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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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Disneygirl Newly diagnosed with anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi all, A bit of background about me. I’m a 25yo female who’s had a difficult relationship with my dad (non existent relationship). I’ve been experiencing anxiety for a number of years, probably since I was a child. I’ve recently seen a councillor an... View more

Hi all, A bit of background about me. I’m a 25yo female who’s had a difficult relationship with my dad (non existent relationship). I’ve been experiencing anxiety for a number of years, probably since I was a child. I’ve recently seen a councillor and been put on meds to treat anxiety. Last week I was at a crisis point in my life where I didn’t get proper sleep for a week and ended up in ER. I felt very debilitated by my anxiety and lack of sleep. Barely being able to function. I’ve since taken time off work to focus on my mental state. I do feel like things have been put into perspective for me and my anxiety is a lot more manageable. It’s now been a week on meds for me. Just looking for support and advice from others in sharing what helps them with managing their anxiety. I’m really glad I’ve found a safe place to share my experience and hope to help others in the future. It’s amazing how such a dramatic experience opens your eyes to how important your mental health is. I would also like to hear your positive experiences of starting antidepressants. Thanks!

Guest_4513 Getting a Job with Social Anxiety
  • replies: 2

I'm 20 with mild social anxiety and I’ve never had a job before. At the moment I'm not working, I'm not studying, I don't have friends, therefore I don't leave my house ever. I sold my car because I actually didn't have anywhere to go and now I don't... View more

I'm 20 with mild social anxiety and I’ve never had a job before. At the moment I'm not working, I'm not studying, I don't have friends, therefore I don't leave my house ever. I sold my car because I actually didn't have anywhere to go and now I don't have the confidence to drive. Conclusion: I need a job My biggest problem seems to be avoidance. I've seen a psychiatrist and a psychologist who've both suggested I get a job but here's the thing: I'm scared. I’m really, really, really scared. I’m scared of where do I even start? How do I even apply? I’m scared of what do I say if I get a call back? I’m scared of getting an interview. How will I be judged? Why would anybody want me? I feel like anyone who decides to hire me would be making a mistake. I can only bring a company down with my lack of skill. I’m slow, I’m not hard working. I’m scared of working and seeing people I know from school. I’m scared that the people that I’ll be working with won’t like me and will probably trash talk behind my back. I'm scared that because I'm so shy, I literally can't make conversation with people. I’m scared of having dissatisfied, angry customers yelling at me. I will definitely cry.

Kempus Confused about my feelings
  • replies: 8

Hi there - trigger warning I have had severe anxiety 2 years ago following a miscarriage. At that point in time one of my beat friends told us a month after we had lost our baby that they were expecting and were due the same time we would have been. ... View more

Hi there - trigger warning I have had severe anxiety 2 years ago following a miscarriage. At that point in time one of my beat friends told us a month after we had lost our baby that they were expecting and were due the same time we would have been. It was a tough time, work was stressful and I struggled to sleep and was constantly panicking/on edge. flash forward to now and we have a 4 month old daughter, and I have completed many hours of therapy and have felt really good for at least a year. Anyway, today that same friend told us she is expecting her 2nd child and I felt the same wave of anxiety that I felt last time crash over me now. The thing is that last time it was hard because I was so angry that it was so easy for them and awful for us, but now I have my family and my life is really lovely at the moment (new parent sleep deprivation aside) anyway, I think this just reminded me about how terrible that year of my life was, and now I have the same physical anxiety symptoms and wanted to type/talk it out as I thought that might help. Anyone have any advice? i hope this is the right forum as well.

