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

Soph_T Do I have OCD?
  • replies: 3

Hi, Thanks for clicking on this I've been seeing a psychologist for a while now and to be quite honest I've been meaning to bring this up for months now but I'm not exactly sure how to approach the topic. I'm not sure if I have OCD or not? I know man... View more

Hi, Thanks for clicking on this I've been seeing a psychologist for a while now and to be quite honest I've been meaning to bring this up for months now but I'm not exactly sure how to approach the topic. I'm not sure if I have OCD or not? I know many people who have OCD and know what it looks like but, since I don't have any 'compulsive-thoughts' (i.e. something will happen to me or my family if I don't do this, etc.) I'm worried about misreading my own situation. I've always been a germaphobe and have done things in a loosely routine way since I was young. Regardless, they didn't really start to become intense until a few years ago. To give you an example of some of the things that make me think I might have OCD, here are some things I do: I have to use hand sanitiser or wash my hands after I tie up my shoes (this is the biggest issue) I can't touch my socks I can't touch pet food (containers, the bags they come in or cups) and can't have it anywhere near the kitchen counters where there are plates, foods or drinks either I don't generally touch doorknobs I use hand sanitiser many many times a day and feel disgusting if I don't When I'm out in public, sometimes having my hands on tables at cafes and restaurants makes me nervous If I'm writing something on a piece of paper and it's not exactly how I want it then I have to flip the page and keep writing until I get it right (this is something that really makes me think I have OCD because I could accidentally go through 40 pages just rewriting a heading - often I will rewrite something 5-6 times whenever I have to write something down. It's very frustrating!) If I stop myself from doing these things, then for the germ-related things I will feel disgusting and will think about it for the rest of the day and will feel a tingly/scratchy, TV static feeling in my hands. For the writing, I genuinely don't think I've ever been able to stop it. If you can then could you please advise me about if this roughly sounds like OCD so I can go in to talk to my psychologist not so completely lost about this. Thank you, Soph

Jarred28 Health Anxiety
  • replies: 7

For a few years now i've come to have pretty bad health anxiety. Sitting here now hands trembling having chest pains and quite dizzy. I'm a hypochondriac so every little inner body feeling I have I over exaggerate it to be the worst possible outcome,... View more

For a few years now i've come to have pretty bad health anxiety. Sitting here now hands trembling having chest pains and quite dizzy. I'm a hypochondriac so every little inner body feeling I have I over exaggerate it to be the worst possible outcome, this mainly being chest pain and when I become really dizzy that also freaks me out alot. I was just wondering what the best approach to treating this would be. I'm already diagnosed with major depression and GAD and am currently on medication. Not sure whether to seek out a good psychologist. Any tips or feedback would be appreciated.

noharmstartingover Thoughts snowballing out of control
  • replies: 2

I have been dealing with depression and anxiety for a while. I take medication for both. I have always had an issue with thoughts of all kinds snowballing out of control. It has affected relationships, work, and life in general as most the time there... View more

I have been dealing with depression and anxiety for a while. I take medication for both. I have always had an issue with thoughts of all kinds snowballing out of control. It has affected relationships, work, and life in general as most the time there is no problem but in my head there is a problem and then causes an actual problem. Apart from finding something to occupy myself or keep myself busy, I struggle to do that because the thoughts become almost crippling at times. I get thoughts in my head and it feels like an altered reality where I have hopes of something happening and when it doesn't it pretty much sends me into a fast spiral. New Years day I found myself drinking heavily and cutting at my hand, all from the thoughts continuously racing through my head and no matter what I did I couldn't get them to stop. This is affecting my relationships as I am in the process of pretty much starting my life again. I have no idea what to do

Mrsnikia Someone please help me
  • replies: 5

I have pure ocd and I just can’t deal with it anymore I suffer from false memories (things that I remember but they never happened) and they are so horrible is anyone else going through this?

I have pure ocd and I just can’t deal with it anymore I suffer from false memories (things that I remember but they never happened) and they are so horrible is anyone else going through this?

Jay1234 First post, not sure what to expect - Anxiety and Depression
  • replies: 3

Hey, this is my first time actually communicating through one of these forums, not sure what to expect. This last year has been pretty rough for me. I work in a law firm that often deals with a lot of high stress/emotional matters and through Covid, ... View more

