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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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Anon1997 Anxiety gets so bad I have to leave home when I don’t want to
  • replies: 7

What is someone called when they’re distant towards you but also make snide remarks/comments in the disguise as a joke. Or how about when they’re distant from you and your son but you’re not sure what’s actually their problem and now you get this hor... View more

What is someone called when they’re distant towards you but also make snide remarks/comments in the disguise as a joke. Or how about when they’re distant from you and your son but you’re not sure what’s actually their problem and now you get this horrible anxiety so crippling you literally skip town in hopes you don’t see them so you don’t have a big confrontational argument because you’re scared of what will happen because you’ve tried that in the past and it back fired on you & were made to feel like your feelings were invalid, that they are allowed to judge my music taste, like they are better than me, like the person who made you feel like they had a worse childhood than you due to sexual abuse but didn’t know you actually suffered sexual abuse from a family friend and to this day still haven’t told anyone apart from mentioning it right now. Now her (my eldest sister) daughters (my nieces) are distant towards me, don’t acknowledge my son most times & are apparently different to him when I’m not around. Her eldest daughter will not acknowledge me in town anymore. That’s okay, her and I never really became close after the first blow out. Her youngest was quite close to me up until Easter and now all she thinks is my son is spoiled and she’s not (whole other backstory; she got more Easter presents then my son and that’s all I’m going to say). She won’t even acknowledge my son (2yr old) if he’s trying to get her attention, he’s very persistent and he’s not speaking much but he can definitely use his voice to indicate what he wants. He could practically be on her and she wouldn’t even look at him. Yet with her eldest sisters sons both 4&2 she is all over them and interacts with them but with my son she is cold. It’s starting to affect me to the point I don’t acknowledge any of them & the fact that my father and another niece from my other sister is telling me things I’m not comfortable with (not acknowledging my son, idc about me). My foot was put down when my eldest sister invited my mum out for her birthday dinner, that’s fine, she usually asks if I want to go but things had been pretty rocky so I didn’t expect it but felt a little hurt. Then they come back to pick all my nieces up to go back to her house to cut mums cake. They got my eldest niece and her two boys over there but they never texted me or rang me, not even to include my son. Which was very odd considering they would usually contact me. I felt so hurt I didn’t talk to anyone for days.

fred2018 Wishing everyone well
  • replies: 5

Towards the middle of this year I began to find my anxiety being a bit of a problem more so than usual. Just thought id send a message out to others on here to say I hope that the year can get progressively better with whatever mental/physical health... View more

Towards the middle of this year I began to find my anxiety being a bit of a problem more so than usual. Just thought id send a message out to others on here to say I hope that the year can get progressively better with whatever mental/physical health problems you have experienced. I don't know if I believe in prayers or wishes but sometimes they are nice to say anyway. Cheers

Spikey Pharmacy work
  • replies: 1

Hi I’m a new member, I work in a pharmacy and am finding the social distancing difficult as our store is a bad design to allow for this. There is no concierge to limit the number of customers even though we have a limit of 20 this causes congestion a... View more

Hi I’m a new member, I work in a pharmacy and am finding the social distancing difficult as our store is a bad design to allow for this. There is no concierge to limit the number of customers even though we have a limit of 20 this causes congestion at the scripts out counter which is a high traffic area where the staff have to pass through to access the staff room, toilet, consult room and where the prescriptions ready are stored. We are in stage 3 restrictions so the limit is allowed but staff aren’t feeling as though we are being cared for as we are all in such close contact. We all have families to go home to and I love my job and want to keep working but feel my employer isn’t looking after us.

Lone Daily routine
  • replies: 4

What are some strategies for getting a daily routine going after a period of it being disrupted. Are there some tips when managing anxiety?

What are some strategies for getting a daily routine going after a period of it being disrupted. Are there some tips when managing anxiety?

Richy238 My nan passed and my anxiety has spiked back up struggling to get back to work
  • replies: 3

Hi ever since my nan passed i have been trying to get back to work but i get overwhelmed and can't go ahead, i like my job but i fear there patience might be running thin and i have only been there for about 3 months. I don't know how to i can get my... View more

Hi ever since my nan passed i have been trying to get back to work but i get overwhelmed and can't go ahead, i like my job but i fear there patience might be running thin and i have only been there for about 3 months. I don't know how to i can get myself to go, I'm joining the Gym again and going to go everyday until my swing starts again in 4 days. Its a 4 days on 4 days off roster and hoping that might help otherwise anyone got any more ideas that may help? Thank You Richard

James54 Anxiety about COVID
  • replies: 3

Hi guys, I have really bad anxiety and struggle with mild OCD and i have been really worried about corona virus these last couple days as i have had a bit of a blocked nose and excessive saliva in mouth and i haven’t been able to sleep at night worry... View more

