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

All discussions

Guest_64036479 I’m so overwhelmed. I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs!!!
  • replies: 3

I’ve been through a lot.but lately it’s been my youngest boys 2 surgeries and my dog having cancer removed. His tail was amputated and another mast cell cut from his leg. It hasn’t healed, so I’m taking him to the vet 3 x per week to get his dressing... View more

I’ve been through a lot.but lately it’s been my youngest boys 2 surgeries and my dog having cancer removed. His tail was amputated and another mast cell cut from his leg. It hasn’t healed, so I’m taking him to the vet 3 x per week to get his dressing’s changed and I argued the removal of his cancer with my husband. I’m the one taking care of him all the time and taking him to the vets for his dressing change! I’m so angry and upset! I’m the one who had to get my son’s leg cut off and reattached with massive surgery!!!!! I’m always the one trying to make sure everyone is okay!!!!! I’m so broken

Flowergirl97 Never finding my place
  • replies: 8

Hello,I have always been known as a shy person whereas my older sister has always been very outgoing so I felt like I grew up in her shadow. As a child I found it hard to see my positive qualities and never saw introversion as a strength because ever... View more

Hello,I have always been known as a shy person whereas my older sister has always been very outgoing so I felt like I grew up in her shadow. As a child I found it hard to see my positive qualities and never saw introversion as a strength because everyone around me criticised me for being shy and I grew up hating my shyness. Maybe because of my shyness or other reasons I always felt self conscious and rarely felt comfortable around people who weren’t my immediate family. When I was 7 years old my family moved country and I rarely saw my loving grandparents again and felt like my family consisted of only my parents and older sister. During my teenage years I struggled with disordered eating and despite doing well at school felt very self conscious in class and found everyday things overwhelming and felt like I was out of step with the other students. I found it difficult to envisage what I would do as a career but wasn’t too concerned because I still had a lot of time to decide. I decided I loved art and music and tried to force myself to do drama so that I wouldn’t be so shy. When I was 17 my parents decided to divorce. It came as a shock but sort of validated why I had felt unhappy as a teenager. Beforehand I had started to feel distant from my parents and they had been going through other things they had reason to be stressed about. My Mum had suggested I talk to someone about my disordered eating but I felt so much shame and distrust in people that I hated the idea. I also hid how I was feeling and was already known to be shy so not many people seemed to notice how unhappy I was. Now I’m in my late 20s and I’ve finally seen a psychologist for about two years. I recently moved to a new city and although I’ve completed a bachelor degree in science I’m finding it hard to get a job. A lot of the same feelings have come up that I used to feel, they’ve never really gone away. I do understand myself a lot better than I ever have in the past and now see there are strengths that introverts have. But I’m still struggling to enjoy my life, like myself and make friends… and being unemployed sucks. Sometimes it just feels like I can’t catch a break. I’ve been through so much and would love to have a healthy romantic relationship, strong friendships, a meaningful job, and enjoy my life but sometimes it feels like I’ll never get there. I am starting to blame myself for not choosing a definitive career path sooner. I committed to university only to come out the other side with more doubts and uncertainties about my career than I had when I started. I feel like I’ve missed out on so many opportunities because I am an introvert. I’ve worked so hard at my education and the most recent jobs I have had and still feel like I’m never doing the things I truly want to be doing. I’ve also struggled to accept my sexuality and have disliked my body ever since I returned to a healthier weight. So there’s been a lot for me to deal with and maybe I’ve been self sabotaging myself all along, I don’t know for sure. Today I just felt really sad and unsure of what to focus on in my life because I have a lot of interests but something always seems to go sour at some point and I stop doing something I once loved

MandyR Dissociative Identity Disorder
  • replies: 12

Do you have Dissociative Identity Disorder? Many people live with D.I.D all over the world. DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER Dissociative identity disorder is a survival mechanism of the brain. It is more of an ability that keeps a child alive througho... View more

