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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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Kaywolf909 Bad Anxiety can anyone recommend any helpful techniques?
  • replies: 2

I’ve been having trouble with anxiety since 2016 but now it only seems to be getting more harder to cope I’ve been put on medication which only seem to make it worse as I now get nausea and sweating so I got switched on to another medication but my d... View more

I’ve been having trouble with anxiety since 2016 but now it only seems to be getting more harder to cope I’ve been put on medication which only seem to make it worse as I now get nausea and sweating so I got switched on to another medication but my doctor told me I should work on techniques to control my anxiety a lot more since I seem to go more into a panic attack the longer he was seeing me I would be so grateful for anyone’s help to stop making me feel so nauseous when I go out in public and I suffer both from anxiety and social anxiety if that helps

brave_heart Crippling anxiety getting worse
  • replies: 3

Hi all, My first post here, reaching out to see if anyone has experienced similar feelings. I am yet to go to a GP (booked in for next week) but have been doing a lot of research about my symptoms and things that seem to be my triggers. The anxiety I... View more

Hi all, My first post here, reaching out to see if anyone has experienced similar feelings. I am yet to go to a GP (booked in for next week) but have been doing a lot of research about my symptoms and things that seem to be my triggers. The anxiety I feel is crippling me and getting worse by the day. For around 6-12 months I have been feeling quite severe symptoms (and quite moderate symptoms a few years before that) but I think it has been going on at a milder level for much, much longer. It is getting to the point now where my heart is often racing, I feel light headed, I throw up a lot, lose my appetite a lot, I'm often constantly shaking and jittery, and can only get around 5 hours of sleep each night on average. I work from home (as a contractor, not an employee) so I am quite isolated in a way, and I don't know many people as I relocated from elsewhere a few years back. I live with my partner, and he works full time. I used to be great at staying motivated, it's been rewarding being self employed and the flexibility is great. But now my head is becoming my own worst enemy, I am less productive and much less motivated. I don't even know what is causing the stress, just that I feel this sense of needing to control everything - because if I don't, something will go wrong. I am afraid of absolutely everything, and my mind is constantly racing, dreaming up ideas of what could possibly go wrong. I've tried reasoning with the irrational thoughts, I've tried fighting against them, I've tried meditation and breathing/muscle relaxation techniques but nothing has helped me so far. In fact, it seems to be getting worse. A lot of it is to do with my partner, I am absolutely petrified that he will hurt me (not physically) or leave me, or decide that I'm not good enough for him. But I realise a lot of my behaviour could potentially be pushing him away as I'm always on edge, always asking a million questions, analysing every tiny little thing, and I can never just relax and be happy. I'm like that with all aspects of my life (not just my relationship with my partner). I do not know how to just calm down, live life in the moment and stop stressing about things that haven't even happen yet. I am particularly concerned as it is a dream of mine to have children and I'm not young (33), but I'm holding off because of my concerns about my mental health. If anyone has any tips or suggestions, or has been in a similar place, I'd love to hear from you. Thank you in advance!

Riseabovethedark Anxiety stopping me from applying for dream job.
  • replies: 1

Hi, so i’ve had this awful couple of months at work and my anxiety seems to be holding me back from moving on and getting my dream job. My current job is stressful and as a casual I work with new people each day. It’s not the people making me anxious... View more

Hi, so i’ve had this awful couple of months at work and my anxiety seems to be holding me back from moving on and getting my dream job. My current job is stressful and as a casual I work with new people each day. It’s not the people making me anxious...I think it’s that I don’t feel like I have a team anymore if that makes sense? There’s nobody really to back me up or help out if I make mistakes. Last year I worked with the same people every day and we were like a well oiled machine. If one person made a mistake, the rest would fill the void and help to fix whatever it was. Now it’s all up to me and it’s too much pressure. I want to get a new, better job (my dream job) but i’ve been doing this job for so long that I sometimes have a panic attack just thinking about going for interviews and writing KSC, which just leaves me exhausted. The job I want is what my uni degree is for but I can’t seem to push past the anxiety, which is frustrating in itself! I don’t know how to get out of this funk and to find the courage to get a better job. It doesn’t help I keep mucking up.

