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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.

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Tan93 Social anxiety
  • replies: 2

Hi guys, I am a 24 yr old male. I have severe case of social anxiety and tend to hide from people.all the time. It has and is affecting my life in a bad way. I can't converse to people in a meaningful manner and sometimes just have awkward conversati... View more

Hi guys, I am a 24 yr old male. I have severe case of social anxiety and tend to hide from people.all the time. It has and is affecting my life in a bad way. I can't converse to people in a meaningful manner and sometimes just have awkward conversations. Guys I need help. It is really bad and is causing depression as well.

Chicogirl Chronic fatigue and anxiety
  • replies: 6

Hi everyone I've struggled with anxiety all my life however have developed chronic fatigue after experiencing a very difficult 2 years. My GP has ruled out anything physical so I'm thinking this ongoing fatigue is anxiety related. My job is quite str... View more

Hi everyone I've struggled with anxiety all my life however have developed chronic fatigue after experiencing a very difficult 2 years. My GP has ruled out anything physical so I'm thinking this ongoing fatigue is anxiety related. My job is quite stressful and causes me high anxiety some days. Has anyone else experienced this type of chronic fatigue? Does anyone have any ideas as to what i can do? Thanks!

yxis123 I need advice
  • replies: 2

Hello, I have anxiety and have been seeing a Counselor at headspace on and off for the last 6 months and have attended about 13 sessions. In our last couple of sessions we had just gotten to the crux of my issues and agreed on a plan moving forward w... View more

Hello, I have anxiety and have been seeing a Counselor at headspace on and off for the last 6 months and have attended about 13 sessions. In our last couple of sessions we had just gotten to the crux of my issues and agreed on a plan moving forward when at the start of my very next session she asked me "how I would know if I no longer needed to come back to headspace?" It was something we had talked about in our earlier sessions why would she ask that? It blindsided me and I began to panic. I barely remember what we talked about during the session it felt like I was on auto pilot trying to figure out why she was asking this stuff. I should have asked her but I was too nervous and it felt like a silly question at the time after all we had spent the last 5 months figuring myself out with her help she woudln't just up and say 'were done' right? I went home that day I was a wreck after the session and the following week trying to convince myself that it was just a misunderstanding, I wasn't able to though so I cancelled our sessions over the next 3 weeks unable to face the answer. Towards the end of those 3 weeks it began to feel like I was slowly having a breakdown so I wrote her an email telling her about how I felt. It was a relief when she assured me it was just a badly timed mistake. Now I feel like I overacted and don't know how to or if I should apologise?

Cleo18 Starting to feel obsessive
  • replies: 2

Hi I had been struggling with my GAD for a while now and feel I’m holding my breath more and more which I can seem to control, but I’m now starting to get obsessive over my food and weight. I have tried breathing techniques, mindfulness apps, and I e... View more

Hi I had been struggling with my GAD for a while now and feel I’m holding my breath more and more which I can seem to control, but I’m now starting to get obsessive over my food and weight. I have tried breathing techniques, mindfulness apps, and I exercise. It hits me the hardest when I go to bed because I feel so wired all the time. Does anyone ever feel that way or have any help or ideas or how to manage this?

Shirokuma Work anxiety
  • replies: 1

The past week I’ve been feeling very anxious from work. I’ve recently been given a written warning due to some avoidable errors I made in my admin tasks. I’m getting a review at the end of this week and despite my best efforts to try and improve, it ... View more

The past week I’ve been feeling very anxious from work. I’ve recently been given a written warning due to some avoidable errors I made in my admin tasks. I’m getting a review at the end of this week and despite my best efforts to try and improve, it doesn’t feel like enough for my employer to want to keep me. as someone who is supporting an unemployed mum alone, paying all the bills and sacing for a trip in a few months, this has put a huge weight in my stomach. I’m constantly losing my appetite, finding difficulty sleeping and running short on breath. I don’t what to do and it feels like there’s no one who can make things better.

WeAllNeedHelp Work related stress/anxiety
  • replies: 1

Hi all I work in a hopsital and the particular ward I am on it quite heavy and fast paced. I am only about 2 months new to the job to which I have no previous experience working in other than placements when I was at Uni. So I've really been feeling ... View more

Hi all I work in a hopsital and the particular ward I am on it quite heavy and fast paced. I am only about 2 months new to the job to which I have no previous experience working in other than placements when I was at Uni. So I've really been feeling the stress at work due to its intensity and the anxiety that follows - I am already starting to feel burnt out in the short time that I have been there. I want to want to be able to go to work and not dread every shift and worry about the stress or getting upset because I am so emotionally overwhelmed. I have been putting some strategies in place such as talking to a councellor, but unfortunally I feel like I am constantly needing to get my thoughts out of my head. Please let the ideas and expeirences that have helped in the past everyone

Lil_poppy My anxiety
  • replies: 5

Hi I am new here. I am not sure where can I write in the forums, so end up write it in here. I never thought i have anxiety..I did not know before since I moved to Australia, where everything my life has changed forever. 6 years ago I came to Austral... View more

