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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

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Bear Spud Where to from here
  • replies: 3

Hello. I’m not sure where to begin or how to ask this question. I’m very uncomfortable posting in forums. I am reaching out to ask how others with anxiety get through their days. For the past week I have simply been repeating to myself, one foot in f... View more

Hello. I’m not sure where to begin or how to ask this question. I’m very uncomfortable posting in forums. I am reaching out to ask how others with anxiety get through their days. For the past week I have simply been repeating to myself, one foot in front of the other. And I long for each day to end, in the hope that I will feel better in the morning. These periods can last for weeks and I’m currently starting week two with not much relief in sight. The days are long. I’m sorry I sound very doom and gloom. I know for a fact that I will get through this as I have been through this cycle countless times in my 41 years. This is the fourth time this year. But even knowing I will get through this does very little, if nothing at all, to ease the pain. I’m so very over this cycle. Any words of wisdom will be gladly received! Thank you in advance.

Whatsinaname Struggling
  • replies: 3

Hi, Firstly, I'm writing this on my phone, so I apologise in advance. I've found my self constantly drift back to this forum in times of need to find someone I can relate with to lessen the feeling of being alone. I'm currently sitting on the couch w... View more

Hi, Firstly, I'm writing this on my phone, so I apologise in advance. I've found my self constantly drift back to this forum in times of need to find someone I can relate with to lessen the feeling of being alone. I'm currently sitting on the couch with my 7 month old son, who I love more than life itself, on my lap. But my mind couldn't be further away. I think the fear of losing him and his mum is a huge part of my anxiety. I also hate putting them both through my "moods" and the fear I'll always do it to them My anxiety seems to stem from constantly regretting past mistakes. We are building a new home, which should be a great situation, but my anxiety is beating me because we are in a competition to win money or car or something. All i can think about is not wanting to win because they will want to put me in some kind of promotional thing. Even as simple as naming me a winner makes me anxious, not really sure why it matters because a simple Google search shows who I am and where I work anyway. I honestly am not sure why I'm posting this and I think that's why I've put it off for so long.

AllegraMayz Overcoming crippling performance anxiety
  • replies: 1

Hello, this is my first time posting so I hope I’m doing it correctly. I recently sent a video application for a dance competition and I’ve surprised myself by getting in. I genuinely did not think i would and was hoping a bit that wouldn’t. When I r... View more

Hello, this is my first time posting so I hope I’m doing it correctly. I recently sent a video application for a dance competition and I’ve surprised myself by getting in. I genuinely did not think i would and was hoping a bit that wouldn’t. When I received the acceptance email I had a panic attack and have been struggling with overwhelming anxiety surrounding the performance ever since. It has become so bad that I i don’t enjoy dancing anymore and dread practicing my routine which in turn is making the anxiety worse as I feel less prepared for the competition. When I do practise I find that simple moves I used to feel confident with now feel extremely difficult and scary. I’m suddenly terrified of falling despite never having this fear in the past. Every practise session the anxiety surrounding falling, being unprepared and just performing in general slowly builds to the point I’m on the brink of a panic attack at the end of every session and actually cried in the middle of a class 2 nights ago. I’ve never experienced anxiety this intense and frustrating and have no idea how to overcome it. I’m hoping some of you may have experienced it and have some strategies to help.

ATHL2017 Face Spasms/Super itchy body symptoms
  • replies: 2

Hi all Strange question but I have come off antideppresants after years of use for OCD and social anxiety. After I stopped taking antideppresants, I now get face Spasms and super itchy when I get nervous or anxious. I want to know if this is the anxi... View more

Hi all Strange question but I have come off antideppresants after years of use for OCD and social anxiety. After I stopped taking antideppresants, I now get face Spasms and super itchy when I get nervous or anxious. I want to know if this is the anxiety causing it or permanent nerve damage from antidepressant use. I can't get any answers from doctors who just want me to put me on pills again. Please help. I don't know how to stop it. Thanks

Chelle88 Morning anxiety
  • replies: 6

Hi, ive been suffering with anxiety everyday for about 2months now. It’s debilitating and I wake up with it every morning, it usually passes by about 4-5pm and then depression sets in and I can’t wajt to get to bed. I’m on medication, see a GP, and a... View more

Hi, ive been suffering with anxiety everyday for about 2months now. It’s debilitating and I wake up with it every morning, it usually passes by about 4-5pm and then depression sets in and I can’t wajt to get to bed. I’m on medication, see a GP, and a counsellor I feel like I’m doing all I can but it’s not getting any better, I’m loosing hope and strength and I don’t know what to do, does anyone else have severe anxiety in the mornings and what have you found to help?

s0m3thing Do I have anxiety?
  • replies: 1

hi, I just want to start straight away: Im 15, I have depression and I’ve been told I have anxiety but I’m not sure??? I get these panicky feelings sometimes, they come out of no where and when I’m really frustrated and not left alone, I start to cry... View more

hi, I just want to start straight away: Im 15, I have depression and I’ve been told I have anxiety but I’m not sure??? I get these panicky feelings sometimes, they come out of no where and when I’m really frustrated and not left alone, I start to cry which results me into doing this weird hiccuping thing that takes a while to stop. I feel like I can’t breath whenever I start to cry like that. Whenever that happens and I struggle to breath, it’s easy for me to calm down but the hiccuping (it isn’t really hiccuping me, just taking short quick breaths really fast) takes a while to go. Do I have anxiety?

