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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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gloria10 Social Anxiety Triggers
  • replies: 9

So the last couple of weeks I have been struggling with social anxiety. There were some people I knew, or thought I knew, in my local area and it was all friendly. Suddenly, things seemed to have changed; two are also my neighbours and it is making t... View more

So the last couple of weeks I have been struggling with social anxiety. There were some people I knew, or thought I knew, in my local area and it was all friendly. Suddenly, things seemed to have changed; two are also my neighbours and it is making things awkward. I am feeling judged for who I am and constantly worrying about how they see me. I've also been feeling like I cant go outside when they are they because they wont want to talk to me. I am a chatty, friendly person and I dont mean any harm by it, but I dont know if its off-putting for others. One of them says a short hello and is avoiding my eyes as well. I'm content with and happy hello and thats enough. Any advice would be great. It has gotten to the point where I been feeling it might be time to move from the area and I don't know if thats part of it, but if I can try and deal with this first that would be better. Ive just never been great dealing with social situations. Thanks

Freoman New to this and worried
  • replies: 5

Hi , just wondering if its just me or anxiety. I suffer from occasional Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and have some heart artery blockages but not enough to warrant intervention as yet. I live alone and work in Victoria with all my family in WA. I constan... View more

Hi , just wondering if its just me or anxiety. I suffer from occasional Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and have some heart artery blockages but not enough to warrant intervention as yet. I live alone and work in Victoria with all my family in WA. I constantly worry about my health to the point of hypochondria. I constantly google symptoms and am concerned about having a heart attack and that I wont see my family again. I sit and worry about finances to ensure I have money to leave my children I have symptoms such as muscle pains, light-headedness, occasional dizziness, tight chest, nausea, burping consistently, bloating, stomach cramps (a friend suggested I have nervous stomach!!) but overall a general desire not to do much at all. If I plan to go out I worry that my AF will come back and I wont be able to go I see an osteo who loosens my muscles and I feel better in that regard for a day or two after. My cardiologist puts down my chest pains as muscular and not heart related. I have undergone an ablation which seems to have fixed the AF (I hope). But yet I still google every twinge and ache since the op. I do know that if I make an effort to go out and enjoy myself , I feel good and think , I don't feel light headed or sore and once I do that the symptoms start to come back. I smoke as a way of easing what I think is anxiety but want and need to give up. The thing is my health is on my mind as soon as I wake up until I go to bed. I am not enjoying things at all. I am putting off planning a trip to Europe next year with friends as I don't think my health will allow it. Any advice or similar experiences would be welcome.

Fizz_wizz Anxiety about full time work
  • replies: 4

Hi I currently have a part time job and the thought of working full time sends me into a massive anxiety attack I'm so scared of working full time because my home is my safe place, I was just wondering if this is normal for anxiety suffers and if any... View more

Hi I currently have a part time job and the thought of working full time sends me into a massive anxiety attack I'm so scared of working full time because my home is my safe place, I was just wondering if this is normal for anxiety suffers and if anyone else feels this way. Thank you

ave anxiety weakness
  • replies: 2

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced muscle pain and weakness due to anxiety. It affects me mostly at night but my body becomes weak, my arm begins to hurt and my face muscles begin to feel really tired almost like they’re not func... View more

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced muscle pain and weakness due to anxiety. It affects me mostly at night but my body becomes weak, my arm begins to hurt and my face muscles begin to feel really tired almost like they’re not functioning right. I’ve googled it and it says it can be due to anxiety but not being 100% sure stresses me out more. It’s al a bit confusing because there are so many symptoms to anxiety. When my body begins to feel tired, especially my face, I begin to work myself up which makes it worse - just wanna know if anyone else has experienced this or something similar. Thanks.

Barnzey87 Glandulor Fever Affecting IBS?
  • replies: 5

Hi Guys, So going through some trouble. 5 weeks ago I got diagnosed with Glandulor fever, i didn't feel well for the first week. But did alright during the 2nd. I then went back to work for a week, but the following day i had a fight with my partner ... View more

Hi Guys, So going through some trouble. 5 weeks ago I got diagnosed with Glandulor fever, i didn't feel well for the first week. But did alright during the 2nd. I then went back to work for a week, but the following day i had a fight with my partner (recently moved in with her 3 months ago). Got really sad and depressed but we talked it over and we made up. However 2 days later i started to get stomach pains. Felt a lot like IBS. (Got diagnosed 12 years ago with it). Over the following few days it got quite bad so organized a doctors appointment. During this time i had many moments where i was struggling with anxiety, always going over the bad elements in my head. After speaking to the doctor he reckons its my glandulor fever attacking my IBS then Anxiety. 2 days later, i got my mother to take me to hospital as i was on the floor in pain. Once again they believe its glandulor attacking my system. I'm currently just "resting" at home, waiting for this to pass. Every now and then i don't feel like i can cope with this, and the worst part is my parents just went on a holiday and my partner leaves in 4 days for 2 weeks. So i'll be alone, while trying to recover. Im stressing over work, as i was nearly fired 2 years ago while going through massive anxiety diagnoses. I hate just waiting hoping to get better from this. So just want peoples opinion, ever heard of glandulor attacking these symptoms?

Social_Dredd Looking for help :)
  • replies: 7

Hey all. I'm a 30 year old male who's suffering from social anxiety (self diagnosed). I'm looking for help. I've recently tried to become a healthier person (gym, eating healthy, less alcohol, no drugs) but I've used alcohol as a social lubricant sin... View more

Hey all. I'm a 30 year old male who's suffering from social anxiety (self diagnosed). I'm looking for help. I've recently tried to become a healthier person (gym, eating healthy, less alcohol, no drugs) but I've used alcohol as a social lubricant since I was a teenager and am now finding it next to impossible to work up the courage to go out in public and interact with people let alone socialize. I get anxious at the thought of a haircut, at the thought of sitting down for a meal at a restaurant, at the thought of interacting with people. I want to thrive in these situations, not run from them. What should I do?

