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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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LFC99 Anxious over quitting my job
  • replies: 2

Hi, A few months ago I decided I wanted a career change so started studying online whilst working full time at my current job. I haven't enjoyed my job for some time now and I want to leave. I want to find a part-time job so I can focus on my study a... View more

Hi, A few months ago I decided I wanted a career change so started studying online whilst working full time at my current job. I haven't enjoyed my job for some time now and I want to leave. I want to find a part-time job so I can focus on my study and pursue my new career, and my wife fully supports this decision. I went through a tough time 3 years ago and never spoke to anyone about it until now, and the thoughts are coming back into my mind. I went to the doctors 2 weeks ago and he diagnosed me with severe depression. I am now on medication and will be going on to a mental health care plan and will be seeing a psychologist soon. The doctor also gave me 2 weeks off work to rest. During these 2 weeks off work so far, I have not stopped thinking about my assessments and how much I don't want to go back to work. I constantly overthink things and my mind is going round in circles. I haven't progressed with my assessments and I haven't rested. I'm feeling worse. I feel so sick in my stomach about the decision I have to make. My wife doesn't want me to go back to work. She has noticed a dramatic change in my health. I am seeing my doctor on Monday and I feel like I need another 2 more weeks off work to try and rest but I'm worried what my manager will say. My wife has offered to call my manager to hand in my resignation, I don't want to put my wife in that position, but I feel like I can't do it myself at this moment of time. I know I should go in and do it myself as it's the right thing to do, but I don't feel like I'm up to it. So I'm not sure what to do? Any suggestions/help greatly appreciated.

happyannie Anxiety about new meds
  • replies: 8

Hi I know other people go through it so any helpful advice would be appreciated. Over the last 2 weeks Ive been put on a new medication with each 14 days my dose goes up. Well today was a up in dose day and Im just feeling so tired, nausea and genera... View more

Hi I know other people go through it so any helpful advice would be appreciated. Over the last 2 weeks Ive been put on a new medication with each 14 days my dose goes up. Well today was a up in dose day and Im just feeling so tired, nausea and generally not caring about anything, I saw my Doctor last Thursday and he assured me it was just my body getting used to the medicine, but all this is making my anxiety really bad, to the point of making me sick. Im anxious just writing this Im shaky and not thinking clearly right now. I know it will settle down and may even pass. I have wonderful family support thank goodness, love goes a long way. Anyway I've had my whinge now, I hope everyone has a good day Annie

Jadelise92 HEALTH ANXIETY IS RUINING MY LIFE!!
  • replies: 9

Since I was 15 (I am now 25) I have suffered from anxiety. Not the kind of anxiety where you avoid people or places or are afraid of crowds etc, but the type where I am constantly convinced that I have a terminal disease or a disease/illness of some ... View more

Since I was 15 (I am now 25) I have suffered from anxiety. Not the kind of anxiety where you avoid people or places or are afraid of crowds etc, but the type where I am constantly convinced that I have a terminal disease or a disease/illness of some sort. I have had cancer/brain tumors/ brrast cancer/ cervial cancer/heart attacks/ brain anurisms everything bad that you can think of I have thought I have have it multiple times. I was going really really well for a long time but recently split up with my partner and its been a nasty and stressful breakup. Then started to feel dizzy, lightheaded and gotten chest pains amd heart palputations. Anyways that has subsided BUT NOW I have a new thing that I get nearly all day everyday and I am so convinced that something is terribly wrong with me, I get this tingling feeling all over my tongue, nit like pins amd needles but that weird feeling you get before it like you have just had popping candy on your tongue....when I get super stressed its worse and then when I relax it eventually goes away...but when its constantly there I freak out and worry about why its happening and what it could be. Its not painful at all just annoying. It has been happening for about a month now. Has anyone ever had a tingly tongue? Its always something new for me and I feel like i cant live a happy life because I am always scared and it makes me depressed. I am on medication and have been since 2013. I am going to the doctors in the morning so they can tell me I am worrying myself stupid and tell me I am not dying

