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

Blueyblues New puppy anxiety
  • replies: 2

I am a 30 year old who has suffered with anxiety my whole life. I am on a low dose of medication and I would say that my anxiety is largely under control. For a while now, I have been desperate to get a dog. I have been visiting dog parks to watch th... View more

I am a 30 year old who has suffered with anxiety my whole life. I am on a low dose of medication and I would say that my anxiety is largely under control. For a while now, I have been desperate to get a dog. I have been visiting dog parks to watch the dog and looking daily at rescue sites. My husband and I both work full time and my husband also studies. We agreed to wait a few more months but I came across a beautiful rescue puppy. We thought we were visiting but the rescue said we had to take her home in the next few days or someone else was bound to take her. We were completely unprepared and had nothing for her. We quickly gathered everything we needed and within hours of her being ours my anxiety became severe. I was worried about her eating something in the yard, I was worried I was not training her properly. I’m just so anxious about her. She was vomiting in her first few days here (change of food) so that was a big trigger). We’ve had her for 2.5 weeks now and I am so overwhelmed and so exhausted and so so anxious. I love her but I’m terrified I made a mistake. I’m seeking professional help for myself and her haha but I don’t know what to do while I wait for my appointment.

JakeM13 Dizzy
  • replies: 1

Last night I had a dizzy spell which is something I’ve never had before, I’m wondering if someone can explain to me what it’s like when you become dizzy and it is caused by anxiety because it happened to me suddenly after dinner whilst I was driving ... View more

Last night I had a dizzy spell which is something I’ve never had before, I’m wondering if someone can explain to me what it’s like when you become dizzy and it is caused by anxiety because it happened to me suddenly after dinner whilst I was driving home and I couldn’t stop feeling the dizziness which of course made my anxiety much worse and then I think it continued to make the dizziness worse to the point where I couldn’t tel if it was something serious or if I was overreacting. I was seriously worried and I don’t know how to cope with these things, I have only been recently diagnosed with having generalised anxiety a few months ago and some days I have no idea what to do or where to go, I just want to hide at home and curl up into a ball.

Rotax Job advise
  • replies: 4

Hi, I’ve never posted in a forum before. I’m 41 and I’ve lived with anxiety and depression since I was a child. It’s been so long I can’t remember a time where I felt truely happy. The weight of this has brought me to this site. I’m hoping someone ma... View more

Hi, I’ve never posted in a forum before. I’m 41 and I’ve lived with anxiety and depression since I was a child. It’s been so long I can’t remember a time where I felt truely happy. The weight of this has brought me to this site. I’m hoping someone may be able to point me in the direction of some kind of career advise agency in Sydney for people with anxiety and depression . I need to try and limit triggers as much as possible and the types of jobs I’ve had have always been in high pressure fields and working for companies with zero understanding. I’ve hit my breaking point and need to change but don’t know where to begin. I flick though job pages but it’s hard to find jobs that can potentially help elevate the stress and pay the bills and this ads to the anxiety levels. I’ve lived with this for so long I’m at my wits end and have started to loose all hope. There have been apparent opportunities arise from time to time but they always seem to disappear and it’s taught me to never raise my hopes about anything.

Noz What medication has worked for you?
  • replies: 5

Hi all. Just wanted to post here and see if anyone has had any luck finding medication to manage anxiety and insomnia. I am getting frustrated as I have been through 6 different medications this year and had absolutely no luck with any of them. Every... View more

Hi all. Just wanted to post here and see if anyone has had any luck finding medication to manage anxiety and insomnia. I am getting frustrated as I have been through 6 different medications this year and had absolutely no luck with any of them. Every drug I have tried has made the anxiety 100 times worse. Fatigued all day, headaches and numbness to list a few. Just at a loss as to what to do. I am not taking any prescriptions any more and trying to exercise as much as possible but feel psychically weak when I do and having to battle through this brain fog everyday. I am really chasing something to aid in sleep that doesn’t leave you groggy all day. Being tired makes my anxiety unbearable. I would love to hear any success stories or advice. What’s worked for you?!?!

JJ_K99 Binge eating
  • replies: 6

okay, I've been binge eating so much for the past few days and I dont know why. I do usually eat more near my period etc but seriously I am eating to the point I am so uncomfortable and this never happened before. And this is terrible because I suffe... View more

okay, I've been binge eating so much for the past few days and I dont know why. I do usually eat more near my period etc but seriously I am eating to the point I am so uncomfortable and this never happened before. And this is terrible because I suffered from bulimic behaviours sinc e 2013 until very recently and I decided I dont want to do that anymore and refrain from it.... but this feels so shit and I cannot understand myself, I am so bloated, I feel shit but I've been just pushing food down and I just hate myself right now

mocha delight Anxiety
  • replies: 1

Hi I’ve not been officially diagnosed with anything yet but my psychologist mentioned that it seems like I have both GAD & social anxiety so far other then depression (which she agrees with my gp that I have it). So last night I googled both and afte... View more

Hi I’ve not been officially diagnosed with anything yet but my psychologist mentioned that it seems like I have both GAD & social anxiety so far other then depression (which she agrees with my gp that I have it). So last night I googled both and after reading multiple websites about it I’ve come to realise it all makes sense to me now. So even if I got what I call a soft diagnosis right now I kind of feel better just knowing what I’m dealing with rather than not knowing.

