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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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whose_da_man88 Physical symptoms after an attack
  • replies: 21

Hi, I had a panic attack yesterday. Prior to that, I can recall 2 previous ones since i was official diagnosed with anxiety in July/August 2017. I have no idea what triggered the panic attack but I have lots of questions that I can't seem to find whi... View more

Hi, I had a panic attack yesterday. Prior to that, I can recall 2 previous ones since i was official diagnosed with anxiety in July/August 2017. I have no idea what triggered the panic attack but I have lots of questions that I can't seem to find which is why I registered to post today. I was shopping with my wife and daughter. I was there the previous day no problems. For some reason yesterday it resulted in a panic attack whereas the day before, wasn't a problem. The lead up. I had a coffee at 11:30AM something I haven't had for a long long time but I really wanted to enjoy a beverage with my wife. Walking around the shops together and i went to feed my daughter and could feel panicky so started to breathe deeper. This didn't work and got to the point where I was sweating profusely and the world was moving no matter where i looked. I had a sense of dread that I could not cope and that I would black out and was trembling and shaking. Eventually I had to leave my wife and daughter to lay in the car. Today i've been trying to meditate and relax. The way I mediate is lying on the bed. Each time I have gotten out of bed, I have been really dizzy and I have hot and cold flushes. Body could be warm but the feed is cold. Now the questions. - Does this sort of sound like a panic attack? What is the difference between panic and anixety attack? - I've been reading articles, I can't tell if it was voluntary or involuntary. Why would doing something normal lead to this kind of feeling? - Can coffee really bring on a panic attack? I'm guessing it is a stimulant so is it possible that it pushed my body beyond what it can currently cope? - Could coffee plus the stress of looking after my daughter in a crowded mall all add up to cause a sense of not being able to cope? - All forums about panic attack tell you that the panic attack symptoms peak for minutes to hours. However rarely any forums can tell what happens after. I feel fatigued (from insomnia, but muscles feel tired too), dizzy, weird sensations in my head like light headed, pressure moving around inside, hot and cold flushes. Is this normal after an attack? What is everyone's experience. - I lay down for meditations with the Headspace app. Does laying down work? Thanks in advance!

whose_da_man88 steroid hormones & low mood
  • replies: 3

Hi, I had been reading up on serotonin levels and realised that this one chemical/neurotransmitter can cause both depression and anxiety. One symptom that i keep getting is fatigue/lethargy. Some days I wake up and my body feels like it has run a mar... View more

Hi, I had been reading up on serotonin levels and realised that this one chemical/neurotransmitter can cause both depression and anxiety. One symptom that i keep getting is fatigue/lethargy. Some days I wake up and my body feels like it has run a marathon or was hit by a train and it's impossible to get up. And when I do get up, i feel like I want to crawl back into bed or into a corner. What I find is that if I cope through the day, this feeling of fatigue/lethargy (amongst other symptoms such as feel very dull and detached in the brain), seems to dissipate in the evening and I feel like I'm close to normal. I can find details of morning anxiety etc but I can't find any information why things clear up in the evening. I have a theory and wanted to see what others think. When I wake up, I can't get back to sleep. I hear the cortisol is released into the bloodstream around 3AM and that too much cortisol can make you tired. Is it possible that I am too stressed when I sleep and my body is releasing too much cortisol - which I then lower when I do day-to-day things so by the evening I don't feel tired anymore? Thanks.

