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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

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Nicki_85 First Time Posting - Panic/Anxiety Disorder
  • replies: 4

Hi All - Just joined this forum and thought I would see if there anyone else that relates to my situation. I experienced anxiety for the first time at 18 years old after big nights out on alcohol, I would wake up early in the morning with racing thou... View more

Hi All - Just joined this forum and thought I would see if there anyone else that relates to my situation. I experienced anxiety for the first time at 18 years old after big nights out on alcohol, I would wake up early in the morning with racing thoughts, panicky feelings of being unsafe and would often turn up at my fathers house just to feel safe/secure until the bad feelings subsided. This feeling continued every time i drank alcohol and using party drugs and by 21 I was a full blown alcoholic who drank almost daily as I couldn't cope with the terror of coming down off alcohol. Luckily I ended up in AA and have not had a drink for 7 years now. My anxiety has remarkably improved since, However, some of the panic/anxiety has stayed. About every 6 months I have a severe panic attack where I feel very very un safe, terrified, impending doom, like i am dying or I am losing my mind/going to go crazy (I have a huge fear of going crazy). This lasts about 2-3 days and is really terrifying, at the time I am convinced I will feel that way forever and obsess over how i will live my life or look after my children with the panic and million thoughts a second running through my head. It always gets better though and after a week or 2 I am back to myself. The things that have happened right before the panic attacks have come over the last few years are: Each time i move house, go on holidays, take time off work, start a new job, when i had a baby. I had a big breakdown last year just from going overseas and went mad trying to get home to familiarity. When im in this state I feel quite detached from who I normally am and desperately seek out familiar people and places. Does anyone have similar experience? I am glad since i quit drinking that these attacks are only 1-3 times a year but its still very debilitating and can take weeks to get back on track each time.

ChefCasper Anxiety/ OCD Really fast heart rate constantly
  • replies: 7

Hello Everyone i'm new to this forum and would like to give a brief history about myself i am currently 18 and have suffered from anxiety and depression since 11, i started to developed OCD since 15 at first it was just repeating things and thoughts ... View more

Hello Everyone i'm new to this forum and would like to give a brief history about myself i am currently 18 and have suffered from anxiety and depression since 11, i started to developed OCD since 15 at first it was just repeating things and thoughts so bad stuff don't happen, but since 16 years old it develop to intrusive thoughts with many themes throughout or multiple theme at once over the last 2 years. I took medication since 14 and it helped a lot but after 4 years it stopped working, so i stop taking them now for 4 months now (tried to withdrawal many times but failed during the 4 years). Now my Anxiety and OCD is bad and one of my main theme now is my Heart, it happen 3 weeks ago when i recovered from a cold but still had a cough, i was playing video games then suddenly my heart started racing for no reason i panicked and tested my heart rate it was 140 so i panicked even more and since that day my heart rate has not dropped below 100 mostly around 100-130 and i constantly keep thinking and feel about my heart everyday and when i start thinking about it gets worse and now i don't know what to do could it be a serious heart problem, chest infection(cough is a dry cough with some white phlegm and annoying chest feeling) or anxiety because right now i'm experience the worst stress possible from OCD such as repeating every action and constantly facing intrusive thoughts, anxiety about going out of my house because of the heart problem and really low self -esteem which causes my to feel worthless and depressed, i never had a moment were i'm stress free for 2 years now and don't know what to do anymore i cant deal with all these problem anymore and they keep snowballing everyday especially the heart fear. Thanks for reading this and sorry if i have grammar or spelling mistake.

talisnow Needing to vent a little...
  • replies: 3

I'm sitting in bed with my laptop, it's 1:25am and I have work early tomorrow morning, but I can't sleep. I just spent the last two hours pacing my room, going over things, and talking to myself. I felt fine like that. Nothing felt wrong. Until I rea... View more

I'm sitting in bed with my laptop, it's 1:25am and I have work early tomorrow morning, but I can't sleep. I just spent the last two hours pacing my room, going over things, and talking to myself. I felt fine like that. Nothing felt wrong. Until I realized what I was doing. Now I'm crying and upset with myself. I feel defective. Like this is never going to end. Like I'm always going to be doing these not normal things. Even when I think I'm fine. I just want quiet. I want my head to be quiet. Just for like an hour. I want to be normal. I want to be like everyone else.

wakeupdawn Entering the workforce with social anxiety
  • replies: 3

I have severe social anxiety. I'm 24 and just finished a Bachelors degree and I'm looking very hard for a job. In the past three months I have applied for positions that were relevant to my study, as well as positions that I think I can do, from jobs... View more

