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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

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Autumn77 Acceptance of your disorder
  • replies: 4

Hi all, I have a SchizoAffective disorder and have recently accepted this fate. A few things woke me up. The first one was going off my medication and believing I was ok and could manage without it. I was so wrong. I was ok because of the medication.... View more

Hi all, I have a SchizoAffective disorder and have recently accepted this fate. A few things woke me up. The first one was going off my medication and believing I was ok and could manage without it. I was so wrong. I was ok because of the medication. Had a semi meltdown and now off from work to recover. The second one was hearing my psychiatrist say, you cannot fix genetics. And she's right. It's genetic. My mum has schizophrenia and so does my brother. Did you go through this denial? And then acceptance? I'm I going to be stupid enough to go off my medication again? What's you story.

BexStar1993 Philophobia/Touching/Kissing Fear.
  • replies: 6

When I think about actually being intimate with someone. The feeling is intense. It feels like I'm going to die. Like if I really open-up they might turn around and kill me at any moment. My Phobia seems to revolve more so around Kissing & the intima... View more

When I think about actually being intimate with someone. The feeling is intense. It feels like I'm going to die. Like if I really open-up they might turn around and kill me at any moment. My Phobia seems to revolve more so around Kissing & the intimate/emotional state it ensues, I cannot force myself to “French Kiss” a boy even if I truly like him and want nothing more than to be close to him. At the time of my brain thinking about kissing him; Anxiety/Panic happens as it does with similar touching type things (Holding hands, touching bodies). Just a look/touch; something particularly intimate such as Kissing can make panic happen. The more attracted I am to someone and the more they reciprocate my feelings the worse it is. I resonate with "Philophobia", I used to be a very affectionate human- but in recent years have developed a fear of touching people in general & especially in an intimate manner (my logic being -if they don’t touch me they lack the power to hurt me). This was how I lived for roughly the past 4/6 years only managing to touch people (without emotional intimacy). Ive been spending time with a man who seems perfect in most ways; Ive been able to hold his hand, run my hands over his body, cuddle etc but can't physically manage to Kiss him in the way he'd like "French kiss". I really like him & think about trying to "make out" with him or touch him often but can’t override the flight/fight response that occurs in my brain at the time of the thoughts, no matter how hard I try. I don't want to hurt this man or to have the relationship fall apart as a result of my inability to be Intimate/emotionally close to him as he wishes to be with me. It is not because I don’t wish to be that close to him or that I don't want to kiss him - It’s that I feel unable to force myself to do so even if it’s what I want/wish to do. I have been trying to Overcome this issue; I don't know what else I can do except try my best to live out what I picture in my mind & what I want to be capable of doing with/to him- but am having little-no luck with improving my situation. The fear is that the pain will repeat and the risk is not worth that chance. The fear reaction is to avoid relations, thus avoiding the pain. The more one avoids the source of their fear, the more the fear increases.”

TDang Withdrawal Symptoms from Anti depressants
  • replies: 4

I'm currently going through withdrawals from an SNRI I took to sleep for about 3months. Can anyone relate to my experience? Im into my 4th week from last dose. This drug has been very tough on me. - first week I got really bad flu symptoms and though... View more

I'm currently going through withdrawals from an SNRI I took to sleep for about 3months. Can anyone relate to my experience? Im into my 4th week from last dose. This drug has been very tough on me. - first week I got really bad flu symptoms and thought I was coming down with flu. Got what felt like food poisioning stomach bug which lasted 7 days. Second week, mostly go depression and same lethargy flu like symptoms. Brain zaps quite regularly. Third week, continue with low mood feeling and loss of interest and appetite, lethargy. Forth week (this week) seems like anxiety is beginning to come in and im getting spikes of anxiety at throughout the day, which comes and goes. prior to this I had a stress situation which caused me panic attacks and some depression, and was put on two medications for sleep. my stressors are gone, and ive been well for over a month, but it seems im getting withdrawals which started around 1 week after my last dose in mid feburary

olivia3 Anxiety about school and the future
  • replies: 2

Hi all, I'm in grade 10 so I'm being faced with all these big decisions like what I'm doing when I'm older yadayada. Every night, my thoughts snowball to the point where I'm in a ball crying with the world spinning around me. "You're going to fail on... View more

Hi all, I'm in grade 10 so I'm being faced with all these big decisions like what I'm doing when I'm older yadayada. Every night, my thoughts snowball to the point where I'm in a ball crying with the world spinning around me. "You're going to fail one class and then you're going to be on the streets, homeless" "You don't work hard enough" and so on. I have anxiety and panic attacks very frequently and no one I know can seem to understand what is really happening. I'm so scared that in grade 11 and 12 I'll just be having panic attacks 24/7 due to the work load and the fact that if I don't excel I'm done for. People tell me there are different pathways to careers but that is the absolute last thing I want to do. I can't be a senior at high school if I remain like this and it scares the living day lights out of me.

