Immediate support
Immediate support

Anxiety

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with anxiety.

Start a discussion

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Jump to
Start a discussion

Pinned discussions

Chris_B Forums etiquette: give support to receive support
  • replies: 0

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newb... View more

Hi everyone, particularly any new members who may be reading. From time to time, we get contacted by members who are unhappy that they haven’t received a lot of replies to their posts. Our community champions work very hard to make sure that all newbies are welcomed when they first post, and we understand that it’s a big step to post for the first time on a forum like this, especially if you aren’t feeling great. It’s important to remember, though, that these forums are a community of real people, just like you, not a one-on-one support environment like going to see your psychologist. To get the best out of being here, one of the best tips we can offer is give support to receive support. Being a good community member means: participating in different threads (not just your own), replying to people who have taken the time to reply to you (even if it’s just to say thank you), and... posting words of emotional support and encouragement when you see others who are hurting and reaching out. You don’t have to feel obliged to solve the problems of others: that’s not what we’re here for. But you can offer empathy and what you’ve learned from your own life experiences, even if it’s just a line or two, eg. “I don't know what to say, but I want to give you my support and tell you I care about what is happening to you and hope life will get better soon.” Try to develop an interest in the journeys of others here on the forums. You may be surprised at how good being an active, caring member here can make you feel. For those of you who have had good experiences giving support here on the forums, please post in this thread here and let us know how it has helped you on your journey.

All discussions

Start a discussion

Overthinking_m3 Hyper focus on potentially the wrong person
  • replies: 5

Hi, I’m 42(m) and in a long distance relationship with a lady in another state. I fly to her, or her to me most weekends. I’m very much in love with her, both of us have had prior marriages. We are both professionals in very different industries. Las... View more

Hi, I’m 42(m) and in a long distance relationship with a lady in another state. I fly to her, or her to me most weekends. I’m very much in love with her, both of us have had prior marriages. We are both professionals in very different industries. Last week, she told me she wants to go for a holiday for two weeks with another man, whom I have never met. She tells me he is just a friend, and cannot understand why I told her that it upset me. Since then, I have told her that if she wants to go, then she should in fact go. Now I’m overthinking, cannot sleep, and I’m crazy anxious, to the point where I’m unable to function properly. Trying to quash the feelings internally, as she believes this all belongs to me. What do I do here?

Patrickj Heart Anxiety - Struggling
  • replies: 2

Back in 2020, I developed ectopic beats. These are horrible beats that thud in my chest and take my breath away. The worst of them are the flutters – ectopic beats that I have in pairs or sometimes in threes. I had both PVC's and PAV's for those fami... View more

Back in 2020, I developed ectopic beats. These are horrible beats that thud in my chest and take my breath away. The worst of them are the flutters – ectopic beats that I have in pairs or sometimes in threes. I had both PVC's and PAV's for those familiar with the terminology. The burden was not necessarily high, but they were there, and very real. Thankfully, I was able to see a cardiologist, who did bloods, a Holter monitor, and an echocardiogram. I was discharged and, over the coming days/weeks, I got better and started living my life again. About six weeks ago, my ectopic beats returned, likely due to stress, being sicks with two viruses, and drinking three glasses of red wine. I had a bout of those horrible flutters for about 8 hours. I was exhausted and worried. Again, thankfully, I went back to the cardiologist, who did another Holter monitor, 12-Cord ECG, and an echocardiogram. His report was very favourable – structurally, nothing had changed with my heart, which he compared to the echocardiogram in 2020. My heart is working well. During the consultation, he did question a couple of things about my Holter monitor, though dismissed these as ‘artifacts’. Aka, the machine must have glitched. This planted the seed in my mind that those artifacts were actually genuine signs that my heart arteries may have been blocked. I should have asked him there and then, but I didn’t. Perhaps this was foolish, perhaps not. I should note that, at this time, I had no chest pain nor discomfort. The ectopic beats had stopped and I was feeling good. However, my worry continued. I started getting chest pain, discomfort, fullness, burning sensations all over my skin. Something felt terribly wrong, and my mind turned to clogged arteries. In my mind, it was the only explanation to why I was still having symptoms. I started getting dizzy, I started feeling sick, and I worried that at any moment I was going to drop dead. My sensations were/are very real, and sometimes very painful.(Continued below)

TheBigBlue I messed up again, no one to talk to or confide in
  • replies: 9

Feeling lost. I started a new job 2 weeks ago, was doing ok, but messed up today. The manager & I stayed back 1.5hrs to try & fix it. I feel guilt about keeping him back, guilt for the stuff up. But also ashamed. Because of what happened. I had a “me... View more

Feeling lost. I started a new job 2 weeks ago, was doing ok, but messed up today. The manager & I stayed back 1.5hrs to try & fix it. I feel guilt about keeping him back, guilt for the stuff up. But also ashamed. Because of what happened. I had a “medical” incident. I doubt most here will understand, but I had a hypo (low blood sugar; I’m type 1 diabetic). As a type 1, when blood sugar gets too low you urgently need fast acting glucose to get your levels back up. Worse case scenario in extreme circumstances is seizures, or coma, or death. I’ve had an ambulance called & been hospitalised twice previously due to seizures from low blood sugar. so today my blood sugar dropped too low. I became disoriented, was sweating as if I was in a sauna & kind of didn’t know what was going on. But I kept trying to do my job, was too embarrassed to speak up & say I needed help. And that’s why I messed up my order in the computer. But worse, no one around me even noticed I was having trouble or understood what danger I was in. im so ashamed. So ashamed my body doesn’t work like it should, ashamed what happened was beyond my control, ashamed I didn’t speak up or ask for help, ashamed I messed up. I don’t know how to face my colleagues tomorrow. I’m so embarrassed I don’t want to ever show my face again. i hate that I can’t stick up for myself, or ask for help. I hate that I sometimes struggle because of my condition. I hate being different. I hate myself. Just needed somewhere to let this all out…..

