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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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TrudyJane Helping an anxious loved one
  • replies: 3

How can I help my anxious daughter seek help for her anxiety? She has all the excuses in the world not to seek help. She lives overseas so can’t visit. Should I discuss my concerns with her partner. Advice please.

How can I help my anxious daughter seek help for her anxiety? She has all the excuses in the world not to seek help. She lives overseas so can’t visit. Should I discuss my concerns with her partner. Advice please.

AverageAusGuy Anxiety/ depression caused from work
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone, I have had depression and anxiety on and off my whole life that has been largely manageable until recently. Over the past few years my anxiety and depression has gotten progressively worse mostly due to some negative work experiences tha... View more

Hi everyone, I have had depression and anxiety on and off my whole life that has been largely manageable until recently. Over the past few years my anxiety and depression has gotten progressively worse mostly due to some negative work experiences that I seem to just keep accumulating. I have had many jobs in my life (I am in my 30s) and I have had bad things happen in most (not all) of them that have slowly chipped away at my confidence and exasperated my anxiety and depression. I have been bullied in the workplace, I have had managers that have sworn at me and spoke as if I wasn't even in the room, I have been criticised for my quiet personality, I have been put down, and I have been lied to about opportunities for development, I have had coworkers undermine my work or throw me under the bus in order to look better to management. Most recently I was fired from a job for no apparent reason (I think I just didn't fit in with the work culture there because I was specifically told that I had a great work ethic and do everything that was asked and "something is just missing"). I have never been fired before and this one really hit me hard because I know from client feedback I was doing great work. I am trying really hard to put all of the negativity behind me and maybe realise that I have just had some bad luck with the jobs I have had in my life. I can't help but think that maybe I am the problem though or this is a normal part of working life? I have always had a great work ethic and pride myself on doing a good job. I am never late and always act professionally. I know I have some really good qualities and abilities to offer. I am starting a new job soon and I am very edgy and anxious about it all working out ok. I am on the lookout for anything negative and I am concerned about how I will perform in the new role because my anxiety is at a heightened state. I am trying not to carry any baggage over and come in on a fresh slate. If anyone has had similar experiences or tips for me to overcome this at work I would greatly appreciate. Thank you

Chicken_little Anxiety returns
  • replies: 3

I’m as used to anxiety as I guess you can get. When I diagnosed I realised that most of my life I’ve had anxiety, even as a child. My GAD wanes which is a lovely respite, but right now it’s back. Along with the general 2020 goings on, in August some ... View more

I’m as used to anxiety as I guess you can get. When I diagnosed I realised that most of my life I’ve had anxiety, even as a child. My GAD wanes which is a lovely respite, but right now it’s back. Along with the general 2020 goings on, in August some things in my own life set me off and I haven’t been able to pull myself out. last time I was unwell like this my anxiety manifested as health anxiety in addition to my “regular” anxiety. This time I was worried about my skin and was super proud that I went for a mole check (all clear). Now, my focus has turned to my eyes. Ive finally built up the courage to book a check up with my optometrist tomorrow. im far sighted and have astigmatism in one eye. now I’ve convinced myself that tomorrow I’m going to be diagnosed with some horrible eye disease. It’s probably just aging and a bit of eye strain, that’s what my logical brain says, but I can’t get past it. I feel so silly that I get so worked up, that I fixate on issues like this. Who on earth is scared of the optometrist! Ive read about others with health anxiety and they seem to have any test possible to find what’s going on, but I’m terrified to find something.

Egbert97 New Anxiety - Disassociating?
  • replies: 7

Hi folks! I’ve been experiencing intense anxiety for nearly 2 months now and visiting these forums has given me great relief. For the first month my anxiety was specifically for my physical health/well-being; I’d get frequent headaches, heart palpita... View more

