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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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Marto9014 Health Anxiety- Obsessing Over MS
  • replies: 19

Hi All Having a torrid time with health anxiety. I had a medical scare about a month ago. Once given the all clear I was fine. But then a few weeks later I had tingling in my right arm and fingers. I had had this before due to a suppressed lunar nerv... View more

Hi All Having a torrid time with health anxiety. I had a medical scare about a month ago. Once given the all clear I was fine. But then a few weeks later I had tingling in my right arm and fingers. I had had this before due to a suppressed lunar nerve, and knew it was likely that. But for some reason I saw the need to ask Dr Google. Seeing MS up the top of the search results has put me into a spin. Since then I have experienced a variety of symptoms. Burning in my legs, restless right leg, numbness that has moved around in my right foot, and weakness in my right leg. My GP is convinced it’s anxiety but has referred me to a neurologist for peace of mind. I’m also so in tune to my walking pattern (read that MS can change your walking style) that I think about absolutely every step and has made my leg quite uncomfortable. I have had symptoms for about 3 weeks, and barely a minute doesn’t go past where I think of MS and how I’ll deal with it if diagnosed. Bloody annoying as I know it’s likely anxiety. Just thought I’d share my symptoms, as if there’s anyone else out there feeling the same they won’t feel as alone! Would love to hear from anyone else experiencing something similar.

Nightwing81 Feeling overwhelmed
  • replies: 10

Hi all! Woke up this morning feeling a bit overwhelmed. Knowing that my mum is going back to see the oncologist on Thursday always makes me anxious. Im also trying to drastically change my lifestyle to benefit my mental health. All this stuff makes m... View more

Hi all! Woke up this morning feeling a bit overwhelmed. Knowing that my mum is going back to see the oncologist on Thursday always makes me anxious. Im also trying to drastically change my lifestyle to benefit my mental health. All this stuff makes me anxious. I was wondering what you all do when you feel overwhelmed?

Nettyp Coping mechanisms
  • replies: 1

Hi Im at a stand still and breaking. My kids 8 and 4 are the love of my life. They are with docs due to my incarceration caused by mental health. If raised them on my own since birth. Its breaking me, im crying all the time as not seeing them as ofte... View more

Hi Im at a stand still and breaking. My kids 8 and 4 are the love of my life. They are with docs due to my incarceration caused by mental health. If raised them on my own since birth. Its breaking me, im crying all the time as not seeing them as often as i should be. Phone call time also disrupted. Iv made contact with my daughters father after 4 years, to me he is my soul mate hence why stayed single. With the docs involvement and incarceration and a lot of emotions iv caused issues with him, now things are rocky. Every time someone asks how i am i break. A mother today whent to her daughters wedding i heard on the train. I broke as i want to marry my soul mate but fear iv ruined things Im a mess

Peace2021 Perceptions and unkindness: GAD and me
  • replies: 2

I am posting for the first time. I have managed(suffered?!) GAD for years and have worked through it time after time. I know I have to continuously manage it and sometimes it rears it’s ugly head without me even knowing! It’s only when people get fru... View more

I am posting for the first time. I have managed(suffered?!) GAD for years and have worked through it time after time. I know I have to continuously manage it and sometimes it rears it’s ugly head without me even knowing! It’s only when people get frustrated with me that I have to remember to get control of it again. Family members cry out ‘You don’t listen!!’ ‘You don’t remember anything!’ ‘Hellooo!!’ As a senior executive, I am also fed up with it all at work. I love my job but feel as though this constant roller coaster will ruin everything. I’ve been deep in depression off and on over the years and don’t want to go there again but geez, how do you tell people what you’re experiencing when the family has these expectations of you and at work the perception is (or has to be) you’re all over it. Life is making me anxious. People can be cruel and it is a constant battle. Anyone else ever feel like just giving up your dreams and admitting defeat over anxiety?

Mummeee How do I make friends when I’m scared of people?
  • replies: 2

I am a people person. I love interacting with people - it fills my cup and completes me. When I’m at work and clients are funnelled my way, I love having a positive, sociable interaction. But in my personal life...... When I first had my kids I joine... View more

I am a people person. I love interacting with people - it fills my cup and completes me. When I’m at work and clients are funnelled my way, I love having a positive, sociable interaction. But in my personal life...... When I first had my kids I joined all the groups and circles etc., and tried to build a good support network. We all supported each other and I loved them and felt part of something. Now our kids are almost all at school, my friends are moving away and going back to work full time (I’m not as this doesn’t work for our family). I wanted to throw myself into the school-mum scene but...I’ve changed. I feel different to everyone. I feel utterly alone. I want to talk to people...but I am too scared. I play out saying a simple “hi” to other mums all morning, then drop off time comes and I crumple. If I do get talking to anyone, I spend days afterwards replying the conversation to check I didn’t say anything stupid. I have my husband check any texts I send to make sure I don’t sound ridiculous. We moved house and I couldn’t bring myself to go and meet the neighbours. The first time they came to talk to me was about a complaint they had and now I’m terrified to talk to them again “in case I do anything else wrong”. My anxiety is not (usually) a physical thing that I feel - it’s a cognitive thing. I think and I think and I replay and plan. I am so tired of thinking and hearing the sound of my own voice analyse everything I ever do. Now school holidays are here, my kids want friends over and I’m too anxious to message any of the mums in case I embarrass myself. I don’t want my kids’ social life to suffer because of me. How can I make friends and have a social circle again? It doesn’t help that there aren’t a lot of SAHM/majority-SAHM’s around to stop buy for a casual cup of tea - everyone’s too busy. I admit, there’s a practical handicap, here, too - not having anyone to ask for favours/babysitting/help. If someone asked me to help them with their kids/weed their garden/clean out their garage, I’d be there in a second. But no one asks me, so I couldn’t possibly ask anyone else. How do I meet people again and have friends?

