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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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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

StephJade first timer- any helpful suggestions or encouragement?
  • replies: 8

hey guys, I'm a little nervous writing on here because I don't usually get involved with things like this but reading the stories and responses from people I feel like it is a safe place. It really does touch me and brought a tear to my eye how peopl... View more

hey guys, I'm a little nervous writing on here because I don't usually get involved with things like this but reading the stories and responses from people I feel like it is a safe place. It really does touch me and brought a tear to my eye how people are so willing to help one another with their common struggles. I have always had an anxious personality but was officially diagnosed during my hsc. Nobody that I'm close with understands what its live with anxiety. The constant worrying, the shame that you feel like you can't do what other people can, the poor self esteem and all of the rest of it. My worst coping mechanism is vomiting, I don't know why it started or why I do it but I will go and eat a whole lot of food when i's really nervous and anxious and go and vomit it up. My psychologist why I just started to see said that its a form of self harm and that im punishing myself. Please help me, I so much want to use my anxious personality in a positive way so it keeps me on top of everything and organized not take my livelihood away from me. how do you guys improve your confidence and overcome your personal struggles?! thankyou for your help, StephJade

Fenerbahce Can someone challenge me?
  • replies: 7

Hi all. im new to this forum. i think I'm going through some sort of anxiety. ive had a very rough 7 years which involved getting married (very stressful), moving interstate, constant battles with families etc. I used to have chest pains etc which wo... View more

Hi all. im new to this forum. i think I'm going through some sort of anxiety. ive had a very rough 7 years which involved getting married (very stressful), moving interstate, constant battles with families etc. I used to have chest pains etc which would drive me anxious and send me straight to the hospital and of course they would ecg blood tests and tell me that I just have anxiety. Finally I sought some help from acupuncture and my phantom thoughts and symptoms disappeared for year. these 3 months have been very stressful to the extent that I developed pain in my upper abdomen for a total of 4-6 weeks that no one could diagnose until I demanded a CT scan, to which my symptoms were relating to appendicitis. Anyway, got that fixed and I was really good till one week later just as I was about to sleep I woke up to what felt like an electric shock with a burst of energy and tingling in my left arm, jaw, neck and chest. I automatically assumed I was having a heart attack and ended up in hospital, which resulted in ECG and blood tests to which it all came clear, what was funny was as soon as the doctor said my ecg was clear, my symptoms disappeared. I came home, however, my pains continued and I had self doubt. I also developed dizziness and my left eye kept twitching. A week later the same thing happened again and I freaked out again. i am now having moderate palpitations and my doctor assures me that nothing is wrong but I can help but wonder why and why it happened out of no where! my doctor has pescribed me valium to which I am taking only when necessary. Last night I fell asleep and an hour later I woke up feeling something terrible was bound to happen and I was sweating and my left arm was numb.. I couldn't go back to sleep until I took another valium. today all I can think about is last night.. And what scares me is the thought of going to bed. can someone tell me what's going on??? And how i can beat this? im in self doubt always saying there is something wrong with my heart, I'm 28 and a little overweight. Used to smoke but quit 2 years ago

Lehnah Freaking Out - Suggestions?
  • replies: 5

Hello folks. It's my first time posting here but I've been a lurker for some time. So, before I get into the actual reason for posting a little background info. I was diagnosed with depression about seven years ago. It's been hard, but I've managed t... View more

