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.

All 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.

Ellie05 I think I'm descending into 24/7 panic
  • replies: 2

Hello, I've been posting on this forum for a few months now. I started around the time my anxiety started. There are a range of issues feeding it, but it's as though the anxiety has taken a life of it's own and I've simply descended into 24/7 panic. ... View more

Hello, I've been posting on this forum for a few months now. I started around the time my anxiety started. There are a range of issues feeding it, but it's as though the anxiety has taken a life of it's own and I've simply descended into 24/7 panic. I'd been getting better slowly, but over the last few days it's been getting bad, really bad. Yesterday I spent the day with my sister, today was spent with a friend (both understand what is happening). Now that I'm on my own I'm a complete shaking mess and am completely freaking out. I just spent the last 20 minute rolling around on the floor, calling out for help like a crazy person. I calmed down enough to write this post but am shaking like mad. Has anyone ever been in this situation? I don't know what to do. I really struggle to eat something and getting through the day is such a struggle (getting through the night is even worse). Did I mention that I'm starting a new job tomorrow? I don't think I'll get much sleep beforehand!

Octavia ANXIETY WITH CHEST PAIN
  • replies: 2

HI . Im new here, but of my background story is 22 June 2015 i had my first nervous breakdown, eg. Palpitations. Chestpain.feeling of doom.fear.rushing sensation in my head leaving me lightheaded.nauseated and upset tummy. Since then i have been to t... View more

HI . Im new here, but of my background story is 22 June 2015 i had my first nervous breakdown, eg. Palpitations. Chestpain.feeling of doom.fear.rushing sensation in my head leaving me lightheaded.nauseated and upset tummy. Since then i have been to the ed 7 times. Seen a cardiologist, had a endoscopy, been on acid reflux medication. now obviously become abit of hypochondriac, due to no awnser as to whats wrong. I have seen my doctor 10 times.been on medication but now my hubby and i are finally pregnant and cant be on meds.so my anxiety has become very hard to deal with. Im happy we are expecting long awated but im struggling very badly to deal with my head at the moment. Ontop of it i have bad indigestion and acid reflux i asume due to anxiety and stress. There is alot more details but my main isue is 1.my constant thinking im gona die . 2.chest pain 3. Palpetations and racing heart 4.acid reflux pain and burn even just a sip of water hurts. I want to feel beter and be my happy self like i was before 22 june 2015.the worst day ever.

Girlbond_007 Trying to be brave
  • replies: 14

Hi everyone I am new to the forums here and want to share my story. I started suffering bouts of anxiety and panic attacks when I was pre teen, now 20 years later it is getting to the point of ruining my quality of life and I am now experiencing my f... View more

Hi everyone I am new to the forums here and want to share my story. I started suffering bouts of anxiety and panic attacks when I was pre teen, now 20 years later it is getting to the point of ruining my quality of life and I am now experiencing my first real bout of depression. My mind constantly races and focuses on the things I dread happening in the future and now I have a toddler to add to the mix. I worry to excess about most things and cannot deal with change at all. Fairly certain I have some form of OCD with illnesses as well as having control of my life and situations. I am finding mornings the worst, waking early and having anxious/ depressive thoughts which don't seem to some what wear off as the day progresses. I work from home which I think is a god send at the moment as I think I would go nuts not having something else to occupy my brain. I am seeking help from a new GP and soon a new Psychologist. However I am very disappointed that no GP in the Ost has bothered to look into my anxiety further and just prescribed me the usual Ssri or snri drugs which I don't believe are helping much. My new gp has suggested mood enhancing drugs possibly with an antipsychotic which kind of freaks me out and I am wondering if anyone else is on a plan something like this. i just want it all to go away and stop. thanks for listening.

Alf1234 Questioning my anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi this is my first time posting on a forum about anxiety. I've spent a lot of time reading other stories and relating to them but I guess I can't accept that I have anxiety. Or maybe more so I can't accept how bad my anxiety actually is. I think tha... View more

Hi this is my first time posting on a forum about anxiety. I've spent a lot of time reading other stories and relating to them but I guess I can't accept that I have anxiety. Or maybe more so I can't accept how bad my anxiety actually is. I think that I deny it because once I accept it I have to do something about it and that just creates more feelings of anxiety. I am posting today because I've had a very bad day that I realise I need to at least do this. So my anxiety I guess is social anxiety. I also feel I have some paranoia issues and of course leading to depression. My first memory of anxiety was in year 6. I had to do a speech for the school captain and I actually felt that sick I forced my mum to let me stay home to avoid it. From there I avoided high school public speaking by not going to school and ended up leaving in year 9 only because of my fear of public speaking. When I turned 18 I started using drugs to deal with my anxiety before going out and that became a weekly occurrence to the point I couldn't go out without drugs. I met my now wife when I was 19 and she slapped me silly and got me completely off drugs by the time I was 20. From there I slowly stopped hanging out with my friends and slowly stopped going out with her. Now I am 28 and still with her and have a son who is one and both of them are the greatest. Unfortunately I know how lucky I am but I struggle to feel any positive emotions . This weekend I have an event coming up with her family and I am just imploding. I haven't felt awake for a couple of days and today I just hit the bottom. She was trying to be positive about something And I got angry about it and from there I spent the day in my bedroom thinking about the type of person I am when I am feeling anxious. And none of those thoughts were good. I don't know what I can do about it. I can't face people I don't know so the thought of going to see someone about this just makes me shut down and refuse to deal with it. I feel like I am just a waste of good life. I am achieving nothing. Doing nothing. And not being who I feel I'm ment to be. My life is just suppressed and I don't get to feel strong positive feelings only strong negative feelings. Any ideas on where I can/should start will be appreciated. thanks

