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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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Undiagnosedanxietygirl what’s wrong with me?
  • replies: 2

Hello, i don’t think of myself as a shy person but often I will be so shy I can’t even look a person in the eyes and this person could be my best friend or my best friends boyfriend who I have known for a long time. I don’t know what happens but some... View more

Hello, i don’t think of myself as a shy person but often I will be so shy I can’t even look a person in the eyes and this person could be my best friend or my best friends boyfriend who I have known for a long time. I don’t know what happens but sometimes when I’m going out and I’ll catch a bus, I get awkward and all sweaty and feel like everybody in the bus is looking at me ( and I hate feeling self centred) I’ll constantly put my head down and even then I’ll feel as though all eyes are on me and “people think I’m weird” “stop doing that” “look this way” it’s as if I go robotic. it gets so bad most times that if I’m listening to music through my headphones I’ll put the volume all the way down because I feel as though I’m breathing too loud, like I’ll have to listen to myself breath. I have no idea what this is or if it means I have anxiety but i just feel like my friends don’t have this kind of problem and they say I over think stuff but it doesn’t help and it still always happens, ESPECIALLY when I’m by myself. I totally avoid doin things by myself because I know what I get like, but then again I avoid hanging out with my closest friends because I feel like I can’t even be around them without getting awkward and it makes me seem weird and like a bad person and I’m really not like that at all.

d_93 Anxious mother, Anxious family/Psychotherapy
  • replies: 3

Hello, One year on my mum is still suffering from the cruel battles of anxiety and depression. This time last year she was in a mental health unit receiving treatment for her ongoing illness. I can celebrate some improvements she has made but i'm now... View more

Hello, One year on my mum is still suffering from the cruel battles of anxiety and depression. This time last year she was in a mental health unit receiving treatment for her ongoing illness. I can celebrate some improvements she has made but i'm now beginning to see some set backs which i hope to be minor ones. She is constantly complaining that she has a sore stomach which she is convinced it isn't anxiety when several medical professionals have told her it is only anxiety. Alongside this she is constantly complaining and saying she is sick and crying. This is taking a real toll on the family as frustration is definitely kicking in. The once mother who was so caring is no longer caring to her family members. Whilst understanding the pain she must be experiencing it is really hard when we are running lengths to do anything to help her. it's becoming really hard to be a mother to your own mother. We are about to start psychotherapy with her on Saturday. Can i please have and experiences that people may have had with this kind of treatment. D.93

Vicki88 Bad health anxiety... at my wits end!
  • replies: 10

4 months ago I fell ill with what we thought was gastro or food poisoning, that I feel I never fully recovered from. Following a bad belly ache/cramps I had water like diarrhoea for a whole hour and nausea, but wasn't sick. Since I have had abdominal... View more

4 months ago I fell ill with what we thought was gastro or food poisoning, that I feel I never fully recovered from. Following a bad belly ache/cramps I had water like diarrhoea for a whole hour and nausea, but wasn't sick. Since I have had abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhoea/normalish bowel movements and bad reflux. I have had bloods, CT of abdomen, ultrasound of abdomen, CT & X-ray of chest, colonoscopy & endoscopy and all clear, except the endoscopy revealed mild gastritis. My gastro specialist thinks I have IBS also and my GP thinks it is all due to anxiety. My reflux causes severe chest discomfort, pulling/burning feeling and sometimes stabbing pain. The discomfort also travels to my shoulders and arms. It is scary and I am so sick of it. Since switching medications I have found my reflux improved but it is still there. I get my PH levels checked for reflux next month and my GP has put me on medication for anxiety. I keep getting sore neck, weak upper arms & thighs, tingly finger tips, and little niggle electric shock feelings in my head. I am scared and so sick of all these symptoms. Can they really be caused by anxiety? Please help I have convinced myself I had every cancer to name and then once cleared of one, Id go onto the next one. Is this possible?

