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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. 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

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AlexC1993 Not doing to well at the moment
  • replies: 1

Hi there I am fairly new to these forums and I was wondering if anyone else feels like me sometimes. I am 27 years old and in my past I have had some quite traumatic things happen to me that affect me greatly today even though it happened years ago. ... View more

Hi there I am fairly new to these forums and I was wondering if anyone else feels like me sometimes. I am 27 years old and in my past I have had some quite traumatic things happen to me that affect me greatly today even though it happened years ago. I know people say, “the past is the past and there is nothing you can do to change it” but this is easier said than done. As a person I am very shy, introverted and socially awkward. I am always anxious when I am around other people and my mind starts racing and I get negative flashbacks. I fear that people are going to excessively criticise me which is in slang terms referred to as getting “shat on” sorry for my improper language there. I am an avid reader and lately whenever I try to read I find my mind wandering to past negative experiences and I sometimes find it hard to concentrate. I have found myself more often than not reaching for my smartphone or watching movies to occupy my mind as the visual distraction seems to help my anxiety more. This sucks because I love reading. I also find it hard to meet new people. I don’t trust Meetup( the app) as the idea of meeting strangers makes me feel uneasy as I tend to “freeze up” in social situations and become almost mute. I am also quite depressed because I cannot meet any nice women who I could possibly have a relationship with. This gets me down and fuels my anxiety more. I was wondering please what other people do to combat their anxiety? What techniques do you use? I find myself stressed a lot lately and I am paranoid sometimes when I go out because I think I might get into a car accident or get in trouble off The Police which I know sounds illogical if I haven’t done anything wrong but anxiety plays funny tricks on my mind. Thank you for reading this and any responses are greatly appreciated.

Larks98 Feeling heavy chested from Anxiety
  • replies: 5

some mornings i wake up, i feel as though someone has been sitting on my chest the whole night. I occasionally wake up with muscular pains in my chest/ chest area. A wrong movement and i am in pain. The pain goes away but seems to come back after a c... View more

some mornings i wake up, i feel as though someone has been sitting on my chest the whole night. I occasionally wake up with muscular pains in my chest/ chest area. A wrong movement and i am in pain. The pain goes away but seems to come back after a couple of weeks and so on. I lift boxes all day for work and sometimes lifting the wrong way aggravates my chest pain. I feel the pain also in my pectorals, but again just muscular pain. with stretching sometimes relieves the pain temporarily. Does anyone else get these chest/ pectoral pain as well ?

WaffleQueen Do I have Anxitey?
  • replies: 8

Hey! I am a teenager in highschool and am frequently feeling stressed and anxious over really small things. I have trouble talking to other about how I feel, and tend to brush off my feelings as normal. I am slowly realizing that that's not true. I a... View more

Hey! I am a teenager in highschool and am frequently feeling stressed and anxious over really small things. I have trouble talking to other about how I feel, and tend to brush off my feelings as normal. I am slowly realizing that that's not true. I am a chronic over thinker, and send myself into these spirals of negative and anxious thoughts. I automatically assume people find me annoying and dislike me. I often feel anxious and can't think of a good reason as to why. I am a terrible procrastinator, which is sometimes due to my anxious thoughts. And after committing to do something slightly outside of my comfort zone, I tend to struggle with anxious thoughts about what will happen. I have never told anyone any of this, because I feel like I'm over reacting. I don't get a lot of the physical symptoms of anxiety, which is why I constantly try and convince myself that I don't have it. The only 'symptom' I do get is the feeling like I have a balloon inside my chest, which makes it hard to breathe. This can happen at any time, like during class or at home. I usually try and breathe deeply and ignore it, but it's getting harder. Could I have anxiety?

whaleshark Anxiety attacks
  • replies: 1

Last night I had a really sudden wave of anxiety. My brain kept telling me that everybody hated me and they were all just pretending to like me, and kept telling me to hate myself. I was crying, and holding tight fists. Sometimes when I'm mad or upse... View more

Last night I had a really sudden wave of anxiety. My brain kept telling me that everybody hated me and they were all just pretending to like me, and kept telling me to hate myself. I was crying, and holding tight fists. Sometimes when I'm mad or upset with myself, I feel the need to hit myself. I don't know why and it takes everything in me to refrain but I just wanted to know if anyone else has the same feeling. Please reply if you do, I want to know that I'm not alone.

Guest_2496 Get out of your head, and into your body - has anyone understood / mastered that?
  • replies: 4

I've heard a few psychologists say something like 'you need to get out of your head and into your body'. As someone who deals with health anxiety, twinges etc in my body often set it off. I don't understand how focusing on my body, especially at thos... View more

I've heard a few psychologists say something like 'you need to get out of your head and into your body'. As someone who deals with health anxiety, twinges etc in my body often set it off. I don't understand how focusing on my body, especially at those times, would help! Can anyone explain what this means / whether it has helped them?

