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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Chris_B Forums etiquette: give support to receive support
  • replies: 0

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newb... View more

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newbies are welcomed when they first post, and we understand that it’s a big step to post for the first time on a forum like this, especially if you aren’t feeling great. It’s important to remember, though, that these forums are a community of real people, just like you, not a one-on-one support environment like going to see your psychologist. To get the best out of being here, one of the best tips we can offer is give support to receive support. Being a good community member means: participating in different threads (not just your own), replying to people who have taken the time to reply to you (even if it’s just to say thank you), and... posting words of emotional support and encouragement when you see others who are hurting and reaching out. You don’t have to feel obliged to solve the problems of others: that’s not what we’re here for. But you can offer empathy and what you’ve learned from your own life experiences, even if it’s just a line or two, eg. “I don't know what to say, but I want to give you my support and tell you I care about what is happening to you and hope life will get better soon.” Try to develop an interest in the journeys of others here on the forums. You may be surprised at how good being an active, caring member here can make you feel. For those of you who have had good experiences giving support here on the forums, please post in this thread here and let us know how it has helped you on your journey.

All discussions

Kimmih01 Relapsed & worse anxiety
  • replies: 2

When does it end? About 8 weeks ago I was in my gym after work. A minute into my treadmill walk I got a strange “fluttery” sensation in my chest. I panicked. Once stopping the treadmill my fingertips began to go numb, breathing seemed difficult and I... View more

When does it end? About 8 weeks ago I was in my gym after work. A minute into my treadmill walk I got a strange “fluttery” sensation in my chest. I panicked. Once stopping the treadmill my fingertips began to go numb, breathing seemed difficult and I became very dizzy. I ended up at emergency getting tests done (blood tests, chest X-rays, ECGS) all coming back fine/negative. My symptoms haven’t stopped. I’m upto 8 doctors visit in 7 weeks. All of them running tests and finding nothing. My chest is still tight and painful. Breathing seems so much more difficult than it used to. My vision is always blurry & I am struggling to focus or concentrate. As soon as I get chest pains I begin to think the worse and get dizzy and feel as if I’m suddenly the only person around and get scared and worried. I now have a sinus/ear infection caused by all the stress and it’s mixinf with my symptoms making me believe even more there’s something wrong with me. Still they find nothing. Is this anxiety? Deep down I guess I know it is. But would like to know if anyone else has felt things like this for so long? My doctor sent me away with antidepressants today & said he is sure they will help. I haven’t started them yet as I’ve been off medication for 4 years and going back on them is giving me anxiety. Help & other peoples similar experiences? Does it get better? Did medication help? What else? Feelonf so lost and helpless.

dee_675 Bad anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone,I’m new to this page. I suffer from really bad anxiety and I just can’t seem to control it at the moment. i feel really hot all the time and very anxious and scared wish this feeling would go away. Feel like I’m loosing it.has anyone else... View more

Hi everyone,I’m new to this page. I suffer from really bad anxiety and I just can’t seem to control it at the moment. i feel really hot all the time and very anxious and scared wish this feeling would go away. Feel like I’m loosing it.has anyone else ever felt like this.

Sezza_H Anxiety is taking over
  • replies: 5

I have struggled with ongoing anxiety for a while now but these last couple of weeks have been the worst. I can’t do anything now without the symptoms (feeling very faint, nauseous, chills and what I would describe as some sort of hot flushes) of my ... View more

I have struggled with ongoing anxiety for a while now but these last couple of weeks have been the worst. I can’t do anything now without the symptoms (feeling very faint, nauseous, chills and what I would describe as some sort of hot flushes) of my anxiety completely taking over. In these moments, I get so caught up in these symptoms that I struggle to be “present” or in the moment. I feel this way whenever I am out or whenever someone comes over and it is horrible. Tomorrow, I have to go to a big family event and I am absolutely dreading it because I know how I am going to feel, and I know I won’t be able to enjoy being out nor will I be able to properly socialise. I just wish that these feelings would stop so I can move on with my life. I guess I’m really writing just to get it all out. I was also wondering if anyone can relate to this? And does anyone have ways in which they cope with or manage their anxiety symptoms that they find useful? Thanks