Hi folks! I’ve been experiencing intense anxiety for nearly 2 months now and visiting these forums has given me great relief. For the first month my anxiety was specifically for my physical health/well-being; I’d get frequent headaches, heart palpitations, trembles, etc. and would find myself going down the Dr. Google rabbit hole. Going on these forums made me feel less alone & gave me the strength not to use Google whenever a new symptom appeared. However, there seems to have been a significant shift in my anxiety recently. About 2 weeks ago I had what i can only describe as a major existential crisis - without getting too into the details, I became hyper aware of the impermanence of life and time. This was such a shock for me that for the next few days I was completely worrying about the health of myself & the people around me & couldn’t focus on anything except the fact that they will pass on one day. These feelings of dread and anxiety piled up and up until I had a really big breakdown. Since then, whenever I feel anxious, my symptoms have completely changed. Rather than getting handle tremors, fast heart rate, difficulty breathing, etc. I seem to get really disassociated. This includes: - Not feeling like myself for days at a time - Lightheaded for days at a time - Thought spirals - Loss of appetite - Difficulty concentrating all the time - Difficulty recalling events/facts all the time - Consistent brain fog / inability to think clearly - Paranoia These symptoms persist for days at a time and I usually only get a few hours or a day of reprieve in between. They can also vary in intensity; sometimes I can go about my day like this, other times I feel like I’m completely disconnecting from reality and desperately trying to cling for my own sanity. My health anxiety makes me think this is early on-set psychosis or schizophrenia, despite my psychologist, GP and friends heavily disputing this. Deep down I know this is likely chronic stress and anxiety, but it feels so foreign and disturbing to me that I can’t help but go to the immediate worse case scenario. Sometimes I get these physical symptoms without feeling anxious and being in a good mood (lightheaded, brain fog, etc.)! I’m posting here today to try get some understanding. Has anyone else with anxiety felt this way? Is this anxiety? How do I cope with disassociating? I might be starting anxiety medication soon - will this bring me relief? I just want to feel like myself again. Thank-you

Rapunzel1 Anxious about switiching medication
  • replies: 2

Im transitioning from an SSRI to an SNRI. Feeling extra anxious about this. Has anyone had any success with this or tips about how to cope at the moment when nothing is working?

Im transitioning from an SSRI to an SNRI. Feeling extra anxious about this. Has anyone had any success with this or tips about how to cope at the moment when nothing is working?

Michael_Br Anxiety caused by Guilt
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone this is my first time posting on this forum. I've had on and off bouts of anxiety as a result of a poor decision I made regarding a friend and their ex-partner. They had been broken up for several months and it just happened and they both... View more

Hi everyone this is my first time posting on this forum. I've had on and off bouts of anxiety as a result of a poor decision I made regarding a friend and their ex-partner. They had been broken up for several months and it just happened and they both have new partners etc. I haven't seen my friend for about 6 months and am incredibly worried that they will never speak to me again after what happened. I'm not speaking to the ex and am also seeing someone myself but am just worried as I'll likely be seeing them over summer etc and don't know whether to tell them i'm terribly sorry for what I did and it was a stupid mistake at a party. My anxiety is nothing major but every time I see my friend in my social media feeds etc it comes back and I'm scared of going out to places where our social groups might mix. Has anyone been through this situation and should I just come out and tell the truth despite me and the girl swearing not to tell anyone? I'm scared she has told all her friends too. Thanks for any help

Andre_P Kinda over it
  • replies: 19

People may remember me. The guy that spent 3 agonising months trying to acquire a house. to be brief I’m doing slightly better but I still am fighting with myself everyday - with ocd and I am still not even close to be in a position to find work. I h... View more

People may remember me. The guy that spent 3 agonising months trying to acquire a house. to be brief I’m doing slightly better but I still am fighting with myself everyday - with ocd and I am still not even close to be in a position to find work. I have managed to suppress the fear I have to a point, but I am doing sh*t loads of avoidance, more time consuming rituals and in general just not happy with where I want to be. My sleeping patterns are very poor too, always going to be wired and waking up tired. This whole this is actually depressing me too. im waiting on an appointment with my specialist (urologist) so that I can tackle my fear head on and do exposure therapy with ritual rejections/resistance. Unfortunately this will take time and now Centrelink are not accepting any more of my certificates. I have also booked an app with a psychiatrist now to get a full diagnosis. Since Centrelink have left me no choice I am going to be applying did the disability support pension. As I also have a physical disability with my shorter leg and back pain too which I will add on it. I don’t plan to be on this forever but I need some help. Any tips on applying for dsp. this is not ultimately what I wanted but my condition definitely isn’t temporarily at this point of time. I hate the system and I’m feeling really down. I just want to be like I used to be 2 years ago - happy and normal

