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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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gnull is it possible to have romance when suffering social phobias?
  • replies: 7

Hello I'm 28 now and spent most of my teenage years inside the house too anxious to go outside. I've never had a girlfriend or even been on a date if i bring it up with a psychologist they simply say don't worry about it for now. If not now then when... View more

Hello I'm 28 now and spent most of my teenage years inside the house too anxious to go outside. I've never had a girlfriend or even been on a date if i bring it up with a psychologist they simply say don't worry about it for now. If not now then when? My friends tell me love isn't everything but i don't see any of them spending decades alone. I only recently made friends I have one close friend I talk to everyday and 2 other friends I talk to occasionally. It just feels like i'll be lonely forever.

poppy29 Do you ever feel like a failure?
  • replies: 2

I was always told by my parents to try my best and that is all one can ask for. Lately i have been feeling in relation to work, that my best just isn't good enough, and I'm failing. I know in a logical sense that I'm not a failure, and for all tense ... View more

I was always told by my parents to try my best and that is all one can ask for. Lately i have been feeling in relation to work, that my best just isn't good enough, and I'm failing. I know in a logical sense that I'm not a failure, and for all tense and purposes from the outisde it looks like im a sucess but it doesn't stop the feelings of unworthiness. I worry so much sometimes, that it feels like im in a tailspin and cant stop. I start to think all kinds of fanciful things such as all these different worries, and all these people ive effected. I just go on a tangent. I find it so hard to shake these feelings. I just feel so anxious sometimes in relation to work and i feel panicked. Sometimes i can deal with it, and sometimes i cant. I just wondered if others feel the same? RELATED THREADS I hate my life and I have failed at everything Feel like a failure at everything I feel like a failure at life, love and work I am a failure Procrastination, constant anxiety, worried about failing university

flower_girl1 Mental health plan
  • replies: 2

Hi All So I am at a cross roads right now. I have been ADs for a few weeks and I have to go back to the doc soon. I a, having a never ending debate in my head about booking a double session with the GP to get a mental health plan. I am. Wry anxious a... View more

Hi All So I am at a cross roads right now. I have been ADs for a few weeks and I have to go back to the doc soon. I a, having a never ending debate in my head about booking a double session with the GP to get a mental health plan. I am. Wry anxious about this choice for a lot reasons and I just can't make up my mind what to do. I can definitely feel the effect the ADs have on me and I still don't feel quite normal but I am not sure i can accept the idea that there is something really wrong with me. I am certain what I have been experiencing for the last few months has been anxiety and perhaps a little depression as a result but still I can't comprehend the idea of saying of asking for any kind of mental health expertise. The meds were hard enough. There's just a lot of things that run through my head that I don't think I can really voice to any one! What if I go to a doctor and they say that I am fine or its something like "you just need to get out more"? What if I am just being a hypochondriac? Can any one tell me what the mental health plan actually involves? Are there questions? Just how personal do they get? How do you know if you need one or if meds will eventually be all you need. I am just feelings very lost and scared about this choice. A very big part of never wants to sit and talk about how I really feel, aanother part is desperate to. flower_girl

Danni1301 Anxiety is starting to consume me
  • replies: 2

I am 24, I am sad more than I am happy, I worry about things constantly that are out of my control and I can't let go of things people have said to me. I constantly jump to the worst conclusion, I assume that when things happen it's because of me, I ... View more

