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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. Remeber, this is anonymous and the Beyond Blue team are here to help if you need it This section is for people who are experiencing anixiety 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 you 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 worthile 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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Petal22 Happy Fathers Day .... better days are coming hold on
  • replies: 7

Strong people fall down They don’t stay down Strong people break They don’t stay broken They mend They piece themselves Back together and they Come back stronger Strong people feel like quitting.. But they don’t Strong people aren’t Free from challen... View more

Strong people fall down They don’t stay down Strong people break They don’t stay broken They mend They piece themselves Back together and they Come back stronger Strong people feel like quitting.. But they don’t Strong people aren’t Free from challenges They’ re strong because Of the challenges

Larks98 New to anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi my name is Mark and I've been suffering with anxiety for the last few months. Basically I've been to hospital and has tests done. As well as seeing my GP regularly and have also done tests with them. Fortunately my results have all come back clear... View more

Hi my name is Mark and I've been suffering with anxiety for the last few months. Basically I've been to hospital and has tests done. As well as seeing my GP regularly and have also done tests with them. Fortunately my results have all come back clear with nothing wrong. There are days where I contemplate going back to hospital to have more tests done. Being new to anxiety. I constantly question myself if something is seriously wrong with me. Even though I've had multiple tests done. Ive had a couple of sleepless nights and a few panic attacks here and there. Some days are harder then others and I just have to pull through them. Questioning myself how much longer I can go on feeling the way that I do. No I'm not suicidal, however just find it hard to live the way I'm currently feeling. Im off to see a psychologist at the end of the month to see if this will help me. For me its not just mentally draining but mostly physically draining aswell, with all of my physical symptoms, my body constanly is in pain and aching. Please share any comments or tell me about your story. Any help is appreciated

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?