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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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Sav13 Teachers with OCD
  • replies: 15

I am a primary school teacher and believe I have OCD. I would love to hear from other teachers who also have OCD. As teachers, we often joke about OCD being a requisite for the job, as the job involves routines and being very organised etc. I am curr... View more

I am a primary school teacher and believe I have OCD. I would love to hear from other teachers who also have OCD. As teachers, we often joke about OCD being a requisite for the job, as the job involves routines and being very organised etc. I am currently taking anti-depressants. I have been teaching for 26 years, but in the last 5 years the job has become increasingly stressful due to the increased demands since the new Australian Curriculum came in. Before then I loved my job but now I am anxious and stressed most of the time. To cope, I have become increasingly obsessive about a number of things. I feel like this is my way to control things, as my job is now out of my control. So I was just wanting to hear experiences from other teachers and any tips which could help.

bozomac Increasing dose - will startup symptoms re-appear?
  • replies: 2

Hi all, started on medication (slow start due to potential of short term increase in panic symptoms), it's been a week now. Slight increase in anxiety, but mostly nausea that lasts most of the day. I've tried taking on full stomach etc and it helps a... View more

Hi all, started on medication (slow start due to potential of short term increase in panic symptoms), it's been a week now. Slight increase in anxiety, but mostly nausea that lasts most of the day. I've tried taking on full stomach etc and it helps a little, but nausea is still there. If that's only going to last another week, then I can struggle through that. But my doc's plan is that I will up dose to very soon, and then higher again after that. Will I get these startup symptoms all over again? If, so are they as bad? Or is the intial startup the worst bit, and then maybe milder side-effects each dose increase? That's what I'm hoping. Thanks!!

sociallyawks Work is being effected by my anxiety
  • replies: 7

I started my current job in January. For many reasons the first 4 months and introduction to the company were not great and I should have left. I now have a new CEO that I report to who I like. Its taken 10 months to start to feel like there is real ... View more

I started my current job in January. For many reasons the first 4 months and introduction to the company were not great and I should have left. I now have a new CEO that I report to who I like. Its taken 10 months to start to feel like there is real progress happening with my team. I joined a company where I had no experience in the market we are in and other executives had been there for many years. So I felt for some time that my voice wouldn't mean much and I had a lot to learn. This last year I've also taken a couple of confidence hits. One relating to a hospital visit for high blood sugars, then having to present to our chairman 4 days later with sugars still at 18. (should've been in hospital) Feedback is that I was underwhelming. I took that personally and hard. I manage a small team of 4 people. My boss has mentioned to me that my work quality is great, and what my team is doing is great. However he wants me to have more leadership presence. He's said that he can tell I'm a quiet achiever and happy to be in the background but he wants more from me. He's organised executive coaching for me which I've only had one session so far.I am keen to see what I can learn but my worry is he is trying to turn me into someone I am not. He seems to have a preconceived idea about what someone has to be like. I really don't know that I can be what he wants. I know I'm not the loudest person in the room or the person thats the centre of attention.. thats a turn off for me. This year I turned 40 and are finding I take things more personally than ever, feel less confident than ever, don't want to socialise. I used to be really career driven and now I really just don't want the responsibility, I would be happy being the quiet achiever. I fixate on things that happened and havent happened and it effects my sleep too. I cant stop playing things over. I tried to seek help last year, the first meeting was ok but the psychologise then couldnt see me for over a month so that just frustrated me when I wanted help. I felt things have been a bit better but I just dont feel as strong mentally as I used to and dont know what to do.

hopeful123 How can I cope with feelings of extreme guilt?
  • replies: 5

Hi everyone, I'm new to this space, and I'm struggling a lot with guilt. I have been struggling with guilt a lot lately. I feel paralyzed by it. It's consuming my whole life. I can't seem to shake it and it's making me feel so anxious and puts me in ... View more

Hi everyone, I'm new to this space, and I'm struggling a lot with guilt. I have been struggling with guilt a lot lately. I feel paralyzed by it. It's consuming my whole life. I can't seem to shake it and it's making me feel so anxious and puts me in a panic. It's a new thing almost every day. I don't know what to do. For example; feeling so guilty about purposely wasting time at work. I've tried talking to people, and most of them just say, let it go, it doesn't matter in the scheme of things. But I can't help it. I feel like it's one of the worst things I've done! Has anyone else experienced something like this? How have you dealt with it?

amalee78 Moving house is stressful!
  • replies: 2

This last week has been crazy. My husband and I have moved house with no help or even removalist truck and my baby has been waking every hour and a half to two hours...I am so exhausted and my anxiety has been pretty out of control because of it... W... View more

This last week has been crazy. My husband and I have moved house with no help or even removalist truck and my baby has been waking every hour and a half to two hours...I am so exhausted and my anxiety has been pretty out of control because of it... Well, just now I asked my husband if I was a healthy person and he said....mentally you are not healthy right now...the first thought that popped into my head - maybe that means I'm ok and won't be passing soon. What does that say about me?? There was a post on here a few days ago about helping ourselves and choosing not to google etc. I've been thinking about that ever since and trying to not self check any sensations around my stomach, but it's so hard. And I don't know how to tell the difference between what is an anxiety symptom and what might be real. I've told myself a thousand times my muscles will be sore from the gym and the soreness is not in the same place where the tumour was - but I'm just st having real trouble talking myself down. I just feel like I'm Struggling at the moment.

