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
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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

leilei27 Nothing is wrong but I am panicking.
  • replies: 1

This year started off really well, and I felt like I was on track. I enter a masters course with the intention of going on to a PhD. I got an internship at an amazing company with a great team. I have wonderful friends and family who are loving and s... View more

This year started off really well, and I felt like I was on track. I enter a masters course with the intention of going on to a PhD. I got an internship at an amazing company with a great team. I have wonderful friends and family who are loving and supporting. But over this year things have started to fall apart. I tried to write my final thesis and found the task insurmountable, I just sit at my computer every day trying to write something, but I felt what I wrote sounded idiotic and ridiculous. I wouldn't go to my supervisor for help because I felt like he would think I was stupid and that I should be doing this course. At the internship, I fell into managing a social media role. But I began to be paranoid that the people at work also thought that I was stupid and what I was doing useless. I would hide what I was doing on my computer because I did not want my colleagues to see what I had done and think I was wasting company time. I would try and get all my work done at home and pretend I had done that during the day. Furthermore, my role required posting information to social media and I found that this was overwhelmingly stressful. I always worried that I had made a grammar/spelling mistake or I had misunderstood a critical piece of information and that I would embarrass the company and myself on a public forum. Last week, due to my anxiety over posting I had a panic attack(tight chest, shortness of breath, shaking, dizziness) thankfully I made it outside of the building, so no one saw, and I went home saying I felt sick. But the fear that I would have another one in the office has to led me to resign from the position even though I cannot financially afford too. I had a slow build-up of being anxious before social events. It was mild, to begin with, I just felt uncomfortable going to gatherings at night time, particularly if they included people I didn't know. At the event, I was quieter than normal feeling too nervous to talk to anyone. It has slowly gotten worse over the last couple of months. The last time I went out, I felt so uncomfortable that it brought me to tears in front of a group of people a bearly knew; I was so embarrassed. I have several events coming up over the next couple of weeks and I cannot stop worrying if I go, I will end up in tears and ruin the event. I booked in to see a phycologist, but even then I feel guilty because people have much bigger issues in their lives and I am just self-sabotaging.

Artificial Anxiety/ Phobia of Dying or Something Wrong ?
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Hi there, I'm just looking to get opinions or if someone has had similar experiences to give some tips or point me in the right direction. Everyday I have this weird feeling that something is wrong with my body, for instance lately I've been thinking... View more

Hi there, I'm just looking to get opinions or if someone has had similar experiences to give some tips or point me in the right direction. Everyday I have this weird feeling that something is wrong with my body, for instance lately I've been thinking I have something wrong with my heart, maybe I get a strange pain and then I'll just think about it wondering if it's something bad or could cause me to pass out etc. I have a fear of dying which might relate too it, I guess I'm scared to leave , scared to know what's on the other side so I'm super cautious about everything relating to health. A small issue is a big issue to me. Otherwise I'm not an anxious person , very confident and have a professional career in which I interact with lots of people daily. I guess I'm just wondering, is this a symptom of anxiety and should I just get treated for it ? Has anyone else experienced this and have any tips to overcome this ? It's just got to the point now where I'm constantly thinking about it and it's effecting my life.

fultonhogan13 Bursts of adrenaline
  • replies: 2

Hi guys, i have suffered with debilitating anxiety for 12 years now ( i had it on and off as a kid) i have a rare case that puzzles the all specialists in mental health. I get these qucik, sudden burst of adrenaline that i feel in my stomach that goe... View more

Hi guys, i have suffered with debilitating anxiety for 12 years now ( i had it on and off as a kid) i have a rare case that puzzles the all specialists in mental health. I get these qucik, sudden burst of adrenaline that i feel in my stomach that goes to my chest after mostly every thought that pops in my head on average its about 1 every 30 seconds which makes me sick its been like this since 2014 im a 28yo male any feedback would be mostly appreciated cheers todd

Hello548 I can't leave my house
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Ive always had anxiety but recently I moved into an apartment building with my partner and the constant noise and all the people so close to me is too much. I am very scared of people and I can't leave my apartment. I can't even go out onto my balcon... View more

Ive always had anxiety but recently I moved into an apartment building with my partner and the constant noise and all the people so close to me is too much. I am very scared of people and I can't leave my apartment. I can't even go out onto my balcony as I'm scared if people see me. I stay silent all day as I don't want them to hear me either. I don't know what to do about my situation. I'm scared to see doctors and I'm scared to talk to people or be in public. This has been going on a while and I've been worried to talk to anyone about it so I've kept it to myself. I feel like no one would want to help because I got myself here. Can anyone offer some advice on feeling more comfortable around people? Or on how to feel confident in public?

Blue2019 I don't know what to do
  • replies: 9

I have been in a long distance relationship for the past 15 months. My partner moved away for work. When he left I moved out of home and am living on my own. I have been feeling really lonely and sad ever since this happened. I tried to explain to my... View more

I have been in a long distance relationship for the past 15 months. My partner moved away for work. When he left I moved out of home and am living on my own. I have been feeling really lonely and sad ever since this happened. I tried to explain to my partner how lonely i felt but he didn't pay much attention to my feelings.. I didn't feel very loved and these feelings kept getting worse. I didn't know when or if he was coming back and I tried to communicate many times about wanting some clarify. I felt like I was talking to a brick wall and nothing I said was getting through to him. I wanted to visit him but it was never the right time for him. Regretfully, I cheated.. I knew straight away that it was wrong, of course. But it also made me realise how lonely I was and that I just wanted to know where our relationship was at. After this happened.. I began feeling very anxious and having panic attacks. These feelings are taking over my life. I told him and was honest about everything that happened.. He said it was ok and that it isn't my fault that it happened... I have spoken to him about all my feelings and asked him to tell me how he feels about everything and where he is at with our relationship. He says everything is ok and he is coming back in a few months. I can't stop this anxious feeling. I want to trust that everything is ok like he says. But I feel like it is slowly coming to an end. I really want things to work out. I don't know what to do.

