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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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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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MDee Health Anxiety
  • replies: 4

Hi all. Been struggling with health anxiety for over a year now. Everything was heart related and was obsessed with “ is it a heart attack “ then it got out of hand when I went into my 1st AFIB episode, followed by 2nd and 3rd, done all the tests and... View more

Hi all. Been struggling with health anxiety for over a year now. Everything was heart related and was obsessed with “ is it a heart attack “ then it got out of hand when I went into my 1st AFIB episode, followed by 2nd and 3rd, done all the tests and the heart checks out without any issues. 3 months later, this headache struck for about 2 weeks and I was petrified of going to GP, I feared the worst. Headache went away and my gut went into this mode where I couldn’t stomach anything and the “Globus “ appeared and the whole thing hung around for about 2 months off and on. I ended up getting Endoscopy done and they found nothing. Headaches, dizziness, nausea feeling of complete disaster about to happen still appears every so often. Meds made things worst if anything , I have learned to breathe and remind my self of the good times and the feeling is temporary. Stay strong

NoFoulPlay Anxiety since teen years
  • replies: 3

Not sure how it started, I'm now into my 50s, not sleeping well, mostly 2 hours straight then wakes up and can't sleep anymore. It has something to do with my life, being a divorce dad, my pressures at work and how I feel like an impostor in my chose... View more

Not sure how it started, I'm now into my 50s, not sleeping well, mostly 2 hours straight then wakes up and can't sleep anymore. It has something to do with my life, being a divorce dad, my pressures at work and how I feel like an impostor in my chosen career. I haven't slept for 2 days now, not taking any drugs. But tonight I'm having some alcohol just to keep me relax and sleep for maybe a few hours. I look like a zombie from not sleeping, but I still do my job the best I could, to pay the bills.

clintoff How does letter writing and listing the positives and negatives help someone with anxiety?
  • replies: 4

Hi, It was suggested to me to write a letter and a list of the positives and the negatives to my ex who suffers from anxiety and broke the relationship off because of it. Just wondering how doing this will help her to get back on her feet please?

Hi, It was suggested to me to write a letter and a list of the positives and the negatives to my ex who suffers from anxiety and broke the relationship off because of it. Just wondering how doing this will help her to get back on her feet please?

KFPDW Feeling blue
  • replies: 1

@~ So what's been happening is this:I tried to set up a new year's get-together with my friends but gradually, all the people I tried to invite had to drop out because they had stuff on with their families or their partners. And I feel like I'm a lit... View more

@~ So what's been happening is this:I tried to set up a new year's get-together with my friends but gradually, all the people I tried to invite had to drop out because they had stuff on with their families or their partners. And I feel like I'm a little bit out of the mix. I try hard to make connections with people and form friendships and I try hard on my end. It's hard when it feels when all my efforts turn up short. And I was hoping to help my mum out with Christmas but I got stuck doing the lawns even though I had already done them last week. I was hoping to help out more with the festive preparation. So I feel a bit out of sorts.

gn92 New workplace and anxiety.
  • replies: 7

I don't really know where to start with this. I've been having a lot of issues with anxiety, stress and depression in the past few months. A few weeks ago I made an appointment with a GP to get a mental health plan and I have my first appointment wit... View more

I don't really know where to start with this. I've been having a lot of issues with anxiety, stress and depression in the past few months. A few weeks ago I made an appointment with a GP to get a mental health plan and I have my first appointment with a psychologist tomorrow afternoon. I suppose my issue is mainly with my workplace. I currently work in a law firm as an administration assistant after working in various retail positions for 10 years. This was a traineeship-based role that I started back in June. The first few months were very rough training-wise (I was trained by other assistants in selected areas of work - however, because everyone does particular tasks a little differently, it was hard to fully grasp what I was being taught straight away). I did bring up my concerns with my supervisor, however was pretty much met with "we're a busy workplace, people are taking their time out of their workday to help you, we're doing what we can". So those first few months were quite hard but I did push through and started to become comfortable in my position. However, just under 2 months ago, my anxiety and stress levels just seemed to ramp up. I know I'm ridiculously hard on myself over little things and I'm a hypocrite at taking my own advice. But I've seemed to have hit a point of limbo. I'm currently writing this after having a panic attack this morning before work. I had one a few weeks ago, the same day that I made an appointment to see a GP. But this one feels worse and I can't seem to quite push past it today to get to a point where I feel like I can go into work. I don't really know what I'm trying to get out of writing this. But with how my supervisor has commented on my current anxiety and other matters and some comments from other work colleagues, I'm starting to feel like my workplace isn't compatible with my current mental health. Is that even a thing? I feel like I'm taking the right steps to get my mental health sorted but I feel like I'm being guilted about it, even though I'm trying my best to get help as soon as I can. I plan to discuss my feelings with my appointment tomorrow but I'm just trying to figure out if I should stay in a workplace like this. I know I'm fully capable of the job, maybe I actually just can't handle it right now. Or maybe I need a different workplace. I don't know, this just feels like rambling at this point. -Grace