EC2004 Anxiety, stressed or just too sensitive
  • replies: 1

Hi all. This is my first time posting on this page. I haven't been diagnosed with anything and to be completely honest I'm not sure if I have anxiety or if I'm just too sensitive so I don't know whether I should be seeking help. By way of background,... View more

Hi all. This is my first time posting on this page. I haven't been diagnosed with anything and to be completely honest I'm not sure if I have anxiety or if I'm just too sensitive so I don't know whether I should be seeking help. By way of background, I work in an industry that is stressful, time sensitive and just full on. I find that I can go periods of time without incident however there are instances where I find myself really stressed worried about work. I work really hard to keep on top of my workload and I am always willing to help a co-worker when they need assistance. Despite occasional positive feedback, I still feel worried. Regularly, I struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep and I often wake up feeling like I've slept for an hour and dreading work. Every morning on the train to work I experience knots in my stomach. I find that I am irritable at least half of the time. Occasionally, I experience what I call a breakdown, where I am just inconsolable. This has happened a few times and has been the result of something relatively minor which is something I can't control or not my fault but I've taken it personally. Most recently I encountered a problem at work that made me so stressed and worried that I almost immediately started crying (just after 9am) and I was tearing up throughout the day. I couldn't stop thinking about it (even though it was something that I couldn't control, it wasn't my fault, I worked to sort the problem and it really shouldn't have been a big deal). I experienced a hot flush that seemed to last for hours (a co-worker tried to comfort me and mentioned I was burning up) , I was shaking I could barely write and I couldn't control the tears. Even after I'd solved the problem and realising it may have been actually been a misunderstanding/miscommunication and leaving work at the end of the day, I still cannot help but cry. These things have happened a few times before in my time at this workplace, and on those occasions one of my colleagues have sent me home and I've needed to call in sick the following day because I still couldn't compose myself. As I said these incidents don't happen often but when they do, they sneak up on me and I just can't get over it. I need help identifying if it is something I need to address with a doctor or if I'm simply sensitive. If anyone has any tips on how to manage it, that might be helpful. Thanks in advance

Missaaaa Scared at night & I don't know what to do
  • replies: 4

Long story short I have anxiety. It was made worse by multiple break ins at my previous house a year ago. Ever since I can't sleep at night and living at this new place means I live with my landlord - who is overseas for three weeks. It's the midway ... View more

Long story short I have anxiety. It was made worse by multiple break ins at my previous house a year ago. Ever since I can't sleep at night and living at this new place means I live with my landlord - who is overseas for three weeks. It's the midway point and I'm hearing sounds and I can't distinguish between house, people or cats. I have the numbers for my neighbours who I've met only once and I don't want to alert them for nothing so late but I'm really anxious and tense. Anyone know what I should do??!

Nowornever Compassion Fatigue - How to Deal with it?
  • replies: 9

In this first post I want to say thank you to Beyond Blue, I called the line several weeks ago and it helped me went through my worst break down. Whoever it was on the other end of the line, you have a kind soul, and amazingly professional. I'm 33 ma... View more

In this first post I want to say thank you to Beyond Blue, I called the line several weeks ago and it helped me went through my worst break down. Whoever it was on the other end of the line, you have a kind soul, and amazingly professional. I'm 33 male living with my partner, she's 26. We are both young and even younger at heart. I myself went through some really bad episodes of depression in my late 20s. My partner has a pretty severe social anxiety. We both work, I'm a marketing manager with really fast paced work, she works part time in hospitality. I have supported her in every way possible and encouraged her to start her own business. She went from total isolation to being able to force herself to go to work although it will drive her to heightened state every time she needs to go to work. She doesn't took meds as she didn't feel very good on it and we are not sure we can afford psychologist help. We don't have friends, I couldn't care less for social interaction and she is too afraid of it. I just feel tired of being supportive... Emotionally drained and increasingly apathetic towards many things. I'm constantly being viewed as an enemy every time we enter a argument. And we argue if I try to suggest a positive thing for her self improvement. She feels that she is under attack and I'm her enemy. I feel that I'm alone while I'm trying really hard to support her. I go under a lot of stress myself and all I can do is suck it up and go through it as I don't have support. Our personality are polar opposites, I'm a type A and she is type B. She's an easygoing Cancer, I'm a structured Virgo. But we love each other dearly as we are different and support each other. She keeps me grounded and reminds me that I'm a human being with a soul while I help her see and navigate the realities of the world. I feel we are drifting apart with each argument. How do I approach her when I want to share something that will improve her life? What do I need to do look after myself? What do I do if we enter an argument? Is there any technique to remind myself that I need to be more patient? How do I cope with holding back with myself? How do I grow a support network for myself when I don't have time? I feel better already writing this rant. I know the reason why I'm posting this is so I can get this out to at least someone, who will read this. Does not matter if there is no solution, or there is no help. I feel thankful, I feel more content. Cheers, Depressed partner.

Tricky_Mick Depression and anxiety
  • replies: 4

Hi I am new to this I do not know how to deal with anxiety and depression I got diagnosed with depression and anxiety about 3 years ago and they come in waves I feel like I got no one and I feel like I'm losing my friends I've run out of ideas to dea... View more

Hi I am new to this I do not know how to deal with anxiety and depression I got diagnosed with depression and anxiety about 3 years ago and they come in waves I feel like I got no one and I feel like I'm losing my friends I've run out of ideas to deal with anxiety and depression like techniques I've tried listen to music and other techniques I must appreciate if someone can help me give me some techniques and ideas to deal with anxiety depression

anxiouslydizzy Anxiety and dizziness
  • replies: 2

I am struggling with anxiety induced dizziness. Please help. Thank you.

I am struggling with anxiety induced dizziness. Please help. Thank you.

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