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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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Annie1974 Perimenopause Anxiety
  • replies: 5

Im 46 and recently started perimenopause my dr started me on HRT but it sent me into severe anxiety problems, so I stopped the HRT. I also have PMDD which is fun during perimenopause. I started on anti anxiety meds this week. My anxiety manifests its... View more

Im 46 and recently started perimenopause my dr started me on HRT but it sent me into severe anxiety problems, so I stopped the HRT. I also have PMDD which is fun during perimenopause. I started on anti anxiety meds this week. My anxiety manifests itself quite physically Cold flushes Ice cold feet and hands Horrid pit in my stomach Feeling like a ballooon is being pumped up in my chest Pins and needles Muscle twitches Thoughts of doom Worry over my health Social worries Anxiety/panic attacks Breathing troubles Vision problems blurry, aura headaches Extreme tiredness Probably so many more I have been to the Dr so many times in the last 2 months and besides low thyroid function they cant find anything wrong with me. Perimenopause it is. Really interested in others going through perimenopause/menopause suggestions, good strategies that help make you feel calmer. I dont have hot flushes yet just generally feel the heat. Thank you

highhopes Contimination OCD getting worse and worse
  • replies: 2

Hey all, I have suffered from Depression for many years and in the last 4 years have suffered from an increasingly worse Contamination OCD. This limits me in life in so many ways and with the COVID19 lockdown it has made me even more enclosed per say... View more

Hey all, I have suffered from Depression for many years and in the last 4 years have suffered from an increasingly worse Contamination OCD. This limits me in life in so many ways and with the COVID19 lockdown it has made me even more enclosed per say. - I am unable to go to the shops on my own. - I have to shower everytime I step out of the front door (literally if I put my hand out of the door I have to shower). - I often wear sandwich bags to handle food and many other things including parcels in the mail. - I haven't been able to have my parents over for more than a year - I have 1 particular room in my house which is my safe zone more than any other areas. I always wash when I go into this room (I shower). - I am uncomfortable getting any fumes in my nose such as car smell so I will often avoid it. - I am extremely cautious when I was my hands after the bathroom (often wash twice very thoroughly). - The longest session of a shower was about 1.5 hours. This was from my biggest and most uncomfortable trigger which is cigerette smoke. I have been known to throw away clothes if I have been in contact with it and make all the efforts possible to avoid it (it is literally my hell on earth being around it). The second I smell it, this huge feeling of dread goes over me and I feel extremely uneasy. I could have been the happiest person in the world 5 seconds before and it will hit such an incredible low. I had a PTSD event 4 years ago that involved cigerette smoke and it still affects me on a daily basis. It essentially feels like any contaminations are stuck to me once they are there, and a shower (a decent one too top to bottom) is the only way I can feel comfortable). If I don't wash, it will feel like it sticks to whatever I touch and that will then therefore be contaminated and the process continues. I Have had Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in the past for about 6 months and while it did help in small amounts, the fundamental part of it is still there, where if i was to make any progress I would have to open the flood gates to everything essentially getting contaminated (if I don't wash after stepping outside and come in and touch everything I will have a mental breakdown). So I am worried this is a forever thing unless I open that flood gate. Something I am not sure I will ever be comfortable doing. While I am not neat (due to the time and effort required to keep to my level of cleanliness, I do like to keep an extremely clean house.

Waasie Lifelong worries
  • replies: 1

Hi all. I have always been a worrywart. It’s very normal for me to worry slightly about most things. These past few years, however, I have noticed I am now repeatedly worrying about everyday things. My phone rings and if it is my husband I instantly ... View more

Hi all. I have always been a worrywart. It’s very normal for me to worry slightly about most things. These past few years, however, I have noticed I am now repeatedly worrying about everyday things. My phone rings and if it is my husband I instantly get butterflies in my stomach because I think he is calling to tell me bad news such as loss of employment. I leave work and worry for hours that I have missed something. I see my children ride their bikes and I will suddenly fear they are going to come off them and get seriously hurt. I will feel tight in my chest at the thought. I fear my car will break down most times I drive it, even though I haven’t had that happen to me before. Before an early morning shift at work I will wake continuously through the night for fear I will sleep through my alarm and be late. Being late will trigger me, I can’t bear the thought of it. The list goes on. I guess I am just posting because I have always self managed my worries but I feel like it is affecting my everyday living more and more, and seeking some advice as to whether I should go speak to someone. I don’t want to take the time from someone if it not needed though.