A sad boy I have been in anxiety and crying for 2 weeks....What should I do???
  • replies: 5

I am a student who studying in Melbourne. The recent 2 weeks are my most terrible weeks when I came to Melbourne and today is also my dark day. My favourite blogger always was attacked recently, and today he was shouted at something like his trueness... View more

I am a student who studying in Melbourne. The recent 2 weeks are my most terrible weeks when I came to Melbourne and today is also my dark day. My favourite blogger always was attacked recently, and today he was shouted at something like his trueness of the grade of the university and whether he is talking with one brand. Although he explained everything, it nearly can not work well. I can not stand with it because he is my favourite blogger. No one can compare it with his true and interesting styles. I really care for him because he is the best blogger I have met. And recently he was just attacked like this. Because of him and this thing, I never have a good day for two weeks. I can not eat too much and I am not interested in my hoodies as usual. There is nearly no one day when I do not cry in the recent two weeks. Although I am trying my best to work with the counselor in my college, I still have the negative emotion. I am afraid that if the blogger is blocked, I may not have hope in the social media and the life....because the similar thing happened on my another favourite blogger and he was blocked for one year, which is a giant hit for me... I have ever thought of quitting the social media for him or even suicide, but I thought that it is not more worth while than live, so I did not do them. However I am anxious and always think that life has no hope. I am not dare to talk about this thing to my families and I have few friends here. What should I do for it...?

CJs_mum Studying with anxiety and depression
  • replies: 1

Hi guysm Firstly, THANK YOU BeyondBlue and thank you to everyone on here, to the mods and to those who work tirelessly for BB and its clients. I think this place is amazing. Hope BB is helping you today. Im reaching out because after coping for quite... View more

Hi guysm Firstly, THANK YOU BeyondBlue and thank you to everyone on here, to the mods and to those who work tirelessly for BB and its clients. I think this place is amazing. Hope BB is helping you today. Im reaching out because after coping for quite some time being a full time student trying desperately to pass a full-time Accounting course, Ive been told I probably wont pass and that there's just no point in returning next year. I've attempted one unit of this previously but had a mental breakdown after working full time, studying full time and trying to be a good daughter to abusive parents and a partner and a mother and sucking at it all, I collapsed. I was just trying to make a better life. My life has been a horrible nothing - messy, with no work to speak of, thousands of dollars I couldn't afford to spend down the drain in study and furniture/clothes shopping i regret, never to be seen again. That is all I have. I want to do better. I want to make it better. Now I'm being told "Accounting and Office work just isn't for you." I don't know what is. I feel lost. I feel like there's no point in trying to finish this course now, but i am so so so close to finishing IF i just put the effort in....that however, is triggering all kinds of anxiety and negative thougts within me (eg: "I'm not good enough, I'll never make it. I'm useless." "Dad was right.", "There's too much to do, agh!! Panic!"). Im just not sure where I should be going or what to do now if this isn't any good: what am I good for? What am I good at? All I know is that Im good at making lots of mistakes and making a mess of this thing called life. Just wanted to get that off my chest and see if anyone else feels this way sometimes...whated i guess to know that this is ok, I'll be ok and figure something out - just don't know what yet. Does anyone have any ideas on what they can chose to study or have as some sort of starting point for a career in this crazy, jobless economy? Good luck to you all. xxx

Kmart96 8 weeks sober and still feeling effects of withdrawal
  • replies: 2

For about a year and a half I was a heavy pot user until about 8 weeks ago when I quit cold turkey. It’s caused so many problems for me since and my anxiety is the worst part of it. I’ve been put on a new medication which is definitely helping but I ... View more

For about a year and a half I was a heavy pot user until about 8 weeks ago when I quit cold turkey. It’s caused so many problems for me since and my anxiety is the worst part of it. I’ve been put on a new medication which is definitely helping but I still don’t feel 100% yet. Just wondering if anyone else has had the same problem and something I can do to help wade the physical effects

Ladybug08 Trying to understand GAD
  • replies: 4

Hi Peoples I suffer from GAD! It has gotten really bad since ive fallen out with my parents and being used by them and its caused hurt,pain,discouragement, resentment. My symptoms are dizziness,lightheaded,nausea,heart papultation,sweaty,off balance,... View more