R4even First timer: Stressing about my future and body image
  • replies: 5

Hey, this is my first time ever making anything like this so I don't know what to really say, nor do I know if I'm doing this right... So a little about myself is I am a very anxious person and I hide it around others, and I find it hard to express m... View more

Hey, this is my first time ever making anything like this so I don't know what to really say, nor do I know if I'm doing this right... So a little about myself is I am a very anxious person and I hide it around others, and I find it hard to express myself, the only way I really express myself is through my art which I've been doing for as long as I can remember.. uhh. I always doubt myself but I've been trying hard not to do that as of late but I've currently hit an all-time low. Its exam season for me so I've been a bit stressed about them since it's my future I'm working towards, and I always worry about failing. I always tend to get really anxious around these times, but especially when I have my time. I overthink constantly which has led to me losing friends, and important people, and it's quite miserable. I just made this account so I could express myself a little because I've just been out of the shower and have thought too much. I really want to change for the better so I think venting online is going to be a start to that since I don't vent to anyone normally. I don't like my body, nor myself and I want to change for the better, so that's why I'm on here for a chat. I think that's it.. thank you guys for listening to me I suppose.

WorryWombat No Support At Work
  • replies: 2

I’ve lived with depression and anxiety for a long time, and I was bought up to internalise my issues and worries. As a result, I’m not the kind of person to make a fuss when something bothers me. I struggle with negative self talk, panic and worthles... View more

I’ve lived with depression and anxiety for a long time, and I was bought up to internalise my issues and worries. As a result, I’m not the kind of person to make a fuss when something bothers me. I struggle with negative self talk, panic and worthlessness a lot, but I manage to mask it well enough at work. Recently I was really struggling to manage my workload, wasn’t feeling valued within my team, and wasn’t feeling mentally stable. It took a lot of strength for me to speak out and I told my Team Leader I was struggling. I ended up having a panic attack and felt really embarrassed. My Team Leader told me to go away and think about ways which he could help me. In the state I was in I couldn’t think straight and I felt like I was left to overthink everything. Everything felt meaningless and I can barely remember anything he said to me. This happened a couple of months ago, and he hasn’t checked in on me since. Today we had a meeting to discuss my goals for this year. I thought this was going to be a positive and constructive meeting. I was wrong... My Team Leader told me I was immature, not professional and that he never wanted me to be emotional at work again. He said I would never get promoted if I kept acting the way I did. I tried to explain my mental illness to him but he said he didn’t want to know. He just wants to know when it impacts my work performance. I feel so stuck and like I’m not being heard. Is there any way to make my Team Leader understand? Or should I stay quiet and pretend to be fine?

TheGrinchWearingAMask I think I may be suffering with OCD, and if so how do I help myself?
  • replies: 5

Hey all, I haven't been on this website for a while (as I lost my account). Over the past two years I feel as if though I cam constantly struggling with my own thoughts and my actions to relieve them. I'm not sure if its OCD, but I think it's the clo... View more

Hey all, I haven't been on this website for a while (as I lost my account). Over the past two years I feel as if though I cam constantly struggling with my own thoughts and my actions to relieve them. I'm not sure if its OCD, but I think it's the closest thing to what I've been going through. 1.) It started with me constantly checking the doors, windows, switches and stove/oven due to my worries something bad was to happen if I didn't. I put off going to bed for hours because I get so anxious about checking the house because I know that I will take forever to do so, and it makes me feel even more worried. I have the habit counting to ten around 3-4 times when pulling on the door handle to check its shut, when I check switches and dials I repeat "off" until it feels right. 2.) I have to blow 100 kisses minimum to my family when they leave the house in car otherwise I believe something will happen to them. I once again count in tens to get to 100.q 3.) I can't turn off the lights in my room or go to sleep (meaning closing my eyes to go to sleep) when my color-changing LED light in my room is red, otherwise bas things may happen in my sleep. 4.) All water droplets from the shower when I turn it off must hit my body otherwise something bad may happen to my family. 5.) I have to check social media to see that I havent posted anything accidentally around 10 times per day and I can't send off emails before I've completely checked over them around 10 times and/or gotten someone to check over it too. These are the obvious things I can think of at the moment, as I am tired and typing on my phone (so my spelling probably isnt the best). I just feel frustrated that my thoughts often hold me back from doing activities or going to see friends and such. If anyone has some advice to reduce these actions even if they arent OCD I would be extremely grateful. Thank you

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