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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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.

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susiem new here. need advice. anxiety/ panic attack journey
  • replies: 3

Have been searching the net and thank goodness found beyond blue site. I am a 50 year old lady. Had severe anxiety attacks and used meds to help me through in my late 20's and early 30's. Decided back then to learn about this horrible condition.So I ... View more

Have been searching the net and thank goodness found beyond blue site. I am a 50 year old lady. Had severe anxiety attacks and used meds to help me through in my late 20's and early 30's. Decided back then to learn about this horrible condition.So I read books and talked to trusted people and over a couple of years (which at the time felt like forever) I came through it. At my worst I remember being in such a state that I couldn't remember how to drive and I was driving at the time! I couldn't remember what to do when I got to an intersection. I remember heaving when I tried to eat, climbing under the covers and crying because I didn't know what was wrong with me and my then Dr not being any help at all. My worst came when I was lying next to my husband in bed and told him I was going to die that night and he would have to raise our 2 girls on his own. Even though he didn't understand he tried. That was the night I promised myself that I had to help me. It wasn't easy. Far from it. My best motivation was our girls. I had to get up and get them to school. I slowly started to do things that I had been avoiding. I read and with a supportive Dr and meds found my way back. Now roll forward nearly 20 years later and 'IT' HAS RETURNED!!!!!!! I had a HUGE panic attack when I was overseas in September last year. I thought I was going to faint and to say the waves of ??? that were going through my body was unpleasant is an understatement.For days afterwards I would felt anxious and somehow get myself through, holding my now husband of 29 years hand. Since then I have been to my Dr twice. These feelings are awful. She thinks they are hormonal based due to my age and offered to put my on HRT. I said no thank you at this stage. My 2nd visit she gave me a med to take which gave me the a HUGE attack and I vowed I won't take them again. The thing is I can go weeks and be okay and then WHAM like today had such bad anxiety.Where I had such overwhelming waves of I guess adrenalin going through my body. Felt panicky but I wasn't doing anything to cause it. These are the ones that scare me the most as I don't know what is causing them so I start to think something else more sinister is happening. I know I can do this with no meds. I have done it before. I just need some advice, support and guidance from you lovely people. Sorry for my long post. Thank you for any help. Susie

zailleh I'm angry
  • replies: 2

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Normal 0 false false false EN-AU JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} I've lived a life filled with anxiety and I'm on the road now to recovery, but recovery is a hard road filled with realisations. I'm at a point now where I'm letting myself be angry instead of hiding it to placate everyone. I have to not fear my own anger, I have to not fear conflict or else I'll never find myself.---I'm angry at my parents for, my lovely Dad for not being around enough and my mother for being too self-absorbed in her own struggles to notice her struggling son. I'm angry at my brother for being born first and forcing me to be in an environment where I had to fight for attention and praise by doing what I was told, what was good, and what was expected of me. I'm angry at my family for always talking over the top of me when I started to share an idea or a story.I'm angry at my primary school friends for being cowards who, instead of sticking to their own desires flaked and followed what was 'cool', leaving me in the dust to learn that I needed to do what was expected of me to be liked. I'm angry at my first love for being a manipulative, attention seeking seductress that made me fight for years for her attention. I'm angry at my high school friends for rejecting my over stupid things. I'm angry at my teachers and mentors for never pushing my to excel. I'm angry at the high school culture I happened to grow up with where being smart, working hard and doing well was reason to be ostracized. I'm angry at my parents for not yelling at my when didn't work hard.I'm angry at my ex-fiance for not helping me more when she did realise what was happening to me. I'm angry at her for cheating on me. I'm angry at her for letting me believe that things were fine until they weren't. I'm angry that she didn't trust me enough, or have the strength enough herself, to be vulnerable and be open with me.I'm angry at myself. I'm angry at myself for letting everyone in my life to date for thoughtlessly trampling and and flattening my personality, teaching my subconscious that being different and standing up for my beliefs and opinions would cause me harm. I'm angry at myself for not putting effort into things I enjoyed. I'm angry at myself forgiving up. I'm angry that now, at almost 30, I'm only just realising all of this. Most of all, I'm angry that now I'm back at square one without the time, resources, or support to once again try to grow into my own person.