Lozzy33 Health Anxiety - Help am I'm a hypochondriac!?
  • replies: 3

Hello fellow stress heads... I have been suffering from health anxiety for some months now and it's getting progressively worse. I knew a girl my age who recently died of a brain tumour and a family member in my household is currently undergoing radi... View more

Hello fellow stress heads... I have been suffering from health anxiety for some months now and it's getting progressively worse. I knew a girl my age who recently died of a brain tumour and a family member in my household is currently undergoing radiation treatment for cancer, together with constant health horror stories on the news and social media is turning me into a hypochondriac. I am paranoid about constantly washing my hands or sanitising with the fear I might catch something awful. I worry myself sick if I show the slightest abnormal symptom and over analyse by searching on the internet. I get anxious about being in places that are far from hospitals in case I need one. Last year I had a small biopsy procedure for Cervical cancer as my original results showed signs of abnormality, but the second lots of results came back clear - yet I can't help but worry that somehow they got my records mixed up or information wrong and I must be living with cancer. As far as anyone else is concerned including my GP I am healthy! It's really starting to impact my day to day and it's making me upset because I can't get out of feeling this way, I literally can't stop worrying! Then the spiral begins, I worry and stress more, giving myself more emotional and physical symptoms and so it continues... in particular I am suffering from Bruxism (clentching my jaw) and waking up with a sore jaw every day and general emotional stress from constantly feeling like this. Does anyone else feel this way? What steps have people taken to alleviate the anxiety of health issues???!!! Please help!

vader1 anxiety and life
  • replies: 2

Hi , I have used beyond blue forum once before and found it helpfull, so i though would post again, as i found it supportive and dont have many people to talk too . I have anxiety and depression , since I was 15. I have recently had a few turbulent m... View more

Hi , I have used beyond blue forum once before and found it helpfull, so i though would post again, as i found it supportive and dont have many people to talk too . I have anxiety and depression , since I was 15. I have recently had a few turbulent months , I was working in a new job(emergency nursing), that was a big acheivment for me ( for over 14 months), however I had no family or support and it was very stressfull. I decided to then move to a new job (even more stressfull) to try something new . However I recently resigned from the job to focus on myself and I moved back in with family. I was living alone and far away and was in a very stressfull job, which esculated my anxiety. I was determined to get some help and saw 2 diffrent people and talked about my anxiety . However I have found that they havent heped me that much. If anything I hated myself more. Some days I feel really good and I can take on the world and then there are other days where I find that I am having panic attacks , and breathing heavily, and not sleeping. Just leaving the house make me anxious at times and in many ways I feel that I am at a standstill with life. I use to be very confident and postive and yet now i am the complete oppisite. I have been focusing on eating right and continul exercise , and sharing my thoughts with my family , i have even been trying to do new things and trying to get back into old interests , even a new course , but I just dont seem to want to strive or push myself like I use to. Moving and resiging if felt would give me a fresh start but I feel that I just cant move forward . I know that nothing is stopping me from making new positive descions but I just feel that something is stopping me . I dont know if it is my anxiety , or past thoughts or past regrets or something else . I have looked at getting some part time nursing work , as I can cope with that and I have support unlike before , however at times , even the thought of applying for jobs makes me anxious and sick in my stomach (and i dont know why). Sorry for rambing, like i said i found these forums helpfull previously and would love some suggestions or advice. Thnakyou.

cakeboss Hi does anyone else suffer from health anxiety
  • replies: 9

Does anyone else suffer from health anxiety .I suffer from anxiety panic attacks and somtimes if im not feeling well i think the worst and start looking up on the net things releated to whats wrong with me at the time and thinking the worst .I have g... View more

Does anyone else suffer from health anxiety .I suffer from anxiety panic attacks and somtimes if im not feeling well i think the worst and start looking up on the net things releated to whats wrong with me at the time and thinking the worst .I have good weeks and bad weeks and am currently seeing counciler which is great to help with the over thinking .Does anyone else get pains in the stomach with anxiety and panic attacks.love some positive advice.

TinyDancer2017 Does this sound like anxiety?
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone, Just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences to this: Every few months (at best) and weeks (at worst) I get this really weird feeling... It's hard to describe, but it's as if the world feels like it's not real. It's like everythin... View more

Hi everyone, Just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences to this: Every few months (at best) and weeks (at worst) I get this really weird feeling... It's hard to describe, but it's as if the world feels like it's not real. It's like everything has been stripped away and I can see how weird everything is... Noises sound different too, kind of dull... Do you think this is connected to anxiety? After a while, the feeling passes and things go back to normal, but I'd like to know why it happens. Thanks.

