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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

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Ilikeplants Coping with medication changes
  • replies: 1

I started a new job a few months ago and everything was great, until I entered 2 stage of training. My anxiety unleashed hellfire upon me. I cried infront of everyone at work, I almost vomited on my boss. Twice. So my long term GP made the decision t... View more

I started a new job a few months ago and everything was great, until I entered 2 stage of training. My anxiety unleashed hellfire upon me. I cried infront of everyone at work, I almost vomited on my boss. Twice. So my long term GP made the decision to taper me off my old medication over 2 weeks and then immediately start a new one as I've been up and down for a year or 2 on the old medication for 7 years. I've already taken 5 days off my new job and today my GP wants me to take another week to adjust as the severe physical and mental symptoms I'm experiencing due to the swap are making me completely dysfunctional. Hysterical crying, vomiting, heart racing, can't breathe, sleeping poorly, tremors and a heightened sense of dread in my stomach. I guess I just want to know im not alone and that taking time away from one of my stresses is the right thing to do. And how much detail I should share with my manager. If anyone else has experienced something like this, I'd love to hear from you.

John_E_S Anxiety and trust
  • replies: 14

Hi all, I have been posting in the depression thread for a little while but not here. I wanted to get some advice about anxiety and trust. This is not to do with relationships but rather with work. My anxiety stem from many family health issues but l... View more

Hi all, I have been posting in the depression thread for a little while but not here. I wanted to get some advice about anxiety and trust. This is not to do with relationships but rather with work. My anxiety stem from many family health issues but largely manifests in worries about my work to give context i work in science and I am moving into more of a leadership position. I am finding that I get regular doubts about some of the work I have done to the point where I don't sleep well and feel like I constantly panicking and assuming the worst will happen. Luckily I have colleagues I can reach out to and they re-assure me that what I have done is fine. However, I keep finding my mind going back to these concerns or looking for different concerns with this work. I find I ruminate about this a lot and it is what primarily preoccupies my mind. My question is, should I trust my colleagues over my anxious mind? (I think answer is yes). Secondly, why do I put so much faith in my mind over them and is there an effective way to deal with this. At the moment I am not and it seems to be getting worse

PsychedelicFur Feeling guilty after I eat food
  • replies: 2

Hello there, PsychedelicFur here! Now, after I eat food -particularly junk food I make myself feel so guilty. Does anyone else feel this way? I think mainly the problem why I encounter such a significant amount of guilt is maybe because my mother wou... View more

Hello there, PsychedelicFur here! Now, after I eat food -particularly junk food I make myself feel so guilty. Does anyone else feel this way? I think mainly the problem why I encounter such a significant amount of guilt is maybe because my mother would say “oh if you eat anymore of that you will end up the size of a house!” Or “Do you wanna look like an Oompa Lompa?!” So I am just wondering if anyone else deals with a similar issue? And if so, how have you tried to overcome the issue or what things do you suggest? Food and I have been a bit of battle for many years, if I can be quite honest with you! I would eat some junk food and then exercise excessively because I was concerned with what my mother would tell me. PF.

veronica20 Anxiety and ADD
  • replies: 1

I think that I have ADD - I still need to discuss with a doctor but I am beginning to feel that my years - yes, years of feeling anxious and overwhelmed and not able to cope - are due to, or at least exacerbated by ADD. I don't think I ever met the c... View more

I think that I have ADD - I still need to discuss with a doctor but I am beginning to feel that my years - yes, years of feeling anxious and overwhelmed and not able to cope - are due to, or at least exacerbated by ADD. I don't think I ever met the criteria for depression and antidepressants never helped but I have certainly had anxiety. Does anyone share this experience?

whiteroses Worry about changing friendships
  • replies: 2

My husband and I have two children. Our closest friends are unable to have children and I am constantly worried our friendship has changed. Before kids we did everything together and now I feel like we have been sidelined. I don’t know why I worry so... View more

My husband and I have two children. Our closest friends are unable to have children and I am constantly worried our friendship has changed. Before kids we did everything together and now I feel like we have been sidelined. I don’t know why I worry so much about this but it makes me feel very anxious.

jellybeanshampoo Anxiety eating away at my time
  • replies: 5

Hi everyone, This is my first post on Beyond Blue. I've been reading through a lot of the posts and find it almost comforting that what I'm feeling isn't isolated, and that there have been instances where people like us have gotten a good hold of the... View more