Blondyroses Frustrated
  • replies: 4

hi, I suffer chronic GAD, depression, mood disorder and various other stuff. I was on medication 300mg a day. It gave me a good nights sleep, however, I was drowsy most of the day or extremely tired by the end of it. Usually had to have a nana nap. A... View more

hi, I suffer chronic GAD, depression, mood disorder and various other stuff. I was on medication 300mg a day. It gave me a good nights sleep, however, I was drowsy most of the day or extremely tired by the end of it. Usually had to have a nana nap. Anyway, so I got sick of being tired all the time and hav e gradually backed off to 200mg. It still helps my mood, anxiety still happens but not as bad and same with panic attacks. It's liveable. However, I have soooo much trouble getting to sleep. I take various types of pain killers ( as I also suffer fibromyalgia) and this helps me sleep or I take a sleeping tab. Once asleep I will only wake once and can usually go back to sleep. My question is, am I better off taking a sleeping pill at night or going back to 300mg? i also have anxiety attacks where I shake uncontrollably- for no obvious reason. Exercises help sometimes but today I took a relaxant. I also have a problem with control. All things must be in order, no surprises, planned days but only one day at a time, only manage a couple of biggish tasks a day (ie shopping and housework), I have zippo zilch motivation and I have to force myself to do things around the house. Since on the high meds, my house is less tidy (but clean) and little jobs become huge when they all start to pile up. I become so overwhelmed that it affects me physically. I hate mixing with strangers, parties, big events etc. I only have a couple of close friends who I am comfortable with. It's like I have to put on a nice act just to keep them all happy. I like being by myself. Is there anything wrong with that?? Seriously. I also feel that people are always judging me, talking about me etc. I immediately think the worst of a situation or comment. I get upset ( on Facebook) if I see people from my past. I'm seriously thinking about closing my account. These people hold bad memories for me. Should I face up to it and not worry (but I know I will coz I worry about EVERYTHING) or block people or just get off Facebook. I know I am anti social but I like it that way. I wish the world would just leave me alone and if I feel like talking to someone I will. Is that attitude selfish? If so, I will still think that as its how I feel. Sometimes I even worry that the world's problems are huge, much bigger than mine and I feel like I'm just being selfish and shouldn't whinge. My problems are so small when measured against third world country problems.

TWNZ My Experience with Anxiety
  • replies: 2

I started suffering from anxiety when I was around 16. I'm 27 now but never really found a cure for it until I was about 23. I would suffer from severe anxiety attacks to the point that I was unable to socialise and found it difficult to complete eve... View more

I started suffering from anxiety when I was around 16. I'm 27 now but never really found a cure for it until I was about 23. I would suffer from severe anxiety attacks to the point that I was unable to socialise and found it difficult to complete everyday tasks. For me a period of anxiety would last 1-2 weeks, completely exhausting me and eventually bring on a episode of depression. The depressive state would last 1-2 months before eventually lifting and I would be seemingly back to normal again. When I was about 23 I had an anxiety attack that was so severe that it threw me into a mental breakdown, which was followed by a long and very dark period of depression. However, out of that event I was really able to grasp and understanding of my anxiety/depression and ever since have always been able to stay well and not slip back into the cycle that i had been going through for so long. As I became aware that my thoughts were the cause of my anxiety, not necessarily the situation at hand, I was able to disregard these patterns of thinking that seemed to be the catalyst for these episodes. It seems to me that anxiety and depression is completely connected to distorted patterns of thinking, whether they are worrying about the future or dwelling on a past event, whatever it may be the thinking is negative and fearful and generates stress and anxiety which ultimately leads to periods of depression. So being able to recognise these patterns of thinking and knowing they are the trigger for anxiety is incredibly powerful (has been for me anyway).Whenever I feel an episode of anxiety starting to come on I simply know that my thinking is out of whack. At this point I simply try and stay present, stay in the here and the now and completely disconnect from my thoughts. It can be a difficult task initially, but every time I do it I feel the anxiety slowly dissipate and eventually subside completely. Whereas in the past I would mull over the thoughts in my head which would drive the anxiety up further and eventually throw me into a state of depression. Today I have no worry or fear for my anxiety or depression, I feel like I truly understand it and see what the cause of it is. For me it is distorted patterns of thinking and identification with the thoughts (believing the thoughts to be true). As soon as I became disconnected from them and conscious of what was happening I was free from the cycle of anxiety/depression that has caused me immense suffering for many years.