Supalonely83 What is wrong with me...Anxiety anxious argghhhh 🤦🏻‍♀️
  • replies: 2

Where do I begin? I have no idea where I can start with what’s going on in my head. I’m feeling so overwhelmed with this inner rage that wants to escape from me. Not in violent way. I feel myself losing control. A simpleton could see that he is no go... View more

Where do I begin? I have no idea where I can start with what’s going on in my head. I’m feeling so overwhelmed with this inner rage that wants to escape from me. Not in violent way. I feel myself losing control. A simpleton could see that he is no good for me. Or is it me...yes it’s me.

Jason42 I think I suffer Social Anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi all. Im very new to this so here is my background - Im a 34 year old male, and for about the past five years I feet that I may have social anxiety. Any social event where there will be some people I don't know going, I stress about it for weeks be... View more

Hi all. Im very new to this so here is my background - Im a 34 year old male, and for about the past five years I feet that I may have social anxiety. Any social event where there will be some people I don't know going, I stress about it for weeks beforehand. I constantly check the invite list to see who I do know and who I don't, planning who I might be able to talk to and who of my friends is going so that I can go with so I don't arrive alone. If the number of people I don't know outweigh the amount of people I do know, I will just make an excuse and not go. I usually brush these feelings off as just being shy. However, about twice a year my extended family (aunties, uncles cousins etc.) meet up for a Christmas-eve lunch or other special occasions, which for the past five years I have stopped going to out of fear of .... I have no idea what. As our family don't see each other that much I only really know them on a surface level, and don't feel too comfortable around them. This weekend my dad has a retirement party with the whole family, which I have told everyone I can't go as im sick (obviously im fine). After me missing the last family event (my aunties wedding) my mum has pretty much indirectly told me that if I miss one more event that im pretty much no longer welcome to those events anymore. To me, thats all I want as I no longer have to feel worried about it weeks before hand. However, I can tell it has upset my mum as all she wants is the whole family to be together. I have never told anyone how I feel, or even admitted to myself that I may have a problem, but after this weekend and seeing how upset I made my mum, I decided to take the first step. I considered phoning a doctor yesterday but the thought of picking up a phone and calling someone scares the hell out of me. Has anyone else had similar situations like this? And what were your first steps towards healing. Sorry in advance if this was long-winded

ScarlettR Is ongoing self-pity a symptom of mental illness?
  • replies: 2

So I often feel sorry for myself, for bad things that happened to me in the past (e.g. schoolyard bullies, encountering mean people, having some body issue) and I start overthinking and start to even *whine* about my "hardships" to the point where I ... View more

So I often feel sorry for myself, for bad things that happened to me in the past (e.g. schoolyard bullies, encountering mean people, having some body issue) and I start overthinking and start to even *whine* about my "hardships" to the point where I have to let everyone know. If I do talk about it, it comes across as complaining. The thing is, I'm kind of like a child - I sometimes don't even consider that other people have had problems, too. I feel particularly sorry for myself because, for a certain period in my young life, I had no one to hang out with and I was already awkward as it was. I do have paranoid schizophrenia (more so in mood swings and false beliefs than actual hallucinations) and depression. Maybe because of this, sometimes it's really hard to realise that there are 7 billion people on this world and each one of them has problems or have suffered some hardship. Again, I'm not here to complain about feeling self-pity (ironically). I hope that this topic can be discussed and explored and maybe help others who feel similar?

alex358 Is Depression a Common Illness and how do you deal with it?
  • replies: 1

Anxiety and depression rates continue to creep upwards, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) National Health Survey: First Results, 2017–18. The survey found increased rates of mental illness in several areas: Around one in eight a... View more

Anxiety and depression rates continue to creep upwards, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) National Health Survey: First Results, 2017–18. The survey found increased rates of mental illness in several areas: Around one in eight adults (13%) experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress in 2017–18 – an increase from 11.7% (or 2.1 million adults) in 2014–15. One in five Australians (20.1%) reported a mental or behavioural condition in 2017–18 – an increase from 17.5% (four million Australians) in 2014–15. Around one in eight Australians (13.1%) had an anxiety-related condition in 2017–18 – an increase from 11.2% in 2014–15. One in 10 people (10.4%) had depression or feelings of depression in 2017–18 – an increase from 8.9% in 2014–15.

Joshua_B Intrusive thoughts.
  • replies: 13

I haven’t had intrusive thoughts for a while, but now they’re back and they’re really intense. I know that the intrusive thoughts are egodystonic and false, being the opposite of my values, ethics, principles and morals. The intrusive thoughts try to... View more

I haven’t had intrusive thoughts for a while, but now they’re back and they’re really intense. I know that the intrusive thoughts are egodystonic and false, being the opposite of my values, ethics, principles and morals. The intrusive thoughts try to confuse me and then manipulate my thought processes, and it tries to do this nonstop. My psychologist and psychiatrist have both said that it is egodystonic. I am following the advice from the professionals and trying my best to avoid reassurance and any emotional reaction to the intrusive thoughts. I’m also writing my intrusive thoughts in a journal to desensitise myself to the intrusive thoughts. Recent stresses in the household may have caused another session of intrusive thoughts to occur. I’m using the Headspace, RainRain and TheMighty apps. I am seeking as much help as possible and I am using my social network as much as I can. I am using as many analogies as I can to strategise as to how to cope with and selectively ignore the egodystonic intrusive thoughts. Is there any other strategy that I can do to ignore these intrusive thoughts successfully?

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