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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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Supanova Anxiety & Self Doubt
  • replies: 1

Hi Guys & Gals, New member here, I am posting today for the first time so wording together thoughts and feelings in itself alone causes a flutter of stress. So for aslong as I can remember I have suffered with feelings of self doubt,It began in my te... View more

Hi Guys & Gals, New member here, I am posting today for the first time so wording together thoughts and feelings in itself alone causes a flutter of stress. So for aslong as I can remember I have suffered with feelings of self doubt,It began in my teenage years of highschool,relatively normals issues like getting good grades making my parents happy,but as I left school moved away and gained independence my self esteem dropped.Like I would high points in my life where I thought the world was amazing other days I would question every decision I ever made,just doubting myself.I had no problems obtaining employment but my issues laid in keeping a job,it was like there was a honeymoon period where I felt on top of the world say the first 3 months then shortly after myself doubt would kick in followed by unexplained anxiety,for me I never had the guts to speak up to say somebody help me,for the fear of being ridiculed.many years on I still suffer through Jobs with the same fears of failure in the back of my mind.my question is how do we block out the feelings that tell us we're not good enough to succeed ? Thanks

animegirl2410 Situational Social Anxiety / Long term bullying effects
  • replies: 10

Hi, When I was in primary school (year 5-6) I was bullied, apart from verbal abuse I cannot remember much but in high-school it got worse. I can recall moments of verbal abuse, rocks being thrown, hair pulled, deliberate invasions of privacy, vicious... View more

Hi, When I was in primary school (year 5-6) I was bullied, apart from verbal abuse I cannot remember much but in high-school it got worse. I can recall moments of verbal abuse, rocks being thrown, hair pulled, deliberate invasions of privacy, vicious rumors being spread designed to ruin the reputation of a teacher's pet. I could go on with individual examples, but I may be here a while... The problem I have at present, is the long term effects. Seemingly I had none, then a year ago while I was partaking in one of my work experience blocks for my Master of Teaching Primary - they hit me out of the blue. I locked up, gave off a 'leave me alone' aura.... the anxiety made it impossible to teach and quite frankly caused me to fail my placement. I received some counselling sessions from the uni which assisted in identifying what I was going through and the following placement I did well and was back on track. Unfortunately there are still side effects. The effects of my high-school bullying appear to be a situational social anxiety. As a pre-service primary teacher, I am fully aware from my studies that this can be a result of being bullied due to the social/emotional development of a child being hampered by negative stimuli. And due to other indicators I've noticed, I believe this is the case (and there is nothing more upsetting then realising you were the child mentioned in those childhood anxiety study papers) But I digress, the main side-effects I'm currently having are throwing up/dry heaving in the morning and constantly coughing. As I said its situational, the problem is that its before I go to school or my work placement and I think its having an impact on my development as a teacher and being on my graduate placement and not doing well again - I'm starting to get concerned that I'm subconsciously setting myself up to fail in addition to the physical side effects. Now I am a very stubborn person and regardless of what happens on this graduate placement I'll keep trying to pass until I've met the graduate requirements. Its not eventually passing that concerns me. Its how I'll deal with these side-effects and the fear they may develop further once I enter the career. How do you deal with a situational social anxiety which has latched itself onto your dream job?

blinkerson Frustration anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hullo I'm new and still working my way through all the amazing info, so sorry if this has been asked recently... What is a good way to calm a frustration phase? I'm in a major slump just now because I feel like I'm pushing hard to sort my life out bu... View more

Hullo I'm new and still working my way through all the amazing info, so sorry if this has been asked recently... What is a good way to calm a frustration phase? I'm in a major slump just now because I feel like I'm pushing hard to sort my life out but not achieving much. I took an extended break from work to address my anxiety, retrained and started a business which is struggling now. I have a job which helps my husband with the bills but there's not enough money to do what I know can be done to market my business more effectively, and I can't afford a car yet. We recently moved to the country for various reasons, which is lovely, but apart from work I'm virtually housebound. I know what needs to be done, there's a huge potential list, but just now I spend most of my day fighting to keep the panic down. So angry at myself for getting to this point when the future seemed so bright for a while there. Any ideas for getting myself back up?

