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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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themadchatter Feeling Alone
  • replies: 5

Hello all not sure exactly how to start so will just share everything. I'm a 30 year old male comes from a unsupportive and broken family. I am single and unemployed. I used to have a large group of friends but over the past 10 years there have been ... View more

Hello all not sure exactly how to start so will just share everything. I'm a 30 year old male comes from a unsupportive and broken family. I am single and unemployed. I used to have a large group of friends but over the past 10 years there have been at least 17 weddings that some I have been invited to and others I have found out later. While they have found partners to marry I had been struggling and as a result the friendships have dissolved because they rarely take the time to hang out anymore and plus it was hard to be around them seeing how they were so happy and I was questioning myself deep inside. I have very little support from parents. One parent doesn't really care about myself and siblings and the other is not able to provide direction and encouragement due to a mental disability. Due to all this I am used to keeping to myself. When I do try to make friends it doesn't go well for me and that just makes me withdraw further away from all that and gets me down. I just don't know what to do anymore

NessieT Here we go again - anxiety triggered by pet loss
  • replies: 3

Warning Long Post: Hi Guys I have never posted before. I am a 37 yr old married mother of two and I work full time. My husband is currently away for 6 months due back in Nov. I was coping alright, just worn out. Here is where the issues started. I ha... View more

Warning Long Post: Hi Guys I have never posted before. I am a 37 yr old married mother of two and I work full time. My husband is currently away for 6 months due back in Nov. I was coping alright, just worn out. Here is where the issues started. I have suffered panic disorder with associated depression since I was 21. I have been on medication most of that time but of course I still have flare ups as we do. On Friday I came home from work to find our 11 yr old dog who believe it or not suffered from anxiety in a state. Over the years he had been destructive, he escaped frequently, hurt himself, he even once ran through a window. We have tried medication, special training, special jackets amongst other things and in recent weeks I had to resort to tying him up all day. When i came home on friday I knew in my heart that it was not a nice existence for him. He was becoming snappy with his offsider so i called my husband crying. I said now what, what else can we do...he said what are you suggesting. I said we have been told for a year now that perhaps he needs to be put down. We both got sad and realised that this was the option. So I called our vet and took him down there. She was wonderful and talked through the things we had tried and how he was possibly going to get worse and what we were doing was the kind option. He passed quickly and peacefully with myself and my son there. A few hours later kick in the panic attacks, I felt like I had made the worse decision, yet I know intellectually it was the right one. Since then I have had panic attacks followed by levels of anxiety - you know the nausea, lack of appetite, shaking, etc and last night I didnt sleep......I just want to get back on an even keel, I know I need to eat but I have no desire to, I want to sleep but the racing thoughts and sweating keep me awake on and off....any suggestions, any ideas guys? I just want to feel normal again.

Ash07 Anxiety rearing it's head after a major interstate move and being alone
  • replies: 6

Hi everyone, I'm new here so not sure where to start. I just wanted to find another way to help a little with everything going on. I'm 26 and moved interstate 2 weeks ago for work. My parter of 4 years came with me and we drove all of my stuff over t... View more

