nightmares make me feel physically sick and loss of appetite they re so vulgar. I dont smoke anymore and wont go back to that life but it did cancel out my dreams for years. I turned to weed because i kept having dreams about angels telling me about the future and dreams about real dead people passing on messages, no kidding it made me really isolated I was so disturbed by them however couldn’t tell anyone out of fear of reaction. Some of those dreams came true, some are now just coming to pass. When i was in high school my nightmares were so bad i had a mental breakdown and constantly contemplated suicide. This type of lucid vivid dreaming has nearly destroyed my life, driven me to drink excessively through my 20’s and caused so much of my depression and isolation. I am so anxious about sleep, i dont look forward to it anymore but as a single mum my body is aching for sleep. What can i do about this? I am terrified these nightmares are going to start getting really bad again.

Here2Talk Compulsive behaviour of running tongue over teeth
  • replies: 2

Hi all, I think a couple of my bottom front teeth moved slightly or removed some plaque when I was flossing last night and caused a sharp edge along the gum line behind the two front bottom teeth, now my tongue has been grinding against it for a whol... View more

Hi all, I think a couple of my bottom front teeth moved slightly or removed some plaque when I was flossing last night and caused a sharp edge along the gum line behind the two front bottom teeth, now my tongue has been grinding against it for a whole day whenever I am conscious. I went to the dentist thinking they could remove it but they gave it a clean and basically said they can’t see anything else... just concerned that I won’t be able to stop this.... haven’t been able to so far... anyone else had a weird compulsive habit that spontaneously developed and got over it? Sounds stupid but I can’t seem to think about much else .. Cheers.

user9463728 confused
  • replies: 11

hi. ive been really wondering if somethings wrong with me and its stressing me out. i think that i might have ocd but not sure if this is a symptom. every month or so ill read a book, watch a tv show, see a new person or discover a new sport. i becom... View more

hi. ive been really wondering if somethings wrong with me and its stressing me out. i think that i might have ocd but not sure if this is a symptom. every month or so ill read a book, watch a tv show, see a new person or discover a new sport. i become so obsessed with that something that i feel like my whole life revolves around it. i start feeling really guilty (i have no idea why) and like i cant live without it. for example, right now its a tv show. i want to be in the tv show so bad that i start hating my life. (sounds stupid, i know). i was feeling perfectly fine since my last obsession until this one started. i cant do anything without thinking about the show or comparing everything i do to it. i hadnt cried for a long time but these past 2 days i cant stop the feeling of wanting to cry. i keep crying about it but i physically cannot stop myself from watching it. it was like my last obsession, which was figure skating. i discovered the sport and decided right then and there i wanted to be an olympic figure skater. then of course, i spent hours researching everything about the sport and found out most olympic figure skaters started at an extremely young age. i felt so sad i couldnt stop crying and thought that my life had to be based around this. (i didnt even know this sport existed a few hours before this.) i signed myself up for a private figure skating lesson. then 3 days later i woke up and was really confused about what i saw in the sport and cancelled the lesson. that was the end of that obsession. it doesnt sound like much but during the obsession i feel so paralyzed and like i cant escape it. really. is there something wrong with me or is this normal? it is seriously annoying. anyways this was kind of long sorry. thanks.

Gabby_Neill Panic attacks - feeling like not belonging
  • replies: 2

Hi there. This is my first time posting on this forum. I am 31 years old and living with Autism. I recently had 2 (now 3) panic attcks where I felt like I didn't beling/live in my own home, like I belonged/lived somehwere else. These attacks had come... View more

Hi there. This is my first time posting on this forum. I am 31 years old and living with Autism. I recently had 2 (now 3) panic attcks where I felt like I didn't beling/live in my own home, like I belonged/lived somehwere else. These attacks had come out of nowhere. I had tingling in my hands, feet, and mouth, my chest tightened and I felt like I couldn't breathe. It is difficult for me as an Autistic person to calm down and think positively. Anyone else felt like this?

geoff Name your Trigger Points
  • replies: 33

Hi Everyone, interested to know what your trigger points are, and knowing the warning signs that may foreshadow a relapse, can help you to avoid it. These may differ from day to day and in different situations but each one is important to know. -movi... View more

Hi Everyone, interested to know what your trigger points are, and knowing the warning signs that may foreshadow a relapse, can help you to avoid it. These may differ from day to day and in different situations but each one is important to know. -moving house is never good for me, and that's just for starters. All the best. Geoff.