Alizerath constantly worried about losing someone
  • replies: 1

i have posted about this once before, but I feel like I should post again because I have gotten so much worse. I am constantly afraid someone in my family is going to die/go missing. i find myself constantly thinking about it, often to the point of b... View more

i have posted about this once before, but I feel like I should post again because I have gotten so much worse. I am constantly afraid someone in my family is going to die/go missing. i find myself constantly thinking about it, often to the point of being unable to do anything else. for example, the other day my mother was about half an hour late home from work, and yet I literally vomited because I was so worried about her. I don't know how to handle this anymore. I think I have gotten to the point of hysterics almost every night this week because someone hasn't come home when they said they would be. I do not want to lose anyone. I think that if I did, it would literally kill me. right now my 20 something year old brother is out late with friends, and I should be fine with that, right? however I'm sitting at my computer googling traffic accidents every few minutes just to make sure he's still alive. I can't take this anymore. It is impossible for me to go anywhere/have fun because I'm so worried someone will go missing. I think it has gotten worse now because recently my close friend lost her father as he went missing and was later found deceased. I guess I keep thinking, if that can happen to her, then surely it will happen to me? I also lost my dog a few weeks ago, and although trivial to some, the impact it has had on me is so much larger then I would like to admit. I keep thinking, If my dog has that effect on me, then how bad would it be if one of my family members went missing? I often think that if that happened, that it would be the final straw and i wouldn't be able to live anymore. I know people will think I'm being dramatic, and I am, but I can't help but feel so incredibly worried for everyone in my family . I just want to be able to live a normal life without panicking for just one day. but i can't help but feel that maybe today is the day that my life will be ruined. It's taken so much out of me recently, that I just can't find any joy in doing anything because I am constantly worried.

BBUser49 My first panic attack
  • replies: 4

Well they suck. I didn't know what was happening. I got hot flushes, trembling,my heart was racing & I was sweating.i couldn't even bring myself to eat dinner I felt that sick. I also felt I needed to vomit or run to the toilet. Afterwards I felt so ... View more

Well they suck. I didn't know what was happening. I got hot flushes, trembling,my heart was racing & I was sweating.i couldn't even bring myself to eat dinner I felt that sick. I also felt I needed to vomit or run to the toilet. Afterwards I felt so tired. I literally went straight to bed. This morning my whole body is aching Is this related!?

RoadToRecovery1001 Made a terrible mistake
  • replies: 7

For the past week, all I have been thinking about is how foolish I was to change jobs. I have recently started a new role working in a highly technical and complex field. I have zero experience in this area and am struggling to keep up with my collea... View more

For the past week, all I have been thinking about is how foolish I was to change jobs. I have recently started a new role working in a highly technical and complex field. I have zero experience in this area and am struggling to keep up with my colleagues and feel like I'm languishing behind. While I knew the role would be technical when I applied, I didn't realize the full extent of how technical it was going to be. Unfortunately for me, I'm not one of those people who have a natural knack for understanding technical concepts and problems. Needless to say, I'm not enjoying the work and am not coping well. Every night before work, I'll only average an hour or so of sleep because of stress and will start my day tired and exhausted. Making matters worse is the fact that I have been in this kind of situation before. I've changed a job previously only to resign a few months latter because I couldn't cope. You would think after an experience like that I would have learned my lesson and come to terms with my limitations. Unfortunately for me, it seems like I never learn At the time I resigned from my previous job, I did so because I didn't like the irregular hours and the repetitive nature of the work. Despite this, I performed well in the role and got along with my colleagues. With the benefit of hindsight, it was actually a great job and a perfect fit for someone like me with strong anxiety. With the way I'm feeling at the moment, I'm wanting to contact my former employer to see if I can get my old job back. Although I'm afraid to do this because I think my former manager is sick to death of me and may not be so friendly towards me anymore. I asked him to vouch for me twice for two separate roles and he seemed a bit annoyed the second time when I asked. Also at the time I left, I only gave 1 weeks notice and almost nobody knew I was resigning. I don't think too many people would react positively if I was to suddenly return. Not to mention it would also be quite embarrassing. The place was overstaffed when I resigned so I don't think they are actively looking for anybody new. Ultimately, this leaves me in a really terrible situation. Stay in a job that I'm not coping in at all and is giving me crippling anxiety everyday or contact an employer who probably doesn't want to hear from me anymore. If anybody out there has been in a similar situation or can offer any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

LesDave My journey the past 6 weeks. I'll update as changes occur
  • replies: 28

You might be interested in hearing how I get through the next few weeks. So I'm journaling it. Some background. I was really struggling with stressful job after job. I quit in October last year because it was all coming in on me. I spent the first 3 ... View more

You might be interested in hearing how I get through the next few weeks. So I'm journaling it. Some background. I was really struggling with stressful job after job. I quit in October last year because it was all coming in on me. I spent the first 3 months trying to heal. Then the anxiety returned as I realised I needed money and a job. Late February and March were awful. I was driven to tears many times. I started to really get better at self awareness and acceptance and commitment therapy. Out of the blue in late March, I got an offer from a job I was turned down for. So I took it. Well, it was out of the pot into the frying pan. It was so stressful and I made mistake after mistake. It took all my strength not to fall in to a heap. I ended up taking a day off to cope with the stress. Eventually it eased as the project I was on went into a lag period prior to turning on. Well it went live this week and it's a mess. I am really struggling again. I have taken today off. After yesterday (I realise it isn't showing great courage) I felt guilty, and felt really stressed. Trying to stay in the present moment at the moment is difficult. I had no sleep last night worrying about the damage I caused through my mistakes. Today I plan to try and walk for 3 hours to get rid of the stress hormones. I will try to get into the present moment. I plan to focus on eating better, getting into the present moment, and exercise. If I can get through the next 2 weeks without breaking down it will be a serious victory. I will keep you informed.