Hi I am new here. I am not sure where can I write in the forums, so end up write it in here. I never thought i have anxiety..I did not know before since I moved to Australia, where everything my life has changed forever. 6 years ago I came to Australia I could not speak English I had to study English for a year. Then I studied in the university. Most of the units that I studied had presentation, every time i did the presentations I felt that I could not breath and move, I just stood in front of everyone like an idiot. And I felt that I’m the weakest team member. But I tried to solve this problem by preparing before. I graduated 3years ago I thought i was getting better but no. My Anxiety is still with me and now it is ruining my life I lose confidence at work and I do not want to work. Because I am the weakest team member. I feel like if I do something wrong I will make my workmates get upset with me or hate me. And my English is still terrible my accent is hard to understand so I am scared to talk with people at work. They might get bored at me or laugh at me. It doesn’t matter how hard I try I am still a loser. No one understand me and it is hard to explain how I feel. All I need is just listen to me I need someone to support me but I’m shy to ask for help.

fourtimes New and looking for advice...
  • replies: 4

Hi, I am new to this forum. Anxiety definitely runs in my family and im finding out more over the years how much I struggle with it. I am still learning about it and myself. My biggest problem is how to deal with it, I know what my main triggers are ... View more

Hi, I am new to this forum. Anxiety definitely runs in my family and im finding out more over the years how much I struggle with it. I am still learning about it and myself. My biggest problem is how to deal with it, I know what my main triggers are but I cant manage to escape it or think differently. I know that my partner and family are my main things that cause my anxiety but also I have issues with things having to be in routine. I'm wondering how others retrain their minds to be positive or think differently? or is that impossible when you feel this way? I only have just opened up to my family and partner about how I feel, I guess I am very closed off with talking about it. The feeling of all this weight on you, the constant lump in your throat or not being able to focus is overwhelming. Some days waking up its already there and as the day goes on it just becomes stronger. I have been to see a doctor and was recommended to see a counsellor but I am quiet hesitant, I am not overly keen for medication either. But I also just want it to go away. I don't know exactly the point of me posting anything on here, maybe to hear an outside opinion or thoughts or even how you deal with it.

Lauren64 Hope for those with panic attacks and health anxiety
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, I’m a newbie here. I was diagnosed with health anxiety and panic attacks 2 years ago. I’ve seen a psychologist for half that time and I’m stoked to have it at a manageable level now. Throughout it all what I felt helped the most was talk... View more

Hi everyone, I’m a newbie here. I was diagnosed with health anxiety and panic attacks 2 years ago. I’ve seen a psychologist for half that time and I’m stoked to have it at a manageable level now. Throughout it all what I felt helped the most was talking about things with others, no matter how big or small, so I wanted to get a thread going to talk about our successes, worries and setbacks to give hope and encourage each other. My light bulb moment came when I finally realised what the worst possible outcome is: death. And if I did die because of that headache or tight chest or tingling or weird pain, I’d be dead so it wouldn’t matter. I started meditating for 10 minutes every day and found this got me in touch with my thoughts more so I could stop a panic attack/anxiety spell before it started. To the point where if I get that knot in my stomach I can say ‘oh you again old friend, you don’t scare me anymore’ and it loses power and goes away. God there’s been some tough times when I didn’t think I’d get through. I've had every medical test under the sun and avoided everything and everyone. At the lowest point everything seems hopeless. All I can say is, don’t give up. We’re all in this together and it is possible to live a fulfilling life

luciban Relapse of anxiety after three years-feeling very unwell
  • replies: 36

Hello I have not posted for about 3 years as I have been feeling so good and have not had any "major" flare ups of my anxiety. The last three days have been pretty hellish. Both my sons haved lived together in Melbourne and I am in Northern Victoria.... View more

Hello I have not posted for about 3 years as I have been feeling so good and have not had any "major" flare ups of my anxiety. The last three days have been pretty hellish. Both my sons haved lived together in Melbourne and I am in Northern Victoria. My youngest son suffers from social anxiety and depression. He has been up and down trying different medications for the last 12 months. It has been reassuring to know that our eldest son, even though he works and has a full life has been around to keep "an eye" on our youngest. They are very good mates and close. Our eldest has just moved to Sydney over the weekend and our younger son is in the apartment on his own with most of the furniture gone. I am so concerned that he is on his own and has had to adjust to his brother not being around as well as trying to cope with his symptoms. He has a couple of friends that live on the other side of the city and has been seeing a counsellor. The counselling has finished but he still catches up with her at a support group once a fortnight. I think this has definately set off a flare up of my anxiety. The feeling/symptoms are exactly the same as I experienced 3 years ago-waking up extremely anxious in the am, restless, not wanting to be alone, not able to eat, not wanting to be inside, running to the toilet constantly, crying a lot! I have been on a medication over the last 3 years which has certainly kept me well but it does not seem to be working at the moment as I have had a recurrence of symptoms. I am normally a very high functioning person with a highly stressful job in health care which I love and cope with very well. I hate getting up in the morning and feeling like this. I am worried it will last a long time again as I didn't feel better for about two months after the last episode. I have rang the chat line which helped enormously just to have someone to talk to even though I was crying a lot of the time. Is there anyone out there who has been through a similar experience and can give me some hope? I need to stay well for my son. Thank you have Y The