Hi Peoples I suffer from GAD! It has gotten really bad since ive fallen out with my parents and being used by them and its caused hurt,pain,discouragement, resentment. My symptoms are dizziness,lightheaded,nausea,heart papultation,sweaty,off balance,room feels like it spinning,fear of fainting I just want to find out what i can do to get these under control. Im seeing a counselor atm going through ACT. I do shift work which dosent help and eating habit is crap. I still go to work and pray that nothing will happend and it dosent. I get through my day and dont want to go back. I laugh and smile on the outside but inside im hiding. Thankyou

roogirl Anxiety & eyesight
  • replies: 6

Hello, I'm going through a particularly rough patch at the moment with my health anxiety. I suffer from dissociation from time to time also. I see a clinical psychologist and I'm about to start some hypnotherapy. Am wondering if anyone else on this s... View more

Hello, I'm going through a particularly rough patch at the moment with my health anxiety. I suffer from dissociation from time to time also. I see a clinical psychologist and I'm about to start some hypnotherapy. Am wondering if anyone else on this site ever has problems with their eyesight/glasses during these periods? I wear glasses all the time and they are driving me crazy. They are multifocals and I have been to my optometrist to have the prescription checked, had them adjusted a couple of times and nose pads changed. Everything seems to be fine from that end. I'm sure it is just me. Can anxiety affect your eyesight during an anxiety attack? Thanks for any responses or suggestions. Roogirl

auschic Emotional breakdowns
  • replies: 2

Ive had a few i guess you could call them emotional breakdowns and i feel terrible about them. They usually happen if i get into an arguement with my partner. I had one last night and ive had some time to think about what caused it. I know i was feel... View more

Ive had a few i guess you could call them emotional breakdowns and i feel terrible about them. They usually happen if i get into an arguement with my partner. I had one last night and ive had some time to think about what caused it. I know i was feeling misunderstood, desperately trying to get my partner to understand my side (he was perceiving me as something negative due to something i said but didnt mean) basically i was trying to defend myself and show him that i wasnt what he thought and what i said was wrong. He wasnt understsnding and pushed me away, said he didnt want to talk to me etc. i gave him space and felt really bad, i kept thinking about how i can say the wrong things at the wrong time and how i can mess things up so easily. I felt pretty shitty at this point. Anyway i went back in hopes i can convince him that i didnt mean what i said. Didnt work, he shut me down saying he doesnt want to talk. I felt rejected, stupid and somewhat angry because what i said wasnt even that bad it was just a simple wrong choice of words. In my mind im thinking why is he so upset over something so small? At this point im desperate for him to just understand what im saying (im not sure why i care so much) and he just keeps shutting me down and this causes a breakdown to happen. There were alot of tears, fast heart, hyperventilating etc. I think it was the fact that i just wanted to be heard and i kept getting rejected and pushed away even when i hadnt technically done anything wrong. This is what caused a breakdown. Not the first time this has happened (the breakdown) i feel stupid about it,and i think he thinks im a child who cant deal with her emotions which makes me feel even worse. I dont know why this bothers me so much. I just remember feeling so misunderstood and rejected and it hurt. Why does this happen to me and how can i stop?

yungtree Just read that OCD could be caused by dietary glutamate, MSG
  • replies: 8

hey guys this might be a helpful post as I just read an article posted by the NCBI. (This is part of the United States National Library of Medicine) So basically the case is saying that dietary glutamate could be contributing to the symptoms of obses... View more

hey guys this might be a helpful post as I just read an article posted by the NCBI. (This is part of the United States National Library of Medicine) So basically the case is saying that dietary glutamate could be contributing to the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. They did a random clinical trial on a 50 year old man who had been showing symptoms of OCD for 39 years. He was put on this dietary trial to test the effects of a low-glutamate diet on fibromyalgia/irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. After 1 month on the low-glutamate diet all of his symptoms remitted, including his OCD, which had previously been non-responsive to pharmacological treatment. They are suggesting biological plausibility for this observation. But future research is needed. The diet is a low-glutamate diet Im going to give this diet a try and see for myself if it works out. Cheers!