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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Guest_1584 l blew up in the supermarket.
  • replies: 4

Hi people. l had a bad thing today and went off at someone in the supermaket, Thing is , there's this revolting sicko looking man in this town and l have no idea what it's about but first up, anytime l've seen him he stares right at me, he's even cro... View more

Hi people. l had a bad thing today and went off at someone in the supermaket, Thing is , there's this revolting sicko looking man in this town and l have no idea what it's about but first up, anytime l've seen him he stares right at me, he's even crossed the street to walk past me. And one day l got out of my car to walk into the hardware, he was walking up the street toward me, staring again , right at me. l'm in the hardware checking some stuff next minte his standing shoulder to shoulder right beside me.in a lane 70mtrs long. l thought hmm. creepy bastard so l left that lane went 4 or 5 lanes over to check something else. Guess what, he pops up again , same again here he is standing shoulder to shoulder almost touching, in another lane 70mtrs long without another soul in it. l thought right you weird so n so l'm outa here and left. Saw him few weeks later getting out of my car he crosses the road staring and walks straight past my and the car door. losing my patience now. let it go said nothing. Today l'm getting out of my car heading into the supermarket, actually saw him again other side of the road going the other direction. 4minutes later l'm in the inside grabbing veggies, go to turn and walk off again here he was, 2 inches away from me. lt thoroughly creeped me out and l lost my temper, got physical with him and swore at him to stay away from me and called him a few not very supermarket friendly names then stormed off. Needless to say he'd come out of that smelling like roses and l';; look like a madman that just bumped into someone and went off. l mean don't get me wrong l have no sympathy for the creepy bugger he had it coming anyway and l get anxiety in public awkward situations, but still, now they'll all think l'm mad. l dunno , if you could've seen all these situations though. he's one sick looking creeper, who could blame me don't you think? l know l should've kept cool l suppose and just threatened the cops onto him or something, calmly. butttt, Rx.

cc199918 very anxious and worried, need help.
  • replies: 3

today i had a blood and urine test done at my local gp.. i went to the doctor about my anxiety and depression and had a long chat with him about me and whatnot, before leaving he had me do a blood test and urine test? i have no physical symptoms but ... View more

today i had a blood and urine test done at my local gp.. i went to the doctor about my anxiety and depression and had a long chat with him about me and whatnot, before leaving he had me do a blood test and urine test? i have no physical symptoms but i have extreme health anxiety and i’m worried something bad will show up or something.. deep down i know i’m okay and that the results will be fine and i will continue this long road of coping with my mental health, but i can’t help but worry..

JeccaW Confused and angry
  • replies: 1

So my family has a history of high blood pressure. I got my high bp when I got pregnant with ya first and have had it ever since. So when I go the drs my high bp is sky high. I try and explain that I probably have a high bp anyways and my anxiety mak... View more

So my family has a history of high blood pressure. I got my high bp when I got pregnant with ya first and have had it ever since. So when I go the drs my high bp is sky high. I try and explain that I probably have a high bp anyways and my anxiety makes it go nuts. I know my dr has my best interests He now wants me to go a heart specialist as my dad has had a quadruple by pass and two other day procedures done so am at higher risk

GARY_N Anxiety can be of different type and it can affect everyone differently?
  • replies: 1

I feel that I have not able to understand my anxiety at all as it shows different kinds of variations. Sometimes, my heart pounds with the anxiety and other times, it amplifies my emotions to a certain degree. Well when I am in control of my anxiety ... View more

I feel that I have not able to understand my