QldMouse Anxiety, panic, and just coping.
  • replies: 41

Hi, I know I'm not alone by any means (Thank you Beyond Blue) but somehow that knowledge does not help. Trust me I've read a lot, been to a lot of therapy, made a lot of progress. But. That awful feeling of panic, then stupidity sets in, irrational b... View more

Hi, I know I'm not alone by any means (Thank you Beyond Blue) but somehow that knowledge does not help. Trust me I've read a lot, been to a lot of therapy, made a lot of progress. But. That awful feeling of panic, then stupidity sets in, irrational behaviour kicks into high gear, breath gets difficult, speech becomes impossible, and then the chest pain and headaches set in. In spite of wishing for the ground to open up and swallow me, it does not. I have to deal with my issues. In spite of a desperate need to connect with people I drive them away, and run away myself. I am so tired of being an anxiety riddled social lepper. And I have so tried. Now out of visits on my mental health plan, and can't afford the therapy I need, what do people do? Thank you all. PS. to White Rose you lovely contributor, it is so nice to see your avatar but so sad to hear your news. I am thinking of you and so hope you recover and feel better very soon.

shfer Any way to Overcome Fatigue of Anxiety?
  • replies: 7

Hello all, I have been dealing with anxiety since I was 23 , I am now 34 so 11 years but due to medication have been fine for most of these years until recently had another breakdown and had to change medication etc and now trying to recover. Over th... View more

Hello all, I have been dealing with anxiety since I was 23 , I am now 34 so 11 years but due to medication have been fine for most of these years until recently had another breakdown and had to change medication etc and now trying to recover. Over the years I have learned how to tackle the anxiety symptoms of panic and fear , just by myself and trying to learn coping skills and ways to know that these are only anxiety symptoms and nothing to do with something serious and I can say that I have quite managed to keep those in check for the most part, Also the symptoms of breathlessness and pins and needles and what not, but the one symptom I have never been able to tackle all of these years is the EXTREME TIREDNESS AND FATIGUE . I have been off medication for about 4 months prior to starting back on them again now and all other symptoms I have somehow managed to control apart from that of extreme tiredness that usually was showing up every 2-3 days or every 3-4 days , and when that happened I head to take medication to be able to get out of it, and within an hour this extreme tiredness would settle and i would keep going for another few days. So even when I was off antidepressants for about 4 months this symptom would never go away no matter how hard I tried. I did not even have depression or negative thoughts apart from this but could not cope anymore than 4 months as some other symptoms then started to appear and i ended up back to the dr to seek for help once more. If anyone has any idea what shall one do or if there is anything that can be done to ease this horrible feeling? I would appreciate it. Thank you all.

Concetta60 Concetta60 - experiecing very bad panic attacks
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I have been have very bad panic attack feeling very nerves and shaking a specially when I go to bed at night,and some times I start coughing and I can’t breed does any one feel thick this pleases let me know please

I have been have very bad panic attack feeling very nerves and shaking a specially when I go to bed at night,and some times I start coughing and I can’t breed does any one feel thick this pleases let me know please

Mic_Quid Return to work
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Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice around my return to work on Monday after a short absence. I've suffered from anxiety for my entire life, but have been on a journey to better understand myself over the past seven years. I find that my anxiety... View more

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice around my return to work on Monday after a short absence. I've suffered from anxiety for my entire life, but have been on a journey to better understand myself over the past seven years. I find that my anxiety has its ups and downs as I imagine it does for most people. Recently there have been some additional pressures in life and I have found myself struggling more. I've been to the GP and have been working with a psychologist as a part of a mental health plan. One of my stressors at the moment is my work, where I don't feel valued or supported and management have unrealistic expectations. Recently my psychologist recommended some time off work and my GP gave me three weeks off. I'm due to go back on Monday but am concerned about what I tell them. I don't really want to divulge what's happening with my mental health as I don't think I will be supported at all and there's a chance it will be held against me. Does anyone have any thoughts as to what I can tell my workplace about my absence to preserve my privacy?

rose2002 Unsure and a Little Scared
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So, I was talking to a friend the other day about how to go about dealing with just the general stuff going on in my head. I don't know if I have anxiety, depression, both, or neither, but I'm worried to find out. Not only am I scared to find out if ... View more

So, I was talking to a friend the other day about how to go about dealing with just the general stuff going on in my head. I don't know if I have anxiety, depression, both, or neither, but I'm worried to find out. Not only am I scared to find out if I do have an illness, but what happens if I don't? What if what I am experiencing is normal and I just can't cope as well as others? I don't know what I'd so if I talked to a doctor and all they told me is that I'm stressed or something. I don't exactly know why, but I am also scared to tell my parents that I don't think I'm coping. It's not that they'd be angry or anything. I know they are sympathetic enough towards people in my (and my siblings) life who have things like anxiety and depression, but what if it's a different story when they actually have to deal with it? I also feel like maybe they'll just tell me that I'm fine. I haven't felt as bad in the recent few weeks, but it still is always in the back of my mind. I also have this fear that I've just made up this disorder in my head and that I'm not actually anxious, but rather I've just convinced myself that I am... I'm just confused and writing this is making me upset. My friend said just to go to my GP because there's no harm in that, but just thinking about that scares me. Also, then I'd have to talk to my mum or dad and I don't think I can do that. Please help, I really need some advice. Thanks.