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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Nimi Feeling Guilty for Standing Up
  • replies: 17

Hi guys, I have been thinking about writing about this for a while and I am still very nervous to write it, but I figure I should at least give it a try. Maybe someone has experienced something similar. A few weeks ago I had to do a very difficult th... View more

Hi guys, I have been thinking about writing about this for a while and I am still very nervous to write it, but I figure I should at least give it a try. Maybe someone has experienced something similar. A few weeks ago I had to do a very difficult thing. I had been feeling for a while that I was being treated without respect by a group of people whom I considered my friends. I really cared about them, and I still do, so it was incredibly hard to realise that I just felt so... uncomfortable. I am afraid of talking about this because I am scared of being harassed online by them if I am found, so I am going to be vague, I hope that's okay and not too confusing. I have had moments of severe depression and occasional anxiety attacks throughout my life, where I cannot cope and needed to speak to my friends for support. I always did my best to offer an ear in return to support them as well, because I have many other friends that have been through some intensely difficult times and really needed an ear, or a shoulder and were occasionally a bit blunt or negative because they were sad. I can completely relate to that position and I have always tried my best to put myself in other people's shoes. For at least a year though, I felt that something was terribly wrong. Like a gut feeling. I now see in hindsight that there were red flags everywhere, I was spoken to repeatedly in a passive-aggressive manner, blamed for things that were beyond my control and for not doing enough, insulted in front of friends (and my own family!) at a major event and when I asked numerous times what was happening, telling them that our friendship mattered to me and that I was lost... I was accused of being aggressive or confrontational. I felt like I was going crazy and I still feel like I am. I could not support them when I was feeling attacked like this, which they then continued to blame me for. I am so confused and hurt even now. Did I deserve that because I had moments of weakness and needed help? I was constantly apologising, and if they had told me that I was annoying then I would have listened and taken it seriously because they really mattered to me. It's really awful that as soon as I stood up and left I began to receive harassing texts accusing me of being passive-aggressive and a liar. I just felt so crazy hearing that. I stopped to think... did all the times I was trying to be genuine not matter? Was I not doing my best? Had I been making it up? Thank you for reading.

Not_Batman Triggers *Warning themes of abuse*
  • replies: 3

Hello BB community. So im posting to try and understand myself a bit more. I get very anxious and saddened when i hear about the abuse or exploitation of children. To the point where i feel almost uncontrollably edgy, and depressed. most cases its wa... View more

Hello BB community. So im posting to try and understand myself a bit more. I get very anxious and saddened when i hear about the abuse or exploitation of children. To the point where i feel almost uncontrollably edgy, and depressed. most cases its watching movies. In artificial intelligence the robot child is Deliberately left behind in the forrest by his ‘family’. i cannot even bring myself to watch one of my kids movies - Onward. most recently was a thriller called ‘True Story’ which is based on a guy that murders his 3 children. I cried a bit, well maybe more than i care to admit. other times its watching the news. I remember a segment that was presented by nuala hafner, where she broke into tears as i did about the segment. Just horrifying. just today i learned of a person, that i have never met, that was sexually abused Almost daily from the age of 5 to her mid teens. I felt an instant pain in my chest and a sickening feeling in my stomach. Having not been a victim of abuse or exploitation, where does the feeling come from, and how is it best to deal with this? Not_Batman

distelfink Going out of my mind with health anxiety - weight loss & death
  • replies: 3

Hey... so, I actually only find myself at these forums when I need comfort. It’s been a little while and I’ve been doing well. I’ve recently lost close to 18kgs - by trying, not because of anything sinister. Was super happy, going great. Im quite big... View more

Hey... so, I actually only find myself at these forums when I need comfort. It’s been a little while and I’ve been doing well. I’ve recently lost close to 18kgs - by trying, not because of anything sinister. Was super happy, going great. Im quite big, so any loss is wonderful. I started noticing change sin my body - as you do. Except, I felt a bit too hard and felt a lump kind of on my left side but more just under my rib cages (in that fatty area) Rationally I know it’s fat, and there’s some on the right side, but the left side is what I’ve focussed on again. So now, I’m that area, I feel like I can feel something wrong. I’m very gassy - as in, it gurgles and feels like bubbles, rarely any pain but when there’s pain, it’s gas. I’m constantly focussed on it, so hyper aware that I feel things now on the same side but on my back. It tingles, it bubbles, it feels tight and also feels heavy. So when I lay on my tummy, it feels as if there’s something there. UNTIL I DONT THINK OF IT. If I’m distracted or with friends, 9/10 I feel not a thing. Can go for hours with nothing. I wake up with nothing until my brain tries to see if it’s still there. i straight away go to cancer. Every time. i have pushed so hard on that side to try and feel anything, done it to the other side too, and it all feels exactly the same. if I left my shirt, I feel nothing. Miraculously. its like I’m so hyper aware that I’m feeling every tiny thing. i went away recently, and it felt like it started to go. I came back and I was doing okay and then on Sunday (a week ago) my work bestie/mate passed away, and let me tell you. My anxiety is through the roof. im so scared to see a doctor. The first thing they say is about my weight but then also I’m scared of the testing. it feels like gas. The fat lumps I feel have been there the whole time but now I feel them more because of the weight loss. That’s when it all started. blurgh. I’m so over this.