Do you have Dissociative Identity Disorder? Many people live with D.I.D all over the world. DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER Dissociative identity disorder is a survival mechanism of the brain. It is more of an ability that keeps a child alive throughout continual and ongoing abuse in early childhood. Much like surviving a traumatic car accident, trauma to the head can result in the brain shutting down in order to cope with the enormity of the damage afflicted. The brain is protecting itself. With D.I.D this then results in shutting down of self also. Memory becomes separated and these separated memories may remain dormant until they are accessible again in later years when memory recall of the abuse events become active(flashbacks). The memories are also affected at the time by the child's perception of self and the world around them. Memories combined with self perception contribute toward the development of individual parts of self. These separations also called fracturing create new and separate sense of self resulting in separated parts of identity. The separated parts of self then become individual and can function separately from one another with individual characteristics and personalities. Not all separated parts have a personality they may only carry characteristic traits. The original term Multiple Personality was changed to Dissociative Identity because this is more than just personality changes. The new name now used, DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER, is because of the extreme level of dissociation needed to survive the abuse and the reason the separations are able to happen.” Mandy 2020

Lize Anxiety and worries
  • replies: 4

Hi all, I have been out for a long time from my profession and just recently decided to go back. I am having lots of anxiety and worries since I started my training. I saw how everyone is fast and able to do their task on time. I got so scared that I... View more

Hi all, I have been out for a long time from my profession and just recently decided to go back. I am having lots of anxiety and worries since I started my training. I saw how everyone is fast and able to do their task on time. I got so scared that I might not be able to cope with fast pace of the job. I am thinking that I won’t be able to catch up and learn how it works. I am worried that I will make a huge mistake. Next week they will give me task that is making me more anxious. Thinking that I should give up this profession.

Guest_27318487 Bully and harassment
  • replies: 1

Hi I'm Alan wild I have recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder due to workplace bullying well not due to workplace bullying but from the anxiety medication formed into bipolar, I am an apprentice and I have been left unsupported I had no witne... View more

Hi I'm Alan wild I have recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder due to workplace bullying well not due to workplace bullying but from the anxiety medication formed into bipolar, I am an apprentice and I have been left unsupported I had no witnesses people witnessed it but wouldn't speak out because they thought it would happen to them I was left I was left unsupported the company made excuses for him called reasonable management action there is no actual support for people that are being bullied at work you have to have people to help you and people don't help you

Bookgirl Eco anxiety in Perth
  • replies: 101

Hi, we are in the middle of a horrible heatwave here and its causing me a lot of anxiety thinking about the future and generally just stressing out about it all. Just seems so insurmountable and i feel overwhelmed. My 15 year old son gets angry at me... View more

Hi, we are in the middle of a horrible heatwave here and its causing me a lot of anxiety thinking about the future and generally just stressing out about it all. Just seems so insurmountable and i feel overwhelmed. My 15 year old son gets angry at me for being pessimistic but its hard to be optimistic when its over 40 degrees for a long time. I just feel like i am sinking right now.

KFPDW Am I weak because I can't think of any comebacks?
  • replies: 1

Hey, so I have been bullied in the past when I was in highschool, at work and even at home by my younger sister, who is four years younger than me. I get stuck in a position where it feels like I can't think of any comebacks. It's like I freeze on th... View more

Hey, so I have been bullied in the past when I was in highschool, at work and even at home by my younger sister, who is four years younger than me. I get stuck in a position where it feels like I can't think of any comebacks. It's like I freeze on the spot and anything I do try to say gets dismissed or they have the upper hand. They have the satisfaction of winning the argument and get away with their negative actions. And I feel like such a a loser. It feels like no matter what I say to anyone, I would just get ignored or overlooked. Because what I have to say doesn't matter. Am I weak for never thinking of a comeback or something that would stop bullies in their tracks? And it feels like my Mum sides with my sister because I'm older and I'm usually the mature and reasonable one in the family. I always try to be kind to others so does that make me a easy target. A punching bag people can throttle so they can feel good about themselves. I know most people are going through a hard time like my sister but I don't think it's fair to take it out on me. But if I try to fight back, it suddenly feels like I am the one in the wrong because I'm told I need to be more considerate of those struggle even though they're taking it out on me. It's not fair. It's like I am in a catch 22. No matter what I do, it feels like things will always be unfair. Am I weak for not even thinking of a solid comeback?

