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. 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

Looking_within Intrusive thoughts about Trump
  • replies: 1

My family got together for the first time in months and somehow the discussion led to the US Elections. I was horrified to hear that both my parents and brother and sister in law like Trump. It might not seem like a big deal but I really don’t like T... View more

My family got together for the first time in months and somehow the discussion led to the US Elections. I was horrified to hear that both my parents and brother and sister in law like Trump. It might not seem like a big deal but I really don’t like Trump. He is a trigger for me as it brings up a past cult like traumatic event that led to my breakdown. I have spent countless hours discussing this with my psych and how there are a lot of common personality & behavioural characteristics between Trump and the cult leader - the narcissism, bullying, labelling anyone who disagrees with him as crazy or fake, etc. The thing that has me up at midnight is that I didn’t realise that people so close to me, who I thought I knew well, could buy into Trump’s lies. I don’t have a problem with the Republican Party. It is the people who are blindly supporting Trump that bother me so much. To hear my brother talking about how it is terrible about all of the “illegal votes” that got counted and how mail in ballots are illegal and that Biden is completely incompetent because of his age stuns me. Well, that didn’t stun me so much as when I asked what evidence there was to any of these things and the reply I got was that there is no way the most popular president could lose to Biden and lots of other statements made by Trump and his supporters all without any credible evidence. I feel like whatever happened to critical thinking?? It scares me that so many people (like my family) take Trump’s word over evidence and logic, claiming that he is the most powerful man in the world so he wouldn’t lie about these things. Maybe I am just being too sensitive? The hard part is that my family see it as me who has been fooled by the media into developing a skewed opinion of Trump. I just don’t understand I wonder whatever happened to the days when it used to be a case of ‘agree to disagree’ about politics? How has it become that one group of people believe that anyone who doesn’t agree with them are crazy left wing radicals? Watching the post election news and hearing reporters talk to people who voted for Trump actually made me feel a bit optimistic when several of the people made comments that they don’t like Trump but align with the Republican Party and I remember one lady said she thinks that Trump is “morally reprehensible” yet feels his party’s policies are best for the country. That I can understand and I don’t have a problem with. I am just getting so stuck on the idea that a person in such a position of power has a cult like following. Why don’t people do their own research and come to their conclusions? Why do they take this narcissist’s word as gospel? I just keep imagining all crazy scenarios in my head and replaying what happened to me years ago wondering if somehow I was wrong and the cult behaviour was right. I am so glad I don’t live in the US. The division among people scares me. I feel as though so many people have been brainwashed into a cult type of following and what is to stop something like that happening to me again.

AntoniaM Asbestos anxiety
  • replies: 7

Hi everyone. I'm new to these forums. After an asbestos scare that turned out to be OK a while ago, I think I have developed quite bad asbestos anxiety. I've always been a bit of a worrier in general but nothing like now and I have have never suffere... View more

Hi everyone. I'm new to these forums. After an asbestos scare that turned out to be OK a while ago, I think I have developed quite bad asbestos anxiety. I've always been a bit of a worrier in general but nothing like now and I have have never suffered from it before, unlike now. My current worry is this: last weekend my family and I went to a birthday party in a community hall. Many of the children who were there were playing on the floor and many adults including myself joined them, sitting on the floor. As we were leaving I noticed a pile of white powdery stuff under one of the doors right next to where we were sitting on the floor. The door was old and looked like it could be a fire door and I know that these often contain asbestos cores and if damaged asbestos fibres can be released. I tried not to think about it and tried to suppress any asbestos fears, but now, a few days later I'm just overtaken with worry. Plus I feel silly and ridiculous for worrying as clearly no one else at the party noticed or worried about it, so it's like I'm first of all worrying about the potential asbestos but also worry about feeling so silly. I worry that, if this was asbestos, as we sat on the floor right next to that pile, we would have got asbestos fibres on our clothes. Then we sat in the car, so it might now be on our car seats, our clothes and so on. I'm trying to think rationally but my I'm just getting overcome with fear and worry. It feels paralysing. My husband thinks I'm silly and paranoid and that there's nothing to worry about. He's the type of person who very rarely or never worries about anything. I so wish I was more like that at this moment. I've even emailed the community hall to ask if the door contains asbestos and if there's a risk it could be damaged but I haven't heard back from them. I just feel so silly and worried at the same time. I've got an appointment with my GP so will bring this anxiety up with him. Thanks to anyone who has read my long and probably silly post. Has anyone else had asbestos anxiety and would you have any tips on how to deal with this all? Thank you.