Amy115 Anxiety has been ruling over my entire relationship
  • replies: 3

Hello to anyone who reads, my anxiety has been something that's been affecting my life for a solid 4 years now. Just over a year ago I got into a relationship with a boy who I truly love with all my heart. He has made my very happy and in times when ... View more

Hello to anyone who reads, my anxiety has been something that's been affecting my life for a solid 4 years now. Just over a year ago I got into a relationship with a boy who I truly love with all my heart. He has made my very happy and in times when I feel unsafe I can always rely on him to make me feel okay again. However my problem is that while he has made my life better, my anxiety chose him to focus all my anxieties on. Literally throughout our entire relationship I have been anxious about one thing or another and it's driving me insane. Right now my main focus is on my sexuality. Although I know questions like that are normal, the way my brain goes about it is not. My entire life I have been attracted to males however now my brain is making me question if I ever even liked them at all (all whilst I absolutely love my boyfriend??). I feel like I'm going crazy and all of a sudden I can't even have sex without thinking oh would I actually prefer to do this with a woman? I'm predicting my brain is just doing its usual "what ifs" to try and scare me out of this relationship but I absolutely don't know what to do about it and I just want these thoughts to go away so I can live in the present like I want to. Sorry for this long post I just desperately need help, I don't want to live my whole life filled with these insecurities and worries.

peacock On sick leave again
  • replies: 42

I had a week off work on sick leave due to depression. I came back to work for a week and felt great. Then I had a tough time again mentally and am now on another week of sick leave. Feel guilty not being at work and wondering what people think of me... View more

I had a week off work on sick leave due to depression. I came back to work for a week and felt great. Then I had a tough time again mentally and am now on another week of sick leave. Feel guilty not being at work and wondering what people think of me. Has anyone else experience this and how did you cope? I do feel my company has a very good policy about mental health in the workplace though.

Turquoise123 Social anxiety
  • replies: 8

Hi, I feel like my social anxiety is getting out of control and really affecting my life. And I'm so scared that I'm going to feel like this for life. It's gotten worse with lockdown restrictions easing. Me and my partner have been meeting his friend... View more

Hi, I feel like my social anxiety is getting out of control and really affecting my life. And I'm so scared that I'm going to feel like this for life. It's gotten worse with lockdown restrictions easing. Me and my partner have been meeting his friends and although they're all nice, I just can't relax and enjoy myself. I feel like I look anxious and then I panic because I haven't said anything for a while and I just feel like I'm going to be known as the boring one. It's so frustrating because I have a bubbly personality, I just find it impossible to show in a group setting with new people. It's making me dread the weekends because I know we'll be seeing people. I actually find it easier meeting strangers for example rather than with my partner and his friends because I feel so embarrassed him seeing me like that. I think I've come to a point where I know I should go to therapy, but I'm so scared that it won't work and that's my last hope. I'm generally a happy person, but the social anxiety is making me depressed. I just wish I could fake looking confident, but I know I just sit there looking nervous, which in turn makes me more nervous. I'd say I've had social anxiety for 15 years maybe, but it's definitely getting worse. I just want to enjoy life, I feel so sad to think I'm spending all my time worrying about future social events, then worrying about how I looked after. It's so crippling and I just wish there was a quick fix. I've spoken to my partner about it but I know he thinks it isn't that bad. Maybe because we haven't had to be in many social situations the last few months. I'm from the UK and once restrictions ease I plan to join some groups and put myself out there. Although I know I'll just be a shell of myself. I just want to be happy and carefree again.

Bulus Shabbaz Anxiety brought on by the heat?
  • replies: 6

I just had an "episode" It is really hot today, which is always bad for me, my medication makes me extra sensitive to the sun. I was overheating and started to open up the house and then I snapped. I started to get anxious and aggressive and was mutt... View more

I just had an "episode" It is really hot today, which is always bad for me, my medication makes me extra sensitive to the sun. I was overheating and started to open up the house and then I snapped. I started to get anxious and aggressive and was muttering my self, and I was randomly going from room to room, and pulling out stuff and throwing it in the bin. and then it was like I hit a brick wall which startled me and made me stop. And now I am fine. Just cooling down with a fan and open window and some water. I am a little stressed but I am OK.