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
Categories
Start a discussion

Pinned discussions

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

Start a discussion

Meg82 Diploma is going to make my head explode!!!!
  • replies: 4

I have been through a long road with severe depression and anxiety and I am only just at a stage where my doctor feels I can do it without medication anymore which is like winning lotto for me I was just so proud and happy. In the midst of things tho... View more

I have been through a long road with severe depression and anxiety and I am only just at a stage where my doctor feels I can do it without medication anymore which is like winning lotto for me I was just so proud and happy. In the midst of things though I am doing a diploma in counselling as I felt having gone through what I have that I have a lot to share in building strength and coping mechanisms for depression and anxiety. I would really like to get the word out there about using art therapies to help divert some of the negative feelings to something creative as it helped me very much. Anyway that's all well and good but I have three children and getting each module in is hard enough but for every module the markers love to just pick pick pick at the little things and have me resubmit for the tiniest reasons and its driving me NUTS! I swear it could end me back on medication the way they are and no one really understands why i get SO ANGRY. School has always been a struggle for me and this will be the first thing I have seen through as now I am 30 I can cope better with school and my mental illness than when I was a teenager so this is huge for me to start with but each module I get done I get done while having kids whinging and changing dirty nappies/potty training. Trying to break up fights and woe betide if dinner isn't on the table on time then I have these pain in the ass markers who I know for a fact are 10 years younger than me and some have probably never been through some of the things I have telling me how best it should be dealt with! OMG! Then telling me to resubmit tasks from the module when the next module I have to do I am running behind time on thanks to the million other things I have to deal with. Some of it is rediculous! I have to admit I am probably a very solutions focused person and that's not going to suit everyone. I see a problem and I start to search for the best road to solve it bang its done lets move forward. I live my whole life like that and I think it might have to do with my anxiety I would worry if I didn't have things that way but its very difficult for me to even get this stuff done the first time and they want things redone. I feel stressed out and I just wish I could scream right now because it really messes with that nasty little depression bit of my brain that says "give up your not going to get it done, its too hard". It makes me angry with the markers and just feel like its not worth it. Even though it is because I know it would be a huge achievement for me to finish this course as it will be the first one I finish since I even started high school and I really want to prove to myself I can do it and I know I am smart at it because other people say I am but I just hate that all these resubmissions are making it hard for me to fight that little demon I have and get through. God I wish the markers would cut me some slack lately I am feeling burnt out.

cjs96 Am I just shy?
  • replies: 4

Hi, so I've recently just moved schools in the last year and I've really found it quite struggling. I've been known to always be shy but I didn't think it was anything more. I became so afraid of not fitting in that I wasn't able to string a sentence... View more

Hi, so I've recently just moved schools in the last year and I've really found it quite struggling. I've been known to always be shy but I didn't think it was anything more. I became so afraid of not fitting in that I wasn't able to string a sentence together to talk to people. I'd just smile and sit there quietly unless someone spoke to me first. I then cut myself off making it harder to fit in and for people to like me. It was then after when I made friends that they suggested it wasnt just shyness.. They've started teasing me about the possible chance that I have social anxiety and they continuously say I have no social skills and I am awkward to be around. Its probably not teasing because it is the truth. It was then I started weighing out the possibilities. I don't go to parties because I dislike meeting and interacting with people I don't know, if I drink its usually so I feel more confident with myself, I am much more talkative when I drink, I hate walking into class rooms with everyone seated because I know I'm being judged, I hate going to school because I fear that the teacher will pick me to answer a question and I won't know it, I usually blush when people that I am unfamiliar with talk to me,I can't maintain eye contact, my voice is usually weak when people ask my questions so im having to repeat myself, (this brings more attetion to myself) I sweat excessively, and as of recently I stutter when I'm talking to someone who intimidates me which is mostly everyone. The stress and the worrying from what other people think of me is really holding me back from day to day things, particularly from playing sport because i'd have to meet new people. Lately I wonder if it would be better if I didn't exist because I feel like a freak. I don't even know if there is anything wrong with me and perhaps I'm just attention seeking or I'm over thinking things but I do know I don't like to feel this way and I've been spending a lot of nights crying and losing sleep from thinking about all this. Is this normal?