Maryelle Social Anxiety Disorder
  • replies: 3

Hello, I am feeling very down about my social anxiety and the fact that it is stopping me from getting anywhere in life and also stopping me from getting a job. My social anxiety has caused me to have cranial sweating, which basically means that when... View more

Hello, I am feeling very down about my social anxiety and the fact that it is stopping me from getting anywhere in life and also stopping me from getting a job. My social anxiety has caused me to have cranial sweating, which basically means that when I talk to people or am with people I sweat. Thankfully I found medication for that and so far it is under control. I long for connection with people and would really love a job. I have no friends although I am married and have children. My oldest asked me recently about why I am different to the other mums and why don't I talk to other people. I didn't know how to answer that and fell apart. I have been a stay at home mum for 11 years now and in that time I have studied (2 degrees) and at the beginning of this year I started applying for positions that I thought I could do and was qualified for. I have applied for 16 positions and have had 4 interviews in that time but still no job. I ask for feedback to see where I can improve, because this is something that I really want and need for our family, and all I get is "you interviewed well but have no experience". I'm starting to feel really low and am not sure if I have chosen the right career path and my social anxiety is at a peak now because of it. All I want to do is lay in bed and all I wish is for someone to give me an opportunity. I am starting to feel worthless.

Kkgirl something so small making me so anxious
  • replies: 3

I am always finding myself become irrationally and unnecessarily anxious over small things, and I end up feeling so stuck for days even weeks without being able to get out of constantly thinking about it. This mainly happens when a situation occurs t... View more

I am always finding myself become irrationally and unnecessarily anxious over small things, and I end up feeling so stuck for days even weeks without being able to get out of constantly thinking about it. This mainly happens when a situation occurs that leaves me feeling embarrassed or ashamed. For example this most recently happened with a silly situation, where I have been parking my car in the public carpark at my workplace, because i haven't gotten the permit to park in staff parking ( because, also i have been to anxious to just ask the office for one). just recently the security guard noticed it, and approached me about it, and (i think) he was telling my colleagues about it. It's really no big deal, because i know no one really checks the parking and other staff members park in the public area too. But for some reason the conversation with the security guard keeps playing in my head and i keep worrying about what the other staff might be thinking of me. And now i'm too scared to go back to work, especially because i still haven't rectified the issue and asked for a parking permit, also as a result of my anxiety, thinking about how to answer to where i have been parking for all this time without the permit. This same cycle happens with so many situations where my anxiety constantly reminds me of a problem but makes me too scared to fix it. It always happens with really small and insignificant situations such as this one, where i wish i really just didn't care because it is no big deal. Does anyone have any advice on how to control these feelings of worrying for nothing, and stop being stuck in constantly reminding myself of a minuscule situation and blowing it out of proportion, and just get on with life? Thanks

pete62 Health anxiety, a long lonely road
  • replies: 10

HI All that read this, although I have posted on another thread, I hope posting on here may help others, I know for me it feels good to get things out of my head and share with others, I have worked in the emergency services for 24 years and have fin... View more

