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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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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.

ZDE New poster - Anxiety..! it’s hell
  • replies: 1

Hi does anyone have any tips to cope with my anxiety at the moment. I’ve never been this bad. Experiencing new symptoms have been terrifying for me. It’s hard to believe anxiety can cause to much hell.. I feel like I’m trapped on a crazy spinning rid... View more

Hi does anyone have any tips to cope with my anxiety at the moment. I’ve never been this bad. Experiencing new symptoms have been terrifying for me. It’s hard to believe anxiety can cause to much hell.. I feel like I’m trapped on a crazy spinning ride that I can’t get off of.

xXIzzyXx Social Anxiety?
  • replies: 4

I’m only 11 years old, but I feel as if sometimes I do get strong symptoms of social anxiety. It’s not all the time, but certain things trigger it. Things such as being called up in front of class to do work I don’t fully understand, having to do a s... View more

I’m only 11 years old, but I feel as if sometimes I do get strong symptoms of social anxiety. It’s not all the time, but certain things trigger it. Things such as being called up in front of class to do work I don’t fully understand, having to do a speech, or talking to people I don’t really know. One of the things I’ve noticed (and a few of my friends) is that when I’m giving a speech and I’m nervous, I start swaying side to side and talking very fast. I don’t like talking to family about this as it makes me really uncomfortable, so I’ve kind of used this as one of my only options. If you could give me any insight on what to do, it would be really helpful. Thanks

T92 Health anxiety
  • replies: 5

Hi, how has everyone overcome health anxiety? I used to be fine and lived rather care free, but now I will constantly self diagnose, convince myself I have some sort of disease, and when I eventually go to the dr about it things will come back all cl... View more

Hi, how has everyone overcome health anxiety? I used to be fine and lived rather care free, but now I will constantly self diagnose, convince myself I have some sort of disease, and when I eventually go to the dr about it things will come back all clear and fine. Now my most recent is worrying that something will happen to me while at home and no one will know, my partner is fifo & I stay home with our 3yo. I have recently been thinking about going to a dr about it but I dont even know where to begin & struggling to even book an appointment to talk about it. It's only started about a year or so ago

makendebig88 New City Anxiety
  • replies: 1

i get this panic attacks out of nowhere like i didnt choose to have this anxiety god damn. i think it came baout/exacerbated because i moved away from home initally and found it had to make friends. this meant i would spend like a full day in my room... View more

i get this panic attacks out of nowhere like i didnt choose to have this anxiety god damn. i think it came baout/exacerbated because i moved away from home initally and found it had to make friends. this meant i would spend like a full day in my room with no simulation whihc is bad. this led to PTSD and even though now ive made a few friends and m spending more time outside my room, my brain is trying to process that trauma whihc will take a while. the good thing is that after exams, i have four weeks off so yeah i'll come back to hobart after exams. i found it that if i make myself at home, and expose my self to this fear of social situations, graduaally my confidence will increase and i wont be having as many panic attacks.

AnotherOne12 Any elses AD meds cause Light Sensitivity?
  • replies: 5

Been on AD meds for about 3 weeks now and about a week ago I developed a horrible feeling towards lights. I cant go under them or near them they make me feel nausious, weak legged and seem to increase anxiety? Anyone else had this? Did it pass? I rea... View more

Been on AD meds for about 3 weeks now and about a week ago I developed a horrible feeling towards lights. I cant go under them or near them they make me feel nausious, weak legged and seem to increase anxiety? Anyone else had this? Did it pass? I really want to stay on my meds but this photophobia side effect is a pain. Any input?

Hartnell Hello - My First Post
  • replies: 1

Hi All, Over past two years I have been suffering anxiety and recently things boiled over for me again. I went through some very turbulent times with my teenage son who had some very serious drug problems which led to several physical injuries which ... View more

Hi All, Over past two years I have been suffering anxiety and recently things boiled over for me again. I went through some very turbulent times with my teenage son who had some very serious drug problems which led to several physical injuries which still impact me now. I also have an auto immune disease which will require another bout of surgery soon which I am not looking forward to. Throughout this my wife has been great but I struggle express how I feel and what I am going through which is a cause of concern for her so she gets frustrated with me at times. We are both in the same boat but I feel inadequate when seeing how well she copes with what we are going through. Suppose I am the typical Aussie bloke who struggles to talk these things out. I have a great GP who now has me on medication to help me balance out and from tipping over again. The medication has helped my sleep as was only getting a several hours a night as just lying there over thinking everything. In the past I have done work EAP which I personally found wishy washy, it might have been the counsellor (or the Aussie bloke in me) but I don’t think it really helped. I then went to a psychologist who certainly helped but I found it very confronting. My GP now wants me to see a psychologist again but don’t want to go through that just yet so thought I would try here first. Typing this out has helped and glad that I joined.

