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

bill12345 Suddenly lost feelings for my girlfriend please help
  • replies: 10

Hi guys, i’m just really struggling right now and need to know if this is something other people have faced. I have suddenly over the last week lost complete feelings for my girlfriend of 2 years, she is amazing and i feel like i don’t even love her ... View more

Hi guys, i’m just really struggling right now and need to know if this is something other people have faced. I have suddenly over the last week lost complete feelings for my girlfriend of 2 years, she is amazing and i feel like i don’t even love her anymore, nothing bad has happened in our relationship and i suddenly feel anger when i think of her and have no feelings toward her, i don’t know what’s going on i just want to love her. I have struggled with mild ocd and anxiety over last couple years and it has flared up due to covid, is it something to do with my mental health because i just want to love her again and not lose her, even though when i say that i feel like i don’t even love her and i don’t know what’s going on. Like i feel like i don’t want to kiss her or get intimate and i’m really scared that i won’t get these feelings back

Eyeanxiety Struggling to cope with Eye Anxiety - why is it lasting so long?
  • replies: 11

Hi everyone, As you can see by the title of this thread, I'm suffering from health anxiety relating to my eyes/vision; I guess hypochondria. It's now nearing 5 months since I first started getting crippling anxiety and panic attacks, which stemmed fr... View more

Hi everyone, As you can see by the title of this thread, I'm suffering from health anxiety relating to my eyes/vision; I guess hypochondria. It's now nearing 5 months since I first started getting crippling anxiety and panic attacks, which stemmed from a stressful period in my life with my pet dog having a life threatening injury and almost passing, uni exams, and drinking a lot of caffeine. Anyway, it essentially came out of nowhere; I was studying and it's like my eyes became strained and started to get peripheral visual snow/haze I guess you can call it. I immediately booked an optometrist appointment, which unfortunately the earliest appointment was a couple days away which made it worse. Time came around and saw him, to which he scanned my eyes and checked my vision, and came to the conclusion that my eyes are healthy- yes it was a relief and I actually had little anxiety after the appointment and vision almost went back to normal. Few days later I started overthinking and didn't believe the optometrist and visual symptoms started to come back again leading me to see an ophthalmologist, which again, same results; healthy eyes and no sinister eye disease. I was good for a week or two after that and again same thing happened; my anxiety came back and as did my vision problems. Its been about 3 months since then and the last 1.5 months my anxiety has been constant, even a three week holiday in NZ with my supportive partner, I could not stop thinking about my vision and anxiety, even when having fun. I've now seen 2 GP's, 2 optometrists, 1 ophthalmologist, and a neurologist and have had 2 retinal eye scans, a OCT scan of the macular, visual field test, and a MRI of the head; all of these doctors and specialists and all the scans telling and showing me that there is nothing wrong with my eyes or brain. I have one of my regular appointments with my GP on the 13th of this month and will likely ask her for a referral to a neuro-ophthalmologist because I can't help it and can't wrap my head around why my vision seems like its closing in on me when I'm apparently completely fine? I've just started seeing a psychologist who is good for me and my gp recommends that I try anxiety medication, which I'm hoping will help achieve my goal of getting rid of this anxiety by the end of the year.

anxiousqueen A tough week
  • replies: 5

Isn't it so disheartening when we've made gradual, steady progress overtime only for one particular trigger/event to bring us right back to where we were before/worse than where we started? To sum it up on Sunday night my family found out we were clo... View more

Isn't it so disheartening when we've made gradual, steady progress overtime only for one particular trigger/event to bring us right back to where we were before/worse than where we started? To sum it up on Sunday night my family found out we were close contacts to a covid positive person.This news came while i was on my period, which are always a nightmare and I'm anaemic, so i was already feeling off. The next day someone in my home had an intense phone call which i could clearly hear (let's just leave it at 'family drama' that flares up at times)... Ever since these 2 events occurred (+ with a couple of other family member's health issues going on.. i fear phone's ringing with bad news) my anxiety has been intense!! I keep having panic attacks and am constantly anxious in general. I cannot eat/look after myself and I'm honestly just beyond exhausted/feel weak as I'm nearing nearly a full 7 days of being in this 'state'... I also have my first vaccination for covid booked in for February 1st (moderna) and am freaking out about the potential side effects i may or may not get!! I'm just a complete bundle of anxiety!!! I don't enjoy anything and can barely function. It's honestly a HUGE task in itself just to get through each day and night this past week!! I'm not entirely sure what I'm hoping to gain by sharing this but i just felt like i had to explain what's going on for me right now, somehow, somewhere... I guess this is classed as a 'vent?' I thank you in advance for even just taking your time to read this. I super appreciate it! ~ anxiousqueen