LilKiwi Health Anxiety has ruined me.
  • replies: 11

Not even two weeks ago, I woke up and had a pain in my right breast. The following week there was a small lump in my armpit but that had since passed. I had convinced myself I had breast cancer and went to see a GP, giving the all clear, I hoped all ... View more

Not even two weeks ago, I woke up and had a pain in my right breast. The following week there was a small lump in my armpit but that had since passed. I had convinced myself I had breast cancer and went to see a GP, giving the all clear, I hoped all my troubles would be gone and things would surely clear up. Apparently I was wrong. Not even a day or two later, I started feeling pains around my neck and collarbone. The right side of my face started to feel swollen and tingly. So what did I do? Good ole’ doctor Google. Breast Cancer. Meningitis. Brain Cancer. Dying. Cancer, cancer. I was destroying myself. My partner watched me changed before his very eyes. For someone who has mild to no anxiety most of my life, I don’t even know who I am anymore. I went to a new GP with my symptoms and he diagnosed me with Conjunctivitis and a bacterial infection in the right side of my face. Hoping that would help, I’ve noticed now that it seems my antibiotics aren’t doing anything and I have this horrible sleep pattern. Anytime I try to lay down, I feel tightness all around my neck and be back of my head. Sometimes it’s so bad, I can’t sleep. I’ll get two to three hours. Now I’ve just made myself so anxious and thinking something is wrong, I just can’t even think about sleep with out tensing up. I keep researching and researching, thinking I have a brain tumor. I’m not suffering from anything vision, movement or vomiting related. I’m literally tearing myself apart. This sickness is ruining my relationship and mental health. I can’t believe how I’ve become in a matter of two weeks. I honestly don’t know what to do. I’ll be returning to the GP again on Saturday.

Quivz Employment and anxiety
  • replies: 9

I have suffered anxiety most of my life, but was only diagnosed some years ago when the depression i developed got so bad i couldn't cope. I used medication for a while to help with the depression, but only until that went away. I only seemed to get ... View more

I have suffered anxiety most of my life, but was only diagnosed some years ago when the depression i developed got so bad i couldn't cope. I used medication for a while to help with the depression, but only until that went away. I only seemed to get depressed because my anxiety caused me so many problems and now i've come to terms with general and social anxiety i dont get depressed much anymore. I dont really like the medications so i cope without them. I have been unemployed since i was diagnosed and its been relatively easy to cope, living with my parents and not having to deal with work stress. But i cant do this forever and want to be working so i can support myself. However i dont know what sort of work to do. Everytime i go through the job listings and try to picture myself doing any of the jobs i might apply for i get anxious enough that i cant keep looking at the listings. I wanted to try volunteering one day a week as a sort of exposure therapy, but haven't even been able to manage that. I was on new start for a long time and not only did i not find a job, but the threat of actually getting one was terrifying. I would not have coped with the centrelink requirements without medication at the time and that was only looking for work, not even a job proper.. I tried going back to uni to change fields, but i couldn't deal with the pressure anymore. I did not qualify for the DSP at the height of my anxiety and depression. i've had a look at it and i doubt i could support myself on it anyway. I'm looking for independence, not some money while i continue to live with some sort of carer. So does anyone have any recommendations as to types of work i could try? Let me point out that even with medication i was no less anxious about any job i imagined myself doing. So while i would be willing to start meds again, it alone is not the solution.

Ellie13 Anxiety and bad experiences while job seeking
  • replies: 2

Hi, This is my first time posting and I am not the best at articulating myself so sorry if this post is a mess. I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for my post as it is not directly related to anxiety. I am mostly writing this because I need to... View more

Hi, This is my first time posting and I am not the best at articulating myself so sorry if this post is a mess. I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for my post as it is not directly related to anxiety. I am mostly writing this because I need to get it off my chest. I am very sad at the moment and it’s difficult for me to talk about with people I know. I recently completed a pet grooming course and I have been searching for a job. This job search has been so disheartening. I was told before I completed my course by the institute that there is a high demand for groomers but I was not told that no one wants to train you, they all want experience. And the ones that don't want experience want an "early school-leaver" so a 16-year-old that they can exploit for cheap labour. Also, every company you apply for wants you to do unpaid trials which are not directly supervised so therefore illegal. I recently applied for a job and received a rude message back from the employer. I do not understand why they were so angry at me. They said that I was clearly not suitable because I lived in another state but I have double-checked and the business is in the same state as me. This message has left me so confused and disheartened. Adding to this is a bad pet sitting experience with a family. I am so lost. I do not want to continue job searching in such an industry and my anxiety and bad experiences is making it almost impossible for me to do so. I am not really sure what to do. Thank you for reading this.

Migz Homosexual Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
  • replies: 2

There was this one time when i saw a penis, i suddenly got aroused. I don't know why i got aroused but i'm sure that i'm not attracted to men and will never want to be with a man. I keep getting thoughts that i'm gay or bi but deep down, i know i'm s... View more

There was this one time when i saw a penis, i suddenly got aroused. I don't know why i got aroused but i'm sure that i'm not attracted to men and will never want to be with a man. I keep getting thoughts that i'm gay or bi but deep down, i know i'm straight, then i read about HOCD (Homosexual Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and felt that this is what i'm suffering from. Am i really straight and is this just HOCD?

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