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

Guest_9043 In support of others in challenging times.
  • replies: 35

Hi, Don't expect anyone to respond to this. It's just a post to talk about how I am feeling and to offer much love and understanding to those who are also struggling. For the first few weeks I did not take Covid 19 too seriously. I knew Italy had bee... View more

Hi, Don't expect anyone to respond to this. It's just a post to talk about how I am feeling and to offer much love and understanding to those who are also struggling. For the first few weeks I did not take Covid 19 too seriously. I knew Italy had been hit hard and I truly felt so much for Italy. Sad even. Felt powerless to help. I at first got so angry with Australians panic buying. I was so annoyed at the ridiculousness of it and thought it would blow over very soon. I was wrong, it got much worse. I found myself getting very depressed after a shopping trip for a weekly shop. I was upset I could not get certain things to make meals. I was upset I could not even get a bottle of hand sanitizer or methylated spirits to make my own hand sanitizer. Then the government started making changes, social distancing and events I was going to were cancelled. From there on in it was a snowball effect. In my state of WA, our borders were shut today and no businesses with food such as restaurants, cafes, pubs are not allowed open after 12pm daytime. Gyms, cinemas, casino and nightclubs all shut down. I'm concerned about the clean up after this has eased more. Many people have lost their jobs with no second income. People will hardly be hiring right now. The hit to the economy is going to have a large dent in it. I'm really struggling to even come to terms with such rapid and fast changes. I just want to wish you all better days sooner rather tater. Keep your heads up and pay attention to washing your hands very popular. I wish everyone very well and take good always. 2quik.

Twice_lucky Trying to find a balance during isolation
  • replies: 4

Hi , I am new to this forum & find that my anxiety levels have skyrocketed over the last two days, my husband & I are both fit & health over 70’s. and are self isolating as directed. I am having trouble with the what if’s & last night I never slept a... View more

Hi , I am new to this forum & find that my anxiety levels have skyrocketed over the last two days, my husband & I are both fit & health over 70’s. and are self isolating as directed. I am having trouble with the what if’s & last night I never slept at all, I feel nauseous & stirred up, I tried focusing on my breathing but still couldn’t sleep. any advise would be appreciated

Anon808 Anxiety and international move during covid 19
  • replies: 4

Hi there! Am new Male 42, Having a really tough time, I lived in Canada for 16 years, got divorced and lost house. Came back recently to Australia to find a rental (grew up here) to get before wrapping everything up. Anyway, been diagnosed with anxie... View more

Hi there! Am new Male 42, Having a really tough time, I lived in Canada for 16 years, got divorced and lost house. Came back recently to Australia to find a rental (grew up here) to get before wrapping everything up. Anyway, been diagnosed with anxiety and panic attacks since. All my stuff is in a storage locker in Canada which I cannot get to during this covid 19 pandemic. Had planned this month to fly back and fix loose ends and to ship, had to cancel everything. I have one suitcase and a bed and couch. All my mindfulness and hobbies are in locker. Cannot ship locker as it contains items considered illegal here. I need to personally cull a bunch of stuff before shipping. My partner lost her job and is applying for Centrelink but needs all my financials which are in locker, I have no access as they are on lockdown. My postal forwarding is expired and I am required to go into Canada Post with my ID, tried calling but I just get a ticket and cannot stay up all night waiting for a call as of course the time difference. Same with ATO, huge wait times. No one understands how bad it is for me right now with no end in sight. I feel pressure from my partner to get information relating to her Centrelink. I am in a bad mood and it's unfair on her, I feel guilty. All I can do is lay in bed and sometimes do a workout. I have no Medicare here which makes any therapy a drain on my limited resources. I do still have my social security there but it is useless being stuck here. Had two very important hobbies, one I am world renowned for and the other is therapeutic. Losing interest in everything and drinking too much to cover the pain. I had booked a course which was also cancelled, have not left the house for 4 days. Stuck, useless, frustrated, and feeling depressed. Guess I keep trying is all I can do, anyone else in this situation?

