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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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scandanavfa need help figuring out what is happening in my mind before it gets worse
  • replies: 2

Hello! This is my first time posting here (or anywhere for that matter) but recently I have felt so overwhelmed and anxious to the point that I fear it is starting to affect my happiness and satisfaction from things as well as my relationships. I hav... View more

Hello! This is my first time posting here (or anywhere for that matter) but recently I have felt so overwhelmed and anxious to the point that I fear it is starting to affect my happiness and satisfaction from things as well as my relationships. I have always thought I was an introvert - mainly because I sometimes am too anxious to enter into social situations with people I’m not that close with but recently it is taking a different turn and making me feel a little bit worthless etc. It is making me feel insecure in my relationship with my girlfriend of 3 years and in turn making me spiral into a person I don’t like. I am not sure whether I should see my GP or tell my parents or what to do - but it feels like my mind is taking on more than it can handle in a way and I want to regain control of my self.

Scruffy1 Am I just wasting everyone’s time?
  • replies: 20

am I just wasting mine and my therapists time? I’ve been seeing a psychologist for the last couple of months for my anxiety. I’m am struggling to describe what I’m feeling inside when asked. I can describe the feelings I’m getting from the anxiety bu... View more

am I just wasting mine and my therapists time? I’ve been seeing a psychologist for the last couple of months for my anxiety. I’m am struggling to describe what I’m feeling inside when asked. I can describe the feelings I’m getting from the anxiety but other feelings are non existent even when I try to find them I just come up empty all the time. I can’t remember when I felt other feelings other than the few that I can easily describe. am I just wasting everyone’s time or do I just need more time to work on it? I really want to keep working on it but if I can’t get past this hurdle I feel there may be little hope of success

AnxiousAnn Hairdresser anxiety, tips on how to get through it?
  • replies: 8

My sister is getting married this weekend, and she has booked us all in to get our hair done. She has booked me in for a colour to a more natural tone, as it’s currently bright red, she doesn’t want a fireball in her wedding photos haha. But I’m so a... View more

My sister is getting married this weekend, and she has booked us all in to get our hair done. She has booked me in for a colour to a more natural tone, as it’s currently bright red, she doesn’t want a fireball in her wedding photos haha. But I’m so anxious about the appointment! I’m not scared of the results, but the whole experience of being at a hair dresser, and having the appointment, makes me anxious. And it feels silly to say but I’m anxious about being anxious! the hair dressers makes me feel uncomfortable right from the start. The beautiful ladies, the strong chemical smells, starring at myself in the mirror for hours on end. how can I get through it? What are your tips and tricks

ancnymous Very Unsure
  • replies: 3

Hi, I think that I may have anxiety. Though I've only had one panic attack (a few months ago) and one before that that I think was pretty minor. I've done all those online tests (I know they're not the best but they're all I feel comfortable doing) a... View more

Hi, I think that I may have anxiety. Though I've only had one panic attack (a few months ago) and one before that that I think was pretty minor. I've done all those online tests (I know they're not the best but they're all I feel comfortable doing) and all of them have stated that I probably have social anxiety. Are you just meant to know when you have anxiety? I mean how are you meant to tell? I've seen all over people with mental illnesses looking down on people self diagnosing and so I don't want to self diagnose but I'm also too scared to go to a doctor or tell my parents etc because if I don't have it, I'll feel stupid and I made people (maybe) worry for nothing. I'm not sure if that made any sense, but does anyone have advice? Thank you

louise12 Should I pursue teaching? (Anxious and shy)
  • replies: 7

Hi, ive just completed my business degree and completed an internship in HR Unpaid. The internship turned me off pursuing the business world as 9 to 5 desk job isn’t for her. I love to have the flexibility of working whilst standing up aswell. Howeve... View more

Hi, ive just completed my business degree and completed an internship in HR Unpaid. The internship turned me off pursuing the business world as 9 to 5 desk job isn’t for her. I love to have the flexibility of working whilst standing up aswell. However I’m not sure if it was my anxiety or the actual company that made me dislike the corporate world. My intern company were supportive in some ways and very unsupportive in other ways for eg. Always seem too busy to sit down and go through stuff I wasn’t too sure about. And whenever I seeked feedback from my supervisor with the work I competed she would always brush it off and never give it. I’m wondering now if I should try with HR again or should I pursue secondary teaching instead? I’m just scared my anxiety will get in the way and sometimes I can be quite awkward in unfamiliar/uncomfortable environments. Any advice would be appreciated. Thankyou

camilagrace My parents dont understand my anxiety...
  • replies: 2

So in the last year, i discovered that i have anxiety. I was reading an article and everything seemed to describe me. So i did some more research and yep, i definitely have it. It took me a while to open up to my parents to tell them but when i did t... View more

So in the last year, i discovered that i have anxiety. I was reading an article and everything seemed to describe me. So i did some more research and yep, i definitely have it. It took me a while to open up to my parents to tell them but when i did they brushed it off as 'normal teenage behaviour'. I've researched like everything there is to know about the topic so i know that i have it but they dont seem to understand. I also have big sleeping troubles which is also linked to anxiety and gut problems - another symptom. I've had panic attacks in front of them and they seem to think im just hormonal or something. They dont understand that my heart literally feels like its beating out of my chest and im having trouble breathing and i physically CANNOT stop crying. And at school, for hours and hours on end i cant take my focus off this one thing that is worrying me. I dont know how to explain to them that i have a serious problem so that they actually understand that something is wrong. Please help xx (dont know if any of that made any sense)

soulsickness Evening Anxiety - Why is it worse at night?
  • replies: 6

Hello everyone - Just wanted to throw out my experiences with anxiety worsening in the evening. Lately I've been travelling okay throughout the day, but at night I start experiencing those terrible physical anxiety symptoms. I really like being able ... View more

