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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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.

All discussions

Guest_2954 How to help a friend with anxiety
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Reaching out to get some tips on how to help a friend who has anxiety when changes occur and then socially isolates to ‘cope’ then the pattern repeats.

Reaching out to get some tips on how to help a friend who has anxiety when changes occur and then socially isolates to ‘cope’ then the pattern repeats.

yourfav I’m terrified I’ll never be happy at a job
  • replies: 5

Hi,I feel super stuck and uncertain and I’m worried it’s going to be like this forever. I’m currently a full time junior accountant studying accounting at uni part time and I’m so miserable. I wake up in the middle of the night so anxious I feel like... View more

Hi,I feel super stuck and uncertain and I’m worried it’s going to be like this forever. I’m currently a full time junior accountant studying accounting at uni part time and I’m so miserable. I wake up in the middle of the night so anxious I feel like I’ll throw up and when my alarm finally goes off there’s a 40% chance I’ll immediately start crying. And I’m so terrified I’m just doomed to be like this forever. every other aspect of my life right now is honestly amazing but I am so miserable because of my job, and I feel guilty because it’s not even really that bad and I just don’t know what to do… the work isn’t that hard, I have stable hours, I get a pay raise every year, my managers are nice and I have the same/similar schedules to the people I care about so I can see them more often. But I have no friends here and I just feel evil and sad all the time. I know deep in my heart this isn’t meant for me and I should quit but I’m terrified of losing the stability and worried that I’ll just feel like this no matter what. Especially with uni started back up I just feel swamped and I can’t do it anymore, I knew from day one that this isn’t right and now I’ve been here for over a year. I just don’t know what to do and I need some advice. thanks

lidia Running out of excuses
  • replies: 5

I'm 45 and running out of excuses for not attending things....got a headache, feeling sick, the baby's not well...not cutting it anymore. So I've been pushing myself to go to public places such as restaurants, concerts and shopping centres and it has... View more

I'm 45 and running out of excuses for not attending things....got a headache, feeling sick, the baby's not well...not cutting it anymore. So I've been pushing myself to go to public places such as restaurants, concerts and shopping centres and it has resulted in me passing out and people thinking I have had a heart attack and calling an ambulance. My family thinks its low blood pressure ..I've had every test imaginable...even a CT scan for brain tumour last week..I knew what it was but I can't tell my family and friends what it really was. Now I'm scared to go to work next week in case it happens there....I didn't go to work this week..."had gastro". If I tell work what is really happening they will label me and never promote me...it has happened to a colleague with depression. I have just been put onto sertraline by my GP I have yucky nausea and it will take time to work...but how am I going to go to work without having a panic attack I am so scared?

BastMade Overwhelming anxiety
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Hi, I came off medication after over a decade on the drug for depression/ anxiety/ ptsd, Very, very gradually! At first all these interesting emotions started to emerge, I’d been completely blank emotion wise for the duration of being on medication. ... View more

Hi, I came off medication after over a decade on the drug for depression/ anxiety/ ptsd, Very, very gradually! At first all these interesting emotions started to emerge, I’d been completely blank emotion wise for the duration of being on medication. The great thing is I have loads of energy, I am no longer fatigued and in a grey brain fog. But the bad thing is I am overwhelmed with crippling anxiety. It is with me always. All day at work, when I am with my kids and at night I usually descend into horrific panic attacks. It’s awful. I don’t want to go back on medication because I don’t want the fatigue but this is so awful and I don’t know how much more I can take.

Not_Batman Don't make me feel guilty, please.
  • replies: 3

If you had planned a holiday to another state for a niece or nephews 1st birthday party and spent loads of money on flights, and you were staying with the parents of said niece or nephew, with the understanding that the people you were staying with w... View more

If you had planned a holiday to another state for a niece or nephews 1st birthday party and spent loads of money on flights, and you were staying with the parents of said niece or nephew, with the understanding that the people you were staying with were actually going to be around to spend time with. You had a good first night, but the next day you found out that your family member you were visiting wasn’t taking any time off to see you, and pretty much dumping you on his girlfriend and kids (one of which is the rudest most annoying boundary-less person and doesn’t like to be told no), while they’re away. Then because of this, you had lost your ride back to the airport as promised and then had to spend more money getting a hire car because your understanding that you were going to be driven back to the airport suddenly wasn’t an option. Then you were expected to babysit the kid without any warning, so the girlfriend could have some alone time, but instead took your wife and your kids out. If the ‘host’ was silently annoyed with you because you didn’t babysit or take a child with you, and you still had to spend another night there, knowing full well you weren’t as welcome as you thought And this was all playing on your already increased anxiety and depression, and making you feel like garbage when none of it is your fault, what would you do?