Hi guys, I have really bad anxiety and struggle with mild OCD and i have been really worried about corona virus these last couple days as i have had a bit of a blocked nose and excessive saliva in mouth and i haven’t been able to sleep at night worrying i have the virus even tho i live in Adelaide Australia were we don’t have any active cases. My parents tell me it’s just allergies and because i have a fan in my room while sleeping but i just worry and i don’t know if my anxiety is making at worse or if i actually have something and i’m real scared i’m giving it to my friends at school

Amianxious Acting strange in public
  • replies: 2

I don't know if it's just me but sometimes when I am out in public and think I am feeling ok I do strange things that drive my husband crazy. I will be walking along fine one minute taking the lead and then just suddenly slow down and expect him to t... View more

I don't know if it's just me but sometimes when I am out in public and think I am feeling ok I do strange things that drive my husband crazy. I will be walking along fine one minute taking the lead and then just suddenly slow down and expect him to take the lead ( often without me saying anything). It's like I have suddenly become too afraid to lead or say i don't know where i am going. I don't know why I do t speak up or have a 'real' reason for the change of tack. I will do the same thing boldly walking first into a new cafe/bar/restaurant but then sort of go off into some other planet lost in thought and don't communicate anything to my husband or dither about with the cafe worker. Is this normal? It's like I just lose focus on what I am doing.

Petal22 You Can Recover From OCD
  • replies: 1

Just sharing a positive thread, you can overcome OCD you don’t need to stay trapped in the OCD cycle... I’m living proof of this... with the correct help you can be free of it.

Just sharing a positive thread, you can overcome OCD you don’t need to stay trapped in the OCD cycle... I’m living proof of this... with the correct help you can be free of it.

Worried xgen My struggle to live in the moment
  • replies: 4

Hi im new here,male in my late 30s married with 2 kids mortgage etc etc and have had a lifetime of on and off worry and anxiety from as long as i can remember. I know deep down I'm overreacting to most situations and i tend to overthink and run thru ... View more

Hi im new here,male in my late 30s married with 2 kids mortgage etc etc and have had a lifetime of on and off worry and anxiety from as long as i can remember. I know deep down I'm overreacting to most situations and i tend to overthink and run thru these in my head before and after events. I tend not to live in the moment thru life and look back at certain times and wished i could of relaxed more and enjoyed myself at the time. I think back and really enjoy those memories more than actually living it at the time. I was a shy quiet kid at school. Especially at high school where i went most days with anxiety of what may or may not happen. I have a social anxiety too which has eased over the years as ive gotten older but still comes out from time to time. Lately i have been in a bit of a rut with my worries getting me down. My wife has a chronic illness which she is in alot of pain constantly and can't work. So ive been the only one bringing the income in and i feel so much pressure to be the only one doing so. I feel burdened by this, sometimes i feel trapped. One of my kids has a learning disability and her struggles get me down and i worry about her future too. There are times i struggle to Sleep with my worries always on mind which add to the anxiety and periods of depression. Thanks for reading my post

lonelyglassesgirl Feel anxious that I will "go crazy" if certain things happen (OCD coming back?)
  • replies: 10

I have a significant personal history of mental illness including anxiety disorders and OCD diagnosed during my childhood/teens (and a major episode about 18 months ago), and also a family history which includes schizophrenia. As a result, a lot of m... View more

I have a significant personal history of mental illness including anxiety disorders and OCD diagnosed during my childhood/teens (and a major episode about 18 months ago), and also a family history which includes schizophrenia. As a result, a lot of my anxiety at the moment is me worrying that certain behaviours or situations will make my mental health issues get worse again, or even precipitate a psychotic break. One of the things I have convinced myself will "cause" me to develop schizophrenia is lack of social contact. What happened is that late last year, I read an article saying that if you are in a risk group for schizophrenia, it is important to have social contact as it can reduce the risk of having a psychotic episode, and also that social withdrawal is a sign that you might be about to have one. As a result, when I decided to move from a sharehouse into a studio flat after getting a full-time job, I developed some anxious thoughts that this (living alone/wanting own place) was either an indication that I was about to have a psychotic episode, or could actually cause one. Now with the lockdowns, I obviously have very little social life, and am worried that I could go crazy. At night I feel scared, or don't like it to be quiet, or get scared of shadows, or have broken sleep with bad dreams (usually related to coronavirus, e.g. being sick and taken to hospital but the "hospital" is actually a conference centre, etc). But then I worry that not sleeping enough, having weird dreams, feeling scared at night, or doing something odd (e.g. mindlessly brushing my teeth when I walk into the bathroom) are not normal for an adult and am signs that I am "losing my mind", or, more concretely, am about to have a psychotic episode. Is this normal, is there any way to stop it, and does it indicate that the stress might be causing me to have a psychotic episode?