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Anxiety

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Chris_B Forums etiquette: give support to receive support
  • replies: 0

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newb... View more

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newbies are welcomed when they first post, and we understand that it’s a big step to post for the first time on a forum like this, especially if you aren’t feeling great. It’s important to remember, though, that these forums are a community of real people, just like you, not a one-on-one support environment like going to see your psychologist. To get the best out of being here, one of the best tips we can offer is give support to receive support. Being a good community member means: participating in different threads (not just your own), replying to people who have taken the time to reply to you (even if it’s just to say thank you), and... posting words of emotional support and encouragement when you see others who are hurting and reaching out. You don’t have to feel obliged to solve the problems of others: that’s not what we’re here for. But you can offer empathy and what you’ve learned from your own life experiences, even if it’s just a line or two, eg. “I don't know what to say, but I want to give you my support and tell you I care about what is happening to you and hope life will get better soon.” Try to develop an interest in the journeys of others here on the forums. You may be surprised at how good being an active, caring member here can make you feel. For those of you who have had good experiences giving support here on the forums, please post in this thread here and let us know how it has helped you on your journey.

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BrokenHearted88 Am i in survival mode?
  • replies: 8

I have been through a rollercoaster of emotions this last 7 months. From the traumatic birth of my first child late Jan to being in lockdown almost his entire life (Melbourne). As if being a first time mum isnt hard enough i have to do it on my own? ... View more

I have been through a rollercoaster of emotions this last 7 months. From the traumatic birth of my first child late Jan to being in lockdown almost his entire life (Melbourne). As if being a first time mum isnt hard enough i have to do it on my own? Ive had no mothers group, no play groups, hes hardly even seen his grandparents. I havent been to a maternal child health nurse since he was 4 weeks old. Hes a terrible sleeper but i cant take him to sleep school or have a consultant come see us. so essentially im a sleep deprived, social deprived, stimulant deprived mother wishing this nightmare would end. We go for walks everyday, play in the house, facetime family, rinse and repeat... i have a partner who is supportive but runs an events business so perpetually stressed due to the loss in business/ income so we are financially stretched to our limit as well. i feel like im coping well but i have moments where i just snap. Im scared that im just pushing down the feelings to get us all through this and as soon as its over im going to crash and burn. Even though all i want is for it to be over. any words of support or advice? Basically i want someone to tell me this will all be over soon and we can live our lives and see our family

albax776 Confused, Clueless yet Hopeful
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone first time posting anything here, and unsure about how it all works. Thought I would reach out and seek some help. So I will give you a little background; My name is Chris and I have been experiencing all sorts of negative anxieties and e... View more

Hi everyone first time posting anything here, and unsure about how it all works. Thought I would reach out and seek some help. So I will give you a little background; My name is Chris and I have been experiencing all sorts of negative anxieties and even depression for the last ten years. I find it difficult to find the exact words to describe how i feel but this analogy seems to hit the nail on the head so to speak. Most days feel like I am in a burning building, the flames get hotter and I start coughing, wheezing and panicking, then i run to another part of the building and I can just about withstand it, but almost inevitably the flames rise again, trap me and the whole process happens again. The only thing that will extinguish the fire is rain, however it hasn't rained in years. Bringing it back to the real world, panic attacks happen for me every now and again at least once every couple of weeks, it can be the smallest of things that trigger panic and some attacks are more severe than others. I have tried counsellors, psychologists and doctors and nothing seems to work for me yet, so I thought I would give this a go and reach out to people hoping that there are others out there who can empathise with my situation. Thanks in advance for listening Chris

Peart Seeking advice on how to deal with social anxiety and low self-esteem when doing group assignment
  • replies: 1

Hello, As I was researching tips on how to deal with my GAD online, I often got the "tell someone" advice, but since there was no one, I though I could ask everyone how they manage to cope with anxiety when working on a group assignment. Just a bit b... View more

