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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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.

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Chloekat84 Anxiety returned after nearly a month of relief :(
  • replies: 2

Hello everyone. Ive written on these forums before. Ive been diagnosed with BPD and Dysthymia and recently went to an emergency refuge clinic while my parents looked after my daughter. I was doing so well while I was there for a week then when I came... View more

Hello everyone. Ive written on these forums before. Ive been diagnosed with BPD and Dysthymia and recently went to an emergency refuge clinic while my parents looked after my daughter. I was doing so well while I was there for a week then when I came out I felt fresh with a different outlook on life and also was looking forward to my grandma coming over to stay for 3 weeks with me. Shes from Darwin so means a lot that shes here. Anyways its getting near the end of her stay. She leaves in 2 days and I don't know if its subconscious but today I have had extremely bad anxiety and have felt neuseas and judt wana cry. It must be because I know im going to be completely on my own looking after my daughter. Shes not a hard child to look after but everything is hard when I feel like this. I haven't had to come on this forum for a while because ive been doing so well but now im scared im going to fall into a heap after she leaves. I just want to hide and cry :'(

madus What should I do now?
  • replies: 1

I didn't exactly know where to post this so I hope this is the right area. I had applied for DSP from centrelink and after waiting a few months I just found out it got rejected. I have no idea what to do now. I Suffer from extreme anxiety / depressio... View more

I didn't exactly know where to post this so I hope this is the right area. I had applied for DSP from centrelink and after waiting a few months I just found out it got rejected. I have no idea what to do now. I Suffer from extreme anxiety / depression from growing up in an abusive household. For the last 10 years I have been massively depressed and suicidal. I have trouble even leaving the house and my mother makes most of the calls / centrelink appointments because I will have panic attacks. I just want to know what I can do now with getting some income a week to help myself out a bit more. I am on high doses of antidepressants and have been slowly getting better over the last few months but after getting the letter about my DSP being rejected I have gone downhill again.

its-JD My Story so far...
  • replies: 1

Hi all. Over the last year or so I’ve been experiencing a whole range of weird sensations. Everything for dizzy spells, to feeling like i’m almost losing consciousness, to chest discomfort, weird pains in my gut - a pretty constant feeling of ‘unwell... View more

Hi all. Over the last year or so I’ve been experiencing a whole range of weird sensations. Everything for dizzy spells, to feeling like i’m almost losing consciousness, to chest discomfort, weird pains in my gut - a pretty constant feeling of ‘unwellness’ - that something isn’t right. I’ve been to the doctors, and been referred to a number of other health care professionals and specialists. Every test comes back negative. I’ve had my heart checked, I’ve had my head checked, loads of blood tests, monitors and the like, none show anything out of the normal. I’m not naturally one to stress over too much. But this health thing is beginning to cause me quite a lot of anxiety. I find myself becoming incredibly worried about it all, and have developed quite a fear of suddenly dying. I sometimes wake in the middle of the night, gripped by this sudden strong and intense terror, that i’m about to go - that my heart is about to stop beating and that will be that. Or at other times, perhaps sitting at work, suddenly I’ll feel a little dizzy, get incredibly nervous and feel that ol’ familiar fear grip me. That this is it. I’m a goner… and I won’t get to live out all the dreams I have - all the things that I want to do with my life. Other times I’m scared that there is just something the doctors have missed, some undiagnosed disease slowly eating away at me. It all feels a bit much sometimes. Generally I can function fine, and don’t let people know about the anxiety that is boiling away just under the surface. I mean what am I meant to do? Turn to my friend and say, “I think I might be about to die” - Even that sounds crazy to me! So far I have refused to let it stop me from doing anything that I would normally do, but that in itself can make some really enjoyable things in my life so stressful! Playing sport afraid that you might be about to collapse on the field is awful. I’m just not entirely sure what to do… or who I should talk to, or what I should even say - but I would love to be free of this constant worry, to be given a clean bill of health and just know that I’m fine - that I can go live my life without this nagging fear that calamity is waiting just around the corner. I’m having moments where I just feel exhausted by it all, and I don’t want it to begin to impact relationships in my life. Has anyone else felt like this? Experienced something similar? Beaten something like this?

pdent relief
  • replies: 4

Hi all Another Friday ...a day I looked forward to in the past but this anxiety that has arrived 10 weeks ago has made minutes seem like years and I wondering if it will ever end..I selfishly think of my own worries 24/7 ..how people go on like this ... View more

Hi all Another Friday ...a day I looked forward to in the past but this anxiety that has arrived 10 weeks ago has made minutes seem like years and I wondering if it will ever end..I selfishly think of my own worries 24/7 ..how people go on like this for years I find amazing ..every wrong decision goes through my mind all night I am worried about wrecking my beautiful partners life with all this I hope all this ends soon for all of us that are troubled

Pinkypopz Feeling sick with guilt over something disgusting but I'm 99.9% sure i didnt do it
  • replies: 5

Hi all, I'm desperately looking for advice as I am going crazy. I am absolutely consumed with guilt, panic, anxiety, it's making me feel totally sick and I'm worried out of my brain. I'm scared to write things on the internet through fear of someone ... View more

Hi all, I'm desperately looking for advice as I am going crazy. I am absolutely consumed with guilt, panic, anxiety, it's making me feel totally sick and I'm worried out of my brain. I'm scared to write things on the internet through fear of someone seeing it and thinking i'm crazy/sick/disgusting etc. I just don't know what to do

mjncoursecar Anxiety disorder and panic attacks
  • replies: 5

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forums, so here is my story. Any advice would be appreciated, or just to discuss with other people who have been through a similar experience: A couple of years ago, I started to suffer from anxiety and depression, and for... View more