99 Itchy pain in ribs and back
  • replies: 2

Hi, I'm new here. The doctor says I have anxiety after testing me for everything else and nothing coming back positive. I have been on antidepressants for about 3 weeks, how long should these take to work? I feel a lot better mentally, but I have thi... View more

Hi, I'm new here. The doctor says I have anxiety after testing me for everything else and nothing coming back positive. I have been on antidepressants for about 3 weeks, how long should these take to work? I feel a lot better mentally, but I have this weird sore and itchy back and ribs, especially in my right side (I'm right handed). I'm guessing this is anxiety related, I'm kind of new to this so I'm not sure. I have a friend who does massage and it feels a bit better after that but then comes back next day. I imagine it must be muscle tension or nerve thing, I wish I knew how to get rid of it as it's driving me nuts.

Chloe90 MEDICATION
  • replies: 5

Hey Fam, Anxious Annie here AKA Chloe. I want to talk about peoples medication stories and mainly like if your medications have fully taken away the anxiety or if it’s ‘normal’ to still have attacks a couple times a year around life events?? I get mi... View more

Hey Fam, Anxious Annie here AKA Chloe. I want to talk about peoples medication stories and mainly like if your medications have fully taken away the anxiety or if it’s ‘normal’ to still have attacks a couple times a year around life events?? I get mixed opinions some people are saying your medication isn’t working if your still getting panic attacks and others says it’s normal to have attacks like this. Any stories or kind words would be so appreciated. Much love Chloe

Daisy13 Over the counter supplements/ medication.
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone, I’m new here. For the last 4 days I have felt constant anxiety. This is causing difficulty sleeping, chest tightness and occasional stomach aches. I have never experienced or been diagnosed with anxiety before so this is all very new to ... View more

Hi everyone, I’m new here. For the last 4 days I have felt constant anxiety. This is causing difficulty sleeping, chest tightness and occasional stomach aches. I have never experienced or been diagnosed with anxiety before so this is all very new to me. I am considering medication or over the counter supplements to help ease the anxiety. As I’ve only been experiencing this for a few days it seems extreme to go straight to my doctor for anti anxiety medication. I should also add that this anxiety started absolutely out of nowhere. I have nothing to be anxious about. My only assumption is that the build up of 7 months lockdown (I’m in Melbourne) is starting to take it’s toll. I have been doing breathing exercises and going for walks which does help at the time, but as soon as I stop the anxiety and chest tightness quickly returns. Any advise would be very much appreciated. Thankyou!

jmp2121 Anxiety medication side effects, anyone have similar experience?
  • replies: 3

I’m currently prescribed a 10mg of an SSRI for my GAD. I started this medication in April this year and since then have stopped and started it. I know it’s bad to stop and start it. The reason I stopped and started was due to sexual side effects.. I ... View more

I’m currently prescribed a 10mg of an SSRI for my GAD. I started this medication in April this year and since then have stopped and started it. I know it’s bad to stop and start it. The reason I stopped and started was due to sexual side effects.. I have trouble reaching orgasm with my partner when we are sexually active and with myself. It makes me feel like I’m not “normal” and makes my partner feel like he isn’t doing a good enough job. When I stop taking the medication I have no issues. I just want to know how long side effects like this are supposed to last while on SSRI medication? Has anyone had similar experiences? I really don’t want any judgement as I already beat myself up for stopping and starting it and I feel selfish for wanting to stop it just because of a sexual side effect, because it does help with my GAD.

kidlaroifan1 what am I feeling?
  • replies: 2

hey, this is my first time using any type of site like this and firstly i wanna thank everyone who provides support on here, you deserve the best this world has to offer. I've struggled most of my life with things in regards to social activity. I hat... View more

hey, this is my first time using any type of site like this and firstly i wanna thank everyone who provides support on here, you deserve the best this world has to offer. I've struggled most of my life with things in regards to social activity. I hate ordering food on the phone and would rather not eat than have to order myself. I used to love playing basketball. I trained every day by myself before and after school, but would never trial for any teams because I was too scared of having to be judged by others, or have to speak to any of them. I've also always been a big gamer, I currently play an video game where I've been playing hours a day of self analysis, analysis of professionals and so on, i really want to play at a high level. But sometimes I feel like id rather stop playing than have to try out for a team. Id rather let the other candidate have the spot on the team rather than have to be judged by other players or coaches, or have to talk to people in there I dont know. The thought of it makes me feel sick, and my body tenses up when I think about it and I just want to yell. I'm really outgoing with my friends and girlfriend most of the time, i dont know what im feeling.