Hello, As I was researching tips on how to deal with my GAD online, I often got the "tell someone" advice, but since there was no one, I though I could ask everyone how they manage to cope with anxiety when working on a group assignment. Just a bit background on my situation: at the moment I'm doing post-grad. I've always been a high-performer in uni and taken the initiative to facilitate group work. I actually do not have any issues dealing with lazy members. So as a result, I've done pretty well for myself and this semester I managed to have myself included with one of the highest performing groups in the class. The people in the group are amazing and I basically can just step down from my usual relentless self who often shouts "chop chop" and gets people to work. However, because I've always been dealing with people who are performing at the same level as I do or lower, I immediately feel disorientated as I am no longer in control of the group since everyone's so high-performing and self-sufficient. I trust my group mates, respect their opinions and appreciate the work they do but that makes me feel like I'm the weakest link in the group. I always manage to muster up the confidence to voice my opinions, make suggestions but often afterwards, I feel stupid, I feel like I don't make sense and that other people can see through me. It get even worse when I get pushed back on my ideas - I feel like I could literally flinch every time people disagree with me. I really want to do well as a team member and contribute amazing work but I'm always afraid I'd let everyone down and that I'm not as good as they thought I'd be. To make it worse, everyone else in my group is a native English speakers and English is my second language. Usually I can communicate very well and don't have an accent, but during group meeting when my anxiety is high, I tend to make a lot of mistakes in my speech which send me into a vicious cycle of self-blaming and shaming. I'm just wondering if anyone has experience the same thing and could give me some advice on how to cope with my anxiety better, because I really want to do well and exert more confidence when doing group work.

hpr96 I'm an absolute snowflake
  • replies: 12

I just can't take criticism in any form. A while ago I was a victim to online trolls who took my name and tarnished it on a public Facebook group. I've never felt so low before. I was being blamed for something that had nothing to do with me which ma... View more

I just can't take criticism in any form. A while ago I was a victim to online trolls who took my name and tarnished it on a public Facebook group. I've never felt so low before. I was being blamed for something that had nothing to do with me which makes the snowflake feeling worse. I get so easily upset over the smallest things and I absolutely hate it. I don't know how to cope and it's really ruining my life because I just don't know how to build up a think skin to help me block out and ignore comments about me. Is there medication I can take that helps me stop feeling like everything said to/about me offends me? I'm open to anything that can help me right now. I've been to counselling quite a few times and that helped with other things but its never helped with how I feel. Please help me. P.S I'm really sorry if I upset anyone by using the term "snowflake". Its the only word I could think of to use to describe how I feel all the time. I hope you understand.

Moving_mimz Moved out of home for the first time
  • replies: 70

Hi all I moved out of home for the first time 2.5 weeks ago. Leading up to this I was pretty excited however first night I woke up and vomited and everything since then I’ve spiraled. I’m anxious most or all of the time. I’ve lost my appetite. I bare... View more

Hi all I moved out of home for the first time 2.5 weeks ago. Leading up to this I was pretty excited however first night I woke up and vomited and everything since then I’ve spiraled. I’m anxious most or all of the time. I’ve lost my appetite. I barely sleep. I’ve lost interest and enjoyment in things u normally like. I’ve had anxiety here and there but never this bad. I’m also really struggling with the appetite thing.

DaisyC Relationships Anxiety
  • replies: 2

i have had (non diagnosed - too anxious to talk to someone lol ) for years and i dealt with my depression pretty well but i struggle with my anxiety. sometimes it’s not there sometimes it really is. i’ve been manipulated and used and disregarded so m... View more

i have had (non diagnosed - too anxious to talk to someone lol ) for years and i dealt with my depression pretty well but i struggle with my anxiety. sometimes it’s not there sometimes it really is. i’ve been manipulated and used and disregarded so much it’s ruined my ability to have a relationship, i always end up ruining it with my anxiety about being used or not being wanted. i have issues in all relationship in my life including family, friends and romantic partners. I either sabotage myself from something good or i just feel like the person is just lying to me or using me or they like me and get bored / sick of me or don’t want me anymore which makes me try to cling harder and i can’t stop it. relationships just become a sad thing to me. i’m seeing someone now and if i am not with him i feel like he doesn’t want to be around me or he’s happy i’m gone and i just have such intrusive thoughts including some minor suicide thoughts ( i’d never do it i just sort of imagine what people would think / if they’d care if i did ) i don’t know how to deal with this. i’ve never had actual therapy but i’m very self aware and good at treating my own issues, i’m self educated in psychology and know the ins and outs of my own issues and emotions and where they stem from and why i have them but i still can’t get through them so i don’t think therapy will help me, i want to get anxiety meds but i am too nervous to talk to my doctor, anytime i’ve tried i get embarrassed and downplay it or they suggest something useless and i just pretend like it would help. I don’t know how else to. my anxiety gets so bad sometimes i can’t leave my house or worst cases my bed. i just lie there like heart racing picturing being judged or anything. it’s weird because some days i’m so confident and fine, that’s why i think meds would help for those big moments and attacks. Is there any way to get medication prescribed online hopefully and hopefully a bulk billed session or something? i do have a refferal from one of my old doctors for beyond blue counseling but i don’t go to that doctors anymore and don’t want them to report back to that doctor. I’m at a loss because i want to be in a relationship and have friendships but they just make me so anxious that they become sad and i’m tired of being lonely.

