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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. Remeber, this is anonymous and the Beyond Blue team are here to help if you need it This section is for people who are experiencing anixiety 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 you 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 worthile 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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Kay8305 Struggling to concentrate
  • replies: 8

Hi everyone, Iʻve just been having a hard time of concentrating when trying to do my work, and it just cycles into me struggling to get things done which then causes more backlog and overwhelm. Iʻm just so tired of it. Any tiny thing that goes wrong ... View more

Hi everyone, Iʻve just been having a hard time of concentrating when trying to do my work, and it just cycles into me struggling to get things done which then causes more backlog and overwhelm. Iʻm just so tired of it. Any tiny thing that goes wrong in the day and thatʻs my concentration done; itʻs just brain fog and no motivation from there. Iʻve tried lots of the usual strategies, but nothing seems to be working. Itʻs hard, and Iʻm sure many of us have experienced this, but itʻs just so isolating. Everyone else can just get their stuff done and go about their day and it feels like Iʻm just dragging behind, barely able to just focus on one thing. Are there lots of people who experience this and if so, what has worked to help? Thanks so much for all of your time!

Josh37 Continuously worrying
  • replies: 6

Hi anyone, i have been living with anxiety for nearly 20 years. Worrying constantly about things that in the scheme of things are not that important. Getting to a stage now where my wording has just made me feel tired inside. I’m completely exhausted... View more

Hi anyone, i have been living with anxiety for nearly 20 years. Worrying constantly about things that in the scheme of things are not that important. Getting to a stage now where my wording has just made me feel tired inside. I’m completely exhausted and out of energy. does anyone else feel this way constantly? or am I alone in this down ward spiral of thought patterns

Ikvic Round and round
  • replies: 5

Hi, I work in a field where I sometimes direct people to this very website, but today Christmas Eve I find myself looking for help I have been having trouble keeping the flow of tears at bay the last 10 days, I find Christmas period intense as I am a... View more

Hi, I work in a field where I sometimes direct people to this very website, but today Christmas Eve I find myself looking for help I have been having trouble keeping the flow of tears at bay the last 10 days, I find Christmas period intense as I am a single 38yr old that lives in a different country to family and feel intensly lonely. It normally passes, this year the thought I might be stuck Alone in Sydney over Xmas, Im finding it alot more intense, and the thought of being alone terrified me. ( i moved here last year and finding it very hard to make friends) Every time I'm alone this past week my brain fills up with these thoughts and I can't get rid of them at all, round d and round with the same thoughts, normally starting to cry. These are thoughts of lonlieness, thoughts that noone cares, why do I make an effort with anyone, As its not repaid back to me. Then the feeling of guilt hits, I shouldn't feel these feelings, im being stupid, so many people are in worse circumstances, its your own fault you dont have friends as you've moved a few times from friend circles, You dont give presents to recieve, Im being selfish for these feelings. The guilt that I am not allowed to feel this way is as intense as the feeling of lonliness and my anxiety behind that Has someone got any tips for dealing with that part? ( I am a glass half full type person, so normally find the silver lining after Xmas and move on, but nothing is lookin very shiny right now. I got out of sydney and staying with friends and want to be happy, but my eyes well up everytime Im alone Tips appreciated to get through the next few days, I dont want to bring down the mood here, so I probably won't talk to my friend here although I did warn her not too get me too drunk as I'd been a bit anxious of late ( blaming covid) Thanks

Screamyspice Intrusive thoughts interfering with memory?? *Trigger warning - self harm*
  • replies: 2

Hi, first time poster here as my mental state has taken a hit ahahaha. So my girlfriend and I have been together for 9 months and I have no doubt she is the one I want to marry. We have had a couple of obstacles due to me not thinking of things I sho... View more