Jcob5839 anxiety while driving
  • replies: 9

Hello everyone im a 17 year old year 12 student and im having some anxiety issues with driving a car, i am diagnosed with OCD and depression and im medicated for it. I recently got my drivers license and while i do like the freedom it gives me i try ... View more

Hello everyone im a 17 year old year 12 student and im having some anxiety issues with driving a car, i am diagnosed with OCD and depression and im medicated for it. I recently got my drivers license and while i do like the freedom it gives me i try to avoid driving because it makes me feel so anxious. i need to constantly check the dashboard to make sure im not speeding, every time i change lanes im convinced to could have hit someone on a motorcycle or a bike. i panic every time i go through lights because im scared it will go yellow and i might make the wrong decision if it is safe to stop or not. i had a particularly bad experience on the way to school this morning, i was about to go through some lights which had a crossing on them the speed limit was 70 and the light went yellow and panicked and didn't think i could stop in time and the light went red when i was halfway through it the thing that made it so horrible was that there was a group of school kids waiting to cross and i thought if they started crossing i would have killed and innocent group of kids i have been thinking about it all day and i got to the point where i had to make this account and express my feelings because im too scared to tell anyone in real life, has anybody gone through any similar experiences and know how i could deal with them thank you

Amy12345 Depersonalisation/derealisation
  • replies: 1

Does anyone else suffer from DPDR? Mine is really bad at the moment and I was hoping to get some tips for what helps

Does anyone else suffer from DPDR? Mine is really bad at the moment and I was hoping to get some tips for what helps

AmzzmA1993 “Hit and run” OCD
  • replies: 2

Hey guys! I’ve recently developed the fear of running someone or something over when I’m driving, particularly at night time but it’s becoming more and more frequent throughout the day as well. Whenever I hit a bump in the road or take my eyes off th... View more

Hey guys! I’ve recently developed the fear of running someone or something over when I’m driving, particularly at night time but it’s becoming more and more frequent throughout the day as well. Whenever I hit a bump in the road or take my eyes off the road for a second to check the time or change the station I am overcome with the fear that it was a living thing which I just ran over in my car. If I can’t be sure I have an overwhelming urge to turn around and double check but then I need to double check what I’ve already double checked. Does anyone else deal with this? Does anyone know what I can to do stop myself from thinking this way? It’s so exhausting, I know in the bottom of heart that it’s just a bump in the road but I’m so scared of leaving someone injured or getting in to trouble that I need to double check. thanks guys

TishaJade Compulsive Negative Thoughts
  • replies: 5

I can't seem to stop my intrusive negative thinking. EVERYTHING triggers me. I am SO emotional. I had an argument with my boyfriend yesterday over something silly. He is so patient with me and my moods, that this time he flipped out and said some hur... View more

I can't seem to stop my intrusive negative thinking. EVERYTHING triggers me. I am SO emotional. I had an argument with my boyfriend yesterday over something silly. He is so patient with me and my moods, that this time he flipped out and said some hurtful things. I can't get them out of my head... One in particular is bringing me down every hour or so. I said that I wished he would grow up a little bit and stop being forgetful with things, because when we have children I can't be dealing with him as well as the kids. And he said "well we just won't have kids then!" Out of anger. But it stuck with me and I can't move past it. I have had about 4 emotional outbursts to him, all of which he has made clear he was sorry and he did not mean what he said, and that when we are ready he wants to have kids with me. This makes it hard for me because he already has a child to someone else who we look after weekly. This has been a struggle for me since the beginning because I am envious that he has had a child already with someone else. I feel like my progress has been ruined in trying to cope with the situation. I feel like he doesn't want kids with me, never did, and that I will just have to deal with the fact he wanted to have a kid with someone else and not me. I have no reason to think this way but I am and I can't help it. It feels as real to me as anything even though it's not. I feel so depressed... I feel like I can't get past this or accept that he didn't mean what he said and believe that we will have children together and all be a happy family. All that is running through my head is things such as. "He never wanted children with you" and "he only wanted children with her" and "what's wrong with me for him to not want that with me." I am so confused because I know he loves me and I do believe that he wants a real family with me but i can't seem to shake the negative thoughts... words such as the ones he said to me are so damaging they literally ruin me for weeks and even months. I love him a lot and having a family and getting married mean SO much to me that any small fraction of a chance that he does not want the same as me (Even though) he does, I obsess over. How do I stop hurting myself and driving my partner nuts because he really doesn't do anything wrong and gives me no REAL reason to believe anything that I put in my head. But I continue to feel terrible all the time.

