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

All discussions

smallwolf Feeling Blue
  • replies: 4

I just have to enter this in order to get these demons out of my head. Feeling bad for last 3 days. Crying on Monday. I did not sleep well Sun night, and comments from wife when I woke up did not help. Anger kept inside. While that "issue" was resolv... View more

I just have to enter this in order to get these demons out of my head. Feeling bad for last 3 days. Crying on Monday. I did not sleep well Sun night, and comments from wife when I woke up did not help. Anger kept inside. While that "issue" was resolved I now have these thoughts of hopelessness, and of failure. So I am also irritable, hair trigger to anger which is mainly internal. My daughter sees it in my face and tells me to chill, but it is hard. I need to use intermediary to talk to colleges not following basic instructions in case I snap. Trying tricks mentioned in the book "the happiness trap". Very limited success. Thought I was getting better. Feel I back at square one. Be nice if I could click my fingers and everything was good. But aware my issues have been with me probably for most of my life and it will take time. If I knew what to ask for I would ask it here. But I dont.

OCDemons ROCD- need someone to talk to
  • replies: 7

Hi guys, First time poster... little bit nervous! Long story short, I’ve been dealing with ROCD and it’s accompanying anxiety/depression for 2 years now and I would LOVE to find someone on here who is happy to vent and chat and provide support. My pa... View more

Hi guys, First time poster... little bit nervous! Long story short, I’ve been dealing with ROCD and it’s accompanying anxiety/depression for 2 years now and I would LOVE to find someone on here who is happy to vent and chat and provide support. My partner and friends and family are amazing but sometimes it’s hard to put into words exactly how I’m feeling so finding someone who understands would mean the world!

Sophiee__ OCD? Not sure if worth getting help?
  • replies: 2

So i have a sort of 'ritual'. It involves repeating a certain sentence in my head alot which relieves my anxiety some what. I dont have a set amount of times i repeat it, i sort of just keep going until i get distracted by something. I know that this... View more

So i have a sort of 'ritual'. It involves repeating a certain sentence in my head alot which relieves my anxiety some what. I dont have a set amount of times i repeat it, i sort of just keep going until i get distracted by something. I know that this behaviour is irrational, I know that, but i just dont know if its worth getting help. I mean it is distressing to me as i have to say it correctly over and over again feeling like it relieves anxiety when it just never seems like enough times but my problem is just if i were to seek help i know that they would suggest counselling and i just could never tell someone the sentence. I wouldn't even deem it an embarrassing sentence to say its just been with me for so long that i feel like i would never be the same if i told someone what the sentence was. So i'm just wondering if its worth all the effort to go to a gp or someone if im just going to get 3 sessions into counselling and then stop going because they're going to want me to tell them the sentence and what its about.

kay_cee Anxiety / Fear of Babies
  • replies: 7

Hi, I suffer with anxiety, triggered by my fear of babies/toddlers. Babies have freaked me out since I was about 12, but now as a lot of family/friends are all starting families, it is becoming unbearable. I can’t stand the noises/crying & am general... View more