NLY doctor not treating my diagnosis, please help?
  • replies: 2

I am new to here so I am not exactly sure how this works but I am quite desperate. Brief background, I was diagnosed with CPTSD and RAD when I was 12 and unfortunately was going to CYMHS appointments with the main cause of those problems until I was ... View more

I am new to here so I am not exactly sure how this works but I am quite desperate. Brief background, I was diagnosed with CPTSD and RAD when I was 12 and unfortunately was going to CYMHS appointments with the main cause of those problems until I was 14/15 when I moved out. I hadn't pursued treatment until 2014 after the main cause of my problems passed away. Since seeking treatment my doctors have all ignored what I have told them and labelled me with GAD. I am really struggling to cope, I was initially on one antidepressant and then put on a different one and then I moved and changed psychiatrist and she put me on an anti-psychotic. I find that it really helps me actually sleep (without it I didnt sleep or woke so many times in the night), however I am still going through horrific nightmares (I will have panic attacks when the effects of the medication hit because I am so afraid of my dreams), panic attacks, intense depression, anxiety and paranoia. I dont know how to get my doctors to actually acknowledge that I have CPTSD and RAD. I feel that I am not being adequately treated and my doctors treat me with the assumption I am a hypochondriac and overreacting. I guess what I am asking is if anyone knows how I can get them to take me seriously? I have tried to get my case files from CYMHS but there were technical issues and I will need to reapply for them. I am a uni student and I am simply not coping and waiting for my files to get released will take a while so the sooner I can get my doctors on board the better. Any help is appreciated, thank you.

Nlpreece Anxiety worst in the morning
  • replies: 4

Why is my anxiety always the worst in the morning? I go to sleep feeling ok and then wake up panicking

Why is my anxiety always the worst in the morning? I go to sleep feeling ok and then wake up panicking

Beltane Increasing anxiety over relationship struggling...
  • replies: 50

Not sure if this should be in the anxiety or relationships forum but here goes... lI've been with my partner now for almost 18 months and we,Ve been through a lot together- hes been here for me through my battles with bipolar, depression, anxiety. I ... View more

Not sure if this should be in the anxiety or relationships forum but here goes... lI've been with my partner now for almost 18 months and we,Ve been through a lot together- hes been here for me through my battles with bipolar, depression, anxiety. I was unemployed for many months and he supported us financially. Now I'm back on my feet, have a job and well... we've been having problems for many months now and at first I thought it was the stress of me being sick and unemployed. Then I thought he was depressed, though he vehemently denies it and shows no real symptoms other than disinterest in anything, now I dont know what to think. i guess I'm a bit of a hippy, I love Tiny Houses an want to build one in the country and be environmentally friendly. I love nature, I'm very much a person who's just full of enegy, even after a day of work, and just want to enjoy the world and all it has to offer. I love music and am always learning new instruments, I sew lovely things like quilts, I dance, I sing. I talk constantly of living I the tiny home, and because tiny homes are cheap to buy and upkeep, it'll give me lots of free money to travel the world. Id happily live life without tv and I only facebook because I.m lonely. I want my life to be filled with nature, music, love, and enjoying life. he on the other hand seems to only work a nd then go to the gym and watch movies, he doesn't like nature or music, he doesn't shar my values of living life to its fullest, he wants a normal home with a mortgage. The thought of living the life we live now forever feels me with deep fear. I'm 27 and we're starting to talk about marriage.... I've had numerous talks with him asking for change over the past few months, which he promises, and he might try a little but soon resorts to old ways. Tonight I broke down Como,erect and said "we're in trouble". He promised me we'd spend tonight cuddling and discussing our future, finding compromises and solutions to our differences. then he got on Facebook and watched a movie, despite my reminder of his promise. i cried alone. i don't think I can save this relationship, I'm not even sure I want to! yet the thought of leaving him causes HUGE anxiety, terrible nightmares. I've put my bipolar meds dose up twice with doctors OK, and yet my bipolar moods and anxiety are going NUTS. I have a brand new job after a long time unemployed, I can NOT afford this kind of stress right now, I can NOT afford my illness to flare either!! Help!