Hi everyone, This is my first post on Beyond Blue. I've been reading through a lot of the posts and find it almost comforting that what I'm feeling isn't isolated, and that there have been instances where people like us have gotten a good hold of their anxieties. I feel like my anxiety consumes any hours or minutes that I have spare in the day. I would fret and think about social situations I need to be at and it will be all that I think about. I feel like I'm living in some borrowed time, that "judgement day" (i.e. any day I feel like I can't control what happens or I know will push my comfort zones) is looming. It gets to the point where sometimes I'll just blank out and stare at the clock, counting down the hours/days until I have to do whatever it is that's triggering my anxiety. I lose any spare time I have with myself, friends, or family because it's always at the back of my mind. I hate feeling this way. It makes me feel lonely, too, because I feel like I can't talk about this situation with anyone. I can't let my friends know I'm feeling like this, and my closest sibling is so busy and lives so far away that I don't want to burden her. I'm jittery and more often than not I'm crying myself to sleep over it. I feel like my days revolve around doing the stressful thing and counting down to the next stressful thing. This anxiety has been with me since primary school but it feels so much worse now as an adult. I don't know how to control it.

Kat_Kai1067 I feel anxious for no reason...
  • replies: 13

Nearly everyday I have a panic attack and it tires my out. I have trouble sleeping because of my anxiety, I have trouble socialising because of my social anxiety. I don't know what to do anymore..

Nearly everyday I have a panic attack and it tires my out. I have trouble sleeping because of my anxiety, I have trouble socialising because of my social anxiety. I don't know what to do anymore..

HoldOnPainEnds I worry my anxiety will end my relationship - I can't stop thinking that I don't love him anymore.
  • replies: 5

I have the most spectacular, kind, loving, supportive boyfriend out there. We have been dating for over a year and it has been the happiest I've ever felt. A few days ago I woke up and thought "but what if I don't actually love him?" and all hell bro... View more

I have the most spectacular, kind, loving, supportive boyfriend out there. We have been dating for over a year and it has been the happiest I've ever felt. A few days ago I woke up and thought "but what if I don't actually love him?" and all hell broke loose. Since then I have been experiencing a near constant anxiety attack - I can't eat, I won't stop shaking and every waking moment is spent worrying about this. When I'm away from him, I worry. When I am with him, I over-analyse everything and it's getting to the point where I'm afraid to see him because I know I will most likely have a panic attack. After five days I am beginning to lose sight of all the amazing times we've spent together because all I can associate with this relationship now is intense anxiety. My anxiety has completely thrown my feelings off. I can't feel the love I had for him before Saturday, and I've even contemplated breaking up with him just to get away from these debilitating feelings. However, I know that all those feelings still exist because firstly, I wouldn't be this worried if I didn't care for him, and secondly, the thought of losing him is even worse than this anxiety - it is complete numbness. I am so scared that I am going to ruin the amazing relationship we have just because I can't see the truth under the mask of this intense anxiety. I have spoken to him about it already and he is being extremely supportive, but I find it hard to access this support he is giving me as every time I think about him or am with him the thoughts just start to plague my mind again. I have been able to manage some of the major symptoms by distracting myself, reading through websites and advice forums and attempting to challenge the negative thoughts, and I will also be seeing my psychologist in a week. However, I don't want to spend the rest of my life just pushing away these thoughts as I am so worried they will just come back. If anyone has any advice about how I can handle/get rid of these thoughts, or even personal experiences with something similar, I would be so grateful.

Amy_b1 Anxiety
  • replies: 3

I’ve been getting social anxiety lately and I feel so alone I also feel really anxious and have panic attacks I’m just not sure what to do

I’ve been getting social anxiety lately and I feel so alone I also feel really anxious and have panic attacks I’m just not sure what to do

chriscollected Can I ask for some advice/help?
  • replies: 1

Hello, Essentially, I’ve been dealing with anxiety for coming onto a month now and my counsellor had spoken about acute traumatic stress / PTSD as I know it was triggered by a situation that happened in my life, on the first day I had a panic attack.... View more

Hello, Essentially, I’ve been dealing with anxiety for coming onto a month now and my counsellor had spoken about acute traumatic stress / PTSD as I know it was triggered by a situation that happened in my life, on the first day I had a panic attack. It’s like the jar of emotions finally opened and it’s become overwhelming. So I’ve been going to an external app that provides support by speaking to a registered counsellor/psychologist. I have found it useful but also a little intimidating. Has anyone found success in these kind of apps or is 1-on-1 in person sessions the real way to go? I just recently started that as well and came out rather emotionally which I felt was a great first session (I cried twice and I NEVER cry). Another issue I’ve found is I’m stuck between falling rather anxious when I’m at home alone because my partner still needs to go to work... I’ve found I’m a lot more productive, calm and safe when I’m at my families home. These are some great scenarios that could potentially push me further by having support around me but I’m also concerned that by doing this I’m not facing my anxieties head on... A piece of me wants to go back home for a couple of weeks. I’d be closer with family, i’d be closer to work, i’d be a lot more stronger, but as I said, I’m not facing my anxiety head on... I don’t know what to do...