Immediate support
Immediate support

Anxiety

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with anxiety.

Start a discussion

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Categories
Start a discussion

Pinned discussions

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

Start a discussion

Tired_eyes Feeling empty
  • replies: 4

Hi BB community, i write in here as a way to get out how I’m feeling as I haven’t been able to tell anyone close to me how I’m feeling as I feel so embarrassed/ashamed/stupid - the list goes on. my daughter has been unwell for over 12 months with sei... View more

Hi BB community, i write in here as a way to get out how I’m feeling as I haven’t been able to tell anyone close to me how I’m feeling as I feel so embarrassed/ashamed/stupid - the list goes on. my daughter has been unwell for over 12 months with seizures. She was originally diagnosed with epilepsy but the diagnosis was changed to non epileptic seizures. She suffers from anxiety and the last 12 months have been so traumatic for her and for me being by her side throughout everything. I think this has kick started my anxiety which I have always had but never to this extent, worrying about her so much whilst trying to keep up with a full time job and trying to keep the rest of the family going. She has spoken of self harm and depression and recently had to wean her off her anxiety medication hoping these thoughts were a side effect of her meds. Now my dad has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and I’m a sounding board for both him and my mother to vent all their worries and frustrations and offer support. I hate my job but financially need to work to pay our bills so finishing up at work isn’t an option to help relieve some pressure. All of this has just built up and left me feeling so tense, stressed, sad and overwhelmed 24/7. My anxiety is through the roof and I overthink everything and feel like I’m making everyone around me miserable. I feel too embarrassed to speak to my gp about this and don’t think I could get through the conversation without turning into a blubbering mess. My husband knows something is wrong and constantly asking me but I can’t even speak to him and just keep shutting him out. I don’t even know why I’m doing that, i just can’t get the words to come out of my mouth.

elle64 anxiety involving body image and grades
  • replies: 6

i attend high school and so body image and grades are prominent factors in my life currently in this day and age. i never used to feel this way about my body but as i grow older and become more and more infatuated with the things i am exposed to on s... View more

i attend high school and so body image and grades are prominent factors in my life currently in this day and age. i never used to feel this way about my body but as i grow older and become more and more infatuated with the things i am exposed to on social media, i can't help but automatically compare myself to the people i see and desperately want to change myself as a result of it. i always experience stress revolving around how i perceive myself physically and how much i hate myself. it has become such a focus in my everyday life and i constantly place my attention on how much i eat and how fat i am becoming. in comparison, anxiety in school has always been a thing for me. ever since i was young however, grades have been a concept of great importance for me and i wonder whether i determine my self worth based on what i receive at school. whenever i don't do well at school, i am always deal with my supposed "failure" in punitive methods. i'm so sick of determining self worth based on my body type and my achievements at school. but at the end of day, without being skinny or being smart, who am i? would anyone acknowledge me or think i'm special if i was mediocre and was fatter than i already am?

Sefoan Anxiety and/or hyperventilation syndrome?
  • replies: 16

Hi everyone, I am reaching out after reading many posts for the past 5 or so months. A quick recap on what has happened with me... I was booked for elective surgery and began feeling short of breath, like I constantly needed to take a full satisfacto... View more

Hi everyone, I am reaching out after reading many posts for the past 5 or so months. A quick recap on what has happened with me... I was booked for elective surgery and began feeling short of breath, like I constantly needed to take a full satisfactory upper chest breath. The problem was I didn't always achieve it which caused panic. I cancelled the surgery and thought it would go away on its own and hid it from family and friends until it escalated into full blown panic attacks. I chop and change from believing this is all anxiety to thinking it's just hyperventilation syndrome. I've tried so much; chiropractic, iron transfusion (was low), kinesiology, naturopathy, hypnotherapy, biofeedback, butyeko breathing course (which made me feel worse). It's been 5 months and I can't do it any longer. I finally got into a good psychiatrist who has recommended some meds. I have reluctantly began taking them, but was wondering if anyone has had any success in curing this "air hunger" feeling with medication? I read so much where people have had this for years with no relief from medication which scares me as I feel I'm on my last resort. At the moment the only semi relief I get is when I try to accept it, it seems a little easier and I am now sleeping and eating better with less panicky moments. However its like a constant tape running in my head thinking/obsessing over my breathing and there is always a slight suffocation feeling happening no matter where I am or what I am doing - except for when I'm asleep. I have never had anxiety before hence my almost 'fighting' the diagnosis. Thank you so much for your time.