Lozzy33 Anxiety or Brain Tumor?!
  • replies: 7

Hi there I am new and am suffering what I think is some pretty intense anxiety. I have just moved home to Aus from the UK and ever since I got back I have started getting all these strange symptoms such as tension headaches (tightness around my head)... View more

Hi there I am new and am suffering what I think is some pretty intense anxiety. I have just moved home to Aus from the UK and ever since I got back I have started getting all these strange symptoms such as tension headaches (tightness around my head), heart palpitations, numb arm, tiredness and just feeling 'off' and not myself. I knew a girl my age who recently died of a brain tumour and now I am convinced all these symptoms are possibly a brain tumour. I am so scared and I am freaking myself out thinking about it 24/7. I visit the doctor who performed some tests but thinks I am fine and referred me to a psychiatrist. As well as this I have started to feel a bit out of it, not thinking straight, sometimes confused. And I have had 2 panic attacks this week. Is anyone else experiencing anything like this? Or should I seriously be forcing my doctor to send me for an MRI? Help I'm really frightened and obsessing about it.

AnxiousExistance Anxious, on the Autism spectrum and lost in the system of workcover....
  • replies: 2

I have a pretty extreme anxiety disorder as well as alot of other issues and Ive been experiencing 12 months of issues from workcover that has caused so much drama that its making my condition worse and my son and I will be homeless soon because of t... View more

I have a pretty extreme anxiety disorder as well as alot of other issues and Ive been experiencing 12 months of issues from workcover that has caused so much drama that its making my condition worse and my son and I will be homeless soon because of the insurer EML bullying me by stalling my payments by up to a month at a time till all up I was late with rent 11 times over 6 months and this caused my landlord to freak out on me, I had never, ever been late with rent before this, i prided myself on my rental history but EML have crushed it......now as a result I have no rental reference due to the conflict with my landlord and EML are still bullying me despite them literally causing me to be homeless and telling me they cant help me fix the issue they caused....I turned up to an IME today on time going by the details EML gave me...I wasted an 80km drive because they cancelled the appointment 2 weeks ago without telling me...my anxiety makes it so hard to leave my house because of serious physical symptoms so this wasted trip has just made me feel like they are going to continue messing with me till I fully snap....I'm so close to just giving up because of how much they've wrecked my life...wrecking my landlords reference is essentially like burning my house down...I have no support network and can only rely on EML who dont have my best interest at heart....I even caught them out colluding with a rehab firm to lessen my compo after 3 doctors said the condition is likely permanent, luckily I had sms proof they lied and its kept them at bay but I dont know where to start as far as getting help to fix the damage they caused, I put in a complaint to work cover thats been ignored and the firms like slater and gordon arent interested unless there is a big payday involved....I have mental and physical issues that require a specific type of home and I'd never had an issue getting a house before this but now no real estate will even look at me because of rent issues caused by EML....I have proof they are messing with me to the point of damaging my life but I'm at a loss as to where to get real help that wont take years....I need help now.....I'm homeless after 12/11...While EML mess me around I cant even get housing assistance ..any advice?

Mrscoasty Out of control
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone! I am a 41 year old woman who had my first panic attack when my daughter was 1 (I was 27). I’ve been on medication since then. My anxiety and panic has been up and down in all that time but right now it’s flared up again. My job is fairly... View more

Hi everyone! I am a 41 year old woman who had my first panic attack when my daughter was 1 (I was 27). I’ve been on medication since then. My anxiety and panic has been up and down in all that time but right now it’s flared up again. My job is fairly stressful but it hasn’t ever been an issue for me, I thrive on that sort of stress. Right now we are about to buy a house, and I can’t get this thought out of my head that something bad is going to happen to me before then and I’ll never get to enjoy it. Then I get sad because I haven’t seen my Mum in ages, she lives 2 1/2 hours away, and in my current state of mind driving to see her is out of the question. I’ve done the drive before but the thought of it right now makes me feel sick with nerves. My thoughts are ‘I’m having a heart attack’ so I hate being alone. We went out for tea the other night for my husbands birthday and I needed to go to the loo....I freaked out having to be in there by myself. I did it, and didn’t die, but it scared me. It feels like I am just waiting for something to happen. An impending sense of doom. I usually make myself say the alphabet backwards. It’s goid in making me concentrate on something else. Everyone says that exercise is great, but I can’t do that. One, I’m by myself, and Two, it raises my heart rate which triggers a panic attack. I love going to sleep at night. I get a break. But I hate going to sleep last. I have to be asleep before my husband. I don’t know how to get better. I feel like I’m totally out of control spinning around in a vortex and just going through the motions each day, waiting for something terrible to happen. Thank you for reading.

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