Hello folks. It's my first time posting here but I've been a lurker for some time. So, before I get into the actual reason for posting a little background info. I was diagnosed with depression about seven years ago. It's been hard, but I've managed to control it for the most part for the past five years with the help of medication. However, there have been instances ofself harm and very black moments where suicide has been strongly considered. However, for the last two years or so things have been good. Now, though, I'm finding myself falling back into the darker moments. The catalyst for this is that I recently found out that my licence is going to be revoked for three months. I was caught speeding while driving in an area I did not know while trying to keep up with the flow of surrounding traffic. I'm on my Ps so lost all 7 points. The silver lining here is that the months I'll be unable to drive is December through to March. I'm a casual school teacher, so those months are when I wouldn't be working anyway, with the exception of February, but as I'm casual that might be only the last two weeks or so of that month. However, with the HSC now done there is little to no work for casual teachers for the rest of 2014. I've tried to save as much as I can over the last year to have enough to get by over this period but due to one big even in my life I wasn't able to save as much as I would have liked. But now I look at my funds and while I thought I was doing a good job of saving I'm feeling that I should have done a better one. Basically, I' m scared I'm not going to have enough money to eat (but I can pay the rent). On top of this I've just started a new relationship and I' m scared that I'm going to scare this girl off because of my depression and anxiety (I don't think I have an anxiety "problem," but I'm experiencing it due to the reasons stated above). She's great, but it can be a hard thing to handle when your partner has depression. Also I've told my parents about losing my licence. Dad was fine and supportive but my mum seems angry. She can be quite judgmental and often makes me feel somewhat worthless, even if she doesn't intend to. All of these things have amounted into me only just keeping things together. The thoughts of "everyone would be better off without me" have started up again. I'm not wanting to leave the house. I feel ashamed and pathetic and like a criminal. 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.

Kelcrow Real or just the anxiety?
  • replies: 2

hi all, I am 23 and have been dealing with anxiety/depression since I was about 17. Sometimes I feel like I have it all under control, but recently I feel like I'm starting to relapse (not wanting to do social things, wanting to be in bed all the tim... View more

hi all, I am 23 and have been dealing with anxiety/depression since I was about 17. Sometimes I feel like I have it all under control, but recently I feel like I'm starting to relapse (not wanting to do social things, wanting to be in bed all the time...) this is due to some relationship stress at the moment. It always manifests itself into feeling nauseous and feeling like I'm getting sick. I get dizzy, and feel brain foggy. I wanted to know in general do you all sometimes feel like , what I'm feeling, is it real? Or just anxiety. I get worried that one day it may actually be something medically important and I will just flick it off as anxiety ...

Jen89 Trying to cope with DP/DR
  • replies: 2

Hello this is my first time on this forum and am hoping to find some guidance and advice from those who are suffering with DP/DR.. I have been suffering from this horrible disorder for the last 7 months and can honestly say on my 'bad days' I feel li... View more

Hello this is my first time on this forum and am hoping to find some guidance and advice from those who are suffering with DP/DR.. I have been suffering from this horrible disorder for the last 7 months and can honestly say on my 'bad days' I feel like I'm completely losing my mind. I'm struggling to cope with the simplest tasks which is making my day to day living a real struggle. I like to consider myself to be a glass is half full kind of person but this disorder has slowly drained me from all positivity. There are days where I feel so worthless I can't even look at myself in the mirror or begin to understand how anybody can love me. I am curious to know if anyone shares any of the symptoms I have: distorted vision, feeling detached from your body, social anxiety, paranoid when speaking, foggy memory, decreased concentration and numbness (no emotion) I am 25 years old and just wanting to live again, I want to appreciate every day rather than dread stepping foot outside my house. I use to love meeting new people, being social and have always been considered to have a big confident personality. If anyone has any advice on how to cope better with this disorder please feel free to share I would love to hear some positive stories and know that there is a way of beating this and getting my life back. Thank you for reading

Amali Tips to Overcome Social Anxiety
  • replies: 5

I am a terrible conversation starter, I get stressed in social situations. I currently have two offices in two separate towns, currently going through a bad break up and feel like I don't belong anywhere. The office I have in my home town is full of ... View more

I am a terrible conversation starter, I get stressed in social situations. I currently have two offices in two separate towns, currently going through a bad break up and feel like I don't belong anywhere. The office I have in my home town is full of friendly young people and while I have the urge to socialise with these people I get overwhelmed when they are in a room together and because they know each-other well I feel I am out of the loop and have nothing to offer to the group. I have had counselling but it didn't focus on my social anxiety as much as my stressful relationship. I know I need to meet people and socialising is good for dealing with a break up but as soon as I walk into a room full of people I quickly make a coffee and duck back to my office. I work independently, not as a team. So my only chance to socialise is on coffee breaks. I just can't break the cycle, I know I'm isolating myself and people have probably got used to me "running away" and probably think I'm not friendly. I'm just so lost at the moment, can't make any decisions and anxiety is crippling me. Amali