Immediate support
Immediate support

Anxiety

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with anxiety.

Start a discussion

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Jump to
Start a discussion

Pinned 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.

All discussions

Start a discussion

Mares73 In full flight mode-Anxiety is ruining my life
  • replies: 6

Hi all Where to start? Background -As I've mentioned in Depression thread I'm dealing with a lot right now. Husband with acute leukemia, 2 kids & the one who is 10yrs is diagnosed with anxiety & depression relating to uncertainty of his Dad being aro... View more

Hi all Where to start? Background -As I've mentioned in Depression thread I'm dealing with a lot right now. Husband with acute leukemia, 2 kids & the one who is 10yrs is diagnosed with anxiety & depression relating to uncertainty of his Dad being around. I'm also involved in case against Catholic church for serial abuse as a child. Like many I grew up in a house of horrors. Anyway I'm on meds for depression & I've always been predisposed to anxiety. But the last week it's got so debilitating I can hardly breathe when I wake up, my mind is overwhelmed by racing thoughts, I feel physically I'll & I'm immobilized. I can barely leave the house unless it's desperate. I spend all day trying to calm down but days are now wiped out by severe anxiety & I'm afraid I don't seem to be able to control it. I've tried meditation & breathing but the state I'm in it just becomes another anxiety issue. My life is literally spent trying to deal with anxiety everyday. I wake up anxious, am on edge & high alert at the simplest sound. It's like I'm ready to fly out the Window. It's destroying me that everyday is another day of being driven by fear. Why can't I stop this destroying my life? It starts first thing in morning & I can't wait for bedtime as my days are such a struggle & there's no joy or other feelings. If I have to do something I cope on pure adrenaline. Otherwise I waste the days because the anxiety is so severe I can't even distract myself. I've asked myself what has triggered this but simply the thought of another day fighting this is causing fear. I am completely overwhelmed that I have to be there for my husband & kids so I try so hard to be normal around them but it's getting harder. I also know that in the past anxiety has preceded depression. I'd do anything to not be a complete nervous wreck. I just don't know how to stop it when it's this severe. And I've told my psych & GP & they just say I've got a lot to deal with. But I can't bare to keep living like this. It's all consuming all day everyday. I just want it to ease up. Has anyone else experienced anxiety so severe you can barely make it through the day? My body is rigid with anxiety, I literally feel sick & my mind is racing to the point I don't feel I'm living but rather existing with a massive problem that's affecting every area of my life.

Maltezmoose Through the Fire back into the Fire
  • replies: 1

Hi my names Allan and I'm 26 and have been diagnosed with health/social anxiety along with panic disorderit happened a year ago I had my first panic attack, I was dizzy, lightheaded, fealt nauseas and like I was going to colapse. I'd been dealing wit... View more

Hi my names Allan and I'm 26 and have been diagnosed with health/social anxiety along with panic disorderit happened a year ago I had my first panic attack, I was dizzy, lightheaded, fealt nauseas and like I was going to colapse. I'd been dealing with anxiety for maybe 5-6 years beforehand but never had any major physical syptoms. my battle then began with medication which made me feel better at first but I didn't realise the addictive nature they came with. I would feel so sick coming off the tablet like I was going through withdrawals between each and every tablet. I eventually got myself off the tablets and didn't touch them for around 4 months. My anxiety was still there but was at a contrable level.then 2 months ago I had another dizzy turn and went straght back to the medication thinking I'll only take off a tablet to take the edge off. I am now back on 3 a day and feeling worse than ever. Feels like all that hard as been erased. I have had these syptoms off and on and to varying degree of severity over the past year.dizznessnaseua/ feeling sicklightheaded / weaknesstension headaches( not serve)chest pain/ bad intigestensweating and chillssexual probelmsAgitation and mood swingsfatigueneck and shoulder pain/discomfort i have had blood tests run about 4 times which has always came back all good, have had an ultrasound and barium swallow and all was clean and have had an ecg which came back completely normal. after I got off the medicationI felt I could at least function during the day and could start to live normal, but as I write this today in lying in bed and even the thought of going to the kitchen is making me anxious. has any had a similar experience with medication or just these types of anxiety syptoms?thanks so much

Simona Anxiety - scared of society/how to function?/how does one 'work'?/communicate? history of psychosis
  • replies: 14

I will start by saying that I am 42 with 3 children and a defacto of 13 years. I will also say that I have been very fortunate to date that I had not 'had' to work so therefore have been doing the housewife role and am alone through the day in the si... View more