cat23 OCD getting worse
  • replies: 1

Hello I have always had some form of OCD. My mother had also got OCD and checks everything. However my OCD had gone from checking things into contamination OCD. I feel this has happened when I started working at a hospital. I get worried when I see a... View more

Hello I have always had some form of OCD. My mother had also got OCD and checks everything. However my OCD had gone from checking things into contamination OCD. I feel this has happened when I started working at a hospital. I get worried when I see anything that remotely looks like blood and I obsess about being clean so I don’t contaminate myself or my daughter. I feel I am running out of options to fix this. I have seen a psychologist that did not seem to help. I do not like the idea of medication however I will almost try anything to get back more quality of life. Any suggestions or advice on this would be appreciated.

Roobot Panic outside class
  • replies: 1

I try to do a Zumba class twice a week. I never want to go but feel good when it's over. Usually I'll just tell myself, I'll dress for it, drop the kids at school and then if I still don't want to go I'll come home. Then I find myself pushing through... View more

I try to do a Zumba class twice a week. I never want to go but feel good when it's over. Usually I'll just tell myself, I'll dress for it, drop the kids at school and then if I still don't want to go I'll come home. Then I find myself pushing through. Today was the first time I didn't go. I sat outside for a bit in tears then came home. Feeling a bit defeated

deedee13 My anxiety is taking over my life
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone, It's my first time posting on here, it was really nice to see everyone be supported in all the forums. I have had anxiety since about the age of 6 so started very young and I feel that as I have gotten older it has deteriorated a lot mor... View more

Hi everyone, It's my first time posting on here, it was really nice to see everyone be supported in all the forums. I have had anxiety since about the age of 6 so started very young and I feel that as I have gotten older it has deteriorated a lot more. Went through a few rough patches last year with a break up after a long term relationship, changed jobs 3 times, moved back home. I am always really active so I turned to training at the gym and latin dancing as an outlet for my mental health and it was great. However I went overboard with it and now I have a hernia which has stopped me completely from being able to exercise. I have become extremely depressed, constantly anxious and feeling sick as I do not know how long it is going to take to even get surgery. I have huge anxiety about the surgery as well. I am feeling so nauseous everyday and cannot eat. I have chronic lower back pain, muscle twitches, dizziness, headaches, endless digestive problems, weakness in my arms and legs. All of this is making me feel worse as I keep thinking I have a new medical condition. I am struggling to meditate as I have so much pent up nervous energy I usually get rid of through training. If anyone has any advice on how I can get through this please help. Feeling like I am falling into a very dark space. Thank you x

Tori_nawec Debilitating Anxiety
  • replies: 9

Hi, my name is Tori and I’m 21 years old. i believe I have suffered with anxiety for a couple months now (undiagnosed.) I never put much thought into it. Just had anxious feelings a lot, anxious thoughts, but it was copeable, and to be honest I thoug... View more

