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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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Rhirhi2 Anxiety symptoms
  • replies: 7

Hi, ive recently just started seeing a psychologist for my anxiety and also to deal with some struggles through childhood with my adoptive sister who was very violent. I’ve never really been effected by it as I’ve just brushed it aside and have amazi... View more

Hi, ive recently just started seeing a psychologist for my anxiety and also to deal with some struggles through childhood with my adoptive sister who was very violent. I’ve never really been effected by it as I’ve just brushed it aside and have amazing parents who helped me through, but since going to see this psychologist I have noticed werid things happening with my body. I’ve been having tingling sensations in my hands, arms legs and feet abs sometimes face. I have no pain just werid sensations that worry me. I have been googling my symptoms and everything pretty much says MS and this is has absolutely terrified me. I can’t get it off my mind, I’ve not eaten in a few days or when I do I have the smallest thing, I’ve hardly been drinking water, I just sit in a constant fear I have this disease and the worry is taking over me. Every morning I wake up feeling sick and have these constant feelings, the more I think about them the more I can feel then. My dr is sending me fir an MRI and I am praying it comes back ok abs these symptoms are just my anxiety playing up. has anyone ever had similar symptoms or felt the same way? thanks x

Here2Talk Acceptance
  • replies: 5

Acceptance.... It is at the core of a lot of psychological malaise, particularly anxiety. It is needed everywhere, yet there is no straightforward way of finding it. Our body and our mind are often caught up in a tangle, conspiring against the better... View more

Acceptance.... It is at the core of a lot of psychological malaise, particularly anxiety. It is needed everywhere, yet there is no straightforward way of finding it. Our body and our mind are often caught up in a tangle, conspiring against the better people we are trying to become. I don’t know exactly where I’m going with this, but if I may, I’ll illustrate with an example. This long weekend I’ve been doing a little bit of catching up on all the things I feel like I should be doing. Cooking my family brekky, Studying for uni, trying to fix things around the house, clean up the house, take the kids downtown to play at maccas, sitting with the kids in the trampoline because I realised I “haven’t been fully present enough in spending time with them this weekend, making my wife supper.... In the process of being busy doing stuff all weekend, I’ve done absolutely nothing for myself- exercise, meditate, even drink enough water or eat properly. It’s hard to even focus on why I’m disappointed on myself when I have done little bits of everything to make life better for myself and those around me; yet it doesn’t feel like enough. So 9:30 rolls around and I think: I really want to go to bed (I have to get up no later than 5:30 for work tomorrow). Yet I feel this pang of regret. I focus intently on myself as if I was observing myself and say “what if I could go to bed?”. I say to my wife “should I feel like a failure? Cause if you think I should then I will”. She says no..... I was just being funny (or trying anyway). But I had already decided it was alright. I had “accepted” that I deserve to go to bed, even though I wanted to get much more done... It was a truly good feeling. I imagined writing this post, full of pride.. But as I hopped into bed and opened the BB forums, I realised how transitory it all was, and how fragile acceptance is - and how deceptively (and swiftly) non-acceptance can creep back in. I was basically compelled to write this to be accepted... by myself. Not sure what you will get out of this post, but if anything does resonate with you I’d love to hear it! What things in your life our yourself so you find it hard to accept? How do you do it?

TM78 Night time and morning anxiety attacks
  • replies: 5

Hey there, So I'm suffering from anxiety. I have on and off for some time. I'm ok during the day. I work long hours as I own a cafe but it's as soon as I try and go off to bed my stomach feels sick, my heart races, sometimes I get nausea and vomit or... View more

Hey there, So I'm suffering from anxiety. I have on and off for some time. I'm ok during the day. I work long hours as I own a cafe but it's as soon as I try and go off to bed my stomach feels sick, my heart races, sometimes I get nausea and vomit or I just cry. It also happens if I receive a call from a hidden or private number. I have seen a doctor who just wanted to give me meds but I don't think I want to go that way just yet. It's the same when I wake up in the morning too. Has anyone experienced anything similar? If you did what did you do to help ease them I'm starting to lose hope and feel like a freak.

Bamb_i Feeling anxious over possibilities
  • replies: 3

Hi all, I’m new to this forum, so bear with me! I’ve recently been extremely anxious about heading to work, and worrying over possibilities or situations that have not/or may not even occur at work. I’ve never been an anxious person, but recent event... View more

Hi all, I’m new to this forum, so bear with me! I’ve recently been extremely anxious about heading to work, and worrying over possibilities or situations that have not/or may not even occur at work. I’ve never been an anxious person, but recent events at work where I have been blamed or been on the receiving end of someone else’s stresses have made me extremely reluctant and anxious to head to work. I can’t even “switch off” from thinking about work, and dread returning each morning in case something has occurred overnight and I am met with an angry boss in the morning. Most of the time, nothing happens but it doesn’t help my worrying, or being overly analytical of any possibility of disaster. Any tips on how to handle this?