Gumtree77 Self Sabotage
  • replies: 7

Hi All I hope everyone is coping as best they can during this nightmare. I personally am not. I am self isolating with my 16 year old son. He is totally addicted to computer and it is all I can do to get him to have a shower. He has not left the hous... View more

Hi All I hope everyone is coping as best they can during this nightmare. I personally am not. I am self isolating with my 16 year old son. He is totally addicted to computer and it is all I can do to get him to have a shower. He has not left the house in three weeks. I had major shoulder surgery three weeks ago and he was here to help me bless him. It was a terrible time as the pain was indescribable and I basically did not sleep for one week. I also ended up in emergency with a possible embolism which luckily I did not have. Prior to all this I have been on work cover for the shoulder injury so was limited anyway. Last year I developed neuralgia which initially presented as throat cancer. MRI and other tests ruled all this out. I used to drink and smoke a lot due to my depression and anxiety. During this time I of course stopped all of that. Now with this current debacle I am back to my bad habits. I am so useless and pathetic. I worry about the ramifications but I feel powerless to stop. I know I sabotage myself. I try to eat healthy and go for walks and go days on end without the drinks/smokes...then I see the news and what is going on and go back to the old rubbish again. Then suffer major anxiety and the neuralgia comes back. I just cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel and my only real concern is my son. Then again as he is only 16 I feel the full responsibility of being here for him as he really does not like his dad and there is barely any contact between them. I also lost my beloved dog in December and I just feel overwhelmed with loss, anxiety, grief, depression and total chaos. I try to do the right thing! I walk everyday, do my pt exercises daily....keep the house clean and on top of finances etc. I guess we are all in this and nobody knows when it will end. I know I can't keep doing this shit to myself but I truly do not know what else to do. Please help.

Undecided94 OCD? Headaches, Should I seek help?
  • replies: 3

Hi, it feels super strange to be writing this, I think by writing on here I’m looking for others who suffer from ocd to tell me they experience the same things, to perhaps make me feel better. I don’t know. i want to start off with saying I have neve... View more

Hi, it feels super strange to be writing this, I think by writing on here I’m looking for others who suffer from ocd to tell me they experience the same things, to perhaps make me feel better. I don’t know. i want to start off with saying I have never been to the doctor or spoken to anyone about this, so don’t have an official diagnosis. The ocd like “traits” started when I was in grade 3 or 4 over the years the things I do have changed, I’ve stopped some and kept others and added some things includes checking doors are locked before going to bed, checking the stove is turned off, then checking it again and again until it feels right touching something and counting until it feels right. Checking rubbish before I put it in the bin a million times in case I’m throwing something out. moving my head, sort of nodding etc as I think over things in my head that is one I’m really conscious of and worried people can see. If they do notice I just play it off but it’s one that I’ve continued with over time. my worry is that I get headaches from it sometimes, sometimes my ear blocks, behind my eye hurts. im just worried I’m doing something to my head? has anyone else experienced this before? i know it is stress/ anxiety related as when I’m stressed out the things I do get way worse and I have to “redo “ things over and over until it feels right way more. im not sure if I should seek help or not. this is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. thanks for those that read this far and for those that may be able to let me know if they have felt this way.

anonymous44 first time with intrusive thoughts and I literally want to die yaz has made me have a mental break down
  • replies: 6

hello everyone I’m new here please excuse my terrible grammar I’m not the best with English I started the pill about 2 weeks ago and for the last 2 day I have been having what I now know as intrusive thoughts and they are just devastating I don’t ima... View more

hello everyone I’m new here please excuse my terrible grammar I’m not the best with English I started the pill about 2 weeks ago and for the last 2 day I have been having what I now know as intrusive thoughts and they are just devastating I don’t imagine the act of hurting people or anything I just think what if I was that a person that did hurt people it’s making me second guess everything I do in life and I am a mum of 3 so it’s just debilitating I just feel so broken at the moment and just so scared that it will get worse And I will start thinking about hurting people which I know I would absolutely never do but my brain keeps making me think it’s possible I just really don’t understand what’s happening to me and I’m praying to god it goes away I will be seeing a doctor tonight to start a mental health plan but if anyone else has been through something similar it would be great to not think I am actually crazy I have new I have never had any depression or anxiety every has been pretty cruisy up until now also I’m meant to be getting married in 11 weeks