Hi, my name is Tori and I’m 21 years old. i believe I have suffered with anxiety for a couple months now (undiagnosed.) I never put much thought into it. Just had anxious feelings a lot, anxious thoughts, but it was copeable, and to be honest I thought it was normal and that everyone experienced this daily. Then, a couple of days ago I had to go to the emergency room midst a panic attack/anxiety attack. I had no idea what was going on. I thought I was dying. I went to the local GP first as for the past couple days prior I was quite short of breath and had a extremely high heart rate. I was seen at the hospital, blood tests, 2 ECG’s Chest X-ray, and all came back fine and they discharged me 8 hours later. i went to my local GP the next day, she basically told me to learn my own coping mechanisms before we take any steps further. i feel like I can’t do anything. I’m unsure if it’s healthy anxiety or not but I’m still having the same symptoms. Some of my symptoms include * very short of breath/ tightness in chest * dizziness * lack of concentration * lathargic * left arm pain / aches (this still worries me; how can this continue to happen if nothing is medically wrong?) * constant anxious feeling , progresses into a anxiety attack a couple times a day * not eating / feeling nauseas * palpitations all these things I’m experiencing all the time. I only get relief when I sleep. I don’t know how to make it stop. I don’t know how to help myself and I’m struggling.. I haven’t had anything major bad happen recently. We all go through things, and I don’t understand why all of a sudden I am SO anxious and can’t deal with it. Is this normal? Because I can’t help but feel like the hospital missed something and I have an underlying issue that’s causing these symptoms. I would appreciate anyone’s input or support.

Jessicaloveslife22 Do you find you really have to push through even just to go for a walk by yourself somewhere outside your home?
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone, I just realised one of my main problems definitely is anxiety around things around other people. I don't know about everyone else but for me I can take hours just to work myself up to go for a walk down the road the feelings can get so i... View more

Hi everyone, I just realised one of my main problems definitely is anxiety around things around other people. I don't know about everyone else but for me I can take hours just to work myself up to go for a walk down the road the feelings can get so intense. Once I'm on the walk I'm usually anxious the whole time but aware of where I am. Basically for me it starts whereby I want to go for a walk then I'll try to do something else because the feelings are so intense but because it's on my mind basically the anxiety builds and builds over a number of hours and when I finally go on the actual walk it's like this breaking point of twisted feelings inside. How does everyone here break through this sort of thing? I find some days I can push myself and just go and others it's near impossible. Jessica.

notsure23 My recent years dealing with anxiety
  • replies: 1

I've been researching some things about anxiety today because I haven't been feeling too happy recently and I need to feel like I have told anyone even if I am anonymously posting on a forum (I hope this is the right place for this). I have always fe... View more

I've been researching some things about anxiety today because I haven't been feeling too happy recently and I need to feel like I have told anyone even if I am anonymously posting on a forum (I hope this is the right place for this). I have always felt a bit anxious and awkward about certain things here or there, but from my early teenage years to this point it has gotten a lot worse. I struggle to do lots of things that would otherwise be easy for most people my age (17). When I was younger (like most kids) I got anxious about things that I'm sure is pretty standard. I used to love playing sport, going out with my mates and overall just being a happy and normal kid which was how things were until the age of around 13. Last year I was diagnosed with general anxiety and ADHD which really let me know what I was dealing with. It was nice to know why I had been struggling with doing like what seemed the easiest of tasks. At the age of around 13, it seemed like I was shutting people out, like my friends. I stopped going out because I was too worried that something bad might happen, I might see someone from school, I might get judged by a random person. To me it sounded dumb especially because everyone in my house is so charismatic and good in social situations. I thought it over to myself; this is so stupid, why would I worry about someone I will most likely never see again, but I couldn't shake that feeling like I was in danger. Being so scared of being judged by the outside world, I locked myself in my room and just started losing myself on video games. To me I see it as a way to escape my lonely life so I can live a more "ideal life"; To my mum she see's it as an addiction. She doesn't realise I stopped going outside because I am anxious she thinks its because I'm addicted to games. I'm very scared to tell her because she always has been that person that would push it aside and just say something like "no your just being silly" or something. And in her case, fair enough. I've come to figure out that my anxiety is really bad with people I'm not used to. For example, the people i was friends with before my anxiety got bad I don't have a problem talking to etc; which obviously applies to my mum. When i talk to people and when I'm not comfortable I always fidget and my whole body shakes like I'm freezing or something. Its quite hard to compress the past 4 years into 2500 words but I tried I guess.

K8lyn Anxiety
  • replies: 1

Can someone give me strategy to help with my anxiety please

Can someone give me strategy to help with my anxiety please

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