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Chris_B Forums etiquette: give support to receive support
  • replies: 0

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newb... View more

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newbies are welcomed when they first post, and we understand that it’s a big step to post for the first time on a forum like this, especially if you aren’t feeling great. It’s important to remember, though, that these forums are a community of real people, just like you, not a one-on-one support environment like going to see your psychologist. To get the best out of being here, one of the best tips we can offer is give support to receive support. Being a good community member means: participating in different threads (not just your own), replying to people who have taken the time to reply to you (even if it’s just to say thank you), and... posting words of emotional support and encouragement when you see others who are hurting and reaching out. You don’t have to feel obliged to solve the problems of others: that’s not what we’re here for. But you can offer empathy and what you’ve learned from your own life experiences, even if it’s just a line or two, eg. “I don't know what to say, but I want to give you my support and tell you I care about what is happening to you and hope life will get better soon.” Try to develop an interest in the journeys of others here on the forums. You may be surprised at how good being an active, caring member here can make you feel. For those of you who have had good experiences giving support here on the forums, please post in this thread here and let us know how it has helped you on your journey.

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I_got_this I'm where I always wanted to be so what's with the anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi, I'm a 39 year old wife and mum of 3 I have suffered anxiety before but haven't had it for approx 3 years before it hit me again like a freight train. I was sexually abused as a child over quite a few years and never told anybody until i met my hu... View more

Hi, I'm a 39 year old wife and mum of 3 I have suffered anxiety before but haven't had it for approx 3 years before it hit me again like a freight train. I was sexually abused as a child over quite a few years and never told anybody until i met my husband. I seen a physcoligist 3 years ago and talking helped but this time it was much worse I was ready to end my life... thank god I seeked help. I am currently undergoing cognitive behavior therapy which is helping but I still get overwhelmed with anxiety everyday on and off from.about 5am and lasting throughout the day and easing by bedtime. I was once on anti-depressants to treat my anxiety but it left me with no sex drive or desire to do anything really, so I am trying to get through this drug free. I have only been doing the therapy for 3 weeks. Any advice on any of this would be helpful

Renee_ Dizziness- weakness Anxiety
  • replies: 8

Hi all, For the past year I have been suffering from a condition which has got the best of me.. 1 yr ago I had a manipulation massage which put me in ER for 3 days with symptoms starting of pins and needles , off balance and numb left side of my body... View more

Hi all, For the past year I have been suffering from a condition which has got the best of me.. 1 yr ago I had a manipulation massage which put me in ER for 3 days with symptoms starting of pins and needles , off balance and numb left side of my body. I was scared, how could a massage do this to you. I had an MRI of the brain to rule out MS and cat scan to rule out possible stroke..All came back clear everyday since November last year I am still dealing with these symptoms.. I have been to 6 different Dr”s 5 in which are saying I have anxiety. My symptoms have included pins and needles, off balance like I am on a boat, blurred vision, weakness in my legs (both) , twitches, spasms, tingling on left side of face, tingling in between my nose.. All these symptoms come and go but the off balance and blurred vision and weakness in my legs has remained with me.. Let me know please if anyone has had a similar experience and if their symptoms eventually disappear. cheers

Carpetenthusiast Overwhelmed with anxiety
  • replies: 2

I'm 28 years old, and I mainly first had anxiety as a teenager when I used to worry about neurological conditions like MS etc. For some condition worries I went to the doctor, some I didn't. A psychiatrist at the time told me I had health anxiety. Fa... View more

