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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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Baron_sherry Sleepless
  • replies: 3

I had a major anxiety attack last weekend. Cried for 3 days. Got some respite at my parents place but I'm sleepless. It's only been 2 nights with no sleep but I feel like a zombie. Tried sedatives but they aren't working. I can't sit still. Body is e... View more

I had a major anxiety attack last weekend. Cried for 3 days. Got some respite at my parents place but I'm sleepless. It's only been 2 nights with no sleep but I feel like a zombie. Tried sedatives but they aren't working. I can't sit still. Body is exhausted, mind is in another dimension of space and time. Tried meditation - distracted, tried other distraction like cleaning, reading, watching a movie, went for a walk. Tried laying on the bed and hoping for a sleep. Nothing. I look like crud, I feel cruddier. Tips, tricks, anything???

katiebkn intrusive thoughts and severe anxiety
  • replies: 11

Hi there I'm new to this forum. So I'm having a terrible time with panic and anxiety and also depression now.. If I'm not anxious then all i want to do is cry. A few years back I suffered sever anxiety and panic attacks and my partner had to force me... View more

Hi there I'm new to this forum. So I'm having a terrible time with panic and anxiety and also depression now.. If I'm not anxious then all i want to do is cry. A few years back I suffered sever anxiety and panic attacks and my partner had to force me to eat and look after my children because I was just not coping. I don't really know how the panic attack started but over time it started to get more frequent and if I wasn't having an attack it was constant anxiety. One day I don't know how or when or why it started.. I started having what I was told intrusive thoughts.. I started avoiding things and all I seemed to do was go over and over in my head and try to convince myself otherwise. So anyway I managed after a long dark road to get better and those thoughts came less and less. . so about 4 weeks ago it all started again talking about someone else's struggles and also watching a documentary on something scared me and bought on a massive panic attack. Since that day the intrusive thoughts have come back and I am now questioning everything! I have had a lot of stress over the past year and half but surprisingly I haven't dealt with much anxiety and no intrusive thoughts. I've been really strong and felt great back to my normal body weight after losing so much weight due to stress. .I felt like an anti anxiety medication has worked wonders... but now it has all come back and I'm terrified... I don't have my partner home and I am on my own with kids.. I've been to get a mental health plan and have contacted a psychologist.. This has also freaked me out as I'm having doubts seeing him because he records all of his appointments... that has made me even more scared. So basically right now I'm living and breathing anxiety and intrusive thoughts and i can't seem to escape.. I don't want to do normal things like cook or clean and I just want to escape to my parents all the time because I'm terrified being alone. I have even turned to anxiety medication over the past week because I can't seem to kick it. The doctor has put my meds up but I'm only a few days in and they still have to go up in a few more days. Please help what if they aren't intrusive thoughts what if there is really something wrong with me it just makes me wanna die. But I don't want to die because I love my kids and family I just don't wanna feel like this anymore. I'm asking myself if they have come back then does that mean I am what my thoughts are.

white knight Excitement, adrenalin, anxiety, fear who mixes them up?
  • replies: 6

As a boy I had a family that was always 'nervous'. We used that word to cover most feelings of tension or anything really that involved something that took us away from the rare (for us) feeling of being relaxed. In fact I was never relaxed, I was “b... View more

As a boy I had a family that was always 'nervous'. We used that word to cover most feelings of tension or anything really that involved something that took us away from the rare (for us) feeling of being relaxed. In fact I was never relaxed, I was “bored”. As I grew older in my twenties I used to describe myself to others as a nervous character. That word nervous never left my self description until I was in my 40’s. I’m now 60yo. In the last 15 years I’ve realised I needed to divide up my nervous world into categories of the other feelings- to correct the error of everything being under the nervous umbrella. Buying a new car in my twenties and I’d mistake my excitement for nerves. You get the picture. This is likely the programming from my family. So I’m wondering how many people out there, members like you, have described anxiety for something else? I’m wondering, if some of us are labelling anxiety when it could be worry or excess concern or excitement maybe but if it isn’t anxiety then what could it be?. Mental health professionals of course are the ones for a correct diagnosis. I’m concerned here for the readers that haven’t had a diagnosis and are curious. Or those that have had diagnosis and if they think its anxiety and some of it isnt so, it might be worth conveying this to your therapist. Could you be feeling something other than bad nerves or anxiety. For me there is only a fine line between all of these feelings but that just could be me and my upbringing. Can you separate them? Do you get them mixed up? Or is there a definite line between all of these feelings in your opinion? Tony WK

Rosey_Posey Fear of Flying
  • replies: 1

I have had depression and anxiety for 45 years and I have managed with medication and my husband's help. HELP ME TO FLY AGAIN PLEASE I couldn't get out of bed to go to the airport for a trip to visit family in Singapore. I had a massive fear of being... View more

I have had depression and anxiety for 45 years and I have managed with medication and my husband's help. HELP ME TO FLY AGAIN PLEASE I couldn't get out of bed to go to the airport for a trip to visit family in Singapore. I had a massive fear of being trapped at the airport as you go through the customs etc. We had to forfeit airfares and accommodation. i have flown a lot and loved it and loved new places, food and cultures. i can't believe what I have done and I am sensitive and sad. i have increased my medication, joined an anxiety support group and see a counsellor. Can anyone please help me to get back on a plane again. I have a lot more to see in this world. Also I have been really brave and told family and close friends I have depression and anxiety for the first time ever. I have had many different reactions. One friend now has told everyone at work. I considered our conversation to be confidential not gossip. I feel angry and sad.

AyGok Stuggling with anxiety
  • replies: 2

My anxiety symptoms get so bad even when Im on medication and I can't change the way I think and feel i have been getting some help but how can I get a grip on it when I'm at home or stuck in my thoughts ? Suggestions help ?