I am 24, I am sad more than I am happy, I worry about things constantly that are out of my control and I can't let go of things people have said to me. I constantly jump to the worst conclusion, I assume that when things happen it's because of me, I have severe nightmares and I never feel good enough. I haven't eaten a real meal since Monday, constantly stressing over my new job and my relationship. My new relationship is perfect in every way except my anxiety and insecurities. I am with someone who treats me in a way that I have dreamed of since I can remember. He makes me feel beautiful, he says nice things about me and I can tell he means them, he is doing everything right. But understandably, given how much he does for me, when my insecurities or anxiety get the better of me, it frustrates him. I try to talk about what I am feeling and the thoughts that go through my head when I feel low, but sometimes, understandably, he takes it personally like I am unhappy with what he is doing. And when he gets upset or frustrated with me for having certain feelings, it brings me down so much because I don't want those thoughts plaguing my mind or our relationship anymore than anyone else does. For the first time ever, I am in a relationship that I see being a completely long-term, real deal, forever thing but I am so scared I am going to ruin it by not being able to control these thoughts that completely consume me at times. It takes over my whole life. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't read or work or watch TV and it is exhausting. Today is the lowest I have ever felt, and it prompted me to book in my first counseling session which really scares me. I feel like I am crazy, when I know I am being irrational but I can't stop it in its tracks. Then I look back with so much guilt and embarrassment for how I have acted and it ruins me. What can I do to help myself and boyfriend through this? Because he is constantly trying to help me, but he needs my support too. And sometimes I find it so hard to put my feelings aside to meet HIS needs because I am so consumed by these thoughts. Today I thought the answer was to end the relationship, regardless of how much heartbreak it was going to cause me, to save him from having to deal with me, which really hurt him. So now I feel guilty about that too. I just don't want to be the cause of someones stress or unhappiness, and I have no idea where to go from here.

Backpacker1991xo Need some advise? Will I be like this forever?
  • replies: 4

Hi All, I'm new to this forum, and looking for some advise as I'm a backpacker who's a million miles away from my friends and family and really struggling to deal with what I believe to be my first experience of anxiety? Unfortunately whilst out with... View more

Hi All, I'm new to this forum, and looking for some advise as I'm a backpacker who's a million miles away from my friends and family and really struggling to deal with what I believe to be my first experience of anxiety? Unfortunately whilst out with my boyfriend some weeks ago, I was spiked with something that I originally thought had stayed in my system for a full week, however after various visits to the hospital they couldn't find anything wrong with me so I did some research and it seems the ordeal I went through has triggered anxiety? The first week I felt completely disconnected, the only way I can describe it is that I felt like I was stuck in some sort of trip you would get on a drug? Everything looked right to me, but didn't feel right? It's so hard to explain? I also had no appetite the first week, and whatever I did eat I through back up. I could however stomach fluids and drank lots of water. I had tingles in my head and hands? I also experienced sleep paralysis for the first time. Week two things started to look up and I started to feel a bit more normal after I had done some research and found that a lot of my symptoms related to Anxiety however things seem to be going in a downwards spiral again? I'm starting to feel disconnected again, my eyesight seems strange, blury and flashy? I can't sleep and when I do fall to sleep I have horrendous dreams and struggle to stay asleep? Does anyone have similar symptoms? Any advise would be so appretiated! Thanks x

Danni1301 Time to make the step
  • replies: 3

Hi Everyone, I think anxiety is something I have struggled with for years but just didn't really realise until lately it has started to consume my life. I am 24, I don't really have too many things to worry about in my life, yet everything seems like... View more

Hi Everyone, I think anxiety is something I have struggled with for years but just didn't really realise until lately it has started to consume my life. I am 24, I don't really have too many things to worry about in my life, yet everything seems like such a big deal. My ex made me believe he was the one for me, then went on to cheat, lie and leave me while I was on a studying trip in America. Now having entered into a new relationship, im finding all these insecurities and worries creeping in, making it very hard to love fully. And as most people know, sometimes I don't even know what's wrong, so it's very hard to explain to my boyfriend what is going through my head, and when I do try to explain, the situation frustrates him. People who do not suffer from anxiety, don't understand, and that in itself is driving me crazy because we are the absolute perfect couple until I start to feel uneasy and he can't give me that reassurance that everything is going to be ok that I need. And it's so unfair on him for me to expect that from him, to be left cleaning up the mess left by my ex. I lost my hair from stress, and now I have alopecia. Everytime I feel slightly stressed out, i lose a new patch of hair. I lost about 30kg, initially the healthy way, but then went on to lose more than I should have, usually by almost starving myself. The guilt of eating bad food was debilitating. And while now I have put on 5kg since then, I am starting to feel those thoughts creep back in. I don't know what advice to give my boyfriend in helping me get through this. He wants me to talk to him, but when I do i feel like he gets frustrated or doesn't understand. And I don't know what to do to get this terrible feeling out of my gut so I can focus on my new job and just be able to focus on anything except that overwhelming fear that something is going to happen.