Willowtree_21 Scared of getting help from Eating Disorder professionals
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I feel nervous posting this because I worry what people will think. Still, I'm trying to speak up about things these days, because sometimes good things do happen through discussion. I've pretty much been on a restrictive diet my whole life. I was bo... View more

I feel nervous posting this because I worry what people will think. Still, I'm trying to speak up about things these days, because sometimes good things do happen through discussion. I've pretty much been on a restrictive diet my whole life. I was born with really bad food and chemical sensitivities that impacted my behaviour and physical health - yes, I was the kid whose skin would melt off from using soap. As I got older, and had a tonne of therapy, my food sensitivities lessened but I could never eat a so-called normal diet. Not even a normal healthy diet. I had to watch what I ate, cutting out all the amazing things in the world like sugar, grains and carbs. This was not something I just decided because of food fear or something - these were medically prescribed diets by professionals who knew no other way to manage the gut/physical issues I had. I never liked the diets but they made a really big difference for me. For example, I don't exactly know why, but at one point rice made me feel really paranoid. Fast forward to my late teens and I stumbled across a great nutritionist who got me to do all these (expensive) tests to look at my gut health. The test showed I had really shit gut health - no wonder I felt so crap and couldn't eat anything. My 'gut' feeling had been right! After lots of supplements and more elimination diets, my gut is much better. I can tolerate pretty much any food, but I still have to watch not overeating grains, dairy. I also started experiencing body image issues and figured out how to lose a bit of weight as this made me felt better. I did it pretty slow, over a year and a half. Now, I'm sick of having anxiety about food, wondering if will make me sick again. I also don't like my fear of weight gain and still plan to lose a little more. I want to get help but all the psychologists I've seen so far are convinced it's all in my head. They completely ignore why I had to be on those restrictive diets and just assume any reaction to food is my imagination. Their solution to body image issues is also to make me put on weight - which is really annoying because I have spent a year and a half of my life dedicated to this and I feel better. I want to get to a point where I'm not anxious about food and have a better self image, while still achieving the weight I want. I just wish I could get help from someone who wouldn't make me give up what's important to me in doing so.

Meremortal My mind
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i think i'm losing my mind i've been diagnosed with complex ptsd depression and anxiety i've been to therapy where recently in the last couple of months i had feelings of suicide but i've not let my family know because i have a good life execpt for m... View more

i think i'm losing my mind i've been diagnosed with complex ptsd depression and anxiety i've been to therapy where recently in the last couple of months i had feelings of suicide but i've not let my family know because i have a good life execpt for my mind so i feel so guilty complaining about anything and my thoughts have been feeling to tempting and i think i'm losing control and i'm worried because i can't see a future for myself

Doc80 Overwhelming anxiety
  • replies: 2

Hi all, just reaching out for some support. For the last 8 weeks I've had terrible anxiety, it's become so bad I'm not sure if I can survive it. I've been so anxious I find myself in places and I can't remember how I got there. It's work related. My ... View more

Hi all, just reaching out for some support. For the last 8 weeks I've had terrible anxiety, it's become so bad I'm not sure if I can survive it. I've been so anxious I find myself in places and I can't remember how I got there. It's work related. My boss is a bully who always criticises and gaslights me - and tells my colleaugues her mistakes are mine. She's really disorganised but also a micro manager which makes it incredibly hard. I'll send her a document to review and she'll send it back to me with a heap of negative feedback but she'll give the feedback on the wrong document. This happens all the time. Or she'll tellme to do something, which I do, but she later tells me that it was wrong and why did I do it like that. When I point out her mistakes she just gets more angry. I don't trust HR, another staff member went to HR to make a complaint and they never even responded to her email. I'm lost. I need the job as I have young children - but how can I get through this?

GenL fear of death and general anxiety
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Hi everyone I have been suffering from a major fear of death. The idea of one day never waking up terrifies me. I get mini panic attacks when I first start thinking about this and then I go into a period of what I call mini depression. It usually dos... View more

Hi everyone I have been suffering from a major fear of death. The idea of one day never waking up terrifies me. I get mini panic attacks when I first start thinking about this and then I go into a period of what I call mini depression. It usually dose away eventually but I believe it is brought on with stress and anger. I also get extremely stressed when something doesn't go to plan or is outside the usual routine. i have no Idea how to deal with this anxiety. It get's to the point where I actually start crying. Sometimes it is over the stupid reasons for example, going on a walk, Doing something I don't want to do. I have told my parents about this and they usually brush it off or just say I am being unreasonable. I have mentioned anxiety to them before and they said it is just teenage hormones. I do agree with them but I also believe it is something more. When I first started high school, I started getting bad anxiety and stress. After I lost most of my friends I went into a depression. I have never told anyone about this as I usually keep things to myself. by the end of the year I found friends and I was happy. by this year I have severe anxiety because of school and the idea's of death. my only escape from this is when I am with my friends. I spent a lot of time online because of this and my parents just say I am addicted. Maybe I am but A lot of people don't realise it is a coping method for me. I was never an introvert but after years of bullying, teasing, stress and anxiety I keep to myself. Can anyone help me and maybe suggest how I can cope with all of this.

AYU_227 Health Anxiety
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These days I’ve been going through a tough time. I just moved to Australia in February for my master’s. I felt so happy to be here. But since June I was feeling very anxious regarding my health. I suffer from health anxiety & I often get anxious thou... View more

These days I’ve been going through a tough time. I just moved to Australia in February for my master’s. I felt so happy to be here. But since June I was feeling very anxious regarding my health. I suffer from health anxiety & I often get anxious thoughts. Recently I fell & dislocated my knee, it happened during my uni trip. Even since I started feeling so anxious & scared that I start assuming something definitely is wrong with me & I’ll suffer. It got worse when I discovered a small lump in my body. I started assuming the worst possible things & it flared up more when I searched on google. I can’t stop thinking about it 24/7, I can’t eat or sleep. I feel broken, I don’t like going to doctors, it makes me more anxious. The paragraph is getting too long…..