The_Frogs I am a teenager living with OCD
  • replies: 1

When I was 11 years old, I started to get these horrific thoughts like killing someone I love or something, I automatically thought it was me and I was a bad person who needed to be kept away... it wasn't until a couple of years later that I got diag... View more

When I was 11 years old, I started to get these horrific thoughts like killing someone I love or something, I automatically thought it was me and I was a bad person who needed to be kept away... it wasn't until a couple of years later that I got diagnosed with OCD with the help of loving family members and headspace. My OCD has been acting up terribly lately to the point where it is making me feel sick and unwell mentally (I am still able to care for myself) in the head. I have had OCD for approximately 6 years now and still battling it. My OCD is mostly obsessional thoughts about the categories such as violence, sexual stuff and just unwanted non helpful thoughts. My compulsions result in a heap of hand washing and sometimes checking electrical appliances to see if there is water on them or not. I am also very paranoid about food eg. food poisoning or just getting sick in general, I hate having the thought that im gonna vomit and the OCD doesn't do anything besides keeping that thought reoccurring through my head. I have given up meat because of the extreme worry of food poisoning. I do see a psychologist at headspace and I do know that these are thoughts and I am the complete opposite to these intrusive thoughts. These constant intrusive thoughts affect my learning at school, I don't give as much attention as I did a month or 2 ago and they also affect the way I look and feel physically. Lately I have been a lot more gloomier, tired and not bothered to do anything and that is not my usual self at all. Basically I am looking for support from others who understand what I am talking about and we can support each other through it

Jessicarabbitinheadlights New job anxiety
  • replies: 1

I started a new job recently because as much as i enjoyed the people I worked with before, the hours weren’t right. my new job is slightly different from what I was doing before and MyMedia anxiety has been off the charts. The week leading up to it I... View more

I started a new job recently because as much as i enjoyed the people I worked with before, the hours weren’t right. my new job is slightly different from what I was doing before and MyMedia anxiety has been off the charts. The week leading up to it I was panicking and crying everyday. And now I’ve started- it’s nice. The people are lovely, the work is fine, there’s variety and im helping people in need. And YET, I still panic every night. When I’m at work I feel ok and get through it but as soon as it’s over, I’m counting down the hours until I have to go again. Overthinking like “what if I start to hate it and then I have anxiety about finding a new job?” “I can’t believe I have to get up so much earlier than my last job-what if I’m tired all the time?!” “I didn’t like that tiny aspect of the job, what do I do?!” i can’t turn my brain off and although I could write a list of 10 great positive things about the job, it takes one tiny doubt or niggle to send me into panic zone

TheAnxiousOne Memory/Concentration/Forgetfulness - anyone experiencing this?!
  • replies: 1

Hi all, I’ve been on meds for anxiety and depression for just over 2 months and have been experiencing short term memory loss and concentration issues. I have also become super forgetful about simple things like what I was doing this morning or yeste... View more

Hi all, I’ve been on meds for anxiety and depression for just over 2 months and have been experiencing short term memory loss and concentration issues. I have also become super forgetful about simple things like what I was doing this morning or yesterday. It takes so long for me to remember the activities/events that took place over the past few days. Could this be anxiety related? I’m also thinking whether it could be hormonal as I just recently gave birth and my Monthly womenly ‘issues’ are still sorting themselves out... TIA

Wonderland Anxiety affecting my job. Help
  • replies: 3

Hi my name is Alice. i have had GAD for 5 years and depression for around a year following a traumatic family event. I work at bunnings. My anxiety and depression makes me overly sensitive to criticism and I can get very distressed if I feel like som... View more

