Support
Support

Anxiety

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with anxiety.

Start a conversation

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Categories
Start a conversation

Pinned discussions

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

Start a conversation

BradDad Anxiety spikes when directly facing someone
  • replies: 5

Does anyone else experience this? My anxiety levels are ok if I'm talking to someone and we're side on, or if I'm seated, but if we stand directly facing each other I start to go into fight or flight mode. I feel like I can't escape their gaze and I ... View more

Does anyone else experience this? My anxiety levels are ok if I'm talking to someone and we're side on, or if I'm seated, but if we stand directly facing each other I start to go into fight or flight mode. I feel like I can't escape their gaze and I don't know what to do with my body. The thought train starts 'they will see that I'm nervous and they will judge me etc...' and that makes my anxiety worse. This isn't a problem with some people whom I'm comfortable with but it is for a majority of situations, especially at work. I can be walking along side-by-side with a person and be fine. If we stop though and turn to face each other (as often happens) suddenly the anxiety spikes. I have started a new job which makes this all worse but it's always been a problem.

Simonecs89 New anxiety symptom is worrying me
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone. About a month ago a new symptom popped up and my dr thinks it’s anxiety. I question myself whether it is as I often think the worst and think it could be more. It constantly feels like my throat is closing up, sometimes worse than others... View more

Hi everyone. About a month ago a new symptom popped up and my dr thinks it’s anxiety. I question myself whether it is as I often think the worst and think it could be more. It constantly feels like my throat is closing up, sometimes worse than others. It’s a hard feeling to explain. It would be very very comforting to know that others suffer from this anxiety inducing symptom too and that it can’t hurt me. If you do, is there anything to help you deal with it?

Dumbledore82 Where has this new bout of anxiety come from?
  • replies: 6

Hi everyone This is my first post and I am a bit nervous around posting as I have self managed my anxiety for many years and I am only just starting to open up about my mental health to others around me. I have learnt some great management strategies... View more

Hi everyone This is my first post and I am a bit nervous around posting as I have self managed my anxiety for many years and I am only just starting to open up about my mental health to others around me. I have learnt some great management strategies that have allowed me for almost 15 years control my thoughts so that I can bring myself back to the present quickly and dismiss those awful what if and awful future thoughts that are there, however for the last few weeks I have all the physical symptoms - racing heart, shakes, exhaustion etc without the thoughts that normally come first. This means I am at a loss as to how to control and get myself out of my anxious state, in fact I have been highly anxious and all over the place almost constantly for the last few days, it's so tiring and I just don't know what to do. Has anyone else gone through this? I'm not sure on what my next steps should be? Thank you so much and I hope that makes sense to at least one person.

loki112000 Debilitating anxiety about work
  • replies: 5

Hi all, I am writing here for the first time. I've been struggling with depression and anxiety for about 10-15 years now and although I've gotten better at times I have recently regressed making me realise that this may be a long term challenge for m... View more

Hi all, I am writing here for the first time. I've been struggling with depression and anxiety for about 10-15 years now and although I've gotten better at times I have recently regressed making me realise that this may be a long term challenge for me. My full story is that I had a very harsh father growing up who had anger management issues caused by his own lack of a father potentially. I also had a timid mother who became a gambling addict. I myself became a gambling addict and was able to beat that but couldn't save my mother. She has improved but still financially my parents struggle. The irony is that for the last 15 years of my career I worked in the gambling industry and climbed quite high in my startup company which became a global operation and was bought out. After discovering of my mother's relapse into gambling I decided to quit. During that time along the way I also burnt out at work. Recently I took a new job, and I've found it so hard to adjust to a new industry. I also took a role because I didn't get many offers on applying despite my depth of experience in management. I am really struggling now where I don't enjoy my work and I feel debilitated to wake up and get to work every day. My wife hears a lot of my angst, I see a counsellor and things have improved in my personal life. I am on meds, no longer suicidal which I was, but I still struggle to face work on a daily basis. I really don't know what to do and where to turn. I've tried a lot of techniques to overcome anxiety. But when I get into work I sit around not knowing what to do, listless, watching youtube and wasting time. Any advice would be great to help me feel more motivated and invigorated. I want to quit and try something else but I don't know what that is and also I'm scared to even face that possibility of being out there searching and not finding something. It's really pushing me back to depression again.

Gigi1234 Loneliness in year 12
  • replies: 1

It has come to a point that it’s critical I need to focus on myself. Recently, I have been so emotional and feeling so lonely. It feels like the only way for me to be able to improve my mental health is to be single until I am strong enough to handle... View more

It has come to a point that it’s critical I need to focus on myself. Recently, I have been so emotional and feeling so lonely. It feels like the only way for me to be able to improve my mental health is to be single until I am strong enough to handle my emotions, because if something bad were to happen I know it would take a long time to lift myself up again (which would be a problem since I’m in year 12 this year). But I feel so lonely. And my loneliness is why I feel so sad. I have so many great friends, but they are always talking about their boyfriends or what boys they are interested in. Which makes me feel even more lonely, despite the fact that I’m the one who has chosen to remain single. I’m unsure on how to make myself feel better about myself by myself. My therapist hasn’t been able to make me feel better. Meditation and talking to family doesn’t make me feel less lonely either. What do I do? I’m so stuck

Gadzooks What can I do when I can’t sleep?
  • replies: 10

Hi all, Couldn’t decide where to post this but since anxiety and meds are contributors to this figured I would try here. I can’t sleep, I try and try and yet despite being exhausted it doesn’t come for hours after I go to bed. I’ve had some issues wi... View more