PsychedelicFur Parenting my parents
  • replies: 2

Hello there, PSYCHEDELICFUR here again. How are you? I hope your Saturday has been relaxing and peaceful. Now, ever since I was four people have told me “WOW, you are definitely so wise beyond your years.” And I was able to hold adult conversations w... View more

Hello there, PSYCHEDELICFUR here again. How are you? I hope your Saturday has been relaxing and peaceful. Now, ever since I was four people have told me “WOW, you are definitely so wise beyond your years.” And I was able to hold adult conversations when I was three or four years of age. And the problem with that was sometimes my father would go to me for advice. I have had to, in someway parent my parents. Like, when my mum left with her previous abusive ex partner that she emotionally cheated on my dad with I kept telling her she will get hurt and things don’t seem right. As my intuition kept telling me something was not correct about the whole situation and that particular individual. And she completely ignored my words of protection and warnings and she ended up getting hurt by this person. Both emotionally and to a degree, physically. Now she is in a relationship with someone else and my gut instinct is telling me that something is not right about this situation too. it’s very very draining and excruciatingly exhausting that I have to parent my parents.. and sometimes they don’t listen to me. My mother has learning difficulties and I have been told by some people that she has the mentality of a thirteen year old girl. And when I try to protect her and tell her not to do things she says ‘I’m not having a seventeen or eighteen year old tell me what to do!! Butt out, it doesn’t concern you.” Feeling disorientated.. like I haven’t found my place in this world. On one hand I am a misfit and a little bit ‘eccentric’ if you will when I’m amongst my university peers. And then I have to sometimes parent my parents. It’s exhausting because I know I am far more wiser than a lot of individuals my age but the point is I don’t fit in. And my dad goes to me for advice quite often. And its sometimes him asking for my input. However most times he is asking me how he can fix a situation. My dad will ask for advice sometimes and not listen to my advice and it just goes in one ear and out the other. My parents are finalising their divorce. I have to move house. I’m in a state of confusion and heartache at the moment. sick of this situation. Needed to vent. PSYCHEDELICFUR.

Petal22 A Bit Of Inspiration
  • replies: 2

Hello to my forum friends, I have known despair, I have known fear, I have known helplessness , I have known the darkness I have been knocked down but there is one thing I know for sure I will always get back up! I will always shine my light from wit... View more

Hello to my forum friends, I have known despair, I have known fear, I have known helplessness , I have known the darkness I have been knocked down but there is one thing I know for sure I will always get back up! I will always shine my light from within and I will always be the light for others who are in the darkness so they too can find there way out! Please never quit! please believe you CAN overcome what you are going through.... brighter days are coming your way.... I’m living proof that you CAN get better! There is so much help available to us from our health professionals we just need to seek it... I’m here on these forums to help and support you please reach out to us if you need our help and support.. “Look beyond the struggle “

JJ1981 Mental health disease - not an excuse, not an industry
  • replies: 4

I have been reflecting on how much better I feel with the right interventions, that I should have had a long time ago. I'm still amazed of how much better I can function, can calm myself and not let any mistake keep me away from focusing on bettering... View more

I have been reflecting on how much better I feel with the right interventions, that I should have had a long time ago. I'm still amazed of how much better I can function, can calm myself and not let any mistake keep me away from focusing on bettering my life. There are people who have had the same epiphany after finding the right treatment. There are those who are still to find it because they have not had the right treatment. And, there are those who do NOT want to seek that epiphany! Mental health issues (like anxiety, uni/bipolar depression, schizophrenia etc) have been abused by some who do have them, some who don't actually have them and some who PROFIT from them. The first two groups treat mental health as an excuse, whilst the third one treats it as a mere industry! Amongst the people with mental illness who abuse the severity of mental illness, some use it as a "comfort thing" more effective than ice cream or hot fatty chips, for example. It prevents them from being brave enough to see what is causing their mental anguish and what can be done to improve themselves despite that anguish. It also (unfortunately) is a convenient way of avoiding taking responsibility for abusive/threatening/irresponsible behaviour towards themselves and to others. Many sufferers are not like that, but we cannot discount those who are! Amongst those who do not have mental illness, it is a great way to "pretend" that they are sick as a way to induce sympathy or concessions from different people. I have seen tenants thrashing investment properties shamelessly and deliberately deciding not to pay rent as conscientious choices, despite claiming to have mental "disabilities", which enables for disability pensions - scrutinised nowhere near as severely as JobSeeker (aka the dole). This adds to the stigma of people having legitimate mental illness and scares people off from actually helping them. Amongst those who profit, they range from some doctors to some nurses. From their unions to certain non government organisations. From pharm reps to government health bureaucrats. They all see mental health as something to make money from, any way they can. Without giving a real damn about fixing the mental health issues hurting so many people. And, tarnishing the efforts of those who actually care and treat mental illness, and help people fix themselves. To those three groups, I say this...mental health issues are real...not an excuse, not an industry! TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY!