Mamabear81 Nighttime cleaning when the panic gets the best of me
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Hey y’all, I’m wondering if anyone else out there in BB-land does silly things like clean their entire house after evening/night-time panic attacks? Bit of a warning, the rest of this post gets a bit dark… My physical symptoms with panic attacks are ... View more

Hey y’all, I’m wondering if anyone else out there in BB-land does silly things like clean their entire house after evening/night-time panic attacks? Bit of a warning, the rest of this post gets a bit dark… My physical symptoms with panic attacks are chest pain, palpitations, and adrenaline rushes, so sometimes I really start to doubt the experts advice that these are panic attacks and start to convince myself that I might die… not helpful thoughts when I’m already wired. So with these unhelpful thoughts blaring in my brain, I start to plan for “after”… making sure the house is tidy, the pets have access to the outdoors, that I’m freshly showered and wearing nice looking pyjamas. Basically making sure that if I do die, it will be less unpleasant for whoever finds me. Does anyone else get these thoughts?

Alice762 Breathing
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Is it normal that I only feel anxiety when I feel like I can’t breathe ? I have such a big fear of not being able to breathe and it’s that thought that causes me to have anxiety attacks and then actually struggle to breathe. I just constantly feel li... View more

Is it normal that I only feel anxiety when I feel like I can’t breathe ? I have such a big fear of not being able to breathe and it’s that thought that causes me to have anxiety attacks and then actually struggle to breathe. I just constantly feel like I’m struggling to breathe and sometimes I just start to panic over it and it just makes it worse and I really don’t know what to do anymore

CBR1987 Fighting Anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hey all . I'm a happily married, working mum but also a long term anxiety sufferer who is trying to take hold of my life again. I suffered severe post natal depression which I treated with St John's Wort. I recovered from that, then witnessed a fatal... View more

Hey all . I'm a happily married, working mum but also a long term anxiety sufferer who is trying to take hold of my life again. I suffered severe post natal depression which I treated with St John's Wort. I recovered from that, then witnessed a fatal accident in 2013 and I've suffered anxiety since (only started St Johns Wort 2-3 months ago) I get extremely anxious in vehicles, a very negative household member also sets off anxiety in me, when people dont contact me, trouble sleeping/concentrating, I have trouble doing things myself (putting diesel in my car), I self-harm when I'm having an anxiety attack. I'm also having trouble making friends because social situations scare the crap out of me (I can't build up the courage to join a zumba class again because I always worry people are talking about me) However I hope this year will be different. I'm adjusting my diet, cutting down on alcohol, decluttering my house and am going to try attend a Zumba class in the next couple of weeks (the idea sounds good right now but I almost always back out last minute) I'm in Perth, and would love to chat to someone who understands my situation!

...Gekota I’m so tired of hating my body (TW) vent
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I wish I were normal. Everyday I look in a mirror and hate it. The amount of times I’ve been told I have to love myself or learn to I just want to scream I always want to scream but I never do. I’m so tired of seeing skinny people getting to wear wha... View more

