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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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Notanurse Have had enough of my OCD habits!
  • replies: 1

Lately I've found a pattern on when my OCD is worse and better. When I'm more stressed or tired its worse and irritates the hell out of me. Throughout the day its checking my car to make sure its locked when I leave it, I'll literally be checking the... View more

Lately I've found a pattern on when my OCD is worse and better. When I'm more stressed or tired its worse and irritates the hell out of me. Throughout the day its checking my car to make sure its locked when I leave it, I'll literally be checking the doors to make sure they're locked, pressing the lock button 10+ times, walking away walking back to the car to make sure its locked and at times ive got back in the car to just get out again and make sure its locked. It drives me crazy. When I leave home I take a 10+ minutes making sure things are where they should be, checking windows and doors, making sure EVERY switch is turned off. When I go to bed of a night I spend up to an hour doing everything mentioned above and when I am so exhausted from work or study I get so frustrated with myself and this crazy need to do these crazy things! In my head I'll tell myself I've checked everything and its OK but if I havent checked it enough or correctly I feel like I have worms crawling under my skin until I've checked everything correctly. Its really starting to hit me now that my son has caught onto it. He tells me I've checked it already and its locked or turned off or whatever and he's started getting irritated at times too at what I'm doing. I have briefly talked about it with my doctor and psychiatrist and they haven't taken much notice of it, saying my diagnosis of bipolar is the number one concern when it comes to my management of my mental health. But this is driving me crazy, I have no reason to be checking so much but I feel this need to! I'm thinking of going back to discuss it but worried they won't really take the concern seriously again. I don't care if its counselling or meds that will help it i just can't stand it any more!

Vers Feeling Flat
  • replies: 4

i have struggled with social anxiety for about 12+ years at this point and was prescribed medication about a year and a half ago and everything was going well but over the last few weeks i have felt really flat and my anxieties have started creeping ... View more

i have struggled with social anxiety for about 12+ years at this point and was prescribed medication about a year and a half ago and everything was going well but over the last few weeks i have felt really flat and my anxieties have started creeping back up. most notably i recently went a short trip with a few friends and just felt as if i no longer belonged with that group and ever since i have avoided pretty much all contact with those people which sorta just leads to me feeling worse. On top of my friends issue i feel like im wasting my time with everything that i do. nothing really sparks any joy for me, things just fill in time as i wait for the day to end and i can go to sleep. straight after high school i went into university where everyday was overwhelming until i finally had a breakdown and was unable to even set foot in uni again. a cycle repeated for about four years where i would attempt to enroll in classes and go, fail the classes, breakdown and take the second semester in the year off completely. i tried to get back into the rhythm of things but each failed class just added to my doubts and eventually i just gave up and did nothing. and now im doing some classes at tafe and they are going fine but i have no motivation for them. i donn't care if i pass or fail, i have no idea what job i want and i don't even have any real goals or dreams or things i want to achieve. i feel like im just doing these classes so im not wasting all my time. people always tell me just "follow your dreams" or "work in what you're passionate about" but i don't care about anything really so i end up just feeling lost. its been 4 years since i finished school and im no closer to a career than i was straight after high school not to mention i donn't feel like i have any strong bonds or connections with anyone at all. i mean i have friends but i don't feel very close to any of them and i feel like they don't want me around most of the time but i get confused cause i can't tell if that's true or its just my anxiety. i just feel really lost and really down. im not sure what to do or where to go and im really sick of just dragging myself through life but i have no idea what to do about it. apologies that this isn't very well formatted but i was just typing whatever came to mind. any advice is appreciated.

Asha83 Quit job due to anxiety
  • replies: 3

hi all, So today I quit my new job because of anxiety. 2 months ago was made redundant which was great financially however its made me very anxious again. I have always suffered with anxiety, even at my previous job in which I was bullied and went th... View more

hi all, So today I quit my new job because of anxiety. 2 months ago was made redundant which was great financially however its made me very anxious again. I have always suffered with anxiety, even at my previous job in which I was bullied and went through hell with my boss and company. After 2 months of being without work I wanted to find something new and with out fail my anxiety has kicked in to top gear and it feels debilitating. Really bad feeling of worry and just generally never comfortable at all especially about learning new things. I have always suffered with it. I even had my pilots licence but its become so bad of late. I started medication after I was made redundant and started seeing a counsellor. Has anyone had a similar experience? Or can anyone offer some advice. Thank you for reading.

Slipperyfish Anxious habits
  • replies: 11

Does anyone have any weird anxious habits? I’m feeling very overwhelmed and stressed at the moment and I honestly just scratch and itch all day and don’t realize I’m doing it. Both the back of my hands and forearms have been scratched that much they ... View more

Does anyone have any weird anxious habits? I’m feeling very overwhelmed and stressed at the moment and I honestly just scratch and itch all day and don’t realize I’m doing it. Both the back of my hands and forearms have been scratched that much they are sore. I’ve tried putting bandaids on my skin to stop but then I end up scratching the bandaids. The only thing that’s been kind of helpful is if I wear a hair band on my wrist and flick that. I just wish I could realize when I start so that I can stop myself.

