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

All discussions

SillyBilly Jobless because of anxiety
  • replies: 5

Hi there, I'm new to the forum. I've called myself SillyBilly. I'm pretty ashamed of who I am, but I'm in the process of trying to get help. While other people are unemployed and desperately seeking work, I have snuck through three job interviews thi... View more

Hi there, I'm new to the forum. I've called myself SillyBilly. I'm pretty ashamed of who I am, but I'm in the process of trying to get help. While other people are unemployed and desperately seeking work, I have snuck through three job interviews this year, then my massive social anxiety has lead to me leaving those jobs. I literally ran out the door of one job. I feel like I'm employable, if I could only get through the anxiety, if I could only stop constantly worrying about what other people think about me. It's so bad that I'm even worried what the neighbours think of me, when they see my car still in the driveway all day everyday, never leaving for work. I barely see anyone, I'm too ashamed to tell anyone about my job situation. Every time I see a person I know, I'm either jobless or have a different job to when they last saw me. I feel really embarrassed to be me. And so ashamed. But I am getting help. I have a mental health plan and will see a psychologist. I have started trying to exercise and meditate. I don't really know how to get less anxious with people, or how to stop worrying what other people think, so if anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it. I hope that I can be helpful to other people on the forum, too. Once I stopped being scared.

Minitrue Anxiety over relationship status
  • replies: 6

Hi everybody,I am a 26 year old male, have had minor panic/anxiety episodes in the past (approximately 3 years ago was my last panic attack).I got help as soon as the recurring panic attacks started, I got onto an antidepressant for a few years after... View more

Hi everybody,I am a 26 year old male, have had minor panic/anxiety episodes in the past (approximately 3 years ago was my last panic attack).I got help as soon as the recurring panic attacks started, I got onto an antidepressant for a few years after that, and have been off them for a few months now - panic free. CBT helped me get through the distorted perceptions and still does.The last few weeks I've felt really lonely and a tad anxious over the fact that I have been single up until this point. I have had a few dates here and there, but nothing serious. This has never bothered me before, I have achieved a lot of things whilst being single, a lot of positive things.I just can't shake the feeling lately, the yearning to find a partner, it's actually making me anxious, like I'm running out of time or something (which I know is silly). I sometimes find myself having negative self-defeating thoughts, telling myself I'm unattractive or that I give off an aura of 'damaged goods/red flag' to women. Occasionally I'll think I'm not normal, that being 26 and having never been in a relationship is embarrassing, I feel like a kid still. It's beginning to hurt my confidence levels when it comes to approaching a potential partner. Does anybody have some suggestions as to how to deal with these feelings? I'm finding it hard to decide whether this is just a normal phase of life or whether I've let my anxiety hijack a normal urge and take it too far..Thanks

kody_love guilt from anxiety affecting partner
  • replies: 5

Does anyone else feel guilty when their anxiety interferes with their relationship or their ability to decipher what is/isn't a 'big deal'? For those interested, here's my story - I'll try keep it brief. My boyfriend and I began dating after I had a ... View more

Does anyone else feel guilty when their anxiety interferes with their relationship or their ability to decipher what is/isn't a 'big deal'? For those interested, here's my story - I'll try keep it brief. My boyfriend and I began dating after I had a serious downturn in my anxiety disorder due to medication aggravating it. Just being together seems to aggravate my anxiety too - as if my anxiety has a new toy to play with, a new tool to twist and turn in my mind to make me suffer. I feel very guilty every time I bring up an issue with my partner (i.e., things I wish he would do more of, less of, things he does that upset me etc). Our talks are always genuinely calm and a real discussion, never angry. I feel like many of these concerns are valid and legit - but sometimes I second-guess myself, my brain gets muddy, and I lose sight of whether they are genuinely valid or if my anxiety is blowing them out of proportion. Due to my I uncertainty, I end up feeling extremely guilty for bothering him with these things. I asked him recently if he felt like I was always on his case. He replied 'no, but it (the talks) does seem like a long-running thing.' Which is true. And I feel a pang of guilt for this - even though I genuinely believe many, if not all, of these concerns are valid.

Catie 08 Fear of failure
  • replies: 6

Hi, I suffer with ptsd but I'm just starting to realise that I also have a fear of failure. Last week I couldn't work as I was looking at what was in front of me and felt completely overwhelmed. The anxiety kicked in, I couldn't concentrate and I cou... View more

Hi, I suffer with ptsd but I'm just starting to realise that I also have a fear of failure. Last week I couldn't work as I was looking at what was in front of me and felt completely overwhelmed. The anxiety kicked in, I couldn't concentrate and I could hardly breath. I feel that if I fail I will disappoint people and for me disappointment is the very worst thing. The feeling has been getting worse over that past few months and I'm scared that I won't be able to work and therefore wont have money to put food on the table. I'm sure there has to be others out there dealing with this... I would love to hear about other people's experiences and methods of treating this. Thanks, Catie08

SilverLight Eating and Anxiety
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone, Does anyone else have a massive problem with food, cravings and over eating? When I have bad days with my mental health (today for example 臘) I can't be bothered cooking because I'm tired and stressed and I crave junk food/sugar. I tell ... View more

Hi everyone, Does anyone else have a massive problem with food, cravings and over eating? When I have bad days with my mental health (today for example 🤦) I can't be bothered cooking because I'm tired and stressed and I crave junk food/sugar. I tell myself I'll just order in or cheat this time and then I'll give it up/save more money but the bank balance keeps going backwards and I keep getting bigger and bigger... How do I control this?!