GusGust Anxiety caused by bogan neighbours
  • replies: 3

I’m posting here because I don’t know what else to do So a couple of years ago, I moved to the suburbs with my family, everything was fine until these new neighbours showed up, for over a year they’ve been having screaming matches at each other at un... View more

I’m posting here because I don’t know what else to do So a couple of years ago, I moved to the suburbs with my family, everything was fine until these new neighbours showed up, for over a year they’ve been having screaming matches at each other at unbearable times like at midnight or 6:00 in the morning Every time I start mentally improving, these people start yelling and swearing again, sending me back down the spiral, making my social anxiety worse and messing up my sleep cycle It doesn’t help that my room is right next to their yard so that I can always hear them arguing or hacking their lungs out in the morning loud and clear I also feel bad for the children, having to endure that constantly, so I feel a sense of guilt not being able to do anything about that either Anyway yeah, can’t leave the house, can’t stay in the house, I just don’t know what to do

greatoutdoors123 Workplace Anxiety
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, This is my first time posting here. I am a 28 year female, working as a lawyer. I have recently started a new job in a new field. I struggle with feelings of shame and guilt (imposter syndrome) type feelings almost daily at work and find... View more

Hi everyone, This is my first time posting here. I am a 28 year female, working as a lawyer. I have recently started a new job in a new field. I struggle with feelings of shame and guilt (imposter syndrome) type feelings almost daily at work and find I am very susceptible to having 'bad days' here. I am an anxious person, and I think I do have a sort of generalised anxiety disorder. I have a mental health care plan from a GP, but haven't used it yet - I think I am just hesitant to for some reason even though I know it will help me. A big trigger for me appears to be work. I feel shame most days about myself. Shame that I am not smart enough, didn't do very well at uni and am constantly making mistakes at work. I had a bad work experience a few years ago where I was bullied by a supervisor, and I think this has left me with a quite a bit of workplace anxiety. If I hear my boss talk to my other supervising colleague I automatically think they are talking about me. If I hear them close the door of one of their offices to chat I get very nervous. I also find it hard to concentrate some days. I know I need to go and see a psych about this (and my other anxiety related thought patterns). I just wanted to know if anyone has experienced something similar? I hope I have explained my situation clearly. Thanks for reading if you have gotten this far!

retrogal Please help!
  • replies: 13

I've always had anxiety and been a mildly anxious person but felt I had it under control until a recent unexpected hospital stay 5 weeks ago. Since then I've been on edge but trying to get back on track - eating really healthy, getting outside heaps ... View more

I've always had anxiety and been a mildly anxious person but felt I had it under control until a recent unexpected hospital stay 5 weeks ago. Since then I've been on edge but trying to get back on track - eating really healthy, getting outside heaps etc - until just over a week ago when I woke up in the middle of the night suddenly with extreme chest pains, heart palpitations and trouble breathing, My GP said it was probably asthma and sent me on my way, but the medication did nothing to stop the symptoms. I went back after a few nights of not sleeping and severe anxiety and he gave me some anxiety medication to try and calm me down so i could catch up on sleep. This has only worked for a few hours at a time to sleep and my anxiety is still through the roof. I'm finding I need the anxiety meducation everyday to function at the moment otherwise I'm a complete zombie from the lack of sleep. I went back once more yesterday and said I just can't take it anymore and he has given me medication to take. I tried Valerian with no effect first and don't know where to go from here. I feel like if I could just catch up on sleep I could asses the situation better. But it seems to be impossible. I've never been on antidepressants before and am scared to start. ANY advice or thoughts would be so greatly appreciated .

hanhan13 anxiety
  • replies: 6

hi all, i wanted to know if what i am experiencing is possibly anxiety. i feel constantly on edge and sometimes nauseous, i get really bad nightmares and in consequence wake up several times in the night, gasping and sometimes crying. i sometimes can... View more

hi all, i wanted to know if what i am experiencing is possibly anxiety. i feel constantly on edge and sometimes nauseous, i get really bad nightmares and in consequence wake up several times in the night, gasping and sometimes crying. i sometimes cannot control my anxious feelings at all and just want to scream and scream and scream because i feel so claustrophobic, like i am suffocating, the walls closing in on me. i get spasms too, mostly in my leg - don’t really get too many these days. i sometimes hyperventilate, some days i’m worried about everything and have difficulty breathing, which i classify as panic attacks. is this possibly anxiety or panic disorder? thanks