Bibbetyboo What future?
  • replies: 18

Long story short I didnt do well in school at all. I just wasn’t very good at anything. I could write stories but they were hardly readable due to dyslexia that remained undiagnosed. That also affected my ability to tie my shoes, read a clock and tel... View more

Long story short I didnt do well in school at all. I just wasn’t very good at anything. I could write stories but they were hardly readable due to dyslexia that remained undiagnosed. That also affected my ability to tie my shoes, read a clock and tell the difference between left and right as well as limited me to a grade 3 education in Mathematics. Don’t ask me how i got to year 11. I had a mental breakdown due to some seriously bad nightmares that went on for a few years in year 12 and dropped out. I was withdrawn and terribly depressed, my family made fun of me. Fast forward I’m now 36 and have never improved. I’m smarter but i am a recluse. I had a addiction issues with alcohol through my 20’s and due to bad anxiety didnt hold down a job. My family have all but disowned me but were never very loving anyway its where the bulk of my pain comes from. Now i have left another abusive relationship but this time I have a son. He’s 10 months and doing very well but i am the shell of a person. I was homeless and pregnant and have only just managed to claw up a roof over our heads. His father is on an IVO and contributes nothing. I’m saving for a car finally but never learned to drive after many attempts. I dont know who I am. I have no super, no house or assets I’m nearly 40 and have no idea how to get work without family to help take care of my little boy. I have no idea what I am going to do now that i care about someone else. If it were just me I wouldn’t even care but I look at how other family’s at least have pets or siblings or a future and i cant even provide that for him. I love him so much it hurts. I wish i wasn’t such a loser, he deserves better and it’s breaking me into pieces. I am so tired i hardly laugh or smile I’m always sad or angry. I just feel like i wasn’t meant to be for anything and don’t fit anywhere.

Teagan_N 20 years old - debilitating hypochondria, convinced myself I have bowel cancer
  • replies: 7

Apologies in advance, I’ve never posted on a forum like this before. I’m not really sure where to start. I started having issues with my physical health late last year, swollen glands with no apparent cause, chronic chest pain and shortness of breath... View more

Apologies in advance, I’ve never posted on a forum like this before. I’m not really sure where to start. I started having issues with my physical health late last year, swollen glands with no apparent cause, chronic chest pain and shortness of breath - various tests and ultrasounds later and nothing, perfectly “healthy”. I’m not exactly sure when the worrying started, but now panic attacks and sleepless nights have become a common occurrence. In the last 7 months I’ve convinced myself I have lymphoma, bladder cancer, brain cancer and more. My most recent fixation is bowel cancer, the pain in my lower left abdomen started around two months ago - it’s always there just in varying intensities, it hurts when I press it too (it ranges from sharp to more dull). Multiple specialist appointments later and there’s no gynaecological cause, the bladder ultrasound showed nothing, my stool test showed no inflammation (so not a type of IBD). Now I’ve convinced myself that I, at 20 years old, have bowel cancer. How have I rationalised this? 1. The persistent pain that isn’t triggered by my eating habits, 2. A change in bowel habits and stool texture, 3. The fact that literally everything non bowel related has been ruled out, and the things that are bowel related that have been ruled are the relatively non-sinister things (IBD). I’m booked in for a colonoscopy in a few weeks and even though my gastroenterologist has told me she doesn’t think they’ll find anything I’m absolutely terrified and feel like she’s made a terrible oversight. I feel like my life is just starting and now my brain has presented me with the prospect of dying in five years or less, I just want to feel healthy and happy like I did last year. I’m not even sure why I’m putting this on a forum, if I want my feelings to be validated or some smart person to tell me “don’t be stupid, it’s unlikely you have bowel cancer because of x, y and z”, but here I am anyway, feeling like I’m losing my mind. This has been the longest seven months of my life, I just want to live a long, happy life. Not even full time uni and part time work can distract me from my intrusive thoughts anymore.

Elle_gross Needy? separation anxiety from ex
  • replies: 7

So about a few months ago me and my ex broke up because we both weren’t ready for a relationship. I couldn’t handle my emotions well and there was often miscommunication from his side. Right now we still have feelings for each other but decide to foc... View more

So about a few months ago me and my ex broke up because we both weren’t ready for a relationship. I couldn’t handle my emotions well and there was often miscommunication from his side. Right now we still have feelings for each other but decide to focus on ourselves. We talked about waiting for each other but decided it was best to just go with the flow because it’s more fair and he wasn’t ready for commitment. We both agree that when we graduate from high school if we still happen to have feelings for each other we will try again which is in two years. Soooo long. I’ve opened up to him about my anxiety and he’s understood and listened but overtime he says it became a bit irritating cuz I keep relying on him to much it drains his energy and he is doing work most of the time I open up. Now when I try to open up he isn’t as empathetic as before (he is much more understanding irl tho). I can’t open up to my parents because they don’t want me to talk to him because they think he did something bad because all the miscommunication. So we can barely hangout and only privately. I’m always so anxious that we will slowly grow apart and he will lose feelings for me. He isn’t a good texter and he barely starts conversations which makes me soooo anxious. I am afraid of the future if this persists and we slowly just stop talking and lose the connection we have. How can I focus on myself if this is bothering me so much. I don’t know what I should do.

macfan6 Starting a new medication
  • replies: 7

Hi, a doctor has just put me on medication for severe constant stress and anxiety from moving. Does anyone have experience with taking medication and how it makes them feel? I feel terrible today. Woke up with worries, and now I can’t shake it. Feel ... View more

Hi, a doctor has just put me on medication for severe constant stress and anxiety from moving. Does anyone have experience with taking medication and how it makes them feel? I feel terrible today. Woke up with worries, and now I can’t shake it. Feel like I’m going crazy.