CJmay How to cope with side effects of medication
  • replies: 4

Hello have just started antidepressants for anxiety/panic . I have one week off work and worried about how I will even get to work with the side effects, nausea, tired, weak, sluggish , hard to get up . Single mum with three kids. Does it get better ... View more

Hello have just started antidepressants for anxiety/panic . I have one week off work and worried about how I will even get to work with the side effects, nausea, tired, weak, sluggish , hard to get up . Single mum with three kids. Does it get better with time?? I’m on Day 3 and only taking half.

whaleshark anxiety tics?
  • replies: 4

so a few days ago I started having like random, impulsive tics, I guess? it started with a head jerk, then I started saying 'ha', and now I've started saying 'wow' often. they don't happen when im focused on something like watching tv or on my phone.... View more

so a few days ago I started having like random, impulsive tics, I guess? it started with a head jerk, then I started saying 'ha', and now I've started saying 'wow' often. they don't happen when im focused on something like watching tv or on my phone. is this an anxiety thing? does anyone else have these?

anon143 What is disassociation like for you?
  • replies: 4

How long did it take you to realise you disassociate? What do you “see”? How does it feel for you? What does time feel like while it’s happening? What’s going on in your mind in that exact point in time? Do you do it often? Do you know your triggers?... View more

How long did it take you to realise you disassociate? What do you “see”? How does it feel for you? What does time feel like while it’s happening? What’s going on in your mind in that exact point in time? Do you do it often? Do you know your triggers? I recently only learned that I disassociate from highly stressful and anxious situations. I never really took notice of these feelings I guess I was very good at disassociating I never really questioned what was happening with my body until I really had a think about it and listened to my therapist as she described some of the ways you can disassociate & reasons why we do and how we become to disassociate. For myself personally I feel almost as if I have tunnel vision and everything kind of fades to a staticky black and grey tv screen and around it is like a black border. Physically I look like (or what I think I look like) is someone just staring off into space. My mind is going 1000 times an hour overthinking every single scenario but never being able to focus on one thought. I can hear everyone’s conversations talking at once but I can’t focus on it. I think I can stay like this for a few minutes at least until I ‘snap’ out of it. My body usually feels tense and my hands and feet get sweaty. I usually feel exhausted by the time I get out of that situation too and I tend to hibernate and stay home sometimes for weeks at a time.

stingingb33 How do you deal with emotional "holes"
  • replies: 4

I always feel like there is an emotional hole within me. I try to distract myself but nothing seemingly works. I've been advised that I would have to learn to live with it, but honestly I am struggling with it. Sometimes I feel I'm wasting every seco... View more

I always feel like there is an emotional hole within me. I try to distract myself but nothing seemingly works. I've been advised that I would have to learn to live with it, but honestly I am struggling with it. Sometimes I feel I'm wasting every second of life and need to do better at 'living'.

Angela_B How to handle a friend with anxiety and paranoia
  • replies: 2

My best friend and I have been close for 4 years, but I’ve noticed her becoming increasingly distant lately. She finally opened up about her anxiety and depression a few weeks ago, to which I tried to listen and be supportive. I saw her on the weeken... View more

My best friend and I have been close for 4 years, but I’ve noticed her becoming increasingly distant lately. She finally opened up about her anxiety and depression a few weeks ago, to which I tried to listen and be supportive. I saw her on the weekend and everything was fine. However, that evening she called me. She knows I’m looking for a job, and earlier that day I’d asked her how she got her job, and where she found it advertised. I’d thought nothing of it. She abused me however and accused me of deceiving her and going behind her back to get a job at the same place as her, demanding to know why I wouldn’t have ‘just asked her if there was an opening.’ I tried to calmly correct her and explain that I had no specific interest in her role and hadn’t actively sought it in any way, knowing she’d tell me if there actually was an opening there. However, she wouldn’t believe anything I said. Of course, I got angry at the accusations. I have never done anything behind her back and I’ve always supported her. She also lashed out claiming I have a ‘social circle’ that I’m hiding from here, which again is not true. She was furious that I’d never introduced her to a uni acquaintance I barely know. She was hysterical by the end of the call saying she just ‘doesn’t know who to trust.’ At first I was really upset and angry, but I’m honestly very concerned about her. She’s never turned on me at all in our friendship, and I have never turned on her. I feel her mental health is deteriorating but I can’t help her while she’s so hostile toward me. I’d appreciate any advice.

Guest_4593 Covid, masks and a panic disorder
  • replies: 3

We have Caught up to the rest of the world And Where In lockdown.. wearing a mask is not unusual for my job at times usually for no more than 10 to 30 minutes.. but i tend not to because i find it hard to Breathe and feel Claustrophobic and other fee... View more

We have Caught up to the rest of the world And Where In lockdown.. wearing a mask is not unusual for my job at times usually for no more than 10 to 30 minutes.. but i tend not to because i find it hard to Breathe and feel Claustrophobic and other feelings. but now we have a Compulsory mask wearing at all times. How are people that have been doing this all year dealing with wearing a mask for 8 hours a day with a panic disorder

felixre Night terror anxiety
  • replies: 1

Hi there! I’ve been struggling with night terrors for the past 10 years of my life. They never seem to get better or go away, which is odd because I’m now 19. I get severe anxiety from these night terrors, thrash in my sleep and scream/yell for help.... View more

Hi there! I’ve been struggling with night terrors for the past 10 years of my life. They never seem to get better or go away, which is odd because I’m now 19. I get severe anxiety from these night terrors, thrash in my sleep and scream/yell for help. Once I am awake, I feel this impending sense of doom and fear. My heart races and I physically can’t move. I can only speak and cry out for help. I am worried about this because I am getting roommates in just under a week, and worry about what they will think. Could this be linked with PTSD?? Does anyone else have these kind of experiences? Is there any way to get help? Please let me know, it would be nice to know I’m not the only one.