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

lueybelle Anxiety, depression, family issues....I don't even know where to begin
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Hi all I am sitting here looking outside at the sunshine and hearing the birds singing and thinking my life is just the pits. I don't even know where to begin as this is a long story and I am at my wit's end as I have no help or care from anyone. I a... View more

Hi all I am sitting here looking outside at the sunshine and hearing the birds singing and thinking my life is just the pits. I don't even know where to begin as this is a long story and I am at my wit's end as I have no help or care from anyone. I am 54 with a teenage son and no partner. My son sees his dad for 5 hours once a fortnight. I know...appalling. My son is a good lad but he is lazy and addicted to his computer. I try to get him interested in other things but no..that is all he cares about. I have been really ill the last four months and nobody cares or does anything to help me. I have been to so many doctors and been fobbed off over and over and given tablets to take; that I did try but made things worse so I stopped the tablets. I feel like rubbish every day..I never sleep well and I still think there is something really wrong with me but all tests negative. I did suffer major health anxiety over all of that but I am at the point now where I don't even care. I obviously am not worthy of anyone's attention..hence my being here in the hope that somebody might 'listen'. I have put on heaps of weight and feel so fat, ugly and useless. I am supposed to bring my son up as the perfect mother yet I have no life or any positive models in my life so why would he? I get blamed for his weight issues and so on yet not one person does zip to help? I am constantly judged and ridiculed by my own family members! I am surrounded by people who like to tell me all about their lives and their holidays, outings, new clothes...I have no money and a large mortgage; a large house and yard that is falling down around me...I truly only get up everyday for my son. I don't want to hear 'oh well in 3 years he will be an adult and then your life can begin' and other such ridiculous platitudes. So insulting. Insulting to my dear boy and then insulting to me. Please any advice will be greatly appreciated. Please know that my beloved boy knows NOTHING about this and is safe. I will do whatever it takes to get to a place I need to be to continue to be there for him. He didn't ask for any of this! It breaks my heart! I left his dad because he was violent and alcoholic and awful. I certainly did not expect to be here at this age and in this appalling situation. I did not expect to feel such absolute hatred towards people who are supposed to care about my son - and me for that matter. thankyou for reading. l

hearta Getting upset at work
  • replies: 4

I have had ocd for my whole life (am mid 40s) and it has been a battle, with wonderful things as well thank goodness. This is the first time I have posted in a forum, so please be patient with me :-). A couple of days ago I had a big cry at work afte... View more

I have had ocd for my whole life (am mid 40s) and it has been a battle, with wonderful things as well thank goodness. This is the first time I have posted in a forum, so please be patient with me :-). A couple of days ago I had a big cry at work after being sensitive to a comment about my worrying causing delays in finishing my work - I realise this was a massive trigger for me as I wish very much that I could worry less but even with medication it can be a daily struggle. After getting upset at work (and this is not the first time it has happened during my working life!) I get into a vicious cycle of feeling embarrassed/weak/alone even though I partially let myself understand that it isn’t completely my fault !. I have had a lot of counselling over the years and know the things I need to do to help myself feel better again - easier said then done when feeling frustrated at myself but would really like to hear about any similar experiences.

AnotherOne12 Elevator drop feeling with panic and anxiety
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Anyone else ever had this feeling where you feel like your in an elevator and the floor drops suddenly? I seemed to have got it after chronically worrying over a health issue and have had it since. Anyone overcome this or going thru this exact feelin... View more

Anyone else ever had this feeling where you feel like your in an elevator and the floor drops suddenly? I seemed to have got it after chronically worrying over a health issue and have had it since. Anyone overcome this or going thru this exact feeling? At first it scared me now it just frustrates me.

anony2 Quitting job
  • replies: 4

I’m quite an indecisive person. I’m always worrying about whether I’m making the right choice or not. I’ve told my boss that I’ll be resigning because of personal matters. The reality is I just haven’t been feeling like the job is right for me, wheth... View more

I’m quite an indecisive person. I’m always worrying about whether I’m making the right choice or not. I’ve told my boss that I’ll be resigning because of personal matters. The reality is I just haven’t been feeling like the job is right for me, whether that’s because of how stressed I’ve been or if that’s how I really feel I’m not sure. They’ve offered me to take a few weeks break and come back to work again instead of quitting. I declined initially but they kept offering me and assured me I was good at the job. I eventually agreed to it, but I’m not even sure if I agreed because I want to or if I felt pressured to do so. They’re all lovely people there and I’m sure it wasn’t their intention to do so, but I can’t help but feel lost about what it is I actually want. I know this all sounds silly. If I’m being honest I regretted agreeing to stay the second I did so, but I’m reluctant to tell them that I’ve changed my mind once again because of the inconvenience but also because I don’t know if I’m just running away from the place because of how anxious I get being there. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do?

StaticRose51 Long lost family and anxiety!
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Hi all I have anxiety and coping a lot better than i was and also picked up studying and work part time. Recently some family members from interstate got in touch with me and wanted to know how i was going and to let me know that my grandmother on da... View more

Hi all I have anxiety and coping a lot better than i was and also picked up studying and work part time. Recently some family members from interstate got in touch with me and wanted to know how i was going and to let me know that my grandmother on dads side had passed. Although I didn't get to meet her I feel a profound sense of sadness for the time lost. Is this normal, my father didn't even mention her and rarely speaks to me now since his father has also passed. I was 25 the last time we spoke. Should i wait for the appropriate time or keep trying to offer love and kind thoughts for their healing. I can contact an uncle and cousin also so maybe they will be able to offer more insight? I apparently also have other siblings as well and the last thing we need to be doing is fighting.

Tommih Anxiety- physical symptoms
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Please ,can someone tell me if anxiety really causes stomach issues ,nausea ,sometimes loss of appetite,it’s scarin* me witless

Please ,can someone tell me if anxiety really causes stomach issues ,nausea ,sometimes loss of appetite,it’s scarin* me witless

agobella Anxious
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Well, I will be upfront. I have suffered anxiety for a long time. I am a golf captain at our small golf club in our town. Anyhow, we had our Open Day on Wednesday where lots of ladies come to enjoy themselves. Yesterday, I played golf in a neighbouri... View more

Well, I will be upfront. I have suffered anxiety for a long time. I am a golf captain at our small golf club in our town. Anyhow, we had our Open Day on Wednesday where lots of ladies come to enjoy themselves. Yesterday, I played golf in a neighbouring town and a lady from that club came out to tell me that one of our lady members made a new golfer from another town "feel very inadequate and a little intimidated". Now, the lady in question also intimidated and made me feel very inadequate last year when I was captain. I did approach her about my incident, but I never once received an apology. I am feeling very anxious today about this whole episode that I had to up my anxiety meds this morning. I rang the President of our golf club and he said that it was up to me to sort it out. I don't think that should be my job. Our golf season is coming to a close, but this lady will continue to discourage ladies from playing golf. Besides me moving clubs to play golf, I really do not want to confront this lady. Any suggestions?

leilei27 Nothing is wrong but I am panicking.
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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
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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