Hi, first time poster here as my mental state has taken a hit ahahaha. So my girlfriend and I have been together for 9 months and I have no doubt she is the one I want to marry. We have had a couple of obstacles due to me not thinking of things I should have been upfront about and clear initially that I thought of way later which lead to more hurt for my girlfriend (I hope this makes sense). I have discovered i have a problem with stuffing up or hurting people i care about, as when these problems arose it did lead to self harm because I couldn't cope with the fact that I had hurt the one I love. Now, since promising I'm never gonna keep anything from her and try to think of anything I should make clear nothing has come up. Until intrusive thoughts of things that would hurt her started coming up and at first I could just shake them off. But one stuck and got progressively worse - that I watched porn while we were doing long distance in the first couple weeks of our relationship. Now this might not seem like a big deal but this is a boundary of hers as she has dealt with abusive relationships where she was with someone with a porn addiction. SO I know I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, and I am 100% set on being completely honest with her... so this thought made me real uncomfortable because of the 'what if that happened ' It has gotten to the point where I'll have moments i believe I actually did it but then after a while im back to thinking about how ridiculous that is. Does anyone else experience anything like this? It is causing some stress for my partner as I've told her about my problem and its worrying her that I did actually do it and am covering it up Pls talk it up, zero judgement from me❤

Niberg Anxiety - Stomach problems ?
  • replies: 6

Hey! this year has been a year from hell for me. I’ve always had anxiety but it was under control. I feel like perhaps everything I’ve been through this year (surgery, wedding, overseas travel all within 3 months) has sort of triggered my anxiety and... View more

Hey! this year has been a year from hell for me. I’ve always had anxiety but it was under control. I feel like perhaps everything I’ve been through this year (surgery, wedding, overseas travel all within 3 months) has sort of triggered my anxiety and I can’t control it. im suffering stomach problems at the moment where I get nauseous, pain in my stomach, tender to touch my stomach, sometimes I have no appetite and other times I’m very hungry and I’m getting reflux too. Every test I’ve done at the doctors has come back normal. A few have suggested it could just be my anxiety. I started taking anti-depressants 6 days ago roughly and the symptoms have calmed down but my stomach is still tender to touch. I’m waiting for an endoscopy but even the specialist hinted it could just be anxiety related. has anyone else suffered from stomach pain and problems from anxiety? If so how long did it take for it to calm down? thank you!

Trixie_A New parent - Health anxiety.
  • replies: 6

Hi there everyone - I’m so happy to be a part of this forum. Currently feeling very alone, knowing there are others that are experiencing the same, makes me feel supported. I have never been one to feeling like I had a form of health anxiety until re... View more

Hi there everyone - I’m so happy to be a part of this forum. Currently feeling very alone, knowing there are others that are experiencing the same, makes me feel supported. I have never been one to feeling like I had a form of health anxiety until recently - 8 months after having my daughter. Now having so much to live for, I am feeling an immense pressure and pre occupation that I am going to become terminally ill. I had my first panic attack over the weekend - a hot flush up the back of my neck, numbing in the right hand side of my face, tingling in my legs (which may be nerve related) and a feeling of derealisation. Of course, I had this checked - CT and pathology came back normal but have an MRI scheduled tomorrow as well. I have since had tingling in my arms and like others have mentioned, this also feeds the fear that there is something terminally wrong with me. It’s a very stressful time. Are there any new parents experiencing the same sort of thing?

Misstots19 Bad health anxiety after having baby. HELP
  • replies: 4

Since having my daughter who is 11 months old (I don’t think this year has helped with covid either) I have had worse than usual anxiety. I was an anxious person before her birth, but this year I have found myself dealing with quite bad health anxiet... View more

Since having my daughter who is 11 months old (I don’t think this year has helped with covid either) I have had worse than usual anxiety. I was an anxious person before her birth, but this year I have found myself dealing with quite bad health anxiety in particular. I am constantly worrying about my babies, my husband and my own health, worrying about things that could happen, and that are completely irrational things to worry about, but I can’t help it. Every twinge, pain and bit of nausea I feel terrifies me, I automatically think the worst and my mind goes straight to “omg am I dying.” And “what if I have cancer” among many other thoughts and I Google..! I have been to the doctor for health issues more than ever before this year, usually everything is fine, I’ve just worked myself into this cycle of worry and focusing on symptoms that I probably make up in my own head. I know it sounds stupid and I feel really embarrassed that it has gotten to this point. I’m embarrassed to even talk to my husband, friends and family about it, I feel that nobody will understand me Have any others dealt with this after having their first baby and how did you get past it, were there any techniques that helped you get your emotions and life back on track? I know this is something I should be talking to a professional about, I just worry about how long that could take (I even feel embarrassed to tell my GP about it) and wonder if there’s anything else I can do myself in the meantime to help. I feel like I’m missing some of the most precious, joyous moments of my life due to this vicious cycle of anxiety and I really don’t want that