Hey, this is my first time actually communicating through one of these forums, not sure what to expect. This last year has been pretty rough for me. I work in a law firm that often deals with a lot of high stress/emotional matters and through Covid, my office was inundated with more work than we had experienced before, so we naturally worked longer hours. During the Covid lockdowns, my life was focused purely on waking up in the morning, working a 11 hour day dealing with high stress matters, then going home and sometimes working through the night and on weekends, due to the fact that the Melbourne metro area was locked down and there was very little else to actually do. My whole day was focused on work and checking the latest covid cases and awaiting the next restriction announcement for almost a year. I didnt think that being constantly overworked and the Covid environemnt had affected me as much until i felt everything come crashing down in November, when restrictions began to be lifted. Within the first couple of weeks, it felt like Melbourne had reverted back to normal, as if the past 6 months we werent in lock down, confined to only travel in our 5km radius with an 8pm curfew - it was overwhelming. And then thats when i felt like i was steam rolled by anxiety and obssessive thoughts largely surrounding my work performance, distrust in my boss's insight and leadership and loss of confidence within my own abilities. Over time this consisten anxiety and anxiety attacks overflowed into my social life, causing me to basically withdraw from socialising with my friends and family, as most social interactions were too much of an effort for me. Due to all this going on in my head, my work performance began to suffer drastically, which affected me severely as i had always taken pride in it. This then snowballed into further obssessive over thinking and depression, as i struggled to get out of bed every morning and hated every second i was at work. I managed to get in touch with a psychologist, which has assisted me in dealing with a lot of things going on in my life, but recently ive just been overwhelmed with this heavy weight in my chest, thoughts going 100kmph about work and thinking about the mistakes i made in my younger days coming back to bite me, despite how unlikely and irrational those worries actually are. I just feel like my mind is in disarray and will latch on to any little worry and amplify it, despite how irrational it actually is.

LLaw Lockdown Support Thread
  • replies: 2

With a new lockdown in certain cities, some people may be feeling down or anxious. Share your feelings here and we'll support each other through it!

With a new lockdown in certain cities, some people may be feeling down or anxious. Share your feelings here and we'll support each other through it!

Country_chick Overwhelming Anxitey
  • replies: 3

Hello all, I have been having several anxiety attacks for the last few months after a rough year it’s all caught up with me. I get sever chest pains, sometimes arm tingling and head pain this all builds up quickly and tends to die down quickly but I ... View more

Hello all, I have been having several anxiety attacks for the last few months after a rough year it’s all caught up with me. I get sever chest pains, sometimes arm tingling and head pain this all builds up quickly and tends to die down quickly but I feel as if I’m dying during the instance. I have been to the ER in the past and all tests have come back fine. These things happen when I’m on my own most scary when I have been driving now I have huge anxiety around driving 🤦🏻‍ I am just wondering is it normal for the pain to be dull and hang around post anxitey attack and feel so tierd afterwards. How do I deal with these pains? Why do they scare me so much?

Rach93 Can anxiety do this?
  • replies: 5

I’ve just started on new medication to treat my anxiety & today I’ve just had a weird sensation like my right eye was weak and my right side face was weak but there’s no numbness or tingling can this be anxiety? I was obviously obsessing over it and ... View more

I’ve just started on new medication to treat my anxiety & today I’ve just had a weird sensation like my right eye was weak and my right side face was weak but there’s no numbness or tingling can this be anxiety? I was obviously obsessing over it and made it feel worse is it possible for one side to be effected by anxiety ? Has anyone had similar experience

Grizzly_mivi Panic, Anxiety, Depression, Grief, Despair
  • replies: 2

I'm suffering from all of the above and am not coping at all. Am all alone, lonely and terribly afraid. The road to recovery will be long and hard and don't have the energy to go on but too cowardly to suicide, but want the pain to stop. Medication n... View more

I'm suffering from all of the above and am not coping at all. Am all alone, lonely and terribly afraid. The road to recovery will be long and hard and don't have the energy to go on but too cowardly to suicide, but want the pain to stop. Medication not enough and no psychologists available at the moment. Breakup with woman Christmas Eve, all alone Xmas day, forced to sell home and terrified about starting over in a strange place, covid stopped me from seeing family for a year, car written off 3 days before Xmas. Can't cope, feel like a motherless child. Keep replaying breakup to punish myself because I screwed up, my fault. Where do lonely seniors meet others? Dating sites, no good.

LLaw I have some questions about BSRD, OCD and Dermatophagia
  • replies: 4

Hi! I'm new to this forum, so apologises if I'm breaking any etiquette or rules. I've always had mental health issues, so I've felt kind of like an alien my whole life. Anyway, the point of this post. Lately, I've been suspecting I have OCD. This is ... View more

Hi! I'm new to this forum, so apologises if I'm breaking any etiquette or rules. I've always had mental health issues, so I've felt kind of like an alien my whole life. Anyway, the point of this post. Lately, I've been suspecting I have OCD. This is for many reasons, which I don't need to explain now. About BSRD (body-focused repetitive disorder): For as long as I can remember, I've chewed and eaten my fingernails and torn at my toe nails. But in the fast couple months its been getting worse. I tear or cut any skin I can around my fingers. I cut my finger and toe nails as short as they can go- it just makes me feel cleaner and....for lack of a better word, 'better'. For a little while I also pulled the hair out of my legs with tweezers. Doing these things makes me feel...its kind of hard to explain? It feels right. I feel cleaner with my raw red skin. It relaxes me and helps me calm down when I'm sad or stressed out. At first I thought I was doing this as s*lf h*rm, but I soon realised I always chopped at the parts that didn't hurt. So...would this be considered a BSRD? Would these count as dermatophagia? From the research I've done, dermatophagia only counts as picking or chewing at skin (which I do as well) but do my other habits count too? Do these behaviours come across as symptoms of OCD?