Bluey_moon I had a lapse, what to do?
  • replies: 4

Hi guys, last night I had a lapse, I've been so good staying off google! But last night I struggled (as I know I sometimes will). And googled. I came across a study that suggested OCD could increase your chance of scizophrenia, not just that but chil... View more

Hi guys, last night I had a lapse, I've been so good staying off google! But last night I struggled (as I know I sometimes will). And googled. I came across a study that suggested OCD could increase your chance of scizophrenia, not just that but children of OCD parents had an increased risk. As with anxiety, I'm now stressing. Although my official diagnosis is GAD with some obsessive thinking. I have started on an SSRI which is helping but as expected it's not a miracle cure. As my psyciatrist said the key to me getting better is me!

BenD Anxiety when drinking?
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone, Just wondering if anyone else gets anxiety peaks after they start drinking alcohol? It seems to have been happening to me for a little while now, but I've just got home from work, had half a beer and my anxiety has rocketed to about 8/10... View more

Hi everyone, Just wondering if anyone else gets anxiety peaks after they start drinking alcohol? It seems to have been happening to me for a little while now, but I've just got home from work, had half a beer and my anxiety has rocketed to about 8/10? I'm pretty good at managing it now with mindfulness, CBT and SSRI's but it would be good if I could conquer this hurdle as well seeing as alcohol plays a rather large supplementary role in my social life. I did have a pretty bad experience a few years back related to a drink driving accident (I wasn't the driver) that caused me some physical and mental pain, so I suspect that could be related but I'm not sure... Thanks, Ben

Macka90 PLEASE HELP HAVING A RELAPSE
  • replies: 2

Hi I have not had a bad anxiety attack for a few months now and now for some reason i am having heathy anxiety really bad, i don't know what has brought this on and its scaring me, i am still on all my meds. It's not as bad as the last time as the la... View more

Hi I have not had a bad anxiety attack for a few months now and now for some reason i am having heathy anxiety really bad, i don't know what has brought this on and its scaring me, i am still on all my meds. It's not as bad as the last time as the last time it was so bad i couldn't look after my kids, this time its more I feel like I'm sore all over and I've lost my appetite a bit but i am still eating, i feel nausea, i also feel this impending doom. I am hoping someone out there can help me through this as i have never had a relapse and not sure how to handle it..

MisterM Extremely embarrassed/shy asking for things in stores with customers around
  • replies: 4

Hi all, I have had this problem since childhood. When I go shopping I get very shy to speak loud enough for customers to hear what I am asking as I fear what they will think. I went in to a retailer over the weekend to order a Beatles blu ray in and ... View more

Hi all, I have had this problem since childhood. When I go shopping I get very shy to speak loud enough for customers to hear what I am asking as I fear what they will think. I went in to a retailer over the weekend to order a Beatles blu ray in and the attendant couldn't hear me I was speaking so softly, she thought I was saying Equals. I was thinking customers in line behind me would think I am a loser, nerd for ordering a Beatles blu ray. Anyone here like me?

Missmia Choices. Why are they so hard?
  • replies: 2

I am trying to start over - new town, new life. I need to make new friends but as a sufferer of depression and anxiety, it isn't an easy thing for me, a middle aged woman. I went to a meeting of the local bridge club as I had learned to play basic br... View more

I am trying to start over - new town, new life. I need to make new friends but as a sufferer of depression and anxiety, it isn't an easy thing for me, a middle aged woman. I went to a meeting of the local bridge club as I had learned to play basic bridge some time ago and hoped to improve and also meet some potential friends. At the very start of the first game, another player became impatient with me because he thought I was taking too long to sort my hand of cards into order. I spoke to him very calmly and said I hadn't played for a long time and, if he was going to pressure me, it would only slow things down even more. He backed off a little, but still continued to give non-verbal messages of impatience. Although I maintained a calm appearance, I played the rest of the session (about 3 hours) very badly. His behaviour caused a huge rush of anxiety, causing me to forget the rules, overlook obvious plays, and a total lack of confidence. But outwardly I stayed calm and polite. Afterwards I was exhausted, depressed and tearful for two days. In reveiwing the situation I decided not to continue with bridge. I decided I can't manage such a challenging game as well as my social anxiety. The problem is that one of the people there is keen to have a bridge partner and asked me to fill that role. She wants me to play twice a week as her partner. The thought fills me with dread. But on the other hand, it is so sad to turn down her offer of inclusion, which means a lot to a person in my circumstances. And my refusal may offend. Why is life so hard?