Mal50 Mental breakdown.
  • replies: 3

Hi all, for years I felt a mental and/or nervous breakdown coming on and tried really hard to prevent it. However, about 4 years ago I had a complete meltdown mentally, and my anxiety attacks got much worse. I know it was because of bottled pressure ... View more

Hi all, for years I felt a mental and/or nervous breakdown coming on and tried really hard to prevent it. However, about 4 years ago I had a complete meltdown mentally, and my anxiety attacks got much worse. I know it was because of bottled pressure building up over many years. Since my breakdown I've come close to having potentially serious car accidents because the anxiety attacks would come anywhere anytime. Furthermore, I can not forgive myself for the way my breakdown scared my two sons. They were traumatised by it. I have literally begged my GP to do something to help me but he seemed annoyed that I even raised the issue. He put me on one mild medication that doesn't help at all, and I know, under my current circumstances that I'm heading for another breakdown.

Chloe2 So..I'm here
  • replies: 6

Hi all, After much deliberation with myself I have decided to join beyond blue. I don't even know how to start, since I'm struggling with knowing what is wrong with me. I am a 28 year old lady from Perth. I'm married and I have a 7 year old daughter.... View more

Hi all, After much deliberation with myself I have decided to join beyond blue. I don't even know how to start, since I'm struggling with knowing what is wrong with me. I am a 28 year old lady from Perth. I'm married and I have a 7 year old daughter. I had a tough childhood, growing up with a mentally ill single mother who neglected me emotionally and didn't feed me properly. I was teased for having red hair, no father and no money. I went through many friends and none of them stuck around. I met my now husband when I was 14 years old. We were each others rock since he was having a hard time at home, and he would scrape together whatever money he had to make sure I had food to eat. We have now been together for 14 years, and although he has some depression issues due to his past we have a solid relationship. When I was 20, I gave birth to my daughter. I suffered silently with severe post natal depression. She was born via emergency c-section and I didn't feel a connection to her for months. I would go for weeks without having a shower, I lost weight and I alienated myself from socializing. Eventually months down the track I started having friends again, and I seemed to be improving. After 3 or so years these friends then completely back stabbed me, spread rumors and caused all my friends to turn away from me. I then witnessed a fatal accident shortly after which has caused major anxiety when I'm in a vehicle. I've now got no friends, I don't enjoy any hobbies anymore, I struggle to go to my fulltime job every weekday, I have no motivation and going out driving to places sends my palms sweating and my teeth grinding. I tried to join a parent forum to try and make some friends, but none of them seem to understand that I've got social anxiety and it isn't as simple as "lets meet and have a coffee" I love my husband and daughter to bits. But I am lonely, and sad and I just want to have some friends and enjoy life again.

Bee26 Social Anxiety :(
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone, I've finally decided to join beyond blue I'm so sick of having anxiety in pretty much any situation. I was just wondering if anyone can relate to this. I've had anxiety as far back as I can remember and I'm 25 now. I blush super easy and... View more

Hi everyone, I've finally decided to join beyond blue I'm so sick of having anxiety in pretty much any situation. I was just wondering if anyone can relate to this. I've had anxiety as far back as I can remember and I'm 25 now. I blush super easy and that just triggers it even more ! I even get really anxious around family just having an everyday chat (not all the time) but I hate any situation that I'm in the spotlight and even in situations where I'm just sitting in the group, all that's usually going through my head is please don't ask me anything. I can feel my heart racing and I also feel really flushed and hot. If I'm tired or leading up to menstruation it seems worse. I stay away from coffee or drinks like red bull or v because that also makes things worse. It really holds me back on everything in my life from my relationships to work. Times I would love to voice my opinion I feel I can't because I'm so anxious I could go on and on . Has anyone been through this and come out the other side? Any advice would be awesome!