Guest_01 Anxiety about needing to pee all the time
  • replies: 3

I had an episode nearly 10 years ago where I was stuck on a train and had drunk heaps of water that day and really had to pee, and I only just got off and got to a toilet in time... the feeling of omg i'm going to wet myself was so traumatising that ... View more

I had an episode nearly 10 years ago where I was stuck on a train and had drunk heaps of water that day and really had to pee, and I only just got off and got to a toilet in time... the feeling of omg i'm going to wet myself was so traumatising that when my friend made a joke about going back to the toilet and peeing again just in case (like one minute later) i did actually go back... since that day i've become super aware of how much liquid i drink and avoid getting into situations where i can't access a toilet. i know it's not actually a physical issue, because when i'm at home or somewhere where i know i could get to a toilet if i needed to, i have great bladder control and can go for hours without thinking of it. but the problem has got heaps worse, to the point where i often go to pee a few times before i have to go for a car ride or something, even if the time that ill be stuck without being able to get to a toilet is as little as 10 minutes and ive had nothing to drink all day. ive got to the point of being anxious that peeing myself will happen as a result of my anxiety, and its just ironic that the anxiety is about peeing in the first place. im going to finally say something to my doctor cause i know i can't handle this anymore on my own, it used to be just an annoyance but now im close to having panic attacks and feeling constantly exhausted from thinking about it. i never used to be an anxious person have started to be a more anxious person in general and other things make me anxious too like flying. is anyone else suffering from this too??? is it too late? i know i should have got help long ago. plz say that its something that i can treat, i can't imagine another 10 years or longer like this

PsychedelicFur Feeling a bit lonely and isolated at the moment
  • replies: 2

Hey there, it’s PsychedelicFur here again! How are you? I’m feeling a little bit lonely at the moment. I don’t really connect to anyone in my university course as they have already made their cliques and seem to already have established connections. ... View more

Hey there, it’s PsychedelicFur here again! How are you? I’m feeling a little bit lonely at the moment. I don’t really connect to anyone in my university course as they have already made their cliques and seem to already have established connections. And worse than that I am doing a course as a pathway that is orientated specifically around something that I am not really interested in but I am only doing this as a pathway so eventually I can get the credentials to get into the desired course I want to study. It’s sports media and journalism. And I am the least sporty person ever but I really enjoy the course because it’s a great introduction into the media industry. Although it is teaching the students how to be commentators and sports journalists... I just enjoy learning about how to use professional sound recording equipment and I also really like learning how to write scripts and reports. So everyone sort of bonds over sport whilst I am in the corner and I have no intentions of studying further information about sport. I just feel like they all are the same type of people.. and it’s hard for me to find any form of connection. Some of them are quite immature and don’t really like doing much work either. I am flying through the work though and gaining so much knowledge about filming, photography, radio production and design, which I love enormously. And if it were not for that I would have left earlier on. Just feeling out of place. I’m nowhere near a sporting person and I just feel like I cannot simply connect to anyone at the moment. And when I left my boyfriend it made me feel like I was hopeless, but I haven’t spoken to him for a whole month and I am honestly so very proud of myself and my progress. Just feeling a bit isolated and lonely at the moment. Loving my work.. love creating art and cinematography but I just feel like such a misfit and an outsider. Sick of feeling this way. It’s always been this way with people too. Even all the way through primary and secondary school. And I have tried with some people in my course but it’s awkward and I feel no connection at all. And they always sort of try to either brush me off or wait until their friends come over to be with them. I feel so misplaced. My parents are settling their divorce. I may have to move house. I want to find inner peace and joy. I try to observe little things throughout the day that can make me happy. PSYCHEDELICFUR.

JumpyJump Face tingling due to anxiety??
  • replies: 3

Hi all, I’ve been reading posts for the past few months here, just hoping to find someone who’s been through/going through the same as me. I suffer from health anxiety and have, like so many others, had these health issues heightened by the past 12+m... View more

Hi all, I’ve been reading posts for the past few months here, just hoping to find someone who’s been through/going through the same as me. I suffer from health anxiety and have, like so many others, had these health issues heightened by the past 12+months with covid etc. I thought I was doing ok up until a few months ago when the left side of my face started to tingle one night. Since then I’ve been so paranoid that I have done sort of terrible illness like MS. My dr dismissed me and said “I don’t feel like you’re someone who would have MS” )very reassuring...) the tingling comes and goes throughout the days and weeks and doesn’t seem to be there when I’m busy. Am I just creating it?? It happens at times when I’m definitely not anxious and comes and goes for weeks on end. I’ve read that anxiety can cause face tingling, but can it really be this bad? And when I’m not stressed or anxious?? Does anyone else experience this? I have an appointment with a counsellor next week in hopes that they can help me too. But I just wanted to throw it out there to see if anyone else had experienced the same thing?