Jessica_M Help- Physical Symptoms of Anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone, I’m new to this page but I have been through the hardest months of my life with un-relentless physical symptoms which I believe is linked to Anxiety. Please please please share your story with me if you’ve ever experienced anything simil... View more

Hi everyone, I’m new to this page but I have been through the hardest months of my life with un-relentless physical symptoms which I believe is linked to Anxiety. Please please please share your story with me if you’ve ever experienced anything similar. I work in a high stress job in finance and have been in a highly stressful environment for a number of years. In January 2021, I started getting a sore finger, and then the pain spread to the rest of my hands, and then my forearms and upper back. I got all of the tests under the sun- MRI of the brain and spine, ultra sounds, neurologist tests, nerve conduction studies, blood tests etc and everything was fine. I found out I was B12 deficient and the stress of the physical symptoms from this felt like I was making the symptoms worse. Ive had to stop work indefinitely due to the following symptoms that I now have: 1. Twitching in random parts of the body 2. tremor / shaky feeling all the time 3. weakness and fatigue 4. pain in my back and tension around my hips / hands 5. Fast heart rate / can feel my heart beat throughout my body I don’t think I realised how anxious I was until I stopped working and wake up feeling anxious and needing to have diarrhoea. I have always pushed myself to be successful but I’ve pushed to hard and now I feel like I’m having some kind of breakdown. I’m seeing a naturopath and psychologist who are helping with my breathing. I think this is really helping but just struggling to see a life without this pain!! Please help me as I’m motivated to get better and I have found it hard to think this might be linked to Anxiety and stress. thanks so much Jess

Holmancy Concerned about my anxiety /depression
  • replies: 10

Hi all, First of all thanks for having this great forum. I was wondering where to talk about my current situation and thought to give this forum a try. Hopefully someone can help me. Just a bit of background, I'm 36 years old, happily married for 11 ... View more

Hi all, First of all thanks for having this great forum. I was wondering where to talk about my current situation and thought to give this forum a try. Hopefully someone can help me. Just a bit of background, I'm 36 years old, happily married for 11 years and have a good job in IT. I've always had anxiety specially sexual performance anxiety and social anxiety but I've never found it affecting my overall mood/life. Now for the past two weeks I've been feeling vey down and unhappy. I've been worried about my family overseas due to Pandamic and work is a bit hectic these days too which I think might be the reason which triggered all this. It started from feeling guilt that happened years ago even some bad memories from my childhood came back to annoy me. It hit me hard as I tend to dwell on negative thoughts but it just went down hill from there. I started to crying for no reason and just felt really upset. Then my thoughts started to get darker and for the first time in my life I started experiencing intrusive thoughts and nightmares about those thoughts . It really freaked me out to the point that I'm really scared of anything sharp like knives and my anxiety is through the roof now thinking why am i going through this. My mind is racing with thoughts and I'm exhausted. I would appreciate any help or advise that can calm my mind. I'm planning to see my GP soon.

SuzanneD Communicating anxiety to friends and family
  • replies: 2

Hi! Does anyone have any tips for communicating anxious feelings to a partner or friend? I find talking about these feelings very helpful but I often struggle to explain them in a way that's understandable to people who don't experience anxiety. View more

Hi! Does anyone have any tips for communicating anxious feelings to a partner or friend? I find talking about these feelings very helpful but I often struggle to explain them in a way that's understandable to people who don't experience anxiety.