I wish I were normal. Everyday I look in a mirror and hate it. The amount of times I’ve been told I have to love myself or learn to I just want to scream I always want to scream but I never do. I’m so tired of seeing skinny people getting to wear whatever they want or eat whatever they want and not care. I’m so tired of hating my body because I’m in a girls body and hating how my hips and my thighs and my butt will never be like a boys no matter how hard I try. I try so hard and it’s never enough because I will never be enough for myself. I hate how people call me a girl because of this body. “Miss” “she” “her” I’m so so so tired and there is never an end. Food I can’t stop thinking about food I want it to go away. I hate how I’m forced to eat I hate when I choose to eat. I was so skinny as a kid curve less and small and I was so happy I loved myself why couldn’t it have stayed that way. I hate looking a boys and wishing so badly I could be them. It’s so hard. I hate how I can’t go to a changing room at a shopping centre without having a panic attack and running out. I look at my older brother who will eat all this crap and is so skinny and tall and everything I wish I could be. I hate how for the past year i having been fearing the change in school uniform as I hate the way I look in the trousers but I can’t let myself pretend to be a girl for another year I hate how I stress about the shirts if I get the boys I’ll have to tuck it in and be reminded of my hips and my thighs and my body and my gender and if I get the girls shirt I’ll have to listen to how people call me a girl or how uncomfortable it feels to be in the girls uniform. I can’t wear trousers or jeans no matter the style because I hate the way my legs look in them and if it’s not my legs I hate the way my butt and hips stick out as they are so much larger then the rest of me. I reminder I will always be a girl. I can’t wear shorts because there either too short and I’m not ready to be stared at because of my scars or they don’t fit on my body because they were made for a male body. I can’t wear leggings or anything that appears to feminine as I will hate myself so much more. There is so much I hate. I just want to love me I want to love my body and not fear or break down over meals or run away and hide when people talk about weight I wish I were one of the many skinny people I see daily who can wear whatever they want because everything was made for them. I hate this world. I hate it so much.

Yerrrrrp Covid, news, phone and anxiety
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Hi Everyone! I have found myself lately just constantly checking news websites, NSW health Covid updates etc. Constantly, it's like a compulsion if that's the right word. I just can't help it. I'm conscious I do it and I try not to but it just happen... View more

Hi Everyone! I have found myself lately just constantly checking news websites, NSW health Covid updates etc. Constantly, it's like a compulsion if that's the right word. I just can't help it. I'm conscious I do it and I try not to but it just happens. Covid is officially driving me insane. I'm buying stuff I really don't need. A few months ago I purchased oximeter, BP monitor, blood glucose monitor etc etc. I had no reason to really other than my anxiety. It was supposed to make me feel better but it just made me feel worse. Yesterday I purchased a whole load of vitamins that probably won't help me. Today I purchased 11 covid tests. I didn't need them but because they are almost impossible to get and I found some online, I purchased them. 11 was so I qualified for free shipping. I also have 4 kids so that's really only 2 tests each if we end up needing them so I don't think it's that greedy. I found myself about to checkout and thought 'nope, don't buy them, you don't need them' then 10 minutes later as I'm scrolling through the news I see another article about how hard the tests are to get so I went back on the website and paid for them. I didn't really want them, but I'm doing stuff like this and It's like I have no control over it. On the plus side my health anxiety is so high I cut right back on drinking and haven't had a drink today which is a kind of big thing because I drink wine like every night. Hopefully that helps. I'm planning on not buying any more cigarettes tomorrow. I work full time from home at the moment, ubereats driving and casual jobs when they come up on the weekend etc. I'm so exhausted and fed up with everyone and everything and now I'm covid obsessed. I don't know what I am hoping to achieve by writing this lol Sorry for saying 'I' and 'I'm' way too many times. Thanks for reading if you got to the end

Tryingtomoveon Anxiety constant physical symptoms
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Hi Thanks for reading this post. I'm finding that when I feel more anxious I start getting really bad nausea,headaches and heart palpitations. I find it hard to find ways to stop these symptoms. I find they then increase my anxiety even more which be... View more

Hi Thanks for reading this post. I'm finding that when I feel more anxious I start getting really bad nausea,headaches and heart palpitations. I find it hard to find ways to stop these symptoms. I find they then increase my anxiety even more which becomes a vicious circle. I really don't know what to do I feel like I've tried it all mindfulness, breathing, walking, distraction but it just is so intense. I think what doesn't help is I'm unsure why my anxiety is increasing to cause this.

Louisezea Eating disorder /anxiety & moving to a new city advice
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Hi all, I’ve moved to a to a new city for work and I’ve been struggling with dealing with an eating disorder + anxiety. It’s been 3 months since moving and I’m considering moving back, I feel unmotivated and struggling to find support. Im finding it ... View more

Hi all, I’ve moved to a to a new city for work and I’ve been struggling with dealing with an eating disorder + anxiety. It’s been 3 months since moving and I’m considering moving back, I feel unmotivated and struggling to find support. Im finding it hard to trust my gut, I’m not sure if moving is the right decision. I have been dealing with an eating disorder for the past 4 years and it’s becoming out of control, I’m not sure if it’s worth quitting work to seek help. Does anyone have any advice? Would appreciate it so much. Also has anyone else experienced depression/anxiety when moving to a new city?