Princess_Peach Struggling to communicate my feelings to my partner
  • replies: 3

Hey everyone, I'm really struggling to communicate with my partner about my emotions and how I feel. Whenever he asks me how I am or if I'm okay I have this compulsive response of "I'm fine" even if I'm not feeling great. A lot of the time my mind st... View more

Hey everyone, I'm really struggling to communicate with my partner about my emotions and how I feel. Whenever he asks me how I am or if I'm okay I have this compulsive response of "I'm fine" even if I'm not feeling great. A lot of the time my mind starts to race with thoughts about what the "right" thing to say is or just trying to guess myself what exactly I'm feeling. My body just freezes up and I literally can't make words come out of my mouth. It feels like I'm paralysed and my mind goes into overdrive. He gets super frustrated with me and says that I'm not clear in what I say but I just don't know how to talk about feeling anxious or depressed or sad or angry and it just feels so dumb when I say it out loud. He's never judged me when I have talked about my feelings so I don't know why I can't talk to him. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get better at communicating how I feel?

itsjaz Dealing with anxiety resulting in affecting partner.
  • replies: 1

Hi there, I have recently experienced strong feelings of anxiety when creating unreal scenarios when my partner is going out with his mates. I know I should not be other thinking this and I should completely trust him, although I know that this is mo... View more

Hi there, I have recently experienced strong feelings of anxiety when creating unreal scenarios when my partner is going out with his mates. I know I should not be other thinking this and I should completely trust him, although I know that this is more of a self issue and I’m projecting outwardly to my partner. I ended up ruining my partners night out and now we are trying to give each other space. Although this space is making me feel more anxious than ever, I’m constantly wanting to talk to him but he doesn’t quite understand that I may be experiencing anxiety. I’ve tried to speak to him about it but he thinks that this is something that I need to fix myself. I feel like my outbursts of anxiety attacks have pushed him away and I don’t know if we will every go back to normal. has anyone experienced this or is able to assist me and guide me with what’s the best approach to this situation?

Mussopossum OCD, General anxiety, health anxiety and panic attacks - it is exhausting
  • replies: 2

After a year and a half of battling OCD (checking things constantly in fear of a catastrophe) general anxiety (just anxious and over worry) health anxiety (severe reactions to everything and convinced im dying) and nocturnal panic attacks, I need hel... View more

After a year and a half of battling OCD (checking things constantly in fear of a catastrophe) general anxiety (just anxious and over worry) health anxiety (severe reactions to everything and convinced im dying) and nocturnal panic attacks, I need help. I am a single home owner, I have no help, I am low income in a regional area. You cant see a doctor to get a referral without paying for it. When you see the doctor and get the referral, you cant see a psychologist without paying for it. We all know that sessions dont just fix you in one or two visits, it takes time. I have no cash to to get the help i desperately need, have been to local MP's who dont want to help make changes in regional areas for those who have no financial support or family support. I have tried online courses such as This way up and in the past seen several counsellors and psychiatrists. Having nocturnal panic attacks night after night only feeds the anxiety and it is now affecting my work. It is so frustrating when you want to get help, need to get help but you dont have the money to get help. Life has become so frustrating and overwhelming with all the forms anxiety I have, I live in fear all the time. Has anyone else been similar situation financially and any suggestions how to be able to get assistance when you are a single home owner on low income?

Cecece CONSTANT Panic Attacks everyday!! Nothing seems to work
  • replies: 4

Hi I have always had anxiety and it has always come in different forms throughout my life but lately I feel like I’m suffocating everyday all day and I don’t know how to stop it!! I’ve tried meditating, breathing exercises and more and whilst that st... View more

Hi I have always had anxiety and it has always come in different forms throughout my life but lately I feel like I’m suffocating everyday all day and I don’t know how to stop it!! I’ve tried meditating, breathing exercises and more and whilst that stuff does work in the moment, I just go back to suffocating almost immediately after. I lead a very busy life so it’s majorly inconvenient for this to keep happening and there is only so much time I can put aside for breathing exercises/meditation each day before it becomes an issue I have been prescribed medication by my doctor but I really do want to avoid using that daily, I don’t think that’s a healthy habit to get into at all so really want to see if anyone else has ever had this problem and how they helped themselves long term?