HI All that read this, although I have posted on another thread, I hope posting on here may help others, I know for me it feels good to get things out of my head and share with others, I have worked in the emergency services for 24 years and have finally realized that things aren't so great and I am struggling with work, over the past years I seem to have developed a severe case of Health anxiety to the point where it cripples me at times and I feel I don't want to leave the house, I have gotten to the stage where I think every ache pain or feeling I have is life threatening and maybe I have an incurable or lingering disease such as cancer or something, even writing the word sends shivers own my spine, I have been seeing health professionals for sometime now and have been on different types of medication that have worked but by no means has any of them been a magic cure, my sleep patterns were terrible so I now take medication to remedy that although I dream vividly and find morning comes way too quick and then when I wake those intrusive thoughts are there again and so the day starts all over again, I realize in myself that I am obsessive and also compulsive and a perfectionist but this does nothing in my mind to help me through my anxiety, I find going to see the Doctor an anxiety attack in itself and cant stand the thought of tests or the like as waiting for results would be days of super high anxiety, I find I need constant reassurance that I have nothing wrong with me, late last year I ended up at hospital feeling very anxious and unwell and had a heap of tests etc only to find nothing was wrong but still I go on thinking the worst, I try to break the cycle with positive thinking but find that for me it does not always work and so I sink back into depression knowing that this anxiety has a strong hold of me and so the vicious cycle continues, as soon as I feel anxiety building an icy hand goes up the back of my neck and I feel nauseous and unwell ,I suffer acid and bloating in the stomach and then cant eat so I begin to lose weight and immediately imagine the worst again and again the cycle continues, I know what is happening but somehow feel powerless to stop it, the things I find happening to my body when I have an anxiety attack, which by the way lasts days at times, is bad enough in itself, I sweat , I feel sick I have aches and pains and any other usual aches or pains etc become magnified tenfold, I think in the end I am aware of what is going on and that is a small comfort but not a magic cure, I know I need to exercise and keep busy but again that at times seems impossible to do and so it goes on, at times I feel I cant go on feeling like this and I contemplate the alternative but again for the love of my family and those around me I will battle this and keep going, I am hoping that anyone else reading this , like me reading others problems, finds they are not alone and there is help and something to look forward to, if you haven't found help please push your self to do so and talk it through, hope this helps others in some small way, it has me

Bo11 Anxiety about my body
  • replies: 1

I have anxiety about my body. More so much about how I don’t feel certain parts of my body. I am constantly scanning my body to make sure I can feel it and i can’t stop thinking about that I can’t feel my bones and organs. I can’t feel the shape of m... View more

I have anxiety about my body. More so much about how I don’t feel certain parts of my body. I am constantly scanning my body to make sure I can feel it and i can’t stop thinking about that I can’t feel my bones and organs. I can’t feel the shape of my body like my arms and legs and because I can’t feel my body as a whole and just the part i move it freaks me out. I’ve now started to freak out about my body as a whole as if I can’t accept it. I don’t want to move cause it weirds me out that I can move it without feeling all of it. I’ve spoken to so many drs and spychatrists who say it’s normal not to feel these parts of my body but I can’t stop. Has anybody had this. It’s starting to get worse where i think I don’t have a body. They said dp can be a symptom of anxiety but I’m having it when I’m calm. How can I accept that I move my body with out feeling it all the time and how it works. I have this 24/7 and it’s affecting my life. I feel like I’m going crazy.

Kristie_8 Generalised anxiety ptsd agoraphobia and panic disorder with depression
  • replies: 1

Hey everyone so I just wanted to put some of my symptoms out there because I’ve rarely heard of a couple of them and had everything checked and always comes back to anxiety and it’s driving me insane bit of background info multiple ex’s with mental h... View more

Hey everyone so I just wanted to put some of my symptoms out there because I’ve rarely heard of a couple of them and had everything checked and always comes back to anxiety and it’s driving me insane bit of background info multiple ex’s with mental health issues eg skitzophrenia, bipolar etc i broke my back in a car accident which resulted in multiple surgeries had 2 miscargies which resulted in surgery stopped seeing a guy and he turned really bad got all his mates to follow me for over a year where ever I went tried to run me off the road to the point I got cameras in my car and house anyway they apologised 2 years later I dumped my boyfriend of 1 year after that who had alcohol problems and bipolar and he decided to get his friend to smash my car completely ride it off with a cro bar then smash my new boyfriends house anyway we moved he found where I lived again a year later then my anxiety began again I then paid out my lease and my partner and I moved back in with my Mum so after moving in with my mum it was only panic attacks here and there the usual heart racing, sweating, pacing around the house , thinking I was dying, couldn’t breathe tight throat and chest. Anyway we then moved to a bigger house as we had two house fulls my anxiety continued to get worse I couldn’t leave the house without my Mum quit my job couldn’t work couldn’t do anything I was trapped I had to go to every appointment with my Mum and still do, I started seeing a physiologist and psychiatrist who prescribed medication but currently am to scared still to try it I don’t know why I use to take it and I no it won’t hurt me at most it just wont help but I’m still scared ! I just want to get better I’m paranoid about food being poisoned or contaminated so find it hard to eat recently I’ve started seeing floaters constantly and went to hospital I started seeing Black like I was staring at a light but I wasn’t and then it looked like I was staring through a kaleidoscope then couldn’t see anything on my right couldn’t put sentences together or type properly I couldn’t remember simple things or get words out and at hospital they put it down to anxiety or sensory aura migraine anyone else experienced this symptom at all? honestly thought it was a stroke got given medication then got a massive headache and went home six hours later please tell me I’m not the only one and tips on starting medication please !!!