Hi everyone, I'm new here so not sure where to start. I just wanted to find another way to help a little with everything going on. I'm 26 and moved interstate 2 weeks ago for work. My parter of 4 years came with me and we drove all of my stuff over to get me settled for work in my new centre. While the first week went well because he was here with me, unfortunately he had to go back to organise our house. We have a lease until October and with only 2 weeks to get interstate to begin work, the priority was getting me over here. So now he has gone back to our house and is trying to get everything packed so that he can get back here. Hopefully within 4-5 weeks. I'm currently staying with his mum but unfortunately she isn't here most nights so I'm here alone. Although this will only be my 4th night alone, it's been a rollercoaster of emotional exhaustion and nausea. I have been working about 6 hours a day for the past week which has been great, and when I'm at work I know we've made the right decision in making the move and taking the opportunity as it has come up. From Monday, I will be taking on a new role at work which is a promotion to a leadership role. The workload and responsibility will increase which I anticipate will create some more anxiety, but will also be a nice distraction with an 8 hour day plus possible work to do at home. I found out about getting the position once my partner had left which was hard because he wasn't here to cheer me on, although he was there via the phone and Skype. During the days at work, I'm distracted and fine. The problem is on the drive home from work if I know his mum won't be around. I start to feel anxious as I'm driving and not wanting to really come back here. Once home I'm finding it hard to do much other than sit around. Although my external uni semester has started, I feel no motivation or encouragement to do any work on that in the evening. I love studying but I just can't bring myself to it at the moment. I feel so anxious that I feel sick in my stomach. I find I'm unable to eat much, if anything in the evening which worries me because I don't want to get ill. I found a new GP yesterday to get my anxiety medication re-prescribed as I had come off that some years ago, so hoping that will kick in in a few days properly and I'll be able to function at home alone, and eat in the evening! I know this is a long post, I just want to know if anyone else has experienced similar and what they did to help.

Warmparsley How can i manage my anxiety without pulling my hair out?
  • replies: 1

After finding out about my husbands affair and leaving me a single parent, I've been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, and depression. I've been taking medication for just over a year which has been working well for me (even tho the gp has increased my d... View more

After finding out about my husbands affair and leaving me a single parent, I've been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, and depression. I've been taking medication for just over a year which has been working well for me (even tho the gp has increased my doseage twice) Recently ive been pulling chunks of hair out and ive now got a large bald spot on my crown. I have a strange sense of anxiety but cant understand what has got me so worked up. Pulling my hair gives me a weird sense of external pain relief. Ive never done this before and my anxiety levels are slowly rising because of my new way to 'cope' with stress is not healthy. I used to bite my nails excessively when i was younger. And pron to fidget when im nervous or bored. Im hoping i can get advice on how to stop pulling my hair out, and deal with my anxiety in a more productive way. Any help or suggestions would be great.

Melissa74 Scared it will return
  • replies: 2

I have had anxiety ever since I can remember. As a child my Mum always thought that I just had upset stomachs but now I know what it was. Fast forward to 2013 when I had weightloss surgery. Two days post op I was filled with panic, fear, body tremors... View more

I have had anxiety ever since I can remember. As a child my Mum always thought that I just had upset stomachs but now I know what it was. Fast forward to 2013 when I had weightloss surgery. Two days post op I was filled with panic, fear, body tremors, chills the lot. This went on for 2 weeks. In this time I saw my GP and had my A.D. upped twice. It was a roller coaster of feeling ok then BANG the panic and anxiety hitting. It started to get better around 3 months post op. I was seeing a clinical psychologist, GP and acupuncture. Using mindfulness and breathing I slowly got better. But I have always been scared about it coming back. I still take my A.D. but have cut down again to what I was on pre surgery. All was good until 6 weeks ago. My husband got a work transfer and we moved from Brisbane to Rockhampton. I was a little teary when we first arrived. My daughter went to school and I worked in the canteen. I applied for a job and got it. All within 4 weeks I had moved and started a new job. Two days into my new job my anxiety hit me. I honestly didn't see it coming but then again I never do. So in the beginning I had tears, body tremors, chills etc slowly I have felt a little bit better. It seems everytime I either have body trauma or there is change I fall apart. Now I am worried it will come back again and I will never get better. I am going to find a new GP and get a mental health plan. Time to get a grip on this. How do I stop worrying that it will reappear.

Bunjo Speaking for someone else
  • replies: 1

Hello. So at work today today I was talking to a colleague and he was saying to me how he hates when people speak for him. We were then in a group conversation with 2 other people and I noticed that I was doing just that. Whenever the attention was o... View more

Hello. So at work today today I was talking to a colleague and he was saying to me how he hates when people speak for him. We were then in a group conversation with 2 other people and I noticed that I was doing just that. Whenever the attention was on me I would redirect it to him and say something like "brendan does xxx and I find it hilarious". I didnt realise this until later and I did it quit a few times. Is this due to codependency, social anxiety or could it be because of some borderline symptom?