AnushaD Mum& wife Dealing with Anxiety
  • replies: 2

Hi guys!!! I'm 34 years old, I have a husband and a 8 month old baby. I have had anxiety issues in the past but I feel like now it's really taking over my life. Couple months ago we had to call the ambulance because I thought I was going to die but t... View more

Hi guys!!! I'm 34 years old, I have a husband and a 8 month old baby. I have had anxiety issues in the past but I feel like now it's really taking over my life. Couple months ago we had to call the ambulance because I thought I was going to die but turns out it was a panic attack. I feel like I'm going to die if I fall asleep and constantly I feel my chest very tight and I can't breathe. Please do share with me if you have any advice. Thank you, Anusha

Muddlee Strange or weird feelings/sensations and panic attacks
  • replies: 6

Hi everyone, Has anyone ever experienced these really strange sensations, thoughts or feelings? I'll give an example. Past few months have been quite good for me as my anxiety is in proportion and actively managed. But the last couple of days have be... View more

Hi everyone, Has anyone ever experienced these really strange sensations, thoughts or feelings? I'll give an example. Past few months have been quite good for me as my anxiety is in proportion and actively managed. But the last couple of days have been really strange. I had this tight bladder sensation which makes me want to go to the toilet every hour or so. I've experienced this before and know the symptoms - eg. excessive worrying, tightness in my pelvis, particularly my bladder, general discomfort and mental cloudiness etc). But after this I began to have some very strange thoughts. My anxiety went bananas and conjured up thoughts like the walls were disappearing, people had no necks, I was going to hurt someone and many more. I know I have problems with intrusive thoughts and my brain went right into fight/flight panic mode - i.e what do these thoughts mean, am I going crazy/have schizophrenia, are these thoughts true, will I have more or will they get worse etc. And after that it felt like a wave of confusion, anxiety and a general strange/weird sensation hit me. I felt dizzy, nauseous, very withdrawn and lightheaded. Capped the night off with a panic attack just before bed, but was easily able to manage it with some controlled and calm breathing, gentle thoughts and mindfulness. There's my story and here's my question - has anyone else experienced these really strange or weird sensations and thoughts? If so, describe them vividly please, and if so, what did you do to cope? Thought challenging, acceptance and controlled breathing can only take me so far. Many thanks in advance, Muddleee

DeserveBetter Disclosure Stigma & Workplace
  • replies: 9

Hi everyone. I'm new on here. I have a long term anxiety condition which I take medication and have counselling for. I have been off work a few times over the years because of it. I'm now thinking about trying some possible volunteering (even though ... View more

Hi everyone. I'm new on here. I have a long term anxiety condition which I take medication and have counselling for. I have been off work a few times over the years because of it. I'm now thinking about trying some possible volunteering (even though I'm quite anxious about it) to try to get some confidence. My question is how do I explain the gap in my CV for the period I've been off work (over 4 years now) or should I disclose my condition? I know I am under no obligation to do so but I'm unsure how to go about explaining what I've been doing since my last job unless I make something up and hope for the best. A family member suggested I talk to my psychologist about whether or not to disclose and ever since they said that I've been feeling confused and worried about what I should do. Anyone been in this situation with some positive feedback that won't freak me out would be very appreciative?

CherryBlossom89 Anxiety over juggling toddlers, work and study
  • replies: 1

I am currently on maternity leave. I had to cut my masters to a graduate Certificate when I got pregnant with second. Due to our organisations downsizing over the next few years and lack of progression opportunities I will have to continue studying m... View more

I am currently on maternity leave. I had to cut my masters to a graduate Certificate when I got pregnant with second. Due to our organisations downsizing over the next few years and lack of progression opportunities I will have to continue studying my masters to have a secure back up. My previous studies don’t have much opportunities in my current city and I’m reluctant to move with small kids. My issue is how do I cope with the anxiety this is causing me. Every time I think about how I’ll handle study with toddlers my anxiety flares up. I’ve studied with my first while she was a baby and toddler. But now that I have two I can’t get past how I’ll manage. They are already on two different bed times. And my first is going through a really bad sleep regression - going from one nap to none. Because of this she gets really bad night terrors. Im wondering if both end up with bad sleep how I’ll study at night. I don’t want to jeopardise weekends with them unless it’s for exam time. Last time I studied on the bus, during breaks/downtime at work, and at night when she slept or during day naps. With two it’s harder to do this. i have always been anxious with study since high school. Especially with assignments. I end up breaking down thinking I won’t meet it. But add kids and a job and I’m even more anxious. I already pulled out three times from degrees I accepted. work doesn’t cause me anxiety funnily enough. any hints and tips about managing anxiety study? Any motivating stories?