I have severe social anxiety. I'm 24 and just finished a Bachelors degree and I'm looking very hard for a job. In the past three months I have applied for positions that were relevant to my study, as well as positions that I think I can do, from jobs at McDonalds to office work and even work at home jobs. So far I've gotten one reply and one phone interview which I didn't do well in because I am still unemployed. The phone interview was terrible, I just felt like I was so fake and nervous, it was horrible. So now I'm still searching and every day I feel like my chance of getting a job and being a real adult is getting less and less. Every single job wants someone who can communicate well, be good with people, even the jobs that don't require experience need these skills. I just don't know what to do anymore I feel absolutely useless and genuinely think I won't ever get a job, ANY job. I'm stressed out of my mind, my parents think I'm a failure, I'm terrified of going to Christmas cause I don't want to explain to everyone why I don't have a job, why I'm the only person out of the whole family that can't get one. I can't go out of the house by myself, I can't go and buy milk without getting extremely anxious, I can't talk to people at all, face to face, or on the phone. I live in a share house and I can't even go out into the kitchen and make food when I know people are there. I feel like it is destroying my life. How am I ever supposed to get any kind of job if I can't even talk to people? How am I supposed to do well in an interview ever?? People just tell me, "Oh once you do it it'll be fine" but I've never had a good interview experience. I even got a job once through a friend, working at Dick Smith and after the first day I came home and sat in the shower and cried. That happened every day I worked and I only lasted a week before I had to quit, not just for my mental health but they would have fired me eventually - can't have someone like me in a sales position. So now I'm lost and confused. I should probably get help for my anxiety but I don't know where to start or if it will even do anything, that's if I can even afford it. I don't know if anyone can help me on here but I thought if I wrote this all down I would feel a bit better about it all but honestly I think it just made me feel worse.

RedRose123 My Anxiety and My Boss (long post)
  • replies: 2

Over a year ago I finally disclosed to my boss about my anxiety (and depression). And asked for different working hours. (Although not in the same conversation- to make a long story short- I kind of let things out in bits and pieces about my mental h... View more

Over a year ago I finally disclosed to my boss about my anxiety (and depression). And asked for different working hours. (Although not in the same conversation- to make a long story short- I kind of let things out in bits and pieces about my mental health and then came out and said it, then asked to talk to my boss and discussed working different hours). My boss did work out hours that I am quiet happy with (which is really good). Now the reason for my post...sometimes I wish I hadn't said anything. Even though I think I get a bit more consideration now (sometimes) and I have hours that suit my mental health needs better; I feel- I just don't know how to explain it. My boss asks me lots of things about how I'm going with getting myself help etc and to be honest I just don't want to talk about it. I have tried psychologists and haven't found it helpful and medication and had BAD side effects. And at this point in time just don't want to do any of that. I've gotten really good after years of anxiety and depression of 'managing' my life in a way that I can get by. But I feel as if she doesn't approve of that. Even though I still do my job well. She also asks me things like if that situation made you anxious how would you get through etc, what did you do, what about this. And while it's not an everyday thing or even every week. I'd rather not talk about it unless it is directly related to my job (which it isn't) or I bring it up. And there is one thing that has weighed heavy on me for a while now. She once said to me that (I'm guessing because of my disclosure about anxiety and depression) that I make her feel like she's got to walk around on eggshells so she doesn't upset me. This did upset me a lot. First of all I worry so much about how I make others feel. Because I never want people to feel the way I feel I feel. I came out and told her so she would understand me more and why I am the way I am etc. I was trying to finally after years and years to help myself. Not trying to make things hard for her. I can't help these illnesses. I wasn't trying to upset anyone. And second it made me feel like she was taking my health issues that I have to fight every single second of the day to get through and making it a thing about how hard it is for her. Sorry I know it's not a big thing. I just feel like I have opened a 'can of worms' by bringing up in the first place. Just wanted to vent and talk to someone about it. Thanks

ci Physical symptoms need advice please?
  • replies: 7

I'm hopeful that someone can relate to me and give me some advice? I have ocd a business and 3 kids but I'm managing my ocd much better this year than previous. This year has been stressfull but I proud of how I've coped. For years I've suffered numb... View more

I'm hopeful that someone can relate to me and give me some advice? I have ocd a business and 3 kids but I'm managing my ocd much better this year than previous. This year has been stressfull but I proud of how I've coped. For years I've suffered numbness in my face and hands doc has always said stress and anxiety caused and I've been happy to agree. Last 4 months things have gotten much worse pins and needles all down my arms waking me at night my legs do the same pins and needles for hours during the day hard to walk. Or my feet feel like in bucket of ice even with socks and slippers or they can be hot and swollen am exhausted and there is a list of other things happening I went to gp when was having bad day she did some tests reduced sensation and reflex and weakness she sent me to nuro when sore nuro was good day symptom free she did number of test everything normal so she said it's stress causing the problem cronic fatigue or fibromyalgia I should take a holiday. Not sure what to do I understand stress does strange things to your body and I'm happy to accept that I'm just struggling to understand how I would have reduced sensation and reflexes. Also heat makes it worse hot day or hot shower. But I understand if was medical wouldn't be ok on good days. It's just my stress management has been better so why this happening? Anyways I've just rambled if anyone can understand what I've written and pdjatd to me I'd love to hear from you?