Hi, I suffer with anxiety, triggered by my fear of babies/toddlers. Babies have freaked me out since I was about 12, but now as a lot of family/friends are all starting families, it is becoming unbearable. I can’t stand the noises/crying & am generally repulsed by the way they look. When my partner's family had their 1st baby, I spoke with a psychologist. My partner tried to explain to them that I wasn’t avoiding them, rather just their baby; they didn’t really try to understand & twice my sister-in-law has tried to shove her baby in my face, sending me into a panic attack. It hurts as this has caused a separate issue, with me now fearing being in their presence, knowing that they may try something again. I get stressed weeks in advance when I know they are going to visit & can’t sleep, break out in eczema & am just generally miserable. It puts a strain on my partner too, as I don’t want to stop him from seeing them, but I just don’t want anything to do with them anymore. I can’t trust them. And I’m sick of being upset about it. I've worked up to being able to tolerate babies in public, ie. navigating around them & keeping them out of my ‘safe zone’. There has only been a few times when a baby was having a tantrum that I have had to run out of a shop. But it is mostly hard in social situations with small groups of people, where there is nowhere to escape. We are at a total lost in what to do, but without coming across as rude or basically having to tell people ‘to keep their babies away from me’ & without me having to go sit outside by myself like a total idiot. Sometimes I just feel hopeless, my head spins so fast, I can’t think straight & all I want to do is run away. I feel like such a burden to my partner, that he has to go through this each time family visits or we encounter social gatherings with babies. I haven’t seen a lot of my friends/cousins in years just because they’ve all had kids & I feel bad, but also relieved that I haven’t had to bother with their babies. The other thing I really struggle with differentiating is while babies make me anxious, I just genuinely am not interested in them. As a female, I feel like I get targeted by other females who ‘expect’ me to dote over their little ones which is so frustrating. So in a way, having this anxiety ‘gets’ me out of having to interact/look at/touch babies etc. so I almost do not want to fix my issue as I still do not want to have to do this! I’m just so confused as to what to do though??

Aparecium7 Telling my Secret
  • replies: 3

Hi. I am new to this forum and also new to dealing with what I now know is called anxiety. I am hoping by putting up a thread and joining in a discussion the people on here can help me solve some of the more personal feelings and questions I have. Fi... View more

Hi. I am new to this forum and also new to dealing with what I now know is called anxiety. I am hoping by putting up a thread and joining in a discussion the people on here can help me solve some of the more personal feelings and questions I have. Firstly a bit of background about my journey thus far. About 6 months ago I stared to drif away from my usual self. And more pergresibly so over the past few weeks. I didn’t quite notice the change immediately as it was so gradual but now looking back can see just how much I have let this take over my life. 2 weeks ago I was very lucky in that my manager at work realised that I had very rapidly gone down hill in my day to day goings on and had become more and more closed off. She gave me a hotline to call and make an appointment to see a professional. I have now been to see someone and talk about how I am. He has - for lack of a better word - diagnosed me with stress induced anxiety which has been caused by oh so many stresses that are comply out of my hands. But now that I know what’s happening I want to kinda explain to my partner and close family what’s happening but have zero idea how to do this. My family don’t really understand mental health and I’m increasily worried about tell my parter in case he doesn’t understand or worse leaves if it becomes all too much. Does anyone have some ideas on how to explain all this without sounding crazy ? Thank You ,

LostAndFound95 Leaving a job with a toxic environment but having anxiety when looking to apply for a new job.
  • replies: 1

Hi, This is my first post here and I hope it's in the right place. I've been working with a company where I had a full-time casual admin job for 2.5 years where management would not put me on as permanent and there's always dramas with management and... View more

Hi, This is my first post here and I hope it's in the right place. I've been working with a company where I had a full-time casual admin job for 2.5 years where management would not put me on as permanent and there's always dramas with management and poor communication so a lot of people have lost hope in the company and are just very bitter. I lost the full time admin job last year which put me into a spiral and was scrambling to find a new job/ direction in life, I eventually got through the hard times and found a passion for psychology and counselling and am going to study a Dip of Counselling this year. I'm still currently at the same place working in admin for a couple days a week where my mind is restless and distracted but I still get my work done and in the warehouse - where there is rivalry between departments and gossip is rampant - the rest of the time (when theres work) I'm waiting to enrol into my course and also waiting for Youth Allowance for study and am worrying about money and paying my mortgage and bills when I think about quitting and trying to find a new job where I am motivated and working with a positive team and not just trying not to mess up so I don't get yelled at or trying not to get caught up in childish gossip. My main problem is when I start looking into applying for a new job I worry about money, and taking time off for the interview, and the interview itself, and how much I don't like my current situation, so this physical anxiety comes over me (tight chest, little shakey, ruminating, wanting someone else to do it for me) and I usually stop to calm myself down and just have a cry and end up avoiding doing it because of how I'm letting it make me feel.

