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

All discussions

SJ17 Do i have relationship anxiety??
  • replies: 3

Hi all, i have been in a happy and loving relationship for the past 2.5 years. Never before have i had doubts...in fact i have always thought i have found the one. Ive been in a long term relationship before and in that i knew deep down he wasnt the ... View more

Hi all, i have been in a happy and loving relationship for the past 2.5 years. Never before have i had doubts...in fact i have always thought i have found the one. Ive been in a long term relationship before and in that i knew deep down he wasnt the one. The last 4 months of my current relationship i have been experiencing anxiety for the first time. Its only now ive realised that i have probably always had that anxious tendency. Always worrying, incredibly indecisive and a perfectionist. There has been some stressors including my partners lack of work but our relationship has always been strong. I trust him 100% and he is been an amazing support. I can talk to him about everything. I dont know where these doubts have stemmed from but they have caused so much distress for me! Thoughts like... do i really LOVE him? Are we ment to be together? Do i want to be single? I feel now these doubts have a hold and constantly popping up in my day to day life! I 100% see a future with him (and feel i want that!) but why do these doubts keep arising? Is this normal? I feel occassional doubts are normal but when they are so constant its horrible. They sometimes prevent me from feeling 100% happy when im with him and any little thing wrong i get irritable and frustrated When i look at him i think gosh im lucky, i dont want to be without you! And occassionally i just get annoyed at him for no reason. I have been unhappy in myself lately in my career, life direction etc just feeling generally lost. Thats where it all started to be honest. I keep having negative dreams too. Please help shed some light! I want to overcome this.

Halzxxx1 Trigger warning Anxiety/palpitations/constant fear of death/ heart issues
  • replies: 1

Hi all, First time posting here, I suffer anxiety, panic disorder, PTSD, trauma and depression, I found my father passed away in 2013 and let's say it destroyed the person I was, the past 6 years have been hell for me, I have lost myself, my life, my... View more

Hi all, First time posting here, I suffer anxiety, panic disorder, PTSD, trauma and depression, I found my father passed away in 2013 and let's say it destroyed the person I was, the past 6 years have been hell for me, I have lost myself, my life, my friends, I went from been a happy, bubbly out there girl with lots of friends, out every weekend to staying at home too scared to leave home, at least once a day I'm convinced I'm having a heart attack and dying, come night time and the palpitations kick in, I live in constant fear, I do have diagnosed angina and have GTN spray for that and diagnosed tachycardia and on beta blockers, everyone close to me has died of heart issues, extensive family history plus my added history and I'm convinced that is how I'll die, I get one small pain in my left arm and I'm in complete panic, but lately the palpitations have been horrible, constant for hours on end, medication does not help and I find I'm taking it more then before, I'm.presecibed 2 a day but before I was lucky to use 1 a week now I'm taking what I'm prescribe a day mainly at night, I'm struggling with my relationship because of all of this, I need help I don't know what to do! I just want these palpitations to stop, I'm not sleeping, I can't think straight, I'm going crazy!

SkipSkip Ongoing chest pains, left side only (not heart attack)
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Hello all I’m a married 32 year old male with two kids. About 3 years ago I had what I know believe was my first panic attack. Lying in bed and all of a sudden getting a sore chest, tingle in my left arm and also a ‘weird’ sensation/feeling all over.... View more

Hello all I’m a married 32 year old male with two kids. About 3 years ago I had what I know believe was my first panic attack. Lying in bed and all of a sudden getting a sore chest, tingle in my left arm and also a ‘weird’ sensation/feeling all over. Long story short, I’ve had many tests to thankfully rule out any heart problems. I’m fit and doctors say I’m at good weight and healthy. I’m been told I have anxiety by my gp and for the second time gone on medication which sometimes helps but still on most days will have a constant ache in my chest (left side). I have found my temper getting shorter and shorter and the need to have things tidy doesn’t help with having two small kids at home I’m a musician and even starting to find that singing (what I love doing) is starting to set my chest off and I find myself worrying more about how and if that will affect me every time I do music. Is anyone else out there experiencing the same issues? Or has anyone had this same thing and come through the other side?? having good and bad weeks over the past 3 years is really starting to get to me and affect my life and family life i have seen doctors, specialists, chiropractors, physiotherpists, hypnotherapists. I’ve changed diets, lost weight, done headspace apps etc too I need to find a permanent fix to my anxiety so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated TIA

Darcelle Driving anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone this is my first post here! So this may sound silly, but I have, for some unbeknown reason to me, get severe anxiety from driving. This is not through driving itself as I am a very confident driver. It is more the aftermath, when I get ho... View more