Andre_P Really over it
  • replies: 14

Hey everyone. Really doing it hard ay. Was on medication to sleep and it made my ocd worse in the day. Tried to get off and my insomnia is worse than ever. arrg honestly I’m tired but I can’t sleep. I put on a good front but I’m seriously over fighti... View more

Hey everyone. Really doing it hard ay. Was on medication to sleep and it made my ocd worse in the day. Tried to get off and my insomnia is worse than ever. arrg honestly I’m tired but I can’t sleep. I put on a good front but I’m seriously over fighting all the time. I’m strong but I’m getting tired to be honest. this all started from been woken up by bloody dogs in QLD. Now I have a reasonably quiet place but I am now unable to sleep. Typical lack of sleep led to mental illness and a phobia and this is leading to further lack of sleep. honestly ay

Billie_m Dizziness-so sick of it
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Hi, Thanks in advance for reading. Im so annoyed this has come back. I’ll start from the start.. about 5 years ago I was suffering from dizziness whenever I was out shopping, standing in a queue etc. I would have to leave straight away. This went on ... View more

Hi, Thanks in advance for reading. Im so annoyed this has come back. I’ll start from the start.. about 5 years ago I was suffering from dizziness whenever I was out shopping, standing in a queue etc. I would have to leave straight away. This went on for about a year. I saw a doctor and he said because it was only happening when I was out and not at home it sounded like anxiety related which I agreed and I guess I was quite stressed at the time as I wasn’t working and I felt my life was going no where. I was prescribed antidepressants/anxiety medication but it didn’t help and I stopped taking them. Then I met my partner, I moved away from my home town to his and we had a child and the dizziness literally disappeared. I could go grocery shopping, I could sit in a cafe, stand in queues without that dreaded dizzy feeling. Well about 3 weeks ago I was standing in a queue, it was hot and I felt like I couldn’t breathe properly and also I couldn’t take my mask off(covid rules) and suddenly felt like I was going to faint. IT was back. I left the shop and went and told my partner and he said not to worry, it’s hot and we’d had a long day. So the next day I went to the grocery shop for a ‘test’. Sounds silly but the grocery shop was the worst place for it and it happened again and has happened every-time since. I actually can’t believe I’m in this situation again. This hasn’t happened in 3 years!! I’m not stressed about anything, I have been happy etc so why on earth is this back... has this ever happened to anyone? I feel so sad, my life is completely different to before and because I have a child I can’t just stay home everyday and not go out like I used too.

gregz Carers, Helpers do not hide their anxiety from me.
  • replies: 2

Only in hospital do my helpers hide their anxiety about me. Everyone else including some ambulance people, are not so good about hiding their true emotions. When any of many medical conditions hassle my very disabled body, so many others near me star... View more

Only in hospital do my helpers hide their anxiety about me. Everyone else including some ambulance people, are not so good about hiding their true emotions. When any of many medical conditions hassle my very disabled body, so many others near me start panic buttons. Usually I have locked in syndrome. Brain fog means that full consciousness remains. But my body is locked in muscle spasms. Or it might appear that I am unconscious. If full unconsciousness happens, it lasts for less than one minute. Meantime do much panic is happening around me. My favourite carer knows to wait until she can get non verbal signals from me. These bouts of brain fog happen a few times daily now. Do you also have similar medical events, with panic from the bystanders?

53217 Intrusive thoughts and brain fuzz!
  • replies: 8

I've really struggled to get through today. Now I usually deal with negative intrusive thoughts daily. Simple stuff like you're not good enough, you're not smart enough, something bad will happen if you go for that walk, so on and so on but today I c... View more

I've really struggled to get through today. Now I usually deal with negative intrusive thoughts daily. Simple stuff like you're not good enough, you're not smart enough, something bad will happen if you go for that walk, so on and so on but today I couldn't shake the thoughts. They just kept piling on and my more hectic dangerous intrusive thoughts jumped on board too (swerve infrojt of that car or truck) causing what I can only label as a mental break down 🤷‍ my brain felt funny, I couldn't focus, I was scared and had a full blown panic attack. how do people cope with intrusive thoughts? Is there a way to put a stop to it or do you have to wait the whole thing out? Afterwards I am so physically and mentally exhausted. How can I stop the every day ojes too because they are stopping me from doing even the most basic of tasks like getting a job or doing study. Im really feeling lost atm. Im a mother to 3 kids and a wife.