I will start by saying that I am 42 with 3 children and a defacto of 13 years. I will also say that I have been very fortunate to date that I had not 'had' to work so therefore have been doing the housewife role and am alone through the day in the silence (i don't like noise except bird noise) except when I have to go collect mail or do Safeway. This is okay. The Jehovas visit sometimes and give me more stuff to read (I'm not into religion myself but I feel sorry for them. What brings me here is that I am getting kind of bored. I feel I should do something like paid work but people are scary. Mostly adults because children are fine and much more fun to be around plus they say it how it is. But how does one start? Between the ages of 17 to 25 I was sick with schizophrenia so i have no proper work history. I was mostly supported by my parents and boyfriends . When i did work it was in the adult sector and i was told that that doesn't count as work experience so there are huge gaps in my old resume. Should i just make up stuff and fill it in like colouring book? I don't know what to do. In one way i feel ready to join society but in another way.... Partner just wants me to be happy. I think perhaps if i am functioning normally/counting out the right change and not hurting myself or anyone maybe it's ok - i will be ok to work in normal job but i do admit when i get angry i can loose control easily like with the Iphone tracking device. I drove over it and then i felt really smug because i killed it. Now for me; this is normal ok. As is talking to bees which my mother argues is not the same as talking to the family dog or seeing faces on the bathroom wall while i shower. Lastly i want to say i don't take pills unless I'm in agony because i don't trust pharma for myself. For family members it's different. Also after having been put on stuff earlier it killed all my creative verve. It was like being emotionally castrated.

Leisa1 I have a happy life but am constantly anxious and worried
  • replies: 3

Hi my name is Leisa,I have been living with anxiety for 17 years. Myfirst panic attack was after our 10 week old daughter Holly died. I have been struggling ever since. I have been married for nearly 22 years and have a 21 year old daughter. I have a... View more

Hi my name is Leisa,I have been living with anxiety for 17 years. Myfirst panic attack was after our 10 week old daughter Holly died. I have been struggling ever since. I have been married for nearly 22 years and have a 21 year old daughter. I have a happy life but I am constantly anxious and worried. I am struggling at the moment and feel that I am really upsetting my husband and daughter. I am so tired of feeling this way. I went to my local doctor last week and she said to me if I didn't change I would loose my husband.

ontheborder Time slows down
  • replies: 3

Sometimes time slows down and when it does it's like torcher, there is nothing but me and my anxiety. I've tried colouring, painting, ice (the frozen kind), exersize, music, shower, nintendo, cooking, mindfulness, cleaning and a few other things. Not... View more

Sometimes time slows down and when it does it's like torcher, there is nothing but me and my anxiety. I've tried colouring, painting, ice (the frozen kind), exersize, music, shower, nintendo, cooking, mindfulness, cleaning and a few other things. Nothing is helping, there is just so much time to fill. I have tried ringing psych befor and speaking with my clinician but they don't seam to take me seriously and it hasn't helped yet. I want so much for this to stop. I need sugestions of ways to fill time, I'm running out of ideas. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Nuggsie Anxiety and Depression Starting Up Again
  • replies: 2

Hello fellow beyond blue peeps, Well I've been struggling for the last 5 years with depression and anxiety. I seem to go up a down every few months but I haven't been coping so well for the last month. Work is extremely stressful and unhappy, I have ... View more

Hello fellow beyond blue peeps, Well I've been struggling for the last 5 years with depression and anxiety. I seem to go up a down every few months but I haven't been coping so well for the last month. Work is extremely stressful and unhappy, I have had several incidents were I have felt bullied by my supervisor over the last month. Now I keep getting those waves of anxiety that go over your body and make me you feel sick and hot. I don't want to be at work anymore, this is not a happy place for me anymore, I can't sleep, I can hardly eat, all I think about is work all the time and how much I hate it. I've been here for 8 years so it makes it hard to leave when you have to give 5 weeks notice but it's affecting my mental health. I feel desperate, unhappy and just want to crawl under a rock. I'm on the max dosage for my antidepressants, I also take a tricyclic antidepressant and a neurological pain blocker (suffer from chronic pain as well), I've had to start taking my benzo's again to help with the anxiety. I don't think I can make it through another med change. I was nearly admitted to the pysch ward against my will in November last year because of the last med change made me loopy. I don't want to have to do it again. I live in a regional area so its normally a 6 week wait to see a psychiatrist or psychologist. Thanks for listening Nuggsie

nootnoot Starting to feel depressed again
  • replies: 3

For the last 2 weeks I have started to feel depressed and anxious again. This is because I am having problems with my boyfriend. Things were going really well for us (or so I thought) up until I got back from my trip in Melbourne which was about 3 we... View more