lightofday Hi all
  • replies: 2

Hi guys and girls..... well it's been an interesting time for me of late. I just wanted to come and say thanks to you all for being there to listen and offer advice. You're all so very giving of your time and empathy, and such good people.I finally p... View more

Hi guys and girls..... well it's been an interesting time for me of late. I just wanted to come and say thanks to you all for being there to listen and offer advice. You're all so very giving of your time and empathy, and such good people.I finally plucked up the courage to meet with another counsellor... and it was a very good first meeting. I'm very hopeful I will be able to make good progress with this person, and I feel so relieved that I found them. It nearly killed me going, I was in such a state when I arrived, but it was all so very worth it.Things look very promising - I'm still a bit cautious, but feeling very positive about what we can achieve. To the person who offered the tip of printing out what you write on here if you have trouble when feeling under pressure trying to articulate it (might have been AGrace?) - thank you!! It was so beneficial, helped them understand it all straight away, and saved me a lot of grief trying to spit it all out. Best tip ever and I'd now also recommend it to anybody in the same situation and headspace. I also stumbled across an exceptional resource by chance one day (and thank god I did). It's a website which is a massive database of all different types of therapists, with a very comprehensive profile on each of them. It's almost like a resume for each - past work history, life history, philosophies, treatment styles used, cost, transport to location, hours, etc etc. You can make a shortlist of all of the therapists you are considering dealing with, save it, and start from there. It was so unbelievably helpful to me and I cannot believe it's not more widely known, recommended or publicised. Again, thank you all so much.

gnull so I'm hosting a grt together for the first time on my own
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone I've been suffering with anxiety and depression for most of my life and for some reason I got it into my head to have a smash bros party in just over a week (smash bros is a video game, for the uninitiated) I'm told I need to socialize mo... View more

Hi everyone I've been suffering with anxiety and depression for most of my life and for some reason I got it into my head to have a smash bros party in just over a week (smash bros is a video game, for the uninitiated) I'm told I need to socialize more, but whenever I do I just feel more isolated. It's like I feel more alone the more people are around me. I hope it goes well at anyway. I've also arranged a dnd day for wed (think complicated board game) but I'm worried I won't be able to explain the rules well enough to the new players.

Phebs Anxiety controls my life
  • replies: 1

I feel like my anxiety gets in the way of my everyday life. Like I still go to school and just getting off the bus sends me into a panic attack. I feel like none of my friends understand and push me to do things so that it helps me get over this anxi... View more

I feel like my anxiety gets in the way of my everyday life. Like I still go to school and just getting off the bus sends me into a panic attack. I feel like none of my friends understand and push me to do things so that it helps me get over this anxiety but to be honest it just makes it worse. Things such as talking in a group of people, just walking around near people and simply just sitting in class makes me so nevous and afraid. My family doesnt understand and just tells me to basically get over it. I would love to get over it but I feel like this is going to stick with me forever. Im even to afraid to go and see someone about it to get help. I really dont know what to do.

dougall what am I doing
  • replies: 77

I do not know how to use this site and was looking for someone just to chat with. I suffer from anxiety and have been suicidal quite a few times over the past 2years. I have a husband who left because he did not want to know and kept saying get over ... View more

I do not know how to use this site and was looking for someone just to chat with. I suffer from anxiety and have been suicidal quite a few times over the past 2years. I have a husband who left because he did not want to know and kept saying get over it already. Have a son who copes by hiding in his room playing games. Have no family all abroad. Find myself trying to push myself out of the quick sand and occasionally slipping under. Made a promise to son so have not gone as far as I have wanted to. Had counseling for 12 months. just don't know where or what to do as anxiety stops me from talking to total strangers. Very lonely and confused as to what is expected of me.