My anxiety symptoms get so bad even when Im on medication and I can't change the way I think and feel i have been getting some help but how can I get a grip on it when I'm at home or stuck in my thoughts ? Suggestions help ?

flosssie I am new to this.
  • replies: 3

I have had chronic Generalised Anxiety/ Panic disorder/ Eating disorder most of my life, the earliest memory of panic/anxiety i have is when i was about 8 years old. I am now 25. I am still affected every day. Sometimes in small ways, sometimes in bi... View more

I have had chronic Generalised Anxiety/ Panic disorder/ Eating disorder most of my life, the earliest memory of panic/anxiety i have is when i was about 8 years old. I am now 25. I am still affected every day. Sometimes in small ways, sometimes in big ways. When i was 23 i was hospitalized because i had stopped eating and could barely function. I spent the next 6-8 months recovering. The worst part about it was, all my life, especially in the latter stages pre-diagnosis, i kept it all to myself. No body knew a thing, until one day i was in hospital. I decided to turn my life around, which was the hardest thing i have ever done but worth every second of pain and heart ache. There were a lot of lonely days and nights, Christmases and birthdays etc. and only after 2 years of persistence did my hard work begin to pay off. i work in Aged Care now and i love what i do, so much more than what i did in the past, sitting behind a desk and being a slave to the corporate world. I want to know that there are people out there like me, people that would much prefer a night in on the couch watching a movie and having a chat, over a night out on the town. I don't drink alcohol so i am cut off from most of the socialising that people in their 20s do. I'd love to hear from people like, because i know they exist, and sometimes when every minute of your day is a struggle, it would be nice to have a little ray of sunshine to help you smile again.

mortalgoat anixity and work and things that stop you getting a job at all
  • replies: 2

hello I have been struggling awhile now I can not even go into a shop with the right change but now since my collage shut down I need to look for work and I'm having so many panic attacks I cant help it ruining my life this fear of getting work is dr... View more

hello I have been struggling awhile now I can not even go into a shop with the right change but now since my collage shut down I need to look for work and I'm having so many panic attacks I cant help it ruining my life this fear of getting work is driving me over the edge and I cant handle it is there any advise you can give someone who has a panic attack getting a burger let alone looking for work

Mike27 Did I do the right thing?
  • replies: 6

Hello, I have GAD and i'm on medication for it. I ended a relationship with somebody who cares about me a lot. It all became to much for me. I kept having guilty feelings that I was tired a lot. That I couldn't love my partner the same. Couldn't give... View more

Hello, I have GAD and i'm on medication for it. I ended a relationship with somebody who cares about me a lot. It all became to much for me. I kept having guilty feelings that I was tired a lot. That I couldn't love my partner the same. Couldn't give 100%. I felt I was losing my independence and wanted to be alone and independent. I can't distinguish between normal thoughts and those that are my anxiety. I feel I won't ever have a relationship now because of my anxiety. Thats its not good for people like me. I don't love myself and feel I always run away from problems. I can't love somebody if I don't love me. Is this normal? Do you suffers like me feel they can't be in a relationship? That we should be single? Should we be able to manage both? I've always had this. I'm seeing my therapist is 3 weeks because she's booked out. That's a long way a away with my mind. My partner was amazing. She went and spoke to a psychologicst herself to learn how she can help me. But I abandoned her and cut her off. She was devastated. Mike

HannahG Intusive Thoughts are killing me
  • replies: 2

Started getting intrusive thoughts about 6 weeks ago. Am also 6 weeks pregnant. Horrible guilt thoughts from issues when I was growing up. Horrible obsessive thoughts about past attention seeking behaviours. Horrible sexual Intrusive thoughts about e... View more

Started getting intrusive thoughts about 6 weeks ago. Am also 6 weeks pregnant. Horrible guilt thoughts from issues when I was growing up. Horrible obsessive thoughts about past attention seeking behaviours. Horrible sexual Intrusive thoughts about every male or even female I see. I had a history of cheating on my now husband when we first got together and he is over it but I have constant flash backs of everything I did wrong. I am trying to rewire 27 years of seeking attention from whoever just cos my parents didn't pay much attention. I have started on an SSRI 3 days ago that I used to be on years ago. A tranquiliser used to be able to control my anxiety but I cant really take them while preg. Have a history of 2 previous stillbirths so I am high risk. Its just so hard. I am trying to function for the kids I have at home and Hubby had taken the last week off work to help but he goes back tomorrow and that scares me. I start Schema therapy on tuesday with my Psychologist and hopefully ERP therapy on thursday the following week with my Psychotherapist. I have done heaps of reading and realise thoughts are just thoughts.. but its easier said than done to switch them off. Guess I just need to hear from others with intrusive thoughts that things get better.

Jamie87 I just want to feel normal again
  • replies: 1

Every morning I cry. I feel like a complete failure for no reason. The only person that makes me feel better is my boyfriend. We don't live together yet, so we spend weekends together. I have had so much happen in the last 5 years which has built up ... View more

Every morning I cry. I feel like a complete failure for no reason. The only person that makes me feel better is my boyfriend. We don't live together yet, so we spend weekends together. I have had so much happen in the last 5 years which has built up to this. My grandfather died, I have had two long term relationships end, I've moved 4 times. I've had to move back in with my parents twice which was a massive hit to the self esteem. I have lost a good job and spent time looking for a new career. I've rekindled with an old flame and I am terrified of losing him. I want to be my old self again. I never used to worry so much as I do now. I just want to escape myself and fly away, run away from the fear. I don't know how to fix it. I always feel distracted, I can't concentrate and I feel like I am constantly letting everyone down.