For the last 2 weeks I have started to feel depressed and anxious again. This is because I am having problems with my boyfriend. Things were going really well for us (or so I thought) up until I got back from my trip in Melbourne which was about 3 weeks ago. I wanted him to come over to mine so we could talk about how our relationship was going but he seemed down that day and felt like he was letting me down in our relationship so he decided to break up with me. Ever since then I have been trying to help him. I know he loves me but he is scared that continuing a relationship with me will get in the way of his music. I don't want to go into too much detail about it right now but basically I feel like my heart is breaking. Things were so good between us and I keep thinking about all our happy times together and how I wish it was still the same. I don't know what happened and it's hard to find the time to talk to him since he is often busy with work or his band. I haven't been eating much or at all the past 2 weeks and I have lost about 3 kilos. I will be starving but the smell or even taste of the food makes me want to be sick. I can barely sleep and need to take something so I can sleep and block out my loud thinking mind. I am mentally exhausted and want to sleep all the time but I can't sleep because of all the thinking I do. I also don't want to go back on medication again. I don't know what to do any more.beyondblue's clinically-trained moderators often work offline (invisible to you) on issues relating to suicide or self-harm. At the same time, general supportive comments from the community are encouraged. If you have concerns around suicide or self-harm, please phone our support service on 1300 22 4636.

dontworrybehappy91 Nocturnal panic attacks
  • replies: 7

I have been having panic attacks late at night. Majority of the time I am asleep and I wake up possessed by an attack. My heart races and I go completely in to flight mode. I haven't been on my anti anxiety medication for months now. But tomorrow I a... View more

I have been having panic attacks late at night. Majority of the time I am asleep and I wake up possessed by an attack. My heart races and I go completely in to flight mode. I haven't been on my anti anxiety medication for months now. But tomorrow I am going to be courage and go to the doctor and get a new script. I know this won't help my attacks but what else can I do. I have become a lot better at managing my attacks. But they are always at night time now and I wake up confused. Does anyone else experience this? It is a horrible thing to happen. I hope someone can feel comfort knowing that someone else is going through the a similar experience. Because I will, I decided to make an account and connect with people today. Because I'm starting to get scared to sleep at night and the only person who can help me is myself.

molokow I am not sure if I am experiencing Anxiety, can anyone help?
  • replies: 3

Hi All, I feel that my body is really light, and I become stressed over nothing. For example, I sent a message to the wrong friend and then I became paralyzed with worry. It was a private message, and had some personal things in it. Furthermore, I fe... View more

Hi All, I feel that my body is really light, and I become stressed over nothing. For example, I sent a message to the wrong friend and then I became paralyzed with worry. It was a private message, and had some personal things in it. Furthermore, I feel that my heart is pounding, and often try to hide from people, and do things so that no-one can see me. I never used to be like this, and this has only happened over the last 4 months. I had a motorcycle accident last year, but never experienced any PTSD.

MirandaONeg Severe Anxiety and Self Medicating
  • replies: 5

Hi There,I'm new to beyondblue and pretty new to mental health issues..or so I thought until I did some research. I spent a lot of time alone as a kid and have no close family, only a couple of close friends who live mostly far away. I've always crav... View more

Hi There,I'm new to beyondblue and pretty new to mental health issues..or so I thought until I did some research. I spent a lot of time alone as a kid and have no close family, only a couple of close friends who live mostly far away. I've always craved social situations and am comfortable most of the time, but after devloping serious anxiety and panic problems after a breakup in January of 2013, things have changed.It began with heart palpitations, insomnia, nausea and tremors. When the symptoms became so severe I was unable to work (within a month), I started smoking weed to self medicate. I noticed that if I was high, the risk of panic and deep, irrational, instant feelings of isolation and pain would virtually disappear, and I could sleep and eat better without feeling sick. Over the last 18 months I've spent virtually every day getting high at least once. I'm so afraid of losing my job and hurting my friends with my disfunction that even on good days, I still smoke just in case a random wave of hopelessness hits me. When I run out or when the symptoms become so severe that even weed can't alleviate them, I obsess over unhealthy parts of my life. I'll think repetitive trains of thought about silly flirtatious exchanges and obsess over the people I have them with to the point that I'm convinced I'm in love with them. Even as i feel those feelings, I know they're unfounded and ludicrous... but then just circle straight back. It's difficult for me to feel any natural loneliness which I would usually cope with, without it spiraling into complete depression. One moment I'll be normal, the next I'll feel ice cold dread take hold of my entire body...then back again.Small, meaningless activities like having to shower and get dressed cause me to think about what comes next, then next, then next, until i get so flustered and disoriented,I can't do anything but feel like crying for no reason. I don't want to have to smoke every day and the only SSRI I've tried has had awful results. Is there any medication which might help me relax, organize my thoughts, and maybe sleep better? Even if all I can achieve is a functional level, capable of going a single hour without these nonsense, repetitive heartwrenching feelings taking over, it would be an enormous relief.Even numbness would be better than this.Anyone else experience anything like this?Thanks so much...and hope someone here might be able to help. -M