Rach93 Tingling sensation in legs. Hypochondria
  • replies: 3

Hi, For the past week or 2 I have been getting tingling on & off in my legs and sometimes in other parts of my body.. it comes & goes sometimes it feels like when you watch something or hear something you like and you get the chill sensation & other ... View more

Hi, For the past week or 2 I have been getting tingling on & off in my legs and sometimes in other parts of my body.. it comes & goes sometimes it feels like when you watch something or hear something you like and you get the chill sensation & other times it’s like a weird tingly sensation.. because of this I think I have turned into a Hypochondria.. I keep researching my symptom and all that comes up is that I have MS. I went to the dr and told him my concern & that I might have MS and I want to rule It out & he just laughed and went on to talk about getting bloods for vitamin levels & asked if I’m stressed. It gave me no re assurance & I have to go back for my blood tests on Tuesday & im really hoping it has something to do with vitamin deficiency or other things causing it.. I am so emotional because of how I am acting.. I cannot stop trying to look for another answer as to why this is happening trying to find something better then me potentially having MS. I am going back to my regular dr on Monday to do up a mental health plan because I have had other symptoms that have came and come and they just blamed it on anxiety - and I fear she is just going to blame it on anxiety too! I am going to push for more tests to be done.. but it’s like no matter how many test are done I still am not convinced until the third or fourth time around - then it goes away for a bit I feel ok, then weird sensations start happening and I’m worrying all over again.. it is a vicious cycle and I don’t know how to deal with this. I am feeling very depressed and want to hear from people with maybe similar symptoms or people who are dealing with being a hypochondriac. I just want to understand why this is happening to me all of a sudden.. why am I going crazy googling and scaring myself to the point I can’t even sleep and I am obsessing over every little twinge in my body.

Lehcar Separation Anxiety
  • replies: 1

I’ve suffered from separation anxiety for well of 13 years. We’ve just gone on our work break up for the year, and this means I’ll be going three weeks without seeing the person I love most. I haven’t even made it through a night and I already don’t ... View more

I’ve suffered from separation anxiety for well of 13 years. We’ve just gone on our work break up for the year, and this means I’ll be going three weeks without seeing the person I love most. I haven’t even made it through a night and I already don’t have the strength to continue. I want to throw the towel in and call it quits. I can’t sleep. I can’t go without seeing him for so long. is there any other adults here that suffer separation anxiety? And what have you done to help your symptoms?

Slippers Can I be forced out of the family home?
  • replies: 2

So, my mother has gone into fulltime respite care at the nursing home, I thought it was going to be temporary but now looks permanent, my sister and I have power of attorney over Mums affairs. My sister has been authorized and taken over Mums bank ac... View more

So, my mother has gone into fulltime respite care at the nursing home, I thought it was going to be temporary but now looks permanent, my sister and I have power of attorney over Mums affairs. My sister has been authorized and taken over Mums bank accounts. I live in the family home and my concern is whether my sister can go ahead and sell the family home without getting prior approval from Mum. I believe the house is still in Mums name. I feel my sisters have dumped Mum into the nursing home and while they have contacted her from time to time, I feel Mum has been left and forgotten. I can’t visit Mum for Christmas due to COVID-19 but I planned to leave a present for her at the reception. Does anyone have any prior knowledge, can a family member with power of attorney sell the family home from underneath a living parent? I feel that my sisters are move interested in their inheritance for the sale of the family home than their own mother. I have spoken to a friend of mine and could potentially move in with him for a while, but he goes onto a parttime pension in June 21 so I don’t know how giving him money would affect his pension