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forums, so here is my story. Any advice would be appreciated, or just to discuss with other people who have been through a similar experience: A couple of years ago, I started to suffer from anxiety and depression, and for a few months, had no idea what to do. After a while, I decided to seek help from a psychologist, from which I improved to a point in which I no longer thought I needed to see the psychologist. For about 12 months, I did have a few bad days, but nothing which concerned me. Earlier this year, the anxiety came back worse than before, which was later found to be caused by extreme stress. I also started to develop panic attacks, and at my worst, would be having one every day or two. I found this quite debilitating. Once again, I started seeing a psychologist until recently. I still have tough days (sometimes even weeks). I get really tired by the early afternoon, which has been due to the constant anxiety. I have also developed tremors in my hands, which on a good day, are very minor. On a bad day, they stop me from doing anything (writing, holding something, etc.). Also, being on edge all the time is exhausting, and I do feel very frustrated with it sometimes. I still get through every day, and have been developing my support network as I open up to more of my friends, which has been helping a lot.

SunnyMe New here and would like to talk
  • replies: 6

Hi, I'm new to the site, I'll try to keep this short. I am 26, married and have 3 kids aged 5, 4 and 2. They are the light of my life but lately I feel as though they are sucking the life out of me. I have been diagnosed with moderate to severe anxie... View more

Hi, I'm new to the site, I'll try to keep this short. I am 26, married and have 3 kids aged 5, 4 and 2. They are the light of my life but lately I feel as though they are sucking the life out of me. I have been diagnosed with moderate to severe anxiety and mild to moderate depression in the past but don't really identify with being 'depressed' apart from when my circumstances have been particularly bad. At the moment I feel as though my anxiety is getting worse and worse. I have obsessive thoughts about things that make me deeply uncomfortable. For example, I don't like my finger nails to touch anything glossy, or metal (always been uncomfortable for me but getting worse). More recently I don't like anything dry or with friction touching the inside of my mouth, wooden cutlery, paper straws, even my own fingers. When I say it makes me uncomfortable, I mean I involuntarily will flick my fingers, grit my teeth, panic rises inside and I have to fight the urge to tear at my hair/eyes to distract myself from the discomfort I'm feeling. More and more things seem to trigger me lately and I'm struggling to contain my feelings. I have times of anxiety where I feel I have a problem that I must solve right now but I can't figure out what it is. I then panic because i can't solve it. I don't tell my husband any of this because he gets so worried and helpless because he can't fix it. He just tells me to talk to someone. I do much better with writing things out though so I'm doing this in the hope that it will help me feel better. Thank you for taking the time to read

Possum_Girl Irrational fear
  • replies: 8

Hi, new here. Wanting to know how to overcome irrational fear. I suffer from depression and am on an antidepressant. I lost my first husband in a tragic accident 20 years ago. I have remarried and have children. Whenever my husband/children are not w... View more

Hi, new here. Wanting to know how to overcome irrational fear. I suffer from depression and am on an antidepressant. I lost my first husband in a tragic accident 20 years ago. I have remarried and have children. Whenever my husband/children are not with me ie driving somewhere a long way away I cannot stop thinking that something bad is going to happen, like a car accident and they are going to die. I am so afraid and I don't know how to stop thinking like this. It is stupid I know but I can't control it. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Brooklyn01 Fear of death
  • replies: 6

hello,About 5 months ago I had a panic attack at work and ended up in emergency,nothing was physically wrong with me but the shock of not realizing what had happened to me scared me so bad that I couldn't leave the house for 2 weeks. I wasn't told I ... View more

hello,About 5 months ago I had a panic attack at work and ended up in emergency,nothing was physically wrong with me but the shock of not realizing what had happened to me scared me so bad that I couldn't leave the house for 2 weeks. I wasn't told I had anxiety so I was thinking the worst. I started self diagnosing and realized I suffer from anxiety send started meditation. After meditating everyday for weeks I could leave the house again but the thought of working and feeling like im going to feel faint freaked me out. My gp prescribed me some medication, the thought of knowing I have medication in my bag has kept my mind at ease, I've only had to use them several times.I have good days I have bad days. I have just started to see a phsycologist recently so hopefully that will help me more.I think a lot about the day I die. I'm petrified! ever since having a panic attack Im scared of dying. the thought of death is enough to give me a anxiety attack and very depressed. I was usually a very happy person but now I worry my anxiety has given me depression. To make matters worse I'm at a point now we're I' m even scared of taking medication incase I die. Highly unlikely but still plays on my mind. what a mess!!!!!I wish I was my carefree self again. eI

Tom89m Purely obsessive ocd
  • replies: 8

Hey guys I'm new here and would really appreciate some input from people with ocd mainly obsessional ocd. Basically I smoked some cannabis 8 weeks ago and had a really bad reaction to it and since then iv had a lot of ocd symptoms I got thoughts of h... View more

Hey guys I'm new here and would really appreciate some input from people with ocd mainly obsessional ocd. Basically I smoked some cannabis 8 weeks ago and had a really bad reaction to it and since then iv had a lot of ocd symptoms I got thoughts of harming people which at first scared the crap out off but since googling that anxiety can cause it I'm more ok with it what really sent me over the edge was reading up that I could have ocd and it's literally all I think about every waking second that this could ruin my life I'm a med student and prone to worry I'm abit of a hypochondriac but I just envision this taking my life from me that il send up depressed loose my girlfriend and have no job it's really gotten me down. Anyway my reason for posting is because I suffer from health anxiety pretty bad and after visitng the psychiatrist today she's convinced thats what I have. I'd really appreciate some insight into just what pure o is like I'm just trying to figure if this is all just in my head I hear that pure o ocd is hard to diagnose and im worried she could be missing it