Mapi00 Struggling with relationships.
  • replies: 2

Hi, This is my first time posting and I am here because I am in a bit of a rut. I have had what I would best describe as social anxiety almost all my life - I can't remember life without it. I have had years of therapy, years of isolation, patches of... View more

Hi, This is my first time posting and I am here because I am in a bit of a rut. I have had what I would best describe as social anxiety almost all my life - I can't remember life without it. I have had years of therapy, years of isolation, patches of employment, and quite a few volatile relationships. I think right now is the most stable I have been...which is great. But this is because I am being supported by my partner while I study. This means very little social interaction - which suits me and my anxiety just fine (though it is terrible for my recovery overall). This stuff that I'm finding it really hard to cope with at the moment is sitting with my past. Having experienced years of extreme social anxiety I have found meany ways to deal with it - strategic ways. These have included prescription medication, amphetamines, codependent relationships, a succession of therapists, every technique/therapy under the sun. I have been accused by some of my friends of dishonesty and lack of reliability. I know this about myself. I am a bit of a Houdini at getting out of uncomfortable social/work situations. Now I have a very slim social life. 10 years ago a had a big social network - mostly left over from school and uni and my first job. Now I really have very few friends; I have done little to maintain relationships and I have to admit that I have been a pretty terrible friend. The way that I see it is that I am so stifled by my social anxiety that I become a bit of a...'angler', if that makes sense. I angle indirectly to get my needs met. This makes friendship a bit of a one way street. I'd really like to be a good friend, to have friends, but I am so caught up in my head with my anxiety that I am like a person at war...every move is strategic and I am always frightened of crossing a line... so I do things sideways. Anyway, this is one of the things I am struggling with. Perhaps there are others who relate?

Lex92 Is this normal with Anxiety ?
  • replies: 7

Hi, I'm 23 years old , I'm currently a uni student and work part time . I'm just curious if anyone else experiences what I do and is it classed as anxiety or normal ? Start of every week I plan my whole week in advance to what I'll do every day and i... View more

Hi, I'm 23 years old , I'm currently a uni student and work part time . I'm just curious if anyone else experiences what I do and is it classed as anxiety or normal ? Start of every week I plan my whole week in advance to what I'll do every day and in what Oder to do tasks. And when it comes to the crunch and things don't go the way I planned it to , I feel this sense of stress , I can feel my heart beating fast and experience sweaty hands. And I'm a constant over thinker, I constantly stress about things when there is nothing to stress about , what have you guys found that help with this ? I haven't seen a doctor about this yet but I realise it may be a issue that may get worse with time .

Mal50 Severe anxiety attacks.
  • replies: 11

Hi everyone, this is my first post. For most of my life ( since childhood) I've had depression and anxiety disorders. Now in the 'severe' range. In the past few years the anxiety/panic attacks have gotten much worse. No type of medications have helpe... View more

Hi everyone, this is my first post. For most of my life ( since childhood) I've had depression and anxiety disorders. Now in the 'severe' range. In the past few years the anxiety/panic attacks have gotten much worse. No type of medications have helped to relieve the symptoms. I despise myself because of how my disorder had affected my children in the past. I've tried to talk to my GP about it, but get nothing more than a blank stare. Can anybody suggest anything? Thanks for reading.

ElleMilly Is it Anxiety? Or a real problem?
  • replies: 2

Please someone tell me if what i have is an irrational fear or a real one that i should keep giving my attention to... I feel so alone because no one has ever been able to tell me that my problem isn't a true concern and it seems like every anxiety w... View more

Please someone tell me if what i have is an irrational fear or a real one that i should keep giving my attention to... I feel so alone because no one has ever been able to tell me that my problem isn't a true concern and it seems like every anxiety website talks about simple worries that get out of hand, but my worries aren't about simple things like exams or money, they're about my fears of never being totally happy with a man. At times, it's crippling. The problem: when I get into relationships, the MOMENT the person shows me that they may not be EXACTLY what I want or what I think I need, I become absolutely riddled with depression and anxiety because I feel I cant break up with them because by that stage ive developed super strong feelings for them. Now, please- listen closely- just because I love them, that DOESNT mean that I don't truly want to break up with them- when I know in my gut that a guy isn't right for me, i don't doubt it, what I get upset about is that somehow I still seem to love them and it makes it IMPOSSIBLE for me to break up with them. So that's one issue- the other is that I worry that i'll always think that there's someone better out there for me, I wonder if my standards are so high that no one will every compare. It KILLS ME. can anyone relate? am I broken? or am I okay?