Guest_7817 Dealing with anxiety
  • replies: 9

I'm feeling very anxious and I have no idea why. . I try a lot of things such as playing games, watching movies, going for walks, sitting outside in fresh air, playing with my dogs and colouring in books. They only last for so long and are short term... View more

I'm feeling very anxious and I have no idea why. . I try a lot of things such as playing games, watching movies, going for walks, sitting outside in fresh air, playing with my dogs and colouring in books. They only last for so long and are short term which is a major problem for me. It's worse at night time and first thing in the morning. Sleeping becomes difficult at times for me. I suffer at work sometimes with it as well but I'd prefer others to not know about it. I don't know what else to do.

maya7895 My boyfriend hanging out with girls makes me uncomfortable
  • replies: 1

I know it is bad to go through peoples phones, but I had the urge to do it with my boyfriends phone. We had a fight a week ago because I get uncomfortable with him hanging out with girls he’s friends with (especially because most of them he’s liked o... View more

I know it is bad to go through peoples phones, but I had the urge to do it with my boyfriends phone. We had a fight a week ago because I get uncomfortable with him hanging out with girls he’s friends with (especially because most of them he’s liked or had a thing with). My previous relationship I was cheated on, and I feel like this trauma has followed me into this relationship and I don’t know how to work on it. My boyfriend and I came up with a compromise about him seeing this girl he wanted to hang out with which was to see her once a week maximum in a non-suggestive environment. Later on when I went through his phone I went into the conversation with his friend, while we were still fighting he was confiding in her about how he feels etc, and he said “do we still have that pact that when we turn 40 and we’re still single we are going to marry each other” and she agreed. Now I can’t stop thinking about what I’ve read, and I can’t bring it up with him because then he’ll know I went through his phone. I feel like I am so easily replaceable, and my self-esteem is so low. I need to work on this but I don’t know how to become comfortable with him hanging out with girls he used to like or had a thing with.

Mr K I’m terribly afraid of loosing my job.
  • replies: 8

On Friday I was told People had concerns about my work and I was being put on a performance improvement plan. It felt like it came out of the blue as nothing was said to me before this. I’m terribly worried that loosing my current job will lead me in... View more

On Friday I was told People had concerns about my work and I was being put on a performance improvement plan. It felt like it came out of the blue as nothing was said to me before this. I’m terribly worried that loosing my current job will lead me into unemployment, threaten my ability to pay my rent and worse of all my loosing the time I get with my kids. I work in a role that doesn’t come up for employment very often and up to this point I’ve relied on my reputation and hard work to get these roles as I’m not particularly well educated or qualified. I think I can pick up components and do better in some areas but the pressure I’m under is intense and I’m feeling overwhelmed and sick thinking about it. I don’t know if the plan is a genuine opportunity for me to improve or just a paper trail for my employer to begin my termination.

Lily181 Relapse and might loose my job
  • replies: 1

I suffer from PTSD, anxiety disorder and depression.I have been seeing therapists and medical professionals on and off for 5 years.I was doing very well for over a year and was able to manage my anxiety.I recently started a new job in June and start ... View more

I suffer from PTSD, anxiety disorder and depression.I have been seeing therapists and medical professionals on and off for 5 years.I was doing very well for over a year and was able to manage my anxiety.I recently started a new job in June and start of August, I've had a relapse and I'm getting panic attacks 4-5 days a week. It's usually starts in the morning and I struggle through it on and off for half a day and get exhausted after it has calmed down and need to rest and am not able to do much. Because of this I haven't been able to go to work and now I'm worried that I might loose my job or what people think about me being absent or feel guilty that I have made things worse at work. These thoughts have made things worse.I'm really tired of being in this loop. I'm taking medication, doing therapy but I'm still struggling and really fear I'll loose my job and have financial difficulty. I'm also scared I'll struggle to find another job.I don't know what to do with all these thoughts that doesn't seem to stop.

Copgirl379 Anti-Anxiety Medication and Applying For WA Police
  • replies: 1

Hello! I've been on Anti Anxiety medication for a few months now but I'm looking at applying for the WA police force. I'm wanting to know if this would hinder my chances of being accepted?

Hello! I've been on Anti Anxiety medication for a few months now but I'm looking at applying for the WA police force. I'm wanting to know if this would hinder my chances of being accepted?

soph33 Body swelling from anxiety? Anyone else?
  • replies: 1

Hi guys, for years I’ve been battling severe anxiety/borderline agoraphobia. But my main complaint besides that is body swelling. Does anyone else experience this? Constantly swollen.

Hi guys, for years I’ve been battling severe anxiety/borderline agoraphobia. But my main complaint besides that is body swelling. Does anyone else experience this? Constantly swollen.

Johan71 Moving home.
  • replies: 16

I’m incredibly anxious about moving house. I’m retired. We live in a large home and moving to an apartment. Typical downsizing. The process of selling one home and moving into another is stressful and unsettling. I can’t help but think of the things ... View more

I’m incredibly anxious about moving house. I’m retired. We live in a large home and moving to an apartment. Typical downsizing. The process of selling one home and moving into another is stressful and unsettling. I can’t help but think of the things that could go wrong. Will we sell? Will I like the apartment etc etc.