JoH1991 Burning head from anxiety?
  • replies: 3

Hi all, I found out I had anxiety in 2016 after going through my first relationship breakup. I was highly stressed in my job as a school teacher and suffered panic attacks weekly. The main symptoms then were chest pain. A few years have passed and th... View more

Hi all, I found out I had anxiety in 2016 after going through my first relationship breakup. I was highly stressed in my job as a school teacher and suffered panic attacks weekly. The main symptoms then were chest pain. A few years have passed and the have managed to keep my anxiety under control and with minimal symptoms in the background. After the year of Covid, full time work as a school teacher (wanted to change careers 4 years ago), a relationship break down with avo and dv and abuse, I have now developed a burning brain symptom. I was on a gut healing protocol and felt the anxiety flared after antibiotics and then slowly trying to reintroduce probiotics. Crazy how much the gut and brain are linked. I have had debilitating burning pain for the last week and feel overheated and have taken myself to er to be told it’s just anxiety. Man anxiety sucks. This much pain and they offer 2 tablets of panadol. I had a full blown full body panic attack yesterday too. Am taking a benzodiazepine and it works a little but last night I was wired and even the medication couldn’t calm me down. Going to check myself into a mental health clinic and get on proper medication as this is becoming too much to handle. Now I know why people take their own lives sadly as the symptoms do become unbearable. When will I get through this and be healed I feel I do so much for my health. I eat well as I’m a coeliac and lactose intolerant, I do yoga, swim, gym, meditate, acupuncture, Chiro, massage, listen to music and podcasts, I don’t socialise too much and don’t drink. What else can I do?

Rach93 Physical symptoms
  • replies: 6

Hi, im new here as I’ve just started to experience anxiety.. tonight it has came and then gone & it’s back again and the physical symptoms are getting to me because I keep thinking I’m having a heart attack.. is there anyone who experiences a burning... View more

Hi, im new here as I’ve just started to experience anxiety.. tonight it has came and then gone & it’s back again and the physical symptoms are getting to me because I keep thinking I’m having a heart attack.. is there anyone who experiences a burning sensation in there chest and a tight feeling also feels tight on my neck and throat sometimes.. & sharp pain across my chest in certain sports I can’t stop thinking about it and it’s making it worse.. plus I’m so tired and can’t sleep because I feel my heart skip a beat so I got up and freaked out..

Milly_Amelia_101 Anxiety surrounding Death.
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Hi there, I'm extremely new to this place but I decided to join because I needed some help. I have an extremely bad reaction to the thought of death and it's something I need help with. When this anxiety attack hits I start crying and say “no no no n... View more

Hi there, I'm extremely new to this place but I decided to join because I needed some help. I have an extremely bad reaction to the thought of death and it's something I need help with. When this anxiety attack hits I start crying and say “no no no no” over and over again and my body shakes. I've been using certain candle scents to deep my anxiety down while I also do reading and write. Just stuff my school counselor told me to do before I graduated. But my anxiety hit before about this topic and I haven't had an attack like this for the past 4 years. I have no idea what to do or say or any way to help it. I'm hoping someone out there understands or knows a tactic? If so, please spare some advice. Thank you.

Frogga Smart watches and anxiety
  • replies: 6

Hi all, Curious if this has happened to anyone else?... Always been a stress head but haven't had a panic attack for years 2 weeks ago feeling fine, feeling a bit proud I have stuck to healthy eating and trying for 3 workouts a week before I get to o... View more

Hi all, Curious if this has happened to anyone else?... Always been a stress head but haven't had a panic attack for years 2 weeks ago feeling fine, feeling a bit proud I have stuck to healthy eating and trying for 3 workouts a week before I get to old to start.. My husband and I buy smart watches and I test mine out With a workout, take note of heart rates..fine Next day at work check heart rate and its low then high And I panic, check again and again and decide must have something Wrong and end up at emergency thinking I had a heart attack. All clear but they think I had a panic attack and now I'm too scared To work out in case I do have a heart attack and I have tried not to look At my heart rate.. damn it all.. now I feel useless as I'm going To go backwards health and fitness wise.