real_name_hidden Job is giving me anxiety - what to do?
  • replies: 6

I posted in a couple of other threads but I decided to start a new one so I can get my thoughts together. I started my career as an engineer. I did that for 7 years, then became a project manager of engineering projects. I have been doing that for 9 ... View more

I posted in a couple of other threads but I decided to start a new one so I can get my thoughts together. I started my career as an engineer. I did that for 7 years, then became a project manager of engineering projects. I have been doing that for 9 years. I have been in my current job for 1 year. I started my current job after my company made my previous role redundant in a restructure, and they redeployed me into this role. I moved from a project manager role in a sector that I had lots of experience in, to a project manager role in a sector I have no experience in. I think I have felt anxiety to some degree during my entire career, but it has been really bad since the start of 2020. I don't have experience in the sector that I'm now working in, and I'm supposed to manage people doing work that I have no understanding of. The company restructure that led to me changing sectors stripped the expertise needed to get work done. Many times I have asked for a resource to do certain tasks, and the response has been 'Joe Bloggs used to do that, but he was made redundant so now it's the the project manager's job.' I don't have the expertise to do what's required, so I feel like I'm being set up for failure. My workload is too big for me to manage, and I'm falling further and further behind. I've spoken to my manager about the issues I'm facing on my projects, said they will take time to resolve, and asked to renegotiate deadlines. His response has been along the lines of 'Oh, you can still meet the deadline. It won't take as long as you say to resolve the issue.' My manager is disconnected from reality and has no appreciation for the effort actually required to get something done, and doesn't want to listen when I try to explain it to him. So I have been working under immense pressure. I have been having stomach cramps that make me run to the toilet 3-4 times a day, and I often feel like vomiting. I have spoken to a psychologist and she said I don't have mental health issues. She said I need to find a job that suits my personality.

Gracee_ To be taken seriously - Anxiety/Medication
  • replies: 2

Hi guys, I'm posting on here because my previous posts received support and I've found posting in here has helped me feel more connected to others. I was recently diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder and Generalised Anxiety Disorder. I'm seeing a psych... View more

Hi guys, I'm posting on here because my previous posts received support and I've found posting in here has helped me feel more connected to others. I was recently diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder and Generalised Anxiety Disorder. I'm seeing a psychologist for both and am dealing with ongoing pain due to tight muscles causing headaches etc.This pain and anxiety due to the pain has caused me to be getting 1-2 hours of sleep per night over the past week. These headaches/pain tends to get worse at work as i have a high stress job (teacher) and i think i have begun associating my workplace with this pain. This morning was my first day back at work this term (Week 2) and I was so anxious that I was not able to go to sleep at all last night. I had constant tingling in my stomach/bum and legs plus racing thoughts. I did everything under the sun to go to sleep but I just couldn't (obviously this fueled my anxiety because imagine teaching a bunch of rowdy teens on an hours sleep). I've been awake since 9 o'clock yesterday and on my way to work this more i was in hysterics crying (I have never been this person so I was completely baffled to be so worked up). What I guess I'm asking is, how do I go about asking my psychologist to give me something for sleep/this anxiety as I cannot go through another sleepless night. I know psychologists can't prescribe medication but can she do anything? Is medication the right call? I feel like i've lost this battle that everyone seems to be doing just fine in and I'm somehow disappointed in myself for not being strong enough. I preach all day about how it's not weak to speak up but why the hell do I feel like a failure. Forever thankful for the support and feedback I receive here.

