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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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Chicken_Wings Why does anxiety cause loss of appetite & how to get it back?
  • replies: 25

Every time I get bad anxiety I completely lose my appetite. Just the smell or thought of food makes me feel sick. But after a while, my body starts to tell me it wants food, even though I can't bring myself to eat it. The hunger pangs begin to feel a... View more

Every time I get bad anxiety I completely lose my appetite. Just the smell or thought of food makes me feel sick. But after a while, my body starts to tell me it wants food, even though I can't bring myself to eat it. The hunger pangs begin to feel a lot like the anxiety itself, so I find it makes me worse. Does this happen to everyone? And if so why and what can you do to get food inside you?!

Up_Over Vomiting phobia
  • replies: 5

I can't even believe I am writing this right now. This is something that I NEVER tell anyone and even writing the words makes me cringe so much. But anyway, here I go......I have had this phobia on and off probably since childhood (I'm now 43). It be... View more

I can't even believe I am writing this right now. This is something that I NEVER tell anyone and even writing the words makes me cringe so much. But anyway, here I go......I have had this phobia on and off probably since childhood (I'm now 43). It became a severe problem when I had kids. Since having my first child in 2003, my anxiety levels where constantly raised. I then had my second child in 2006 and that's when I was diagnosed with anxiety/depression. After my second child, I lost a great deal of weight and was in a very bad way trying to look after 2 young children. I was on medication for 7 years which did help my mood and a little of my anxiety. I'm now off them and feeling well except when my kids are sick. As soon as they get a temp or feel unwell, that feeling of dread comes over me. I can no longer eat, my heart races, my mouth goes dry, I can't think straight and all the 'what if' thoughts bombard my mind. The fear that they may have gastro or just nausea sends me into almost uncontrolled anxiety. They are both quite healthy children and not the type to vomit a lot, but knowing that still doesn't ease my mind. My husband is great with them and will always look after them when he can but I am the one mostly home. If we are out anywhere, it is even worse. I have to get them home and it can sometimes look bad leaving a bbq etc early because my child has the sniffles. I need to know if anyone else suffers from this....feeling alone and weird!

nipz1 Student = Anxiety, stupid shakes and general mind/body malfunctions...tips to manage?
  • replies: 3

I understand anxiety, well at least I thought I did. Recently it has been coming in short, paralysing burst along with some unwanted symptoms. Most of it centres around studying, but not always. And I'm not entirely sure what's going on. We all exper... View more

I understand anxiety, well at least I thought I did. Recently it has been coming in short, paralysing burst along with some unwanted symptoms. Most of it centres around studying, but not always. And I'm not entirely sure what's going on. We all experience anxiety, but I've never felt it like this. For example, I am in a shop buying jeans and go to the check-out to pay and when I go to say something nothing comes out, trust me I tried - it was like I had something stuck in my throat, there was barely an audible rasp. Then I am all spaced out, literally seeing stars, feeling like I am going to die, sitting down 5m outside the shop. I had no idea what happened. Still don't. 10 min later, however, I was fine...just confused as to what happened. This situation is concerning because there was no stress involved prior, it just happened. But my main concern is what is happening at Uni because I'm concerned I will pay dearly for it in the exams. Both coming up and future. Each time this has happened everything feels so unreal. I can barely make sense of what's going on. I had a deferred mid-semester exam a couple of weeks ago and I was fine up until I opened it up at which point my mind just fell apart. Everything felt weird, wrong, I couldn't think straight, I made dumb mistakes, I couldn't make sense of what I was reading, my hands were shaking, just like Parkinson's disease (serious) and generally I felt claustrophobic. And then six days ago I was demoing a group assignment, sitting down with three other students. The tutor was marking our programme and said he'll have to take a mark off us for a certain section. It just happened to be my section of the programme. I knew I read the assignment doc correctly. I'm trying to reason with the tutor because I was right. And then I just start talking rapidly (to the point I think he just gave us the mark to shut me up), I felt sick, I couldn't swallow, and again shaky, so shaky. My groupmate said, 'what's happened to your face, are you okay? You're a beetroot'. Then I realised I felt all tingly and weird. Hot, prickly, cold all at the same time. Clearly, my heart was working in overdrive. And a definite disconnect with reality - though I think that's just confusion. It only lasted a short time. If you got this far, sorry, I'm just not sure what to do and any experience will help. Concerned...

Lou27 Vomit phobia
  • replies: 2

I have a massive phobia of vomit, whether it’s me or someone else - can’t even deal. I have just recently booked my honeymoon in Vanuatu and I’m excited to travel there but I’m terrified to get on the plane because I might get air sick.. I already ha... View more

I have a massive phobia of vomit, whether it’s me or someone else - can’t even deal. I have just recently booked my honeymoon in Vanuatu and I’m excited to travel there but I’m terrified to get on the plane because I might get air sick.. I already have anti nausea medication sorted by the way.. but we don’t go until October and I have months of panic attacks waiting to happen. I also really want to start a family but I’m terrified I’ll get morning sickness.. I feel terrible because I’m letting this phobia dictate my life somewhat. Even when my family members are ill I can’t help them, I become a mess, rocking, sweating, shaking, full blown fight or flight mode.. i have tried to see a few psychologists about this but it’s the exposure therapy that I can’t deal with. If anyone suffers with the same phobia or even coping techniques for another phobia, any suggestions and advice is welcomed!

mayab I need some support, I don't know what to do
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, I'm new here but I just thought I'd give this a go. I'm not sure where to start exactly- I've had severe anxiety, depression and OCD for the past 5 or so years of my life but it has gotten really bad in the past couple of years. I've bee... View more