Anon222 Health anxiety about heart
  • replies: 7

Hello, this is my first time posting and I’m not sure if anyone will be able to relate or not but I always have chest pains and I am constantly getting heart palpitations and I have convinced myself there is something wrong with my heart, I have had ... View more

Hello, this is my first time posting and I’m not sure if anyone will be able to relate or not but I always have chest pains and I am constantly getting heart palpitations and I have convinced myself there is something wrong with my heart, I have had ECG and blood test and chest X-ray and my GP and the doctors from the hospital (I’ve been to emergency) have said it’s most likely not my heart but they can’t tell me what it actually is which gives me really bad anxiety. I can spend hours googling my symptoms online. My heart feels like it skips a beat sometimes and then a thud and then beats really hard, sometimes I’ll just be watching tv and it happens... it doesn’t hurt but it scares me and then I get anxiety about it. I’m pretty healthy I’m 29 year old female not overweight and my cholesterol and everything is normal I’m just paranoid that the doctors are missing something. My actual chest pin varies from burning sometimes to little twitches that hurt & sharp pains and it’s forever changing. I don’t know how to stop worrying about it and going to the doctor every week for them to tell me it’s nothing

elsewhere When to give up struggling with something and when to push through?
  • replies: 3

I couldn't decide which forum to post this in as it's as much depression as anxiety, but it's def both and I landed here so... My mental health has taken a battering this year as has most people's. I've had anxity and depression for ages but I'm at a... View more

I couldn't decide which forum to post this in as it's as much depression as anxiety, but it's def both and I landed here so... My mental health has taken a battering this year as has most people's. I've had anxity and depression for ages but I'm at a new, extremely low point where I just can't.... do anything. I can't get started on work or study, brain just turns to foggy quicksand mush and I'm so behind and overwhelmed that I'm in fear of losing my job and failing my course. I'm seeing a psych occasionally and we talk strategies for getting started but when it comes to it I don't have anything left to implement them, I'm just.... out of it. And then cue panic, then exhaustion, then depression, rinse and repeat. I'm finding it takes everything I've got to take just one simple step towards self care, like eating a meal. So I need to do that, but there's nothing left over to do anything else. Like the work and study I need to do to keep my life going. Today I'm thinking, this is really, really not a good place. Like I'm just actually really unwell and getting worse. The only thing I can imagine helping at this point is to just... stop for a while, quit my course and take time off my job. This would be horrific for me as I've spent 5 years battling through this course (thanks anxiety) and I am SO close to finishing. I think 'I just cannot give up now'. I'm scared I won't get my job back if I take time off. But I literally can't seem to make myself do anything but stare at the walls. I can't see any way to get through it. I have people I can talk to but it doesn't help in making me do the work I need to do. It's just more exhausting than anything talking about it. I'm scared about how much worse I feel lately, how non-functional I've become in the last few months, and even with strategies and help I'm struggling to get out. How do you know when it is time to just follow the urge to take time out and stop for a few months, and when to push through? I'm scared I'm going to push myself too far and get even worse, just incapable of doing anything. But I'm just as scared of ruining my life by quitting. And I've been thinking this for months now. How the hell do I decide the right move? I feel at the end of my rope but I like I have to push on, but I can't. When is it ok to give up for a while to heal? How do you know?

Von is lost Social anxiety
  • replies: 2

I have a group of friends that I hang out with once in a while. I didn’t realise until only recently but I have social anxiety. There is one really good friend in this group who always makes me feel comfortable and is the one always inviting me to th... View more

I have a group of friends that I hang out with once in a while. I didn’t realise until only recently but I have social anxiety. There is one really good friend in this group who always makes me feel comfortable and is the one always inviting me to things with the group. I feel totally fine when she’s around, but I obviously can’t rely on her for the whole time when we’re hanging out as a group. I feel quite anxious and awkward trying to talk to others in the group. I have tried on lots of occasions but they don’t give me much back in terms of conversation, which makes my anxiety worse because it feels like they’re not interested enough in me to talk to me. I find myself standing on my own because the rest have gone off somewhere and I don’t know what to do. I wish I was confident enough to feel comfortable on my own and better at socialising to connect more with these people but my anxiety does hold me back sometimes.

bill12345 Covid anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi, i am from adelaide australia and i am 17 year old who has been diagnosed with mild OCD and Anxiety. We have just come out of a 3 day lockdown after a cluster broke out last week and it has increased my anxiety heavily. This is due from when today... View more

Hi, i am from adelaide australia and i am 17 year old who has been diagnosed with mild OCD and Anxiety. We have just come out of a 3 day lockdown after a cluster broke out last week and it has increased my anxiety heavily. This is due from when today, my dad had to fill up his car, and i realised it was at the petrol station where a week ago a covid case had been discovered. Obviously it was closed, cleaned and then reopened and i stayed in the car because i was too scared to get out. I’m just so worried now that i might get covid because i was at that place but it would have any left if it was allowed to reopen right

Rikka anxiety & hyperventilation
  • replies: 52

does anyone have constant hyperventilation, where you need to force yourself to breathe or else you'll feel like it'll stop\ yep. also have a good day you can do this!

does anyone have constant hyperventilation, where you need to force yourself to breathe or else you'll feel like it'll stop\ yep. also have a good day you can do this!