Hi everyone this is my first post here! So this may sound silly, but I have, for some unbeknown reason to me, get severe anxiety from driving. This is not through driving itself as I am a very confident driver. It is more the aftermath, when I get home and start to overthink things. For instance, 2 weeks ago I was driving down road doing under the speed limit which is 80km/h. When I got further down the road I saw a sign that said 'End Roadworks". But i hadn't seen the initial sign indicating that there was road works. So now I am freaking out (as I always do) about receiving a fine. But the anxiety does not stop there. This situation has happened many times before, when I have been driving under the speed limit, due to anxiety I always drive at least 5-10km/h under, I will get home and my mind will start to wonder whether or not I looked properly, or whether I had missed a sign and even to go as far as wondering if anybody has reported me that day because they were having a bad day, or felt as though I did something wrong. Does anybody have any tips on how to reduce this anxiety? It is leading to sleepless nights as I am constantly researching the fines and the implications around this sort of thing. I am a student paramedic and no the implications of speeding as I have seen it first hand what the consequences are. It's a hard situation to explain, but I opened up and spoke to my Dad, and to clear my mind he has experienced a similar situation, in which he has come across a sign and thought 'well where are the roadworks?', and detoured back around to see that there was no signs indicating beforehand of the works. So it may have been a similar case? Thank you

Loststriver Confused and anxious about what to do next in life!
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Hello all and thank you for reading my post. My current work situation is not going well at all. I'm a casual at a hospital, and was recently advised that there is no opportunity for me to progress into a full time position. I was hired off my work p... View more

Hello all and thank you for reading my post. My current work situation is not going well at all. I'm a casual at a hospital, and was recently advised that there is no opportunity for me to progress into a full time position. I was hired off my work placement one year ago at the end of completing the course, and I've put in so much time and effort into proving myself. The whole time I've been there, it's been so confusing and stressful because of all the misleading information and poor management, I really can't cope anymore. I just feel as if all this was a complete waste of time and energy, as I thought I was making a positive change by trying something new in life. They have also announced staff cuts and hours which has applied to me. I've tried so hard in this role by learning as much as I can. Accepting majority of shifts given (despite the ridiculous hours I would sometimes work, with lack of sleep) I've never complained or did anything wrong as far as I know. My mental health is not very well at the moment due to being forced to basically find other employment asap. Everything is overwhelming and I'm not coping all too well. I need to leave that position, but confused about what to do next. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

kitykate Work and anxiety
  • replies: 6

Hi all, This is my first time posting and I'm not really sure where to even begin but I'll give it a try. I have recently taken on a full-time job and whilst I went well for a few weeks I am now at the familiar point where I cannot even push myself t... View more

Hi all, This is my first time posting and I'm not really sure where to even begin but I'll give it a try. I have recently taken on a full-time job and whilst I went well for a few weeks I am now at the familiar point where I cannot even push myself to leave the house anymore. I had a really difficult coaching session with a manager who humiliated me and made me feel awful about my performance at work, whilst I appreciate her feedback the way she delivered it was quite a shock and it's like a switch in my brain flicked, I started having panic attacks about going to work and the sinking feeling of checking my schedule and seeing I had coaching. I brought this up with another team leader and mentioned I have a lot of problems with anxiety and depression and really felt like I needed some support from work as I felt I was going down a slippery slope. They acknowledged I had mental health issues and brushed over it, giving me a breathe technique print out and thinking the problem was solved, I tried to push for more support but nothing has come from it. I feel very unsupported at my job and when I need help finding the answer to a customers question I'm met with belittlement, this makes me feel unconfident in my job and I end up going home over the weekends not wanting to come back stressing the entire time. This has caused me to have a lot of time off work, I know that sometimes pushing yourself to be in these uncomfortable situations is beneficial to combating anxiety problems but I can't force myself to do it anymore. I have considered looking for other jobs as there is no way I can afford to not have a job at the moment, I'm just worried that with a future job the same thing will happen, I know I need to get over it but it's so hard. I am currently in a very stressful home situation as well, when I confided in my parent who I still live with that I was having trouble going to work and feeling my anxiety coming back very strongly, I was told "I don't have time for this anymore, you're an adult, grow up" which was upsetting, if I could just be ok and go to work I would but they don't seem to understand this, my anxiety makes it very hard to leave the house when it's at it's worst. I don't know what the resolve is that I'm looking for, it's nice to be able to just write what's happening out, I don't think I will last long at this job but if anyone has found something helpful please let me know.