Hi my name is Alice. i have had GAD for 5 years and depression for around a year following a traumatic family event. I work at bunnings. My anxiety and depression makes me overly sensitive to criticism and I can get very distressed if I feel like someone is upset with me. There is one woman that I have worked with who is very critical, and makes it known when she is upset with people. As you can guess, this woman was very triggering for me to work with. I asked my coordinator if I could be moved out of that area without going into specifics. He agreed but then did nothing. I became very depressed at work and used to duck down behind the lemon trees at the very back and cry while I watered them. Work became a terrible place for me to be. Because of how terrible I felt I suppose my job performance began to slip. This made things worse because the team member who I feared, would talk about me behind my back and it just got worse and worse. When I had my review (a scheduled review of everyone’s job performance) (which by the way wasn’t very good) my coordinator asked “are you happy working here?” And I broke down in tears. And not small cute tears. Like ugly sobbing tears. I opened up about my anxiety and how I had been feeling, and begged to be moved out of nursery. Again he agreed but did nothing. It went on for weeks, and although my shifts were reduced in nursery, I was still out there majority of the time. I had several more break downs at work, each time begging to be moved out of nursery, and each time not being taken seriously. I talked to another leader and asked to be moved into his department again I felt like I was met with empty promises. After months of this I am now only in nursery 1 day out of 4. Then queue my next issue. I also suffer from migraines and have had migraines lots of times, a few of those times I have gone home sick. The other day I was almost in a car accident and the seatbelt hurt my shoulder. I asked to go home to rest and recover and my coordinator wasn’t happy. I’m really upset and worried because he said he wants to talk to me about my health, but he said it in a way like I was doing something wrong. I consider myself to be a hard worker. I never stand around or talk, but I feel like because of all these issues my coordinator thinks less of me, and thinks I am dramatic.

Jessica_May I feel I'm stuck in bending doom 24/7
  • replies: 3

I am feeling so trapped. My OCD and anxiety has really taken a toll of my life. The last week have been so exhausting! I've been in a state of panic, flight or fight and stress for over a week and it's getting worse. I know what I'm about to say is i... View more

I am feeling so trapped. My OCD and anxiety has really taken a toll of my life. The last week have been so exhausting! I've been in a state of panic, flight or fight and stress for over a week and it's getting worse. I know what I'm about to say is irrational but when you have an anxious mind the rationality doesn't register. Back in March I saw this rusty nail on the ground and so I picked it up as well as some big rocks because I saw these things as a hazard to people. (my fear is people getting hurt because of me) There is a residential abandoned land of grass and it's fenced off. I didn't know how to dispose the rocks and nail so I threw them over this fence. Now.. 5 months later for some reason my brain had decided that this nail maybe somehow transmitted to the street, on the road, hiding in a bush, in the gutter or anywhere in sight where someone could get hurt. Now this residential place isn't exactly abandoned because the place gets mowed once every 4 weeks (I rang the Council) So I'm now all freaking out that maybe the people who found the nail mowing the grass has thrown it somewhere or maybe the weather overtime has shifted the nail. So I now feel compelled the checked every single street, pathway, grass, bush etc just to see if I could find this nail. And even if I don't find the nail my brain is going "well what about in a year or two's time the nail will be on the road as a hazard" I've also been in contact with the police. They have actually been amazing and they did reach out to the people who own this sort of grass fenced off residential property. They replied saying they haven't seen a nail and the police looked apparently and couldn't find a nail either. But I know I threw a nail over there so unless I find it I will be in a state of panic. I'm losing my mind and my stress response is hurting me and messing with my brain. I've almost fainted and because of how stressed this is making me I am feeling much worse in the brain and body. I feel so vunrable and trapped. I can't stop crying. I wouldn't wish OCD on anyone. This is so dibilatating What can I do? I'm so scared. If I don't find this nail the anxiety just gets worse.

_bethy94 Anxiety over seeing psychologist
  • replies: 8

Hi all, I've decided it's time to see a psychologist over some issues that have bubbled to the surface surrounding some trauma I have experienced. I disassociated myself from who I am and used Twitter under an alias (stupid of me, I know) as escapism... View more

Hi all, I've decided it's time to see a psychologist over some issues that have bubbled to the surface surrounding some trauma I have experienced. I disassociated myself from who I am and used Twitter under an alias (stupid of me, I know) as escapism. I wasn't ready to confront my trauma and being on Twitter instantaneously took me somewhere else and I could forget who I am and 'be' something else. I interacted with like minded people and was away from reality, escapism as previously mentioned. This type of coping mechanism in hindsight was not practical or realistic and I feel extremely stupid and am being really hard and judgemental on myself, now that I've removed myself from the platform. No wrongdoing occurred, I just spoke to my "friends" about sport, current affairs, politics, TV shows etc. Twitter is full of anonymous accounts. It a great platform if you want to discuss and post about topics without showing yourself, but I did it for the wrong reasons - to run and not confront what I had been through. Although ironically I feel better being off the platform and reconnecting with my true self since deleting Twitter, I've had (call it irrational if you will) on/off spells of anxiety. "What if people on there find out my identity?" "What if I get humiliated?" "What if they come after me?" Twitter is deleted and I don't know how they could, I guess it's just the anxiety talking. I'm anxious seeing a psychologist because I'm scared I will be judged and feel humiliated about it. I know it's their job to listen and not to judge, but the anxiety is telling me it will still happen. Any advice?

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