Pink_chaos New and anxious
  • replies: 9

Hi everyone im new to this forum. I'm sarah, I've suffered with anxiety for about 4 years but am currently severely anxious and depressed. On medication now for roughly 6 months I feel so alone as no one understands how or why I feel this way. I'm no... View more

Hi everyone im new to this forum. I'm sarah, I've suffered with anxiety for about 4 years but am currently severely anxious and depressed. On medication now for roughly 6 months I feel so alone as no one understands how or why I feel this way. I'm now at a point where I constantly feel sick and anxious and just want it to stop. I hope this forum helps me in some way.

socialmoth Pushing through your anxiety
  • replies: 17

Hi everyone -- I'd really like to get some advice on how to push through when you feel like your anxiety is holding you back. For me personally, once I'm anxious I find it really hard to get through to the other side. My anxiety will be so strong and... View more

Hi everyone -- I'd really like to get some advice on how to push through when you feel like your anxiety is holding you back. For me personally, once I'm anxious I find it really hard to get through to the other side. My anxiety will be so strong and sit with me for so long that it will stop me from doing things that I really want to do such as going to work or seeing friends. I know that your anxiety shouldn't stop you from doing the things you love, so how do you cope with this? What helps you push past the anxiety so that you're able to do the things you love?

MummaOf4 Children and anxiety
  • replies: 2

My son is 19 months& has had 2 open heart surgeries. I suppose you can guess where anxiety fits in. He spent 4 months in hospital and his father and I have struggled so much putting him in routine. He has months where he is great, the past 2 months n... View more

My son is 19 months& has had 2 open heart surgeries. I suppose you can guess where anxiety fits in. He spent 4 months in hospital and his father and I have struggled so much putting him in routine. He has months where he is great, the past 2 months not so great. I feel anxiety is kicking in again and it's so frustrating. I suggest putting him in bed with his dad where he feels safe. His dad doesn't want him to get used to it and needs him in bed. I have no idea what to do....

JJ1981 REFLECTING UPON MY LIFE...
  • replies: 2

Hi guys and girls. I want to get my message out loud because, although I am feeling a lot better with treatment for anxiety/depression (medication and CBT), I still feel I had to get some things out of my head. I realised that I am never going to mak... View more

Hi guys and girls. I want to get my message out loud because, although I am feeling a lot better with treatment for anxiety/depression (medication and CBT), I still feel I had to get some things out of my head. I realised that I am never going to make my family completely happy, mainly because I am not financially productive or socially respectable enough at age 40. That is, no investment property, no steady six figure salary, no partner, no family of my own...but a lot of criticism from my father's panic attacks just because HE CAN'T LASH OUT ON ANYONE ELSE!!! I realised that I am never going to be the perfect Italian Australian. In fact, right now, I hate a lot of the Italian Australian community for looking at me and my family with contempt. I am so angry with the stories of apparent success they have had in Australia, that I have to question on whether they succeeded in Australia because of a "fair go". I have to call at least most of their success stories bluff! There are lots of questions to ask when considering how anyone (Italian or not) would go in life, even in Australia. Did a migrant come into Australia poor or already rich? Did a migrant have professional qualifications/skills easily recognised in Australia? Did a migrant have family connections in Australia? Did a migrant commit anything illegal to make money in Australia? Did a migrant pretend to be somebody (s)he is not just to get by or get ahead? All of those questions make me think that in response to one Italian telling me to "prepare to be disappointed when being in Italy", I have to express my severe disappointment about how my life is going in Australia. One Italian Australian user on this forum became hostile by me expressing a similar post a long time ago, telling me to "stop being hung up" on being Italian. I would humbly invite her to go and live in an Australian slum, day and night. I lived in that style of neighbourhood for 35 years...and I DO NOT want to live in a neighbourhood like that again ever...even if it gets justified by Italy having a nuclear holocaust. There will be people getting angry with me and lashing out at me over this. But, you know what, part of my anxiety and depression stems from being so scared of what other people (especially what most Italian Australians) think of me or my family! I have a right to express my anger and disappointment and to call lies being told by people as just that...lies.