GreenEgg Christmas and COVID anxiety
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone I was just wondering if anyone else feels tingling, twitches, crawling feeling, burning and pins and needles all over their body. And if there’s anything that helps to stop it. I felt this for the first time last Christmas and I convinced... View more

Hi everyone I was just wondering if anyone else feels tingling, twitches, crawling feeling, burning and pins and needles all over their body. And if there’s anything that helps to stop it. I felt this for the first time last Christmas and I convinced myself that I was sick with COVID, and that I’d infected everyone at my work a Christmas party and they were going to be hospitalised. I didn’t even want anyone to come to my door to drop food, and didn’t really eat for four days. I got a PCR and was fine. I’m feeling the same things right now again. My tongue feels like it’s tingling and my fingers and my feet are getting pins and needles. My skin feels itchy and my throat feels thick. My nose feels like it’s burning and my face weird like it’s got pressure. My ears feel wrird and my scalp crawling. But only for seconds up to a minute at a time in each place.My psychologist recommended doing things like brief high intensity cardio but I’m not finding it helpful with this type of anxiety. CheersG

Guest_4069 Anxiety symptoms… feeling cold
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone does anyone else get cold hands and feet and teeth chattering when anxious? I’ve noticed that when I’m feeling anxious my whole body shakes as if I am cold. I have to drink something warm.

Hi everyone does anyone else get cold hands and feet and teeth chattering when anxious? I’ve noticed that when I’m feeling anxious my whole body shakes as if I am cold. I have to drink something warm.

juno7 Diagnosed and depressed
  • replies: 1

Hello all!I don’t really know where to start on this journey but after reaching a point where I’m feeling a little blah I thought this might be a good start.I was diagnosed type 1 diabetes ( no prior warning) in feb and have also gone through and con... View more

Hello all!I don’t really know where to start on this journey but after reaching a point where I’m feeling a little blah I thought this might be a good start.I was diagnosed type 1 diabetes ( no prior warning) in feb and have also gone through and continue to go through a nasty divorce I am feeling completely overwhelmed and anxiety seems to be rearing it’s ugly head. Iwould love to find out how others cope with the daily mood swings and

KFPDW Need to Vent/try to be nice but get made fun of :(
  • replies: 4

I was Christmas shopping the other day and I passed by a meet Santa setup and a couple of boys were having a chat with Santa and asked to come in but they had to pay. They joked about that it always come back to money and I made a comment in passing ... View more

I was Christmas shopping the other day and I passed by a meet Santa setup and a couple of boys were having a chat with Santa and asked to come in but they had to pay. They joked about that it always come back to money and I made a comment in passing just to be friendly. The two boys then not so much have a go but felt like they wanted to be smart and tried to wind me up. I was only trying to be friendly and it sucks when people like those two guys felt the need to make fun of or wind me up for kicks. There have been plenty of times when I'm just going about my day, trying to be nice and some people like to make fun of it or wind me up because I look like a easy target. And it bugs me when I can never think of a solid comeback.

KFPDW Wanting to be heard
  • replies: 3

I don't why, but it feels like I'm always the one getting cut off when I'm trying to say something. I get that other people have stuff to say that's important but I want to feel like what I have to say has value too. No grudges against anyone of cour... View more

I don't why, but it feels like I'm always the one getting cut off when I'm trying to say something. I get that other people have stuff to say that's important but I want to feel like what I have to say has value too. No grudges against anyone of course but it gets to me that it feels like it's always me that gets interrupted. What do I do?