I'm 28 years old, and I mainly first had anxiety as a teenager when I used to worry about neurological conditions like MS etc. For some condition worries I went to the doctor, some I didn't. A psychiatrist at the time told me I had health anxiety. Fast forward to today, I had recently been avoiding a knee injury, and this lead me to thinking "What if I've been avoiding the MS worry, I never got an MRI...". So I spiralled into anxiety about MS, as I've always had shaky hands, twitches etc. I went to my GP and he didn't suspect anything but referred me to an MRI anyway. When the results came back, there was no sign of MS and the sort but it said "mild enlargement of ventricle, but in proportion to the subarachnoid space". My GP thought it could be damage from something. The ventricles enlarge with old age and dementia where the surrounding tissue atrophies and the ventricles expand. He said it's probably nothing major but referred me to a neurologist. The neurologist did some basic tests, measured my head circumference, looked at the MRI and report and said everything looks fine. He said my head circumference is above average so it's proportionate and the ventricle didn't look big to him anyway, he said the report has been "over-reported". He said "even if it's big it's almost certainly always been that way". So that seemed fine, but I remembered that a few years back I had a crazy party phase and did alot of ecstasy pills and went to raves and the like quite a bit. At the time my friend told me I was being forgetful of things like where I put my lighter etc, and he thought the ecstasy would be to blame. When I reduced it at the time, those symptoms went away, even though I did some pills every now and then until I grew out of it. I told my GP about the ecstasy, but not about the forgetfullness it seemed to cause at the time. He didn't think it would be related. I'm mainly worried because I didn't tell the neurologist about the ecstasy phase. I did tell both doctors though that I've been going to boxing training the past year or so. This is another side anxiety, in fact getting concussed the other day triggered these worries. I don't spar(practice box) that much though and don't usually go hard, but did get a few mild concussions. I've decided to stop it now. I am overhwhelmed with quite a bit of anxiety right now. Thankfully I made a psychologist's appointment next week for another reason earlier. But at the moment I feel crippled with anxiety I've been painfully googling, and did see that ecstasy can cause memory issues temporarily, the physical damage didn't include my case of enlargement, but had some other possbilities of physical damage, and I don't even know in what category of a user I would be classed into. I'm going back to uni soon, and I've felt I've been coming back to my original academic self that's been on pause for quite some time, and I'm in extreme fear that along the way I've damaged my only original talent, which was that I was book smart in school. My mum also sent the report to a specialist, and he said that's not a concern, although he only read the report and didn't see the MRI. The issue is I can't mention that ecstasy bit and had to come online to talk about it, and I went to forums for anxiety help in my teenage years when I had health anxiety. On other words, I was at the time "binging" ecstasy every week and sometimes more, so my usage was quite high. I apologise for the walls of text, I'm just feeling crippled and don't know how I'll even make it a week before the psychologist appointment, which I made due to some other unrelated anxieties and issues. Even having anxiety is giving my anxiety that it might be due to a brain issue.

Soniq Separated from wife of 25 years
  • replies: 4

Hi, I separated from my wife of 25 years last night and thought I was ok. Today I had, what I can only describe as an anxiety attack, head felt like it was going to explode, heart racing, shortness of breath, couldn't move. Is this normal?? I was dia... View more

Hi, I separated from my wife of 25 years last night and thought I was ok. Today I had, what I can only describe as an anxiety attack, head felt like it was going to explode, heart racing, shortness of breath, couldn't move. Is this normal?? I was diagnosed wit depression about 10 years ago and take medication but have never had anything like this

Bell87 Health anxiety
  • replies: 7

Hi all I’m struggling pretty bad at the moment. long story short I Have struggled with health anxiety for 7 years now sometimes it’s manageable but at the moment it seems out of control. im just having a hard time believing all these symptoms I get a... View more

Hi all I’m struggling pretty bad at the moment. long story short I Have struggled with health anxiety for 7 years now sometimes it’s manageable but at the moment it seems out of control. im just having a hard time believing all these symptoms I get are from anxiety. May the moment my biggest symptom is tingling in neck and face only on the left side then I start googling stuff then i work myself so much I start panicking thinking I will die. I hate feeling this way has anyone had this? How long does it take to go away? I would much prefer an upset tummy or sweaty palms over this feeling I try and calm it down but I’m stressing about it all the time

CourtneyJ I have an irrational and crippling fear of... checking my mail
  • replies: 12

No this not the start of a joke. I am a GAD sufferer who is absolutely terrified of checking my mail. The last time I checked my mail (late September) I had a GIANT fine waiting for me. Now I'm too scared to check it again. This isn't the first time ... View more

No this not the start of a joke. I am a GAD sufferer who is absolutely terrified of checking my mail. The last time I checked my mail (late September) I had a GIANT fine waiting for me. Now I'm too scared to check it again. This isn't the first time I've had this reaction. A few years ago I got notice saying there was a letter/package waiting for me at the post office. I FREAKED out and assumed the worst. My top choices were fine from the tax department, fine from speeding or running a red light or someone serving me legal papers because they're suing me. Now all my bills are delivered my email (I think) and I have no reason to believe there's another fine or "bad news" waiting for me. The really horribly thing is that if there is a fine/bill in the mail the longer it goes without being paid the more expensive it'll probably get. I know I have to get past the fear and just do it. But even the thought of approaching my mail box makes me feel violently ill.