Daisychain Anxiety & alcohol equals despair
  • replies: 4

Such a vicious cycle happening within me. I drink to alleviate my anxiety and then suffer the despair of my drinking. Three different medications later the depression is clearing but not the anxiety. I have confessed to my psychologist and husband ab... View more

Such a vicious cycle happening within me. I drink to alleviate my anxiety and then suffer the despair of my drinking. Three different medications later the depression is clearing but not the anxiety. I have confessed to my psychologist and husband about my struggles with alcohol. I am an intelligent person why can't I get this monkey off my back? I don't want to live this up and down life anymore but every time I seem to have things under some sort of control I self destruct again and go back to square one. Its like having an out of body experience as i watch myself head for that wine bottle. its the only thing that numbs the anxiety. Why? Help.

Tomella Breakdown at the supermarket
  • replies: 3

My local supermarket is getting a makeover and they have moved things around. I went in last week and was a bit freaked out by this. Luckily I had a list and managed to get out with everything I needed. Today was shopping day again, and I was prepare... View more

My local supermarket is getting a makeover and they have moved things around. I went in last week and was a bit freaked out by this. Luckily I had a list and managed to get out with everything I needed. Today was shopping day again, and I was prepared, but they had changed more things and I was completely thrown and had a meltdown. I feel completely crazy, as it is only the supermarket and I will get used to it, but I am not coping very well with the changes.

hurley Anxiety, Panic Attacks and new meds!!!
  • replies: 1

I'm a 45 year old female and ive just started back on medication for anxiety, I have been dealing with anxiety and panic attacks for years, I'm into my seventh day on meds and it feels like my anxiety is worse, I feel not to bad for parts of the day.... View more

I'm a 45 year old female and ive just started back on medication for anxiety, I have been dealing with anxiety and panic attacks for years, I'm into my seventh day on meds and it feels like my anxiety is worse, I feel not to bad for parts of the day. I am always thinking something is seriously wrong with me I just hate this feeling, would love to here from anyone who is going through the same thing. My doctor also says im perimenopause OMG!!!

kelly91 struggling to handle the 'Bad Days'
  • replies: 4

I have depression and anxiety caused by a lifetime of things always going wrong. As of late I have been really good! Ive started my new job (which I am loving) but today feels toxic, I went to the shopping centre and had a panic attack because of the... View more

I have depression and anxiety caused by a lifetime of things always going wrong. As of late I have been really good! Ive started my new job (which I am loving) but today feels toxic, I went to the shopping centre and had a panic attack because of the amount of people there, I then yelled at my little cousin because she kept trying to be close to me and all i wanted was space. Now im at home and i feel so alone. My bedside table is filled with different types of pain medication and there is a bottle of wine on the floor. I find its such a struggle on days like today to stay away from them all but everything is in eyesight. I wish i had friends that understood. no one seems to care.

TS 6am and still awake...
  • replies: 2

Hi, The sky is getting lighter outside and the birds are starting to chirp, but I haven't had a wink of sleep since trying to go to bed hours ago... my heart is racing and I've been on the verge of tears (if not bawling my eyes out) for the past 5 ho... View more

Hi, The sky is getting lighter outside and the birds are starting to chirp, but I haven't had a wink of sleep since trying to go to bed hours ago... my heart is racing and I've been on the verge of tears (if not bawling my eyes out) for the past 5 hours now. Things have been like this for almost 6 years. Not every night, not even most nights - but every now and then, it happens. Sometimes without warning, sometimes triggered by an upsetting event. And once it starts, the anxiety grows and snowballs and gets infinitely huge until all I want to do is leap out of my body, away from my racing heart and mind, to somewhere far away. I toss and turn and get more and more freaked out by everything until I have no choice but to get out of bed and away from the thoughts by parking myself in front of the TV to try to forget everything. And it's always, always on the back of my mind: will tonight be another one of *those* nights? I am a naturally anxious/high-achieving person. I've been through two incredibly stressful degrees (I'm almost 27) and now, because I have chosen not to pursue the path my education would indicate (another story), I am looking for a job - without much success. I feel so helpless when this "sleep anxiety" happens to me. I don't know what to do I don't know where to turn. My boyfriend is incredibly supportive and tries his best (he stayed up with me for 3 hours tonight but he couldn't keep his head up so I told him to go to bed) but it's not something I expect people to understand or know how to help. I've tried going to my GP and she referred me to a psychologist, who didn't help all that much. I'm at a loss for what to do. I know I should probably consider seeing another professional. I am just so exhausted. If it persists like this I'm afraid of what I might do. I know it's linked to feeling useless/unemployable/not having money or direction but this began well before all of this was even an issue. I just want to be normal - to fall into bed like a normal person, close my eyes, and fall asleep... Helpful related threads: Sleep