sohtrop Thinking of visiting GP for Binge Eating Disorder
  • replies: 4

Hi, This is my first post here. I'm thinking of visiting my GP to get a referal on the mental health care plan to a psychologist. It's not the first time. This will be my 5th psychologist in 10 years. I developed PTSD after a sexual assault and from ... View more

Hi, This is my first post here. I'm thinking of visiting my GP to get a referal on the mental health care plan to a psychologist. It's not the first time. This will be my 5th psychologist in 10 years. I developed PTSD after a sexual assault and from that came depression, anxiety and binge eating. I've done a lot of work over the past decade, coming from not being so crippled by my depression and anxiety that I couldn't work or study, to being mostly free of the depression and anxiety and being successfully self employed. I even got rid of the binge eating for about a year and a half, but over the past 2 years it has been coming back and it's now as bad as it's ever been. I'm morbidly obese and sick of it. I'm an active person; I love travelling, hiking, kayaking, weight lifting... but my weight can interfere and it's so frustrating to me that I don't look like the person that I feel I am. I want to finally develop a healthy relationship with food and finally build a fit, strong and healthy body, before I end up doing permanent damage from being so overweight. I'm nervous about starting again... the misunderstandings with GPs (one looked me up and down once and said "you don't look like you have an eating disorder") and the hit and miss nature of finding a psychologist (one said to me, a rape victim, "you're very pretty so I'm sure you'll get through all of this okay." WHAT?!)... I would also like to ask my GP if there are any options for medication in Australia (I know Vyvanse is used to treat BED in the U.S) but I'm worried about looking like a druggie asking for pills (even though I never do drugs or drink). I'm not sure what I'm looking for with this post... welcome, support, encouragement, advice? I just felt like I needed to reach out. Thanks for reading xox

Neferata Fearing the new job
  • replies: 8

Like most people I can imagine there comes a certain amount of nervousness with the prospect of an entirely new job. I start a Master of Teaching degree this year to teach science in high schools, to pair with this I managed to get a job tutoring hig... View more

Like most people I can imagine there comes a certain amount of nervousness with the prospect of an entirely new job. I start a Master of Teaching degree this year to teach science in high schools, to pair with this I managed to get a job tutoring high school students after school hours. I figured this would allow me to evaluate if I am cut out for teaching, but unfortunately my tutoring is looking to be almost all in the realm of maths which is one of those subjects I can do but never thought I'd have to teach. It certainly isn't my specialty, science, which I did my bachelors degree in and have a healthy passion for. To add to this feeling of unpreparedness I am also getting the hint that I'll be doubling as a counselor, trying to motivate and enthuse teenagers to take an interest in something they rightfully cannot see a reason for, much less care for. My fears will be answered next week when I meet my students and attempt to guide them through the torments of being in high school and it will be good to be getting some money while I study again. I can only breathe life into the quote of the working person throughout the ages "nothing is ever easy, is it." I couldn't just stick with a well paying job that I hated, I had to go back to uni. I couldn't get an easy part time job, of course, I had to get something hard that I'm stressing about. Much love to you all and I wish you all well through your own journeys, Nef.

NQ Anxiety : bloating, loss of appetite, nausea
  • replies: 2

Hi. I think I have anxiety, starting 3 weeks ago. I didn’t know what it was before. Woke up at 2 am feeling something in my throat, palpitations. The next few weeks feeling easily full, loss of appetite, a bit nausea, but no pain. That feeling of wor... View more

Hi. I think I have anxiety, starting 3 weeks ago. I didn’t know what it was before. Woke up at 2 am feeling something in my throat, palpitations. The next few weeks feeling easily full, loss of appetite, a bit nausea, but no pain. That feeling of worry sicks. This week I went to my GP. He gave me blood test for many things to exclude many serious diseases. Including a pelvic scan. Feeling very nervous about the results which makes my symptoms even worse. I’m seeing him back on Friday to arrange mental health plan and referral to a psychologist. I am 45 and used to be the happiest and most cheerful person. Now I forget how to laugh. . I want my old self back.

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