Guest_0784 Phobia Of Mozzies
  • replies: 1

Well, it started with the Zika virus outbreak a few years ago. There was a map showing that Papua New Guinea had gotten the Zika virus. This was a time when my anxiety was starting and rapidly growing. So I thought that it was coming to Australia, an... View more

Well, it started with the Zika virus outbreak a few years ago. There was a map showing that Papua New Guinea had gotten the Zika virus. This was a time when my anxiety was starting and rapidly growing. So I thought that it was coming to Australia, and I did not want anybody to have the Zika virus of course! And then it just stayed with me after that, even though I knew that there was no diseases with mozzies here right now. This phobia started to head on over to Bees, Waps's, Fly's, Moths, Fruitfly's, and more! Because Bee's and Wasp's really do hurt you. And Fly's Moths, and Fruitfly's are very hard to identify between them and a Mozzie. It is impossible to deal with right now because Mozzies are EVERYWHERE! And they make me terrified! Just thinking about them scares me! And some make fun of me or hate me because of my phobia. I hope that there is something or someone around that can fix this phobia, even though that I get help. THEY ARE UNABLE TO HELP THIS PHOBIA!!!!!!!

Guest_7878 does anyone else have "obsessive rumination OCD"?
  • replies: 10

hey there.. i recently went to my psychiatrist who mentioned that i could have something called "obsessionality" (which seems not to be a real word but thats what she said so anyway) which is basically the O in OCD. my mum did a lot of research on it... View more

hey there.. i recently went to my psychiatrist who mentioned that i could have something called "obsessionality" (which seems not to be a real word but thats what she said so anyway) which is basically the O in OCD. my mum did a lot of research on it and found different kinds of OCD like "pure O OCD" or "obsessive rumination disorder" i dont know if those are the real terms but anyway. they seemed to fit a lot with what im going through (rumination more than pure O) and i was wondering if anyone else is dealing with something similar because it's not very widely known or talked about... love you all

Mendel Scared my anxiety symptoms isn’t anxiety.
  • replies: 7

Hi everyone, About a month ago I suddenly became lightheaded while sitting down, watching a show, and that triggered a minor panic attack. Thought I was going to die etc. Since then I have been suffering from constant headaches, nausea, dizziness and... View more

Hi everyone, About a month ago I suddenly became lightheaded while sitting down, watching a show, and that triggered a minor panic attack. Thought I was going to die etc. Since then I have been suffering from constant headaches, nausea, dizziness and blurry vision. Each day is the same. I was on medication to try and calm everything down but the symptoms still persisted, now I’m off that. I got a CT scan to rule out anything to do with the brain. That was clear. But I’m just so concerned all the time it could be something else. Recently I was sitting down and got up quite quickly. I got extremely dizzy which I knew was quite normal, but it put me into a panic as I couldn’t shake the dizziness and blurry vision. I’m now concerned it might be an issue with blood pressure. It’s beginning to affect day to day life, and it’s just that constant fear that it might be something more serious that the doctor hasn’t figured out yet. Can anyone else relate? Cheers

Ghostsinmyhead Relationship anxiety
  • replies: 11

Hey guys - first time poster here & really struggling these last few days with anxiety. Ive been having daily breakdowns and its really getting to me. My partner has been noticing this & suggested that I talk to someone, so here I am. Ive been in a r... View more

Hey guys - first time poster here & really struggling these last few days with anxiety. Ive been having daily breakdowns and its really getting to me. My partner has been noticing this & suggested that I talk to someone, so here I am. Ive been in a relationship with my partner for about 18 months or so, we did distance for a while, and we just recently moved in together. I have suffered with relationship anxiety since the beginning but I was better at hiding it/ it was never this prominent, but now more than ever I find it ruining my days and scared it will ruin my relationship if I don't learn to manage it. My partner has always been the conversation starter in our relationship... the fact is I feel boring, I feel like I have no contribution to the conversation, I don't feel sassy, exciting, or confident. On top of this, I find myself constantly seeking reassurance from my partner. I feel like I'm constantly wanting to dig deeper with my partner to reveal the truth - they don't like me. They always reassure me, but deep down I have this gut feeling that things won't last and I can't shake the feeling. I don't openly pester them asking questions like "do you still want me?" but rather I deep deeper in conversations asking "what did you mean by that" etc. My partner admits my moods are my worst attribute, because I tend to pick fights about stupid things. For an example, I noticed a necklace on the bedside table that I gave to them (it was a big symbol of love at the time) and I was offended they weren't wearing it for a brief period of time, so I went quiet and didn't talk. When they prompted me, I brought it up and it started a fight. turns out, they don't remember taking it off and apologised and they still wear it everyday. It seems crazy but that's just one example of how I try to read into tiny details and prove to myself that they don't want me I don't know what im trying to achieve when I do this, because in the end I'm the one who suffers. I just want to be that exciting, sassy, confident gal I was at the beginning of the relationship - more care free and a person that I believe is loveable. I have spoken to my partner about my moods & my anxiety and they are supportive but at the end of the day I honestly believe no amount of talking with them will help me or our relationship, I feel I need to turn to others for support. Are there more of you out there like this? If so, how do you cope and make your days better & brighter? Thanks for reading