Anxious Can't sleep so anxious advice needed
  • replies: 2

Every night when it gets dark I start freaking out that I can hear noises around my house and that someone is going to try break into my house and if that happens I get so panicked that I I don't know how I would react or what I would do. I have my t... View more

Every night when it gets dark I start freaking out that I can hear noises around my house and that someone is going to try break into my house and if that happens I get so panicked that I I don't know how I would react or what I would do. I have my tv on the lowest volume setting and listen to all the noises, my heart races, I get really scared and I can't seem to shake it! i know it's just a fear and my sensible side tells me I'm being silly but I can't help it.. I'm so sick of this feeling of being afraid every night it's only stated to happen over the past few months, I really need some advice on what could help me! so if you have any tips or ever feel like this please share as I'd really appreciate some peace if mind..

Cindy89 Overwhelmed
  • replies: 3

I don't think im really depressed or have any particularly strong anxieties. I am just overwhelmed. Overwhelmed that I can't find a new job, that I have to commute for hours every day, that I don't know how to build a strong career or build a new car... View more

I don't think im really depressed or have any particularly strong anxieties. I am just overwhelmed. Overwhelmed that I can't find a new job, that I have to commute for hours every day, that I don't know how to build a strong career or build a new career. That I really don't have many positives at the moment. I really just want to have things to look forward to and I want to enjoy myself. It's making me really stressed and I feel like I am taking it out on others around me. I don't want to stress other people out, because everyone seems to have their own stresses. I am really not sure who to talk to or how to deal with things. I know I need to be proactive and make changes, but I guess thats easier said than done.

opy69 not sure if i can be fixed
  • replies: 1

i have suffered from anxiety since i was 17 and depression since i was 32 i am now 44. i never knew i had ether until 6 years ago i would just get a tingling feeling in my hands then extremely hot then loose my vision and pass out once every couple o... View more

i have suffered from anxiety since i was 17 and depression since i was 32 i am now 44. i never knew i had ether until 6 years ago i would just get a tingling feeling in my hands then extremely hot then loose my vision and pass out once every couple of years never gave it much thought. then 12 years ago my younger brother committed suicide and my attacks servilely increased until i had to see a doctor who gave me medication it did not help it did stop the attacks but did not stop the constant sensation that something was not right.so i sleeked a natural remedy with vitamins and minerals which has stopped the sensation but has not helped with my depression which i have suffered with since the lose of my brother nothing makes me happy i just pretend to be happy. i found a great job 8yrs ago were i made a lot of friends and 4yrs ago built a house with my wife and two teenage boys hoping it would give me happiness and self worth which it didnt it just increased the presser then 2yrs ago a larger company brought out the company i worked for and my friends started leaving then 2months ago i was let go. now i feel lost again im trying to find work but have had no luck like normal everything is going to shit i owe thousands on land and water rates im now behind in my house payments.im starting to lock my self away from the world again im lashing out at the people i love my wife is tired of it she has put up with so much.22yrs of dealing with me she deserves better im on new meds now which has helped with my anger but not with my confidence.i have always felt responsible for the lose of my brother that i didnt see it and didnt stop it.im scared i am going to loose everything i worked so hard for yet i dont seem to care enough to swallow my pride and ask for help or maybe i just dont want to admit that i have failed again i guess thats why im writing this i dont know who else to tell any advise would be greatly appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read this