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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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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

Rainbow_Swan Anxiety & Getting A Job
  • replies: 7

Hi All I'm a guy in my early 40's with GAD, OCD and a mild physical disability (affecting one leg). Until 4 months ago I lived at home. I've been seeing a great Psychologist for a couple of years as well as a Psychiatrist. I've never worked, and woul... View more

Hi All I'm a guy in my early 40's with GAD, OCD and a mild physical disability (affecting one leg). Until 4 months ago I lived at home. I've been seeing a great Psychologist for a couple of years as well as a Psychiatrist. I've never worked, and would love to find ease into it by finding a part-time job and work my way up to full-time. I was hoping to find an agency that would hold my hand and find me a patient, understanding employer so I contacted a disability employment service 2 months ago, and still haven't had an induction interview with them! They won't even return my calls. I've looked at the reviews for disability employment agencies and they're all terrible. The whole job interview process scares me terribly! So my question is, how have people who also struggle with anxiety managed to find a job? Do you have any tips? Thanks!

so_so_sad worried about sons anxiety and depression
  • replies: 2

Hey, I am worried about my son who is struggling atm with his anxiety and depression. He is 26 nearly 27 and unable to find a job, never has had one but spent years getting to a better place with his mental health. Now it has all gone up the creek wi... View more

Hey, I am worried about my son who is struggling atm with his anxiety and depression. He is 26 nearly 27 and unable to find a job, never has had one but spent years getting to a better place with his mental health. Now it has all gone up the creek with one comment made online, stupidly of course but we all make mistakes. He was doing volunteer work and there was a complaint made to the company he did that for and now after 3 years of hard and loyal work for them they wont let him come back because of one mistake. He had a mini mental breakdown today and I am at a loss of how to help as it was one of 3 things that happened today but this was the one that ended up breaking his spirit today. Can anyone help this mother who loves her son very much

Joey7 Severe Health Anxiety
  • replies: 103

I suffer from severe health anxiety and have for the past 6 years which all started after my son was seriously iill and we came very close to losing him thankfully we didn't. Since that time my anxiety has gotten a lot worse these past 2 years have b... View more

I suffer from severe health anxiety and have for the past 6 years which all started after my son was seriously iill and we came very close to losing him thankfully we didn't. Since that time my anxiety has gotten a lot worse these past 2 years have been so bad with my physical symptoms worsening to the point I'm googling my symptoms all the time constantly thinking I have some disease that relates to the symptoms I have at the time. I guess I just don't believe that even though my anxiety is so severe it can cause these weird sensations and symptoms in my body which with having health anxiety the symptoms just escalate my anxiety and I can't function at all. I'm constantly waking up anxious hoping I won't have a the symptom that day then when I do it makes me so upset and frustrated I think I must have a serious disease for it to still be there. Can anyone else relate to this and has the horrible scary physical symptoms that go along with anxiety what did you do to help I don't want to be like this anymore the Physical symptoms are horrible.

babs04 I can’t sleep
  • replies: 6

I really struggle to sleep because I get really paranoid and anxious. I have a major fear of sickness so as soon as I get anxious and feel sick I spiral into a hole of feeling awful. I’ve gotten up in the night multiple times to go into my mums room ... View more

I really struggle to sleep because I get really paranoid and anxious. I have a major fear of sickness so as soon as I get anxious and feel sick I spiral into a hole of feeling awful. I’ve gotten up in the night multiple times to go into my mums room and ask to have a shower to try and calm me down. It’s really hard for me, I really want to be put on medication to help me because i’ve been to a psychologist and the doctors and nothings working

poppy2 seeking too much reassurance??
  • replies: 1

I have this friend who has really helped me throughout my anxiety, he came into my life a couple of months ago when it started to get really bad. And even tho he has helped me with it, I was always scared of becoming reliant on telling him all my wor... View more

I have this friend who has really helped me throughout my anxiety, he came into my life a couple of months ago when it started to get really bad. And even tho he has helped me with it, I was always scared of becoming reliant on telling him all my worries etc. Well I told him this after A LOT of overthinking and we had a really good open chat like we always do. Came to the conclusion that I'm constantly seeking reassurance from him, and needing him to validate my feelings. And he said to me that maybe we should talk a bit less about this sort of stuff which I 100% agree cause I don't want him to feel like my therapist, but we agreed that we shouldn't talk about it as much but he's still going to 100% support me and will listen to me if I ever need it. And I've had a really good couple of last few days, and I've told him they've been good cause we talk pretty much everyday and he always asks how my day has been. But today had a not so good day and was crying and just sad etc, and I made myself anxious over if I reach out to him because thats what he said to but I don't want to seek reassurance from him because I haven't for a couple of days and I'm proud of me being able to validate myself, and if I talk to him about it I don't want to spiral back into feeling like I'm dependant on him for that. He's a really great friend and the last thing I want to do is stop talking to him or scare him off or make him hate me. And even if I come to him about this I'll be seeking reassurance and thats too much to ask of him. Feeling confused and anxious :///

Fearful14 Anxiety - when is avoiding a situation a valid response - am i just giving up
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone - i am a consultant and have experienced increasing anxiety when it comes to working with groups or teams. This is only part of my job. When i find that i may “win” the work i have bid for, that involves groups or teams, i start to then w... View more

Hi everyone - i am a consultant and have experienced increasing anxiety when it comes to working with groups or teams. This is only part of my job. When i find that i may “win” the work i have bid for, that involves groups or teams, i start to then wake every morning with sense of dread, sick in my stomach and the feeling of looming fear is with me all day. I start to try to flee (eg how do i get out of this work) or erratically seek other solutions (eg someone to do the work with me/co-present) but still the feelings remain. when I am doing the work, i am largely able to manage the stress/anxiety but the anticipatory aspect (which can go for weeks/months) is extremely difficult to manage and is impacting me a lot. So my question becomes, when is it “giving up” and the anxiety “winning”? Is it the right/best thing to work through the anxiety and increase our ability to manage it or are there times when we just accept it and avoid, wherever possible, the situations that trigger it? I am pressuring myself to learn through this, to be strong and successful when emotionally, all I want to do is run away and avoid ever doing this work (even though i value it and love the impact it can have for my clients). I would love to hear your insights and experiences. Thank you

Blueowl I never thought I had anxiety
  • replies: 2

But recently I've been able to count times where I was anxious about something for a day but then that feeling disappeared when I realised I was being irrational. It still pops up from time to time, where I excessively worry about something- it's hap... View more

But recently I've been able to count times where I was anxious about something for a day but then that feeling disappeared when I realised I was being irrational. It still pops up from time to time, where I excessively worry about something- it's happened three times this week alone. I got triggered today when I squeezed between a lounge couch and mattress to get to the other side and I started to worry about internal bleeding because it was a really tight squeeze across my stomach. It's been 7 hours, and now that I'm in bed my anxiety is getting worse because my stomach feels weird and hurts when I press on it- but I was full on dinner and dessert. I need reassurance that I'm just over thinking, and that there are other people like me.