Steph Question about heart palpitations
  • replies: 36

Hello everyone I have heart palpitations 24/7 and always, always, always have a ball of anxiety in my stomach (if that makes any sense). What I wanted to know is, is it normal (for an anxiety sufferer) to constantly have heart palpitations? I am tryi... View more

Hello everyone I have heart palpitations 24/7 and always, always, always have a ball of anxiety in my stomach (if that makes any sense). What I wanted to know is, is it normal (for an anxiety sufferer) to constantly have heart palpitations? I am trying to avoid caffeine and anything sugary as these seem to exacerbate the anxiety, but even without either of these it seems to be a constant thing. Can anyone tell me if a) you experience the same thing and/or b) what you can do to stop the heart palpitations. Many thanks in advance Steph

reecemiley Unwanted anxious feelings around happiness
  • replies: 16

I am struggling to understand why when I come close to happiness I become extremely nervous , my anxiety goes into overdrive to the point that I feel I am losing control. I feel in my mind that in order to release these feelings I destroy the possibi... View more

I am struggling to understand why when I come close to happiness I become extremely nervous , my anxiety goes into overdrive to the point that I feel I am losing control. I feel in my mind that in order to release these feelings I destroy the possibility of happiness. my relationship is strained from this and it has been happening for quite sometime now. I cant seem to release from these feelings quickly and I become low for several days after. I feel like in my moments of my anxiety I am fighting with my own mind. Is it normal with anxiety to not trust well or is this my way of keeping happiness away in order to not have these moments ?

caitie0 reassurance
  • replies: 20

Hi, I am new too this and need some confirmation that everything I am feeling is that I am not going mad. About 3 months ago I started having bad anxiety ( thought I was really sick ) I have never really had anxiety like this in my life and it stress... View more

Hi, I am new too this and need some confirmation that everything I am feeling is that I am not going mad. About 3 months ago I started having bad anxiety ( thought I was really sick ) I have never really had anxiety like this in my life and it stressed out more as I didn't know why it was happening so I worried about all the things I was feeling. At the height of it I had the shakes, wasn't eating, hot/cold, heat pounding, hyper and really tired, bad insomnia elbows/jaw would feel weird numb, just felt absolutely awful have never felt like that in my life, felt like I was going crazy and was really struggling. Since I have managed to calm down more ( Am going to see a psychologist ) I am still struggling about whether what I am feeling is normal, my heart still has palpitations often enough ( its driving me boncers and what bothers me though most ) seems worse when I wake up, getting stomach aches, sometimes my chest feels tight like after doing a work out. I guess I worry that it is not the anxiety, I suppose I go around in a bit of a circle. I used to be able to relax quiet well, now I have trouble relaxing and just getting into my reading or whatever else. I think my anxiety is just caused by stress and hoping I am just having a "moment" but just struggling whether what I am feeling is anxiety.

EB01 Phobias
  • replies: 1

Hey guys, I'm a student doing work in SA and for a large part of my grading I am basing one of my final projects on phobias. I have conducted a question of "How does psychology explain the effects of phobias on an individual?". It would be such a gre... View more

Hey guys, I'm a student doing work in SA and for a large part of my grading I am basing one of my final projects on phobias. I have conducted a question of "How does psychology explain the effects of phobias on an individual?". It would be such a great help if any of you could take a minute to answer a couple, if not several or all of these questions below. 1. Are phobias a common occurrence? 2. What are the physical symptoms? 3. Are there any symptoms that are a rare side effect of a phobia that you know of or may experience? 4. How are phobias formed? How did yours start? Is it hereditary or an evolved childhood fear? 5. How do phobias physically impair someone? 6. Are phobias common? Do you know anyone else with a phobia? 7. How do phobias differ from everyday fear? 8. How would this situation be treated? How do you deal with a phobia? Thank you!!!

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