amr2611 Anxiety and fixating
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Hi everyone, just wanted to see if anyone else experiences the same anxieties I have always struggled with. Basically I have severe anxiety over losing things like photos especially through data loss on my phone. It’s at the point where I have panic ... View more

Hi everyone, just wanted to see if anyone else experiences the same anxieties I have always struggled with. Basically I have severe anxiety over losing things like photos especially through data loss on my phone. It’s at the point where I have panic attacks just thinking about having all my photos disappear, or feel sick if I don’t have all my stuff in the one place on my laptop. The last 2 days I have been fixating on trying to get all my phone pics (almost 4,000 over 3 years) onto my laptop, and have been struggling to do so due to issues with my computer. We finally got most of them to load but I had been obsessing for hours and hours on end and refused to do any uni work until I had it sorted. I’m still feeling very uneasy thinking about the dramas I’ve had. I feel like this kind of fixating is taking over my life and I’m feeling really drained. I don’t know how to stop myself from obsessing over small things, but I feel as though I cannot move onto the next thing if what I’m working on isn’t done 100% right. The phone photos are just an example of this behaviour. I would like to know how others deal with accepting certain things for how they are and focusing on more important things in life? This is a very unhealthy obsession and fixation :((

em415 5 year break up & my anxiety is not the same?
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So 2 weeks ago me(F23) and my boyfriend(M30) broke up from a 5 year relationship. We had a rocky 6 months prior and after many attempts on working things out and discussing ways to get us back to normal we ended up breaking up as that was "the best t... View more

So 2 weeks ago me(F23) and my boyfriend(M30) broke up from a 5 year relationship. We had a rocky 6 months prior and after many attempts on working things out and discussing ways to get us back to normal we ended up breaking up as that was "the best thing right now". I had been on a new medication for 5 months prior to all this, but before if we were having a fight or talking about our relationship I would always end up having an anxiety attack or at least crying as I have just always been emotional. But the day we talked and ended things I was just blank, I somehow managed to say everything I felt which is usually hidden behind me crying or avoiding tough questions. So the situation now is, I have noticed that I seem alright (considering) during the day and night even when talking to people about our break up i seem to be fine, but as soon as I accidentally miss a dose of my Anxiety Medication I crumbled into a blubbering mess, all i want to do is call him and get him back because he is still my best friend... and yes I do miss him but I know this is the right move too. So how can I be sure that me on anxiety medication is the true way I feel? It sounds strange but does the Medication have the power to change the way you feel or think about a person? Ps. I am booked in next week to see my GP and maybe change medication but wanted to see if anyone else had had the same thing.

OllieB Just needed to vent
  • replies: 7

So I'm having a bit of a bad week I haven't built up the courage to leave my house this week and of course avoiding stuff doesn't actually fix it and makes me feel worse. The worst part is I still don't understand why, how or when this became a reali... View more

So I'm having a bit of a bad week I haven't built up the courage to leave my house this week and of course avoiding stuff doesn't actually fix it and makes me feel worse. The worst part is I still don't understand why, how or when this became a reality for me. I don't know I just needed somewhere to put this in words thanks for being there guys, ollieB

Anxious_expat Anxiety impacting relationship with partner
  • replies: 3

Hi all, New user here. Recently diagnosed by my GP as suffering from anxiety. I'm not on medication but have just started seeing a psychologist. I'm engaged to be married and very much in love with my partner. We have a great relationship and he has ... View more

Hi all, New user here. Recently diagnosed by my GP as suffering from anxiety. I'm not on medication but have just started seeing a psychologist. I'm engaged to be married and very much in love with my partner. We have a great relationship and he has been very supportive overall the past few months. I know that he is starting to struggle with coping with my anxiety though. I get obsessive anxiety about things that seem very insignificant and trivial to him. I know that he can't understand it as he has never experienced it himself. My anxiety has been very bad the last few days and last night he said that a conversation I had over the weekend with him when I was in the middle of an anxiety episode and very upset sounded "borderline psychotic". I know that he didn't mean to hurt me but I feel so hurt by this comment. I spoke to him about it later but he was defensive (it was late at night and I know he was tired). So went to bed on a fight, causing me more anxiety. I want him to understand that I haven't chosen to feel like this, that I know that my level of anxiety isn't normal, but however hard this situation is for him it is much harder for me (sorry if that sounds selfish). Not sure really what I am looking for out of this post, but I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any helpful words to offer. Because we are due to be married I think I am possibly over-analysing his comment and wondering well if we can't cope with this problem how are we going to cope with other problems throughout our marriage. Thanks.