OneDay19 So anxious I can't sleep
  • replies: 4

Hello, I am having trouble sleeping because of work. My stomach is writhing and I feel like someone is pressing on both sides of my head. I have to work tomorrow so if I don't sleep I will be really struggling. My work has become much more stressful ... View more

Hello, I am having trouble sleeping because of work. My stomach is writhing and I feel like someone is pressing on both sides of my head. I have to work tomorrow so if I don't sleep I will be really struggling. My work has become much more stressful than I ever expected. If someone said I didn't have to go back I would be extremely relieved aside from letting lots of people down. I really don't want to feel like this because of work. Right now tonight I am trying to find some better ways to calm down so I can sleep and try to keep things in perspective. I'm not feeling optimistic about it. I have a history of sounding calm and coping until I am so unable to cope I will get sick. I don't feel like people really understand when I try to express what is going on for me because I have history of care taking a really abusive parent and am expert at looking like everything is okay. It's my default mode to the extent that I feel like I am not believed when I say I am stressed. I really need to sleep . . .

Lostgirl815 Health anxiety - scared
  • replies: 4

Hi, this is my first post here. I’ve struggled with general anxiety and panic attacks since I was 4 years old. I have bouts of health anxiety also and it’s just surfaced again. Yesterday afternoon I started developing itchy lumps that looked like moz... View more

Hi, this is my first post here. I’ve struggled with general anxiety and panic attacks since I was 4 years old. I have bouts of health anxiety also and it’s just surfaced again. Yesterday afternoon I started developing itchy lumps that looked like mozzie bites. Over a few hours though they spread all over my thighs and lower back and eventually up my back and neck. They tuned into huge swollen welts. I was terrified, after a google search I discovered they were called hives and possibly an allergic reaction to something. They have since calmed down a lot over the last 24 hours, but the rash is still flaring up a bit then settling down. I have never had this before in my life and I ate nothing different or out of the ordinary to get them. I ended up staying awake all night to be on guard for an anaphylactic shock and and today I’ve been so on edge, thinking everything I eat is going to make my throat close up and I’ll die. Yes that sounds extreme but I can’t get rid of this fear now. I feel so insanely anxious and I just wish I knew what caused the hives. It’s the not knowing that is really affecting me. I’m not sure what my question is.. I guess I’m just looking for some advice to calm down and some logical input from others who also suffer anxiety to help combat the thoughts that I’m letting myself get carried away with right now.

MrAAndo A vicious cycle
  • replies: 3

Hey, I'm a 22 year old guy with anxiety and it's old pal depression. I'm currently getting stuck in a cycle which I can't seem to break. While I'm a bit introverted, I love chatting to people and feeling included. Over the past 6 months of university... View more

Hey, I'm a 22 year old guy with anxiety and it's old pal depression. I'm currently getting stuck in a cycle which I can't seem to break. While I'm a bit introverted, I love chatting to people and feeling included. Over the past 6 months of university I have been stuck in tutorials where I am nearly silent for a whole hour. For some reason I just can never start conversations with people and it feels like there is an invisible block between myself and them. This gets worse when I'm unsure of a topic as I completely shut down and try to avoid interaction. This then feeds into my depression as I feel completely alone. Does anyone know how you can try to remove this invisible block and feel comfortable chatting to other people? Any help would be amazing.

Obelina Needing advice.
  • replies: 3

Hi... Ive been managing my anxiety for a few years now without medication, however 3 months ago my anxiety took over (without me realizing until my life went a little upside down). So ive been seeing a dr and taking medication(which has helped so muc... View more

Hi... Ive been managing my anxiety for a few years now without medication, however 3 months ago my anxiety took over (without me realizing until my life went a little upside down). So ive been seeing a dr and taking medication(which has helped so much) being mindful and taking time for myself... but over the last few days ive been incredibly anxious again, overthinking ect... so i have a question, can the medication that has been working stop being as effective? Thanks.