Touvhe Severe hyper sensitisation of body / constant anixety /physical anxiety
  • replies: 7

I have an extreme focus on my body sensations to the point where I cannot function anymore, at least not properly if anyone can relate to these symptoms or give any advice I would be grateful - im on anxiety medication and I still feel like this and ... View more

I have an extreme focus on my body sensations to the point where I cannot function anymore, at least not properly if anyone can relate to these symptoms or give any advice I would be grateful - im on anxiety medication and I still feel like this and i've never had anything tougher in my life to get over - I always google symptoms that I have ( that im sure I get from anxiety ) and think I have a terrible underlying problem - I always go to the doctor worried about whats going on - I constantly CONSTANTLY feel my heart beating in my chest, and how fast and hard its beating (ive had an ecg my heart is healthy) - I am constantly fatigued and cannot seem to stay awake during the day, and sleep if I can 12+ hours, anything less than 10 I cannot function - I always feel as if there is a weight on my chest and a knot in my stomach, even the littlest thought can trigger a physical sensation of overwhelming anxiety - I cannot seem to detach myself away from the physical sensations of anxiety and its ruining my life, I can not stop thinking about my heart or anxiety and I cannot live my life anymore because I am just constantly anxious and the physical sensations are constant and overwhelming please help or at least relate Im seeing a great a psychologist but I still cannot change these physical symptoms.

jcat really at a loss as what now
  • replies: 10

hi all, this is my first post, i am a 53yr old woman living in sa its a rather long story so please bear with me about 3 years ago i was diagnosed with ectopic heart beats (pvc's) which was completely checked by a cardiologist and is benign, totally ... View more

hi all, this is my first post, i am a 53yr old woman living in sa its a rather long story so please bear with me about 3 years ago i was diagnosed with ectopic heart beats (pvc's) which was completely checked by a cardiologist and is benign, totally harmless and is generally bought on by stress, for the last 2 years my health has deteriorated to the point i have no life at all. i get head spins and dizziness (dr said its vertigo), i get major head pressure as in my head wants to explode but not very many 'headaches', my ears are constantly full or blocked (ct scan shows nothing abnormal), i get chills or tingling up and down my body, vibrations in my feet, i start to sweat and despite heart medication my heart occasionally races (my dr diagnosed menopause) , i have major stomach issues (specialist diagnosed ibs) almost every day around 9-10am all these symptoms start and build up to the point all i can do is go to bed, have a lay down or go to sleep, after i get up usually early afternoon, almost all the symptoms are gone and i feel pretty normal, i cant make any plans or appts for the morning as they are just a wipe out. i spent several months going to the er on nearly a weekly basis until i just gave up as it was always 'anxiety' i am generally to scared to go out for a drive etc as i get very stressed when i leave the safety of medical assistance, when i told my doc i had enough, wish i was dead he sent me to a psychologist who told me there was nothing wrong with me, i have a good life, she did not need to see me again, got sent to a 2nd one who told me i was basically wasting his time, lose some weight and ill be right, i have my life all buttoned up in a pretty bow, finally got sent to one i like and ive only seen a few times but seems to be helping today i saw a specialist gp for the 2nd time with blood results which are slightly off but he does not know why, has diagnosed me with chronic anxiety and borderline agoraphobia and menopause (as per bloods) started me on medication and told me to come back in a month how can all of this be from ANXIETY i just dont get it thanks for listening