LouieJJ Anxiety / new job fear
  • replies: 2

Hi all, I apologise for putting this relatively minor issue on here, but I have no one to speak to. I’m 35, live alone and suffer with Aspergers, anxiety, Dysthymia, depression, and ptsd. I haven’t worked in 3 months, and prior to that I was working ... View more

Hi all, I apologise for putting this relatively minor issue on here, but I have no one to speak to. I’m 35, live alone and suffer with Aspergers, anxiety, Dysthymia, depression, and ptsd. I haven’t worked in 3 months, and prior to that I was working full time (up to 55 hours a week) and had multiple breakdowns. yesterday my DES told me I had a new job as a petrol station attendant at 15 hours per week. I am grateful for the chance but I’m absolutely petrified of going outside again. I’ve been so anxious to leave the house these past few months, plus my own personal issues. I have no spare emotional or mental energy just by surviving at this stage. I’m worried how I will react, and if I’ll have anxiety attacks at this new job and how I will cope physically (due to chronic pain). thanks for reading.

hanmnro My fiancé left me because i have anxiety.
  • replies: 3

Hello, I have previously posted on here when my boyfriend at the time was putting me down, he would comment on my weight and said that men would be more attracted to me if i was skinner. I went on to get engaged to this man, thinking that things woul... View more

Hello, I have previously posted on here when my boyfriend at the time was putting me down, he would comment on my weight and said that men would be more attracted to me if i was skinner. I went on to get engaged to this man, thinking that things would get better. He would commit to making me feel better and help me be the best i can be. There have been several red flags in our relationship, we had been dating for over two years and i still hadn’t been introduced to his grandparents who live about 20 mins away. Once we got engaged, there was no excitement on his behalf, no planning on having an engagement party or wedding plans.. nothing! I was so excited and couldn’t wait to make plans with him. He broke up with me about 4 months ago, i was suffering with anxiety and depression.. was doubting myself and that i was even attractive to him anymore. He left me, and since then we still live together and he has made more of an effort to make me feel attractive but not on committing back to being with me. I have worked on myself and continue to every day, I don’t see him making the same efforts and yet he says he loves me. I’m very confused and would love someone’s point of view on this. Thank you

Val_da_man Health anxiety and family, dumb thoughts
  • replies: 4

Well. Writing this mid-panic haha My thoughts have been spiralling hard. I can't say much, but I've been struggling with how to cope with my hate and anxiety about my mother being hospitalized. She's been horrible to me. Emotional blackmail, gaslight... View more

Well. Writing this mid-panic haha My thoughts have been spiralling hard. I can't say much, but I've been struggling with how to cope with my hate and anxiety about my mother being hospitalized. She's been horrible to me. Emotional blackmail, gaslighting, and sometimes worse, but the worse stuff's in the past. I truly can't word this in any other way, but I hate her. I know, the horrible excuse of a son and whatnot. But I can't cope with this household. She mocks my depression, ignored my identity, it's all jolly fun! And. she's been in the hospital for a month. Not from the virus. Just, stuff. My other family keeps saying I'll have to be 'nicer', as I tend to never speak to my parents outside of absolute necessity. And I get nauseous at the thought of having to tolerate her. I don't want her to die. I don't want bad things to happen. But now I keep feeling things in my own body and I think "Am I gonna die?" It's all a mess, really. I'm just so tired of living here. It's like my own [personal hell, where my only safe space is my room, and even that isn't sacred to these gargoyles. tldr: My emotions are mixed about my mother, and her hospitalisation has made it worse. What the hell do I do???? I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place...

M1ssjess89 Ooooh My gutt!!!!
  • replies: 15

I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster. The start of March my anxiety shot though the roof to the point I had pins and needles. It's only been in the last couple of weeks I've finally calmed down to normal stress for me. I've had gutt problems in t... View more

I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster. The start of March my anxiety shot though the roof to the point I had pins and needles. It's only been in the last couple of weeks I've finally calmed down to normal stress for me. I've had gutt problems in the past, but this time it's been lasting for about 6 weeks. I have Upper abdomen pain and sometimes feels tender to touch Lower abdomen pain Random sharp pain sometimes A dull ache on my lower right hand side of my ribs I'm not regular AT ALL and when I go it's not healthy I have the worst gas Cramps. Cramps all the time. Does anybody else have these issues? I've been to the doctor and had blood tests and everything came back clear. I eat well, exercise, drink water, have upped my fibre. It's frustrating. And it is making me more anxious thinking I have cancer or something like that. So it's all I focus on

Star84 When is it too much?
  • replies: 3

I am currently experiencing anxiety, possibly some depression as well. I am confused as to when one decides they need time off work, or is it better to keep working and stay busy to keep the mind active and distracted? The cause of my recent spike in... View more

I am currently experiencing anxiety, possibly some depression as well. I am confused as to when one decides they need time off work, or is it better to keep working and stay busy to keep the mind active and distracted? The cause of my recent spike in anxiety is I’m planning to move house, change kids school and find a new job a couple hundred kms away, we’ve been settled where we are now for many years. The change has been put off all year due to COVID and my ex (childs father) doesn’t want this. About to go through mediation and not coping.

Amandaejh Amanda E
  • replies: 1

Hi, my first post with worries about my 13year old daughter. She has grappled with anxiety since she was 4. She has worked with a number of therapists and we have finally secured a clinical psych appt but not until August. Over the last few months he... View more

Hi, my first post with worries about my 13year old daughter. She has grappled with anxiety since she was 4. She has worked with a number of therapists and we have finally secured a clinical psych appt but not until August. Over the last few months her symptoms have escalated-triggers vary and of late it is small changes around our home-yesterday a new heater arrived and when she walked into the room and saw it installed she ran back to her room crying to please get it out of the house-she normally recovers after a few hours - but she has remained in her room refused dinner and breakfast - refusing to talk about it. Any ideas...... my husband and I are trying to help but struggle when she closes up and refuses dialogue etc. thanks in advance AE