Rango Night panic
  • replies: 4

Hi, I’m new to the forum. I’ve been waking in the night with frightening feelings of panic and physical symptoms like a tingling sensation through my body, sweating and a fear that I’m about to have a stroke. It’s not every night but I’m scared of it... View more

Hi, I’m new to the forum. I’ve been waking in the night with frightening feelings of panic and physical symptoms like a tingling sensation through my body, sweating and a fear that I’m about to have a stroke. It’s not every night but I’m scared of it happening. I’m trying to rationalise it, is it Menopause (I’m 49) am I going crazy? I worry about everything, the health and safety of my 2 sons in particular. Does anyone else have this type of anxiety? I feel like I need help. doe

cfalz I can’t shake compulsive habits that are affecting me - What’s happening??
  • replies: 8

Hi! For as long as I can remember I’ve had many ‘compulsive’ habits that I just can’t get rid of. These include: Having to go over words I’ve written in pen dozens of times Having to type, backspace, retype words dozens of times Having to say words/p... View more

Hi! For as long as I can remember I’ve had many ‘compulsive’ habits that I just can’t get rid of. These include: Having to go over words I’ve written in pen dozens of times Having to type, backspace, retype words dozens of times Having to say words/phrases an even amount of times Having to take the same amount of steps in each ‘block’ of pavement Changing the volume (TV, radio, etc) dozens of times in a certain order (eg. starting from 10, going to 11, then back to 10, then to 9, then to 10) and always having to end it on an even number Chewing food an even amount of times Always eating an even amount of food (eating 4 chips, 2 pieces of chocolate, etc) These really effect me as when I can’t complete these habits I get anxious and feel like there’s a pressure building up inside me. I don’t know why I do this but I really want to find an explanation. Why do I do this??

soggyoats Intense fear of skin injury?
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone, I hope this is the correct area to be posting this. I did some googling and couldn’t find any results relating to my problem so I’m beginning to feel like I might be one of few people struggling with this. I’ve spoken to a few psychologi... View more

Hi everyone, I hope this is the correct area to be posting this. I did some googling and couldn’t find any results relating to my problem so I’m beginning to feel like I might be one of few people struggling with this. I’ve spoken to a few psychologists over the past few years and have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, but I’ve never told a healthcare professional about this fear of mine so I have no idea if it’s part of the anxiety or something else entirely. I’m horribly afraid of any kind of skin injury—bruises, cuts, scrapes, even the tiniest scratch. I plan out any action before doing it to prevent injury, my risk calculation is off the charts (I won’t fiddle with anything that looks like it could hurt me) and if I do happen to accidentally get hurt (even the smallest cut), I start hyperventilating and crying and frantically rushing to do first aid. All because I don’t want scars. I know how vain this is, but it really is consuming my life at this point. I currently have a small abrasion on the back of my hand and have been carefully nursing it for days, crying and stressing over it and spent hours researching thewound healing process. This fear takes over my thoughts and I want to be normal. I’m 21 and was never like this as a child or through most of my teens. This all started around 19 onwards when I started dating my current boyfriend and wanting to be “perfect” for him, I guess. Does anyone know what is happening to me or why I’m like this? My family thinks I’m vain and a crybaby, but I know there’s something deeper to it. Thank you.

Big_Heart Anxious about going to school
  • replies: 3

Hi I’m 40 and diagnosed with social anxiety and many other illnesses but the thing is that I want to achieve in life and I figured going to school would be the best option. the only problem is that I suffer with anxiety and I’m worried other class st... View more

Hi I’m 40 and diagnosed with social anxiety and many other illnesses but the thing is that I want to achieve in life and I figured going to school would be the best option. the only problem is that I suffer with anxiety and I’m worried other class students will pick up on that. It really sucks having multiple diagnoses. i have manic depression with psychotic symptoms borderline personality disorder traits clinical depression social anxiety and so on. i really want to achieve but I’m worried people in the classroom will judge me and isolate me as a loser. ive spoken to the school disability liaison officer and she said I can get someone in the class room to help but that will make it even more obvious that I gave an illness. what do you think ?