Haveachat2u Full head
  • replies: 4

Hi well I have adhd and Aspergers. I live with constant anxiety, depression, ocd, social anxiety and a few other things. I have been told why don’t you just get a psychologist or whatever. Well I work 3 casual jobs and study university part time. I d... View more

Hi well I have adhd and Aspergers. I live with constant anxiety, depression, ocd, social anxiety and a few other things. I have been told why don’t you just get a psychologist or whatever. Well I work 3 casual jobs and study university part time. I don’t get time off to see a psychologist. I was in a domestic violence situation. I left in January with the shirt on my back and two car loads of stuff. He got everything else. I was too afraid to take anything. He still tried to come after me. He hacked my accounts and I was forced to leave Facebook and I lost all my friends. I had to go to court to get my name off the lease because the realestate refused to take me off the lease even though by law they had to. I had to defend myself and do the bulk of the work myself because my caseworker only had a cert 4 in community services and had no idea what she was doing. I have been going through hell. I have had to buy new everything, start out fresh with everything! I have just finished paying back the loan that I took out to pay his bond. He made me pay for just about everything. I’m getting back on my feet. I struggle with sitting still in the classroom at university and not saying a word. I’m overwhelmed with sensory from everyone’s emotions as I am an empath. I struggle with keeping quiet. I have racing repeating thoughts constantly. The only way to stop the pain from the racing repeating thoughts is to say them out loud. There’s like this massive pressure in my brain that forces me to speak. I’m constantly putting my foot in it. Im working like 60 to 70 hours this week plus doing university. I’m struggling to get everything done. I usually work about 40 hours per week but have cancelations at work so I was offered extra work by all employers instead this week. Before I knew it I was working these hours. I’m struggling to be honest. But the week is just about over thank god! The good news is that I’m surviving after leaving my ex. Going through such a emotional trauma. I have anxiety about losing my jobs or mentally just not coping and snapping. But I still have my jobs, while I have made mistakes because I have never really worked before I was forced on Centrelink when I was 16. It has been hard leaving the safety of Centrelink. But I’m surviving and I’m earning more money then I have ever had in my life. I worked 9 hours today and I’m about to go to bed so that I can work another 9 tomorrow. I’m so exhausted. I was just getting the words out of my head.

Blair2019 First Post - Constant Anxiety
  • replies: 1

I don't what to do anymore... Psychology and even medication barely helps. I have a constant fear of death, just generally. Not on how I am going to go, just of it. I don't want to go into too much detail as it is a REALLY strong trigger even just to... View more

I don't what to do anymore... Psychology and even medication barely helps. I have a constant fear of death, just generally. Not on how I am going to go, just of it. I don't want to go into too much detail as it is a REALLY strong trigger even just to write about it. I hate this feeling of constant anxiety; it consumes me. I just want to be happy, healthy and enjoying life. I always wonder what its like to be someone who doesn't experience anxiety and to be so joyous all of the time. I am so over this anxiety... I am now having panic attacks at work, at home... anywhere. The smallest triggers could be someone's birthday and then I begin to count how many I could have left. spending time with my little boy and know that he will be without me one day, or feeling selfish to bring another life into the world and they have to experience the same fear I have. I am so completely over it and am ready to breakdown all of the time... I have supportive people around me and then others who say just get over it. When I had a level 10 panic attack and became dissociative my mother fobbed it off and didn't recognise it. I couldn't go in my room for days as I had my panic attack in there and I couldn't be in that space. I need help. I need a cure. I feel desperate.

gingerblue Social anxiety and awkwardness in the workplace
  • replies: 1

Hi forum, this is my first time posting! I'm a 40 years old male, new-ish immigrant to Australia, happily married and a father to two gorgeous young kids. My entire life I experienced difficulties in initiating connections with people, like socializi... View more

Hi forum, this is my first time posting! I'm a 40 years old male, new-ish immigrant to Australia, happily married and a father to two gorgeous young kids. My entire life I experienced difficulties in initiating connections with people, like socializing is more difficult to me than to others. I have many friends, and with them I'm "in my element", but I find it impossible to reach out to new people and initiate contact. Recently I started thinking that I may be on the highly functioning side of the spectrum. A few years ago I made an adventurous career change and placed myself in a senior role, which unfortunately resulted in 5 years of struggles, unhappiness and a shuttered self confidence (across 3 different jobs, and 2 countries). I started suffering from anxiety and stress. I only barely managed to bounce back, but finally pivoted again and landed in a job I like in a great company. However, years of struggling socially, an ongoing anxiety and a shattered self esteem led me to become very quite in the work place - I'm barely socializing, I'm avoiding meaningful conversations and people altogether, I get stressed by social interactions and generally feel like I'm spiraling down into my own cave. Whenever I do talk to people I feel like I'm boring them, because for some reason I can't just loosen up and have a laugh. I'm always talking about deep and meaningful stuff, or just blabbing away - I bore myself! But this is what comes out of me and it really bums me. I am a funny, creative person with my close friends, but it doesn't at all come out in conversations in the work place. This is taking a major toll on my career prospects and on my self esteem. For now I'm cruising, taking comfort in the fact I enjoy my work and in my great family and friends but I wish to tackle these issues head-on and not give in to them. I am a very social person - I thrive on social interactions, but don't know how to reach out to people. I'm surrounded by lovely vibrant people at work, but instead of riding the wave and joining the great athmesphere - I'm observing quietly and not able to get involved. I'm included less and less in stuff - probably because people around me assume I'm not interested in social interactions. But I am! I would love to hear some suggestions, or how you dealt with similar challenges. Thanks!

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