Hi everyone, I'm new here but I just thought I'd give this a go. I'm not sure where to start exactly- I've had severe anxiety, depression and OCD for the past 5 or so years of my life but it has gotten really bad in the past couple of years. I've been getting more intrusive thoughts and recently had a few weeks off because of suicidal issues. I don't really know what I'm hoping to get out of this post, I just can't seem to deal with everyday life. Even the smallest things like getting on a train or walking around the city by myself trigger my anxiety, and on top of that I just have a constant backlog of depressive and existential thoughts that I can never pull myself out of. I just don't really know what to do anymore; I feel so stuck in my life, like everything I have tried already hasn't worked and nothing is changing- my parents don't want me to go on medication (I'm 17) so they've given me a lot of natural things to try and I've seen a psychologist but that hasn't been effective. I don't always know how to articulate what I'm feeling but I'm just in a constant state of stress and pain, sometimes physical. When it's really bad my chest tightens and really hurts and I can't breathe. I do talk to friends about it, but the problem is that the ones I'm closest to are dealing with the same issues and we can't really help each other. Regardless of this, it's just always the same cycle- I have a panic attack or a breakdown, I talk to my parents and friends, nothing changes then everyone moves on. I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions of what I should do, or if anyone has experienced the same thing. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

batfinq anxiety/panic/ocd
  • replies: 3

25 years ago I had a severe panic attack, I went to the hospital and was sent home with some medication, I seemed to not be able to breathe propely, or take a deep breath or yawn, saw a g.p who said to exercise, so I did, however I got worse, I start... View more

25 years ago I had a severe panic attack, I went to the hospital and was sent home with some medication, I seemed to not be able to breathe propely, or take a deep breath or yawn, saw a g.p who said to exercise, so I did, however I got worse, I started thinking about and trying to control my breathing, 25 years later, numerous g.p's, psychologists and psychiatrists, different diagnosis from bipolar, ptsd, anxiety/panic disorder and others, I have lost count of medications and also suffer from insomnia due to obsessing about my breathing, when telling professionals about it I got the same reply....you know breathing is automatic so you dont have to think about it...yes i know!!!, I know take zolpidem for sleep which puts me to sleep, finally after 25 yrs I can sleep, however it doesnt stop me thinking about my breathing and bedtime silence makes it worse, I now have developed more problems, were my heartbeat is noticed, also feels like its beating in my head, I lost all friends and family doesnt want to know me, medication I was on has damaged some organs and apart from my kids life is lonely, I have been suicidal and depressed, exhausted and drained, I recently found something online fter years of searching about sensorimotor OCD. is there anywhere or anyone that is familiar with this ocd and could offer some help,

amalee78 Health anxiety when pregnant
  • replies: 3

I have been diagnosed with GAD and PTSD and have been seeing a psychologist to deal with this, although I haven’t seen her in a couple of months. I am also pregnant at the moment with a completely unplanned pregnancy, which has really made my anxiety... View more

I have been diagnosed with GAD and PTSD and have been seeing a psychologist to deal with this, although I haven’t seen her in a couple of months. I am also pregnant at the moment with a completely unplanned pregnancy, which has really made my anxiety worse. Anyway, for the last week i’ve Been obsessing over having a blood clot in my leg. Last week I had a sore spot which turned into a bruise, and today the same leg is sore in a different spot. A bit like a muscle strain, but over a good third of my leg. Once again, i’m Convinced it’s a blood clot. The thing is, I don’t even know what the symptoms of a blood clot are, but I am still obsessing over it anyway. I think it’s been too long since I saw my psychologist, and definitely I have been struggling since I found out I was pregnant. Does anyone have any advice for me? I could really use some.

Romy GAD/stress and the immune system
  • replies: 4

Does anyone else find that they catch every cold/flu going around? I seem to have periods when I'm stressed, run down and anxious and then eventually when it all calms down I get sick.

Does anyone else find that they catch every cold/flu going around? I seem to have periods when I'm stressed, run down and anxious and then eventually when it all calms down I get sick.

ScarlettR Do you have negative thoughts stuck on repeat, playing over and over in the mind?
  • replies: 3

I have had this problem since I was about 12 or 13 (am 30 now). Basically, negative thoughts of past traumatic events like bullying is something I always think about. I don't blame myself for the bullying, but I'm angry and sad that the bullying happ... View more

I have had this problem since I was about 12 or 13 (am 30 now). Basically, negative thoughts of past traumatic events like bullying is something I always think about. I don't blame myself for the bullying, but I'm angry and sad that the bullying happened in the first place, and also how extreme a lot of it was. I've read a UK research article on this - a thought pattern called rumination. The article explained that it's the leading contributor to depression and anxiety, globally. I don't know if anyone else has this problem? And what to recommend to reduce or cease the symptoms?

anita24 Im lost - What do i do from here?
  • replies: 4

So i have been struggling with depression/anxiety for 10 years now. I have gone through so many jobs and left the job in the wrong way because i was scared to speak up, as i couldn't take it anymore i just left job after job, theres many gaps of time... View more

So i have been struggling with depression/anxiety for 10 years now. I have gone through so many jobs and left the job in the wrong way because i was scared to speak up, as i couldn't take it anymore i just left job after job, theres many gaps of time on my resume showing i've done nothing. Its gotten to the point where i am scared to take another job because i'm scared i cant handle it and its just more bad reputations i am doing to myself. Ive tried many medications, pyschologists. I feel like my life as the years go by are getting worse and worse its hard to see it getting better, since i havent been able to hold a job ever for more then a few months. I just want to keep a job, Its also taking its toll on my partner, he supports me but he doesn't earn much himself. He never complains but i'm so sad that i'm not contributing, and i just want to know how if any techniques helped others with this situation and if anyone is in the same position i am.