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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. 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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gloria10 Keep feeling like I'm not good enough
  • replies: 7

Hi. It has been a while since my last post, a bit has been going on. My issue is, however, that lately, I've been noticing some more anxiety and that I've been feeling like I'm not good enough. I think some of it stems from work as I am on contract i... View more

Hi. It has been a while since my last post, a bit has been going on. My issue is, however, that lately, I've been noticing some more anxiety and that I've been feeling like I'm not good enough. I think some of it stems from work as I am on contract in a call centre and there are so many KPI's that I need to make and if I do make them I still get told I'm doing something else wrong. I am in the process of job hunting as I know I'm not there much longer, but I have noticed it has affected my anxiety a lot. I also think it has to do with an interest in a friend that I have known for some time. I've been out of the dating game a while and I've always found him attractive, but at the back of my head I keep getting 'not good enough'. It has also been adding to my anxiety. I have been considering dating again so I'm not sure if my anxiety could have been triggered as a result. I guess I'd like to know how you boost your self-confidence when you're feeling low? Thanks

Buffy_2002 New to beyond blue suffer anxiety from my health fears
  • replies: 1

I have suffered for many years with anxiety about my health anything that goes wrong I instantly go into panic mode and it's really overwhelming does anyone else do the same

I have suffered for many years with anxiety about my health anything that goes wrong I instantly go into panic mode and it's really overwhelming does anyone else do the same

LC80 Health anxiety
  • replies: 5

This seems like a merry go round for me. I am currently going through a rough patch with my health and my anxiety level is at maximum. I was in tears with my GP yesterday, and for a 63 year old bloke that is not a good look. But she was reassuring an... View more

This seems like a merry go round for me. I am currently going through a rough patch with my health and my anxiety level is at maximum. I was in tears with my GP yesterday, and for a 63 year old bloke that is not a good look. But she was reassuring and I have started on the latest journey to find out what are the steps forward to get past this set back. I have chronic lung issues, no cure just management, and I have a deep seated fear that my life is coming to a premature end. In reality I don't know how long I have left, it could be longer than I am convinced it will be. I feel quite emotionally fragile, and it drives my wife spare, so I try to suppress it as best I can. I do have an outlet away from home, I do some community radio, but as with everyone else I am locked in more often during the pandemic. This post is just a vent for my frustrations, as I am resigned to my ongoing health issues and the decline of my quality of life. But, it scares the hell out of me.

RealBobby Throwing up regularly
  • replies: 2

I’ve had a bunch of anxiety disorders for years, mostly agoraphobia and social anxiety but lately I get nausea and anxiety every time I eat, I now throw up after meals almost every day and keep losing weight because of it. I’m also failing every uni ... View more

I’ve had a bunch of anxiety disorders for years, mostly agoraphobia and social anxiety but lately I get nausea and anxiety every time I eat, I now throw up after meals almost every day and keep losing weight because of it. I’m also failing every uni course. I’ve seen many psychologists over the years but they never help. What should I do?

James54 Loss of love for girlfriend over a week
  • replies: 3

Hi guys, I’ve just recently started a relationship with a girl i have been into and really cared about for a long time. We are both 18 and we have been only dating for a month now but i have been diagonased with mild ocd since i was around 16 and at ... View more

Hi guys, I’ve just recently started a relationship with a girl i have been into and really cared about for a long time. We are both 18 and we have been only dating for a month now but i have been diagonased with mild ocd since i was around 16 and at the start of the relationship, i suddenly one day had no feelings for her felt like dead around her even though i knew i loved her. This lasted for a week and then slowly went away as i realised it was something with my anxiety. I had a couple good weeks feeling normal after that but now over this week i feel like i literally have no feelings for her, i don’t get the same feeling when i see her or with her, i almost feel depressed and guilty when around and thinking about her because i’m scared i don’t have feelings for her anymore even though i don’t want to lose her. I keep noticing other girls now when i didn’t before and it’s really scaring me, is this something to do with OCD, is it some sort of depression, will these feelings for her return because all i want to do is love her like i used too. Hope this made sense

CatastrophySam The Ebb and Flow
  • replies: 7

Right now I'm in a pretty bad place, full of panic and over analyzing every small feeling - twitching/pain/subjective weakness etc and trying to short circuit it with logical and rational thoughts. I always remember what a psychiatrist told me at the... View more