Hello everyone - Just wanted to throw out my experiences with anxiety worsening in the evening. Lately I've been travelling okay throughout the day, but at night I start experiencing those terrible physical anxiety symptoms. I really like being able to curl up in bed and have some relaxation time at the end of the day, so this increased anxiety in the evening is really throwing me. Does anyone else find that anxiety worsens in the evening/before bed? Any advice on how to deal with this? I hope you're all well and coping okay.

UltimaMic Anxiety and Taking the Next Employment Steps - Any Advice
  • replies: 3

Hi All, I have read other useful posts and have been thinking about something for a while. I am guy in his 30's and live with GAD in Sydney, I work as an accountant and have previously had to leave work as I had extreme anxiety and depression over 3-... View more

Hi All, I have read other useful posts and have been thinking about something for a while. I am guy in his 30's and live with GAD in Sydney, I work as an accountant and have previously had to leave work as I had extreme anxiety and depression over 3-4 years ago. For a while my life was in limbo and I was in a bad place. Thankfully I am still here and have had many a counselling session and psychologist visits to get me in a better place. I have struggled but now found some stable employment. (I found my disability services provider was quite limited in how they understood and could empathise with mental illness as opposed to physical illness). I have worked as assistant accountant for over two years now and find the work unfulfilling and even a little bit devaluing given my qualifications. I constantly question whether I should just appreciate it and stay in the job. Most of my peers who have similar qualifications have advanced well with their careers and I am plodding along and most of my colleges are university graduates in their 20's. I want to move forward however my current workplace does not have a mental health plan or support and I feel I would need that if I were to try to move forward within my employer. I have a very limited social network after I withdrew myself a lot after my mental health episode. I have had a lot of problems with mainstream recruitment agencies in regards to sharing about my mental health and their reactions and subsequent devaluation of my profile. (yep its discrimination but what can I do about it? as I have signed up to their services). Can anyone recommend a recruitment agency that works with professionals with mental illness? Any advice on next steps - I dont want to push myself to the extent where I have another breakdown however I do want to grow in my career. Its hard to get the balance right

Suz0 Job stress rumination anyone?
  • replies: 3

I have a demanding job I worked so hard to get and wanted so badly. I have just returned after extended travel leave and sense that ppl don’t trust me. I have made some bad decisions in the past and in the litigous modern workplace I find myself conv... View more

I have a demanding job I worked so hard to get and wanted so badly. I have just returned after extended travel leave and sense that ppl don’t trust me. I have made some bad decisions in the past and in the litigous modern workplace I find myself convincing myself that I will lose my job. I keep finding past situations to stress and ruminate over. This is not new. I have been doing this at work since I was a checkout worker at the age of 15 I was once on medication and it helped a bit. Can anyone relate to the catastrophising?

LauraRH Rabbit caught in the headlights - too afraid to move on with life
  • replies: 3

Hi I'm Laura and I'm new to BB. The bad - I had a traumatic year last year in which I was made redundant, suffered workplace issues, broke up from a long term relationship and returned back to Sydney after a failed move overseas. The good - I came ho... View more

Hi I'm Laura and I'm new to BB. The bad - I had a traumatic year last year in which I was made redundant, suffered workplace issues, broke up from a long term relationship and returned back to Sydney after a failed move overseas. The good - I came home, rebuilt my life and have got to a place where I thought things would be OK... lovely house, great job, amazing new man (who's moving interstate in Oct but that's another story). But it's not enough, I still feel sad and fed up often. Even as I write this I'm fed up hearing my own story, it occupies my thoughts constantly. To the point where I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, have medication and a counsellor. I've suffered from low mood my whole life but this is a new level, it's been a very long time since I've truly felt like myself. Anyway, I'm starting to feel a little better of late (I've spent the best part of the year floating along, amazed sometimes that I'm still able to 'do life' and that people want to be around me). I feel like it's time to move on and get myself back, and by doing this I'm thinking I might quit my job and either join my new guy interstate at some stage or if we don't work out, make the big move to leave Sydney and travel / contract work my way around Australia. But I'm terrified, absolutely terrified. The thing that drives me crazy is that I know I have low self worth, a fear of failure and I feel almost chemically wired to look at my glass as half full. I fear that I'll lose my guy, go broke and end up back in Sydney because I'm living proof that apparently you can't run away from your problems. But then I have these infrequent moments when I can see that maybe, just maybe everything might be OK. What a relief! I'm too scared to leave my job, my house, touch my savings, because I no longer believe in me or trust my resilience for potentially challenging times ahead. I just want to pack my life up, hit the road and see what happens, go find myself. I've never invested in myself like this before, whenever I've made a big move before it's always been as a couple, I'd like to to something on my own just for me whilst I have the freedom and money. As much as I would love a life in SA with my new guy next year, we are very new and I'd like to focus initially on making me happy independently of him, if we're meant to be, we're meant to be. I'd love to hear from anyone that's been in my situation, and maybe get some reassurance that maybe the grass its actually greener!

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