littlelulu New to Anxiety :-(
  • replies: 1

Hi all, im new to all this, i dont really even know where to start...... im guessing i have been having extreme anxiety attacks for about 3 years but never wanted to admit it , i have always been a strong girl with a good solid head on her shoulders ... View more

Hi all, im new to all this, i dont really even know where to start...... im guessing i have been having extreme anxiety attacks for about 3 years but never wanted to admit it , i have always been a strong girl with a good solid head on her shoulders and i never could accept the fact that i may be weakening to anxiety...... but now i take it as being to strong for too long not weakening as dealing with anxiety is far from weakening ....... 5 years ago my partner of 19 years commited suicide and left me with two beautiful boys aged 12 and 9 at the time... i had no time to grieve i had to make sure my boys were going to be ok... but we got thru that time ok, then our friends didnt know how to treat us anymore and they all dissappeared so it was myself, my two boys and two loyal dogs......my boys have grown up well rounded members of the community and im so proud of them but it is now time for me to deal my anxiety and get on with my life........ thanks for reading

sarahl Wedding anxiety and physical symptoms
  • replies: 2

Hi guys! I've been really good with managing my anxiety through CBT and seeing my psychologist regularly over the past 10 year. I have wonderful support from my family and partner - I am very very lucky! I'm getting married in October and I am so exc... View more

Hi guys! I've been really good with managing my anxiety through CBT and seeing my psychologist regularly over the past 10 year. I have wonderful support from my family and partner - I am very very lucky! I'm getting married in October and I am so excited and thrilled to be able to spend my life with someone I care about and love so much, who feels the same about me. The problem is (and it's not really a problem per se - it's our way of life!!) is that my anxiety tends to manifest with physical symptoms, even when I can completely and logically breathe through a situation. I tend to get stomach and bowel issues and quite hot, flustered and then dizzy. I'm terrified this is what will happen at the wedding - a large group of people, a lot of pressure and stress - EEK! In the past fortnight, I've had two anxiety attacks of this nature - after years of nothing, and I'm very worried I am creating my own little nightmare. Has anyone had any similar experiences with a wedding or major speaking opportunity or something similar? Am considering taking a whole lot of anti-nausea meds before the big day just to block my system up - but obviously would rather work though the anxiety!!! Thanks! Sarah

rascal Anxiety and Panic Attacks and how it makes us feel....
  • replies: 2

Dealing with anxiety is one of the most difficult barriers i have EVER had to deal with. I had my first panic attack when i was 15 - my mum and i were at a massive sale in a major shopping centre.., We were walking around and looking at clothes, shoe... View more

Dealing with anxiety is one of the most difficult barriers i have EVER had to deal with. I had my first panic attack when i was 15 - my mum and i were at a massive sale in a major shopping centre.., We were walking around and looking at clothes, shoes and the like.., i remember just walking next to my mum there were people everywhere, is was packed. The next thing i know i could here all the people chattering and it seemed like all their voices were inside my head, it was loud and confusing and this strange feeling came upon me.., i began to feel really warm and dizzy. I became confused and scared. I said to my mum; "Mum, i feel really weird, i don't like this any more" - She replied.., "it's ok darling, you are having a little panic attack.. Lets go sit down and have some food and water." After some time, i began to feel a little more relaxed and calmed down. I will never forget the feeling. Ever. Anxiety and panic attacks is the worst feeling for me - it is horrible. Sometimes i feel like im dying. My anxiety stems from a feeling rather than a thought. My body starts to tingle, i begin to feel really warm, then my left arm goes numb and i get tingles in my fingers.. Sometimes, i don't know how to deal with it. Now i am learning breathing techniques. When you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks; Does it begin with a feeling or a thought ??