Jezbr Anxieties physical symptoms
  • replies: 2

Hi all I'm a 31-year-old guy who has been battling anxiety on and off my entire life. Every time my anxiety gets the best of me the physical symptoms change. I suffer the depersonalisation, sore neck and headaches I lose track of my thoughts and the ... View more

Hi all I'm a 31-year-old guy who has been battling anxiety on and off my entire life. Every time my anxiety gets the best of me the physical symptoms change. I suffer the depersonalisation, sore neck and headaches I lose track of my thoughts and the slow, gradual build into an unprovoked panic attack. I only post on here because now I've developed tinnitus (ringing in the ears) Something that is caused by many things but in my case, the Doctor assured me it's stress and muscle tension. I am just curious as to what symptoms others suffer from. I'm hoping that knowing what others experience would eliminate that fear of "what if this forever" As I am really finding it hard to cope with this persistent unescapable ringing in my ears. Being told what others experience might light up a very dark tunnel for me. Thanks in advance

JoyB OCD Intrusive thoughts and Meds
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone. Since I was around 12 I started to have anxiety/ panic disorder and OCD symptoms and have been on medication since I was 15. All my anxiety pretty much went away between ages 17 and 20 ( with help from meds and CBT). The last year howeve... View more

Hi everyone. Since I was around 12 I started to have anxiety/ panic disorder and OCD symptoms and have been on medication since I was 15. All my anxiety pretty much went away between ages 17 and 20 ( with help from meds and CBT). The last year however I tried going off my meds, thinking I had outgrown my anxiety. I went well for a few months until a horrible movie triggered intrusive thoughts similar to what I used to have. The most obsessive and intense thoughts are mostly to do with hurting myself and or going crazy. I know they these are just thoughts which I don't want to actually happen. But the hardest things part is the way my OCD makes me doubt everything. Anything I try to think to reassure myself or what a family member says, my mind wants always has doubts even though these doubts aren't rational nor make any sense I went back on meds in July however my new psychologist recommended another medication. Since then things have improved such as the panic attacks and intensity of thoughts. However mostly at night I still get some thoughts which scare me meoderetly and make me doubt everything. The scariest thought is that there's no escaping any of it and this makes it very hard for me to be happy and look forward to things. This is devastating for me as I love Christmas time and I'm usually so happy during it. if anyone has any suggestions and or just can relate to this that would be great. I hate feeling like I'm the only one going through this. Yeah

Tony3 how to tell myself that anxiety is causing all my physical symptoms
  • replies: 4

Hi Every One Sorry For All The Caps Lock My Phone Is Wreck And Won't Let Me Start Off With Lower Case My Name Is Tony For The Past 3 Month I Have Not Been Physically Well I Keep Having Heart Attack Like Symptoms But Done All Test Which Came Back Eith... View more

Hi Every One Sorry For All The Caps Lock My Phone Is Wreck And Won't Let Me Start Off With Lower Case My Name Is Tony For The Past 3 Month I Have Not Been Physically Well I Keep Having Heart Attack Like Symptoms But Done All Test Which Came Back Either Fine Or Just Sinus Tachycardia Which GP Says It Normal And It's Just Anxiety But I Just Can't Persuade My Self To think It's Anxiety I Keep Thinking I Have Heart Condition Because My Symptoms Don't Go Away I have Been To A Phychologist To Help Me And Also A Paediatrician Who Recommend Me To Take Meds But My Phychologist Told Me Not To Take Med An Best It With Will Power Which Is Extremely Difficult I Just Can't Tell My Self It's Anxiety Please Anyone Offer Me Tips And Advice I Will Appreciate It Thank You

rpo_77 Anxiety and living authentically
  • replies: 8

So a bit of background about me first: I'm currently training to be a professional classical musician. Before I started training as a classical musician, I actually completed a degree in a different field, although it was also a creative field. Durin... View more

So a bit of background about me first: I'm currently training to be a professional classical musician. Before I started training as a classical musician, I actually completed a degree in a different field, although it was also a creative field. During my first degree, music was more of a hobby for me, something that I did because it was fun and I got to meet new people, and I enjoyed creating music. A teacher of mine suggested I audition for a classical degree at a tertiary institution since they thought I was pretty good, and I took their suggestion seriously. A year later I auditioned and was accepted to study classical music at a tertiary level. I've been training there for three years now, and in my second and third years of study I have been referred to a psychologist for anxiety and depression and I have undergone therapy. I've also been placed on beta blockers to help manage my anxiety in everyday life and in performance situations. I still have one year left to go of this degree, but I can't wait to finish. A large part of my anxiety comes from whether I actually want to continue pursuing a career in this field, or whether I want retrain in something else. My problem is, I don't think I can clearly make decisions, and I can't really tell whether my values and beliefs are my own or whether they are based on what I think other people will think. I can't tell what is real and what I genuinely believe anymore, and what things I believe because I have been told to believe them by other people. How can I tell whether I actually enjoy this line of work, or whether I am just doing it because I think other people think that it is impressive? I tried doing an exercise in finding my core values, and the first question was 'name your three greatest achievements' and I couldn't answer it by myself, and felt that I needed someone else to tell me what my achievements have been. This made me feel like I'm definitely not living my life under my own terms. I guess my question is, does anyone have any tips on how to ascertain what your TRUE values are, and what your TRUE beliefs are? How do I know whether something I feel is real as opposed to something that I have told myself to believe?