Right now I'm in a pretty bad place, full of panic and over analyzing every small feeling - twitching/pain/subjective weakness etc and trying to short circuit it with logical and rational thoughts. I always remember what a psychiatrist told me at the beginning when all of this started... I will always have anxiety however my control over it will get better and there will be times it comes back but my ability to control it will mean the fluctuations will get less and less. This has largely been correct. There were times at my worst when I was frozen and shaking uncontrollably on the bed thinking the worst... I haven't had that in 6 months. It has been since October 2019 when I noticed weakness in my arm and then my leg. Then the twitching started in my right leg. I can honestly say these 2 areas haven't progressed any or anything noticeably in 9 months... This logically should put my mind at ease immediately... but the anxiety in my brain will try to counter it by saying 'what if you do have something serious, but it's just a slower form of the disease' I then try to short circuit that thinking by knowing that if something is very slow (even though not realistic), then it's still okay. Right now I have trouble in my articulation. I noticed a few nights ago that I was swallowing too much (maybe some allergies) and a few days later my tongue felt tired/sore and I could articulate as easily. I also know I'm thinking about this too much which is making something that has been nearly a subconscious movement in to something I'm analysing for each and every word spoken. This has happened before and went away, which should put my mind at ease immediately but again my brain will counter the reasonable/logical thinking by saying 'what if it is getting weaker and you can't cope anymore?'. I know this is impossible, if you can't move something then you can't move something. It's as simple as that. Despite my logical thinking making overwhelming sense, the illogical/irrational thoughts still pepper away and come and go with intensity. Some weeks I feel like me again and others (like now) the world looks like a different place. I know through my own experience that it will subside again however practice makes perfect eg. mindful meditation/positive assumptions etc. If you're reading this and at the beginning of your journey, just know that it does get easier, and if you fall again, it's normal. You will come out of the fog.

hacketts New to dealing with extreme anxiety
  • replies: 2

Hey, I'm pretty new to all of this, in a way. I've been dealing with anxiety since I was a kid but have only started to acknowledge it/understand it in the past year. However, after I acknowledged it, it has become much worse, and after the recent se... View more

Hey, I'm pretty new to all of this, in a way. I've been dealing with anxiety since I was a kid but have only started to acknowledge it/understand it in the past year. However, after I acknowledged it, it has become much worse, and after the recent separation with my partner, it taken over my entire mind. I can't go a single day without shaking and feeling extremely vulnerable in my self. I've cut down of my drinking habits and try to do things that will calm myself down, but due to a lack of friends and motivation I feel stuck in my head a lot of the time. I feel like I'm the only one that could be feeling exactly how I feel and that thought really isolates me. I'm unsure of myself and have lost all my self confidence and enthusiasm. I'm not like who I used to be, and my confidence has really deteriorated. The anxiety makes me feel sick and helpless, and just so alone. I'm worried it will stay like this forever, and in the height of it I struggle to rationalize. Coping mechanisms are not my strong suit.

Paulastired Getting help in rural area
  • replies: 2

Hey, I am having major issues with anxiety - it is getting out of control lately due to a death in my family. I have done lots of things to manage it, i.e. food, exercise/yoga etc, but it is so bad now it is mucking up my work. I have been to the GP ... View more

Hey, I am having major issues with anxiety - it is getting out of control lately due to a death in my family. I have done lots of things to manage it, i.e. food, exercise/yoga etc, but it is so bad now it is mucking up my work. I have been to the GP twice for help and to ask for medication but refused as I scored 19 and needed 20 to "qualify". I have done a lot of my own reading and learning, and feel this is where I need to go. Instead I was given a script for sleeping tablets, which the pharmacists couldn't administer for some reason, and they need to compound these after I agree to a price. ?? I don't know it seems so stupid, and to wait for 2 weeks to see if I feel better. Anyway, how do you get help when your GP won't listen and says you don't really have a problem and just need sleep, when you really have a problem? I live in a rural area and feel like the doctors here don't think mental health is a real thing. Its hard to ask for help, and get knocked down.

Michelle34 how do you work?
  • replies: 3

How does everyone hold down a job with chronic anxiety? I'm nervous about going back to work as I am having a massive flare and I don't know if I'll be able to cope. I'm lucky in the sense that I keep getting offered more and more hours from differen... View more

How does everyone hold down a job with chronic anxiety? I'm nervous about going back to work as I am having a massive flare and I don't know if I'll be able to cope. I'm lucky in the sense that I keep getting offered more and more hours from different people but I have to keep knocking them back as I don't think I'll be able to manage. None of the people I work for know I have chronic anxiety as I am able to keep my shit together for the hours I'm at work and maintain being bright and bubbly (I have had one person complain to me that they would never hire so and so because they suffer anxiety) though I've had to chuck a few sickies because of it. I've never been able to maintain a steady job. I am a good worker, I always get asked to take on more and do more where ever I work but I get to this point where my anxiety is too much I start wigging out and I have to quit and the cycle begins again. I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel and I never really get any where.

GLJ My son left home with no job and is on drugs
  • replies: 2

Really struggling with anxiety and insomnia. My son, 18, finished year 12. Started an apprenticeship then lost his job for taking too many days off, showing up late, always on his phone. He is smoking marijuana a lot. I have a 13 year old daughter at... View more

Really struggling with anxiety and insomnia. My son, 18, finished year 12. Started an apprenticeship then lost his job for taking too many days off, showing up late, always on his phone. He is smoking marijuana a lot. I have a 13 year old daughter at home too. After 6 weeks of my son up all night, asleep all day, day drinking, doing nothing but live like a bit of a slob while we all worked, i told him to go find work. He packed a bag and left. He came back to the house while we were working and stole my birthday money. We had to change the locks. I have been blocked from him completely. I tried calling him once every day for 3 weeks, he just rejects my calls. Its been over a month now with not a word from him. Im a marathon runner, i work full time and im now extremely anxious and sleep deprived. Im so wired with worry of a night time. Its awful. any advice would be greatly appreciated.