BeBrave Assignment Anxiety
  • replies: 4

Hi, I'm new here but I'm not new to anxiety. When I was in high school I developed this fear of assignments and public speaking, at one point I went to the doctors and he diagnosed me with social anxiety, he prescribed me medication but I refused to ... View more

Hi, I'm new here but I'm not new to anxiety. When I was in high school I developed this fear of assignments and public speaking, at one point I went to the doctors and he diagnosed me with social anxiety, he prescribed me medication but I refused to take it. I didn't want to fight this with drugs, I just wanted to be able to over come it. Myself. And I did, well the public speaking part. One day in high school I had to do a long speech and ever since then I slowly got over my fear of speaking in public. (Sounds simple, but it wasn't!) Don't get me wrong I still get nervous but I've learnt to push my self into situations where I have to do presentations and speak in class discussions. But the anxiety when doing assignments has never really gone away. I procrastinate to the point where I either rush the assignment or I leave it completely for the next day (past the due date). I am in my final year at university and I am still absolutely terrified of doing my assignments, and I think its gotten worse because I have gotten more busy, with uni, on top of work, family stuff and searching for a job. Is this what I am going to be like when I start a job and have to complete tasks on a deadline? I don't understand this irrational fear and it frustrates me because I KNOW I can do it, its not like I don't have good grades. I think its the fact that I'm being judged that ultimately scares me. That people will be looking at my work and being like thats just not good enough or you haven't done it right. I think thats why I procrastinate, because If I leave it to the last minute then I don't have that time to sit and worry about it and all I care about is getting it done and submitting it. But I do care, I care about what marks I get and I end up hating myself for not being able to start it earlier or finishing it on time and thinking I could have done better if I started earlier. In the end I'm writing this because I need advice, how do I finally get over it? I have literally started smiling in the mirror every time I need to start/ continue an assignment because apparently you can trick yourself into thinking your not scared. Is it working? not yet. But hopefully soon. Otherwise if anyone has any suggestions on how I can overcome this anxiety that would be great, because I am sick and tired of repeating this cycle. I just don't want to feel this way anymore. Thanks in advance to anyone who replies to this - BeBrave

Von is lost Burnout
  • replies: 1

I’ve called in sick to work the last two days. I’ve had a sore throat but also just so tired and burnt out. I’ve realised I’ve taken one sick day per month since I started the job, is this bad? But if I’m burnt out there’s obviously a pattern here me... View more

I’ve called in sick to work the last two days. I’ve had a sore throat but also just so tired and burnt out. I’ve realised I’ve taken one sick day per month since I started the job, is this bad? But if I’m burnt out there’s obviously a pattern here meaning I’m not coping. Everyone at work has been fine with me not coming in but my mum has made me feel guilty. She has subtly suggested that maybe I’m not that sick/being lazy. She doesn’t understand that I’m so tired just from going to work. I’m on the hunt for a new job that will be better conditions and less stressful hopefully, but in the meantime I’m dealing with a job where I have to at least stay back an hour everyday to get everything done. On top of everything, I feel like I have ADHD and am keen to investigate this and whether this is contributing to my struggles at work.

Guest_77905965 Anxiety
  • replies: 2

Hi, right now I’m living in Australia. But back in home I’m from India I had an incident back in my country i had carbon monoxide poisoning which lead me all down. this is around in year 2021 january when I open my eyes in hospital I realise that Why... View more

Hi, right now I’m living in Australia. But back in home I’m from India I had an incident back in my country i had carbon monoxide poisoning which lead me all down. this is around in year 2021 january when I open my eyes in hospital I realise that Why I’m in hospital all my family members are around and crying and saying are you Ok. after that I start realising that I had memory issue I started forgetting things even dates, days and minute before things. I had my medicine from that after this in 2023 I came in Australia and here You know so much of struggle stress It makes my life worse . I cry, forget things and some time make mistakes in my work place I even forget the things so I started writing on my calendar That this day I had my this work and that work. please let me know the solution. thank you