Gracee_ Adjustment disorder and anxiety
  • replies: 1

I’ve recently been diagnosed with adjustment disorder accompanied by anxiety. This all came about due to have tension headaches every day during work and the feeling of not being able to support my own head as my neck felt weak and sore. I didn’t thi... View more

I’ve recently been diagnosed with adjustment disorder accompanied by anxiety. This all came about due to have tension headaches every day during work and the feeling of not being able to support my own head as my neck felt weak and sore. I didn’t think I was stressed about after talking to my doctors who referred me to a psychologist it seems that is the case due to ongoing trauma since I was a teen (I thought it was handling it). What I’m asking is, can anyone who has had a first hand experience with this disorder please let me know how you went about minimising the effects of the pain associated with it and what you did to help yourself feel better. I am going to a psychologist and she’s given me a sleep diary (I don’t sleep well, waking up 5-6 times a night) as well as given me some breathing techniques. These were all well and good while I was away from work but now that I’m back at work I’m worried the pain and headaches will come back. My doctor has given me pain medication but it makes me so tired I can’t function with it. Any advice would be great at this point, thank you.

Lone Anxiety will always be part of my life
  • replies: 1

I have come to the realisation that anxiety will always be part of my life whether I like it or not. No matter what I try and do to make it better it will be there like an old friend. The hardest part is accepting this and managing it. So at the mome... View more

I have come to the realisation that anxiety will always be part of my life whether I like it or not. No matter what I try and do to make it better it will be there like an old friend. The hardest part is accepting this and managing it. So at the moment I am trying everything I can therapy, exercise, medication. I guess trying to find what works. My question is what works for you and how do manage anxiety long term?

Tugboat anxiety at its worse
  • replies: 4

Hello, i have ave been on here a few times and here I am again. I have No idea how to deal with my overwhelming health anxiety. Ever time time I am due for bloods, mammogram etc etc my anxiety gets out of control. The tears are rolling down my face a... View more

Hello, i have ave been on here a few times and here I am again. I have No idea how to deal with my overwhelming health anxiety. Ever time time I am due for bloods, mammogram etc etc my anxiety gets out of control. The tears are rolling down my face as I writing this post. I am due for my 2 year mammogram tomorrow and I am beside my self, cannot eat, cannot get out of bed and Crying constantly. I always think the worse is going to happen and I understand people get anxious but my anxiety affects my well being takes over my mind. I’m just not me......I’m so bloody scared that I’m dying. I try to get out of bed and get on with it however I’m really struggling ATM. I know I should try to focus on something else’s but I just seem to do that ATM. I know many people who have had/have cancer and it really scares me. I have tried counselling but never seem to click with anyone that understands me. I have that horrible knot in my stomach all day and often through up! The only time I feel relaxed is if I have a couple of wines in the evening and funny enough the knot disappears. I actually sleep ok but every morning wake up with that anxious knot every morning this does not go away until I get back my results. I have a wonderful Mum, and girlfriend I discuss this with but I’m sure at times they are saying come on girl get your self together. My husband is not so supportive he just says you will be fine as always. I just need someone to hold me tight and tell me all will be ok. Cannot type anymore as I cannot see through the teats. Thanks for listening

anna5 how am I supposed to keep trying when I feel like I'm getting nowhere
  • replies: 4

I have pretty much had anxiety my whole life, it has prevented me from doing sports i like, catching up with friends and many other things. I am currently seeing a psychologist, but every time i see her i feel 100X worse and i feel no emotions and li... View more

I have pretty much had anxiety my whole life, it has prevented me from doing sports i like, catching up with friends and many other things. I am currently seeing a psychologist, but every time i see her i feel 100X worse and i feel no emotions and like i want to curl up in bed and not see anyone for a week. I am really insecure and it affects my relationship, i feel like i make his life 100x harder then it should be, and then i feel even worse. I have improved a bit but the last few days i feel like im back to square one and it makes me feel like why an i even trying. I will keep trying though, i just dont wanna wake up in the morning knowing i have to get through a whole day feel sick in my stomach and anxious about most things throughout my day. I just want help. Im sorry if this post was really negative i just want some advice on how im feeling right now and things to do.

Willo123 Baby blues
  • replies: 2

I’m a new time mum with a week old baby boy, iv suffered with anxiety since I was young. im 22 and now suffering with baby blues. I have the most supportive partner and family around me but I have days where I will just cry for reasons that are month... View more

I’m a new time mum with a week old baby boy, iv suffered with anxiety since I was young. im 22 and now suffering with baby blues. I have the most supportive partner and family around me but I have days where I will just cry for reasons that are months down the track or will just get a sick sinking feeling in my stomach. just wanting to talk to people who may have been through this and Hear their story that my help me see the light at the end of the tunnel.