Hi all, Couldn’t decide where to post this but since anxiety and meds are contributors to this figured I would try here. I can’t sleep, I try and try and yet despite being exhausted it doesn’t come for hours after I go to bed. I’ve had some issues with restless legs thanks you anxiety but going to gym has made it somewhat better. I know being on my phone at 1am isn’t helpful but I get so ‘bored’ and am more likely to think of or do bad things. I’m supposed to be on holidays and catching up! Any suggestions on getting to sleep? Starting to think I’m doomed to be anxious and exhausted forever. G

Dagony Anxiety about chosen one
  • replies: 10

Hello I've got a bad history with anxiety and OCD and at the moment I have this big fear of not being able to use contraception with my wife because my child will be the chosen one It sounds ridiculous but it's effecting me greatly I've spoken to my ... View more

Hello I've got a bad history with anxiety and OCD and at the moment I have this big fear of not being able to use contraception with my wife because my child will be the chosen one It sounds ridiculous but it's effecting me greatly I've spoken to my parter about it and she says god wouldn't give me mental illness to make sure the child is born But then my mind says maybe it's out of god's hands? I believe in god but don't follow a religion and this fear is starting to seriously effect me

pumpkin97 How do I turn off the bad thoughts?
  • replies: 5

Hi, I'm a 22 year old woman. I suffer from GAD and Depression and Ive been medicated for about four or five years. I've never experienced a very high level of anxiety, it's more like a side effect of my depression - but recently my anxiety has been s... View more

Hi, I'm a 22 year old woman. I suffer from GAD and Depression and Ive been medicated for about four or five years. I've never experienced a very high level of anxiety, it's more like a side effect of my depression - but recently my anxiety has been so awful. I can hardly stomach food, I throw up a lot (mostly mornings) because my stomach is so unsettled, and I feel like I can't turn my brain off. I'm constantly trying to block out negative and intrusive thoughts and it's just exhausting. My brain makes up the most ridiculous scenarios and won't let me stop fixating on them. I feel like I'm going to be trapped in my own mind forever and that it will cause me to loose the people I love and end up alone.

Qwert1234 I struggle each day to get through another
  • replies: 1

Each day I find that my anxiety prevents from being my normal self. I am no longer happy, feel isolated constantly, anxious what people think of me, fear of having no friends no future. My self confidence has degraded to almost nothing and I have no ... View more

Each day I find that my anxiety prevents from being my normal self. I am no longer happy, feel isolated constantly, anxious what people think of me, fear of having no friends no future. My self confidence has degraded to almost nothing and I have no will even leave my bed most days. I struggle to reach out to loved ones as I feel like a burden, I just want to make people proud. Sleeping at night is the hardest. My anxiety keeps me up as I fear a miserable week, month, year, future. Everything keeps me anxious at night such as whether people assume I have no friends, I am unattractive, everything I fear being seen as. It is at night I truly wish my suffering could end. I feel so unloved, so alone, like I’m slowly sinking into a pit of total misery and it is all my fault. I just need to escape

Themikanic Arachnophobia is destroying our relationship.
  • replies: 6

Hi Newbie here. My partner of 4 months is on a student visa from Brazil and living with me in regional Victoria. Our relationship is/was great. I'm 64 he is 33, we have many common interests and we are both active and we'll have to be after Christmas... View more

Hi Newbie here. My partner of 4 months is on a student visa from Brazil and living with me in regional Victoria. Our relationship is/was great. I'm 64 he is 33, we have many common interests and we are both active and we'll have to be after Christmas but I digress. Cris is articulate, intelligent and thoughtful and even cooks meals for us whilst searching for a job, but I'm mindful it's a bit difficult at this time of the year. I'm currently supporting him as his meagre savings have been spent. Cris told me about his extreme 'fear of spiders' which to me seems totally illogical. He believes they think of devious ways to get into the house and if/when they do every few weeks, it's pandemonium here. Cris loses all concept of what's logical and he believes the spiders will go out of their way to bite him and even kill him. He breaks into sweats if he encounters one and yells, screams, jumps up and down and becomes totally irrational. He wants me to kill the spider which I refuse to do, however I'm happy to take it outside, which isn't good enough as it can get back in again which compounds his phobia to an even higher level of agitation. Last night at a total loss of what to do and not being used to his screaming and yelling I just left him to deal with the spider and it was dispatched with seemingly half a can of fly-spray and I had to clean up all this white fly-spray foam off the carpet after he locked himself in his room, which coincidentally is totally cut off from the remainder of the house with a draught stopper to seal the bottom of the door against the spiders and insulation tape between the door jamb and the door just to make sure they cannot access his room at night. Apparently vinegar is meant to be a deterrent and this is sprayed on the floor most evenings just in case. There are three things that have arisen since last night. 1. He doesn't think I love him any more because I care more about the spiders and the stained carpet than I care about him...I do not and I love him immensely, do what I can for him and don't want to lose him! 2. The Summer brings open doors for fresh air and the chance of another spider entering the house is a distinct possibility, though I definitely haven't mentioned this to him. 3. After last night, though we both love each other and have discussed marriage in a few months, he genuinely thinks I no longer care for him and he will move to Melbourne as soon as he is financially able to. Please forgive my long post. Mike.

As an organisation that supports people from across Australia, Beyond Blue acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay respect to Elders past and present.

First Nations Peoples are advised that this website may include reference to and images of deceased persons.

Beyond Blue is committed to safe inclusive spaces, policies and services for people of LGBTIQ+ communities and their families.

Helpful information

Stay in touch

Sign up below for regular emails from Beyond Blue, filled with information, advice and support for you or your loved ones.

Stay in touch

Talk it through with us, we'll point you in the right direction.

Call 1300 224 636

24 hours / 7 days a week

Chat Online

24 hours / 7 days a week

Email us

Get a reply in 24 hours

Copyright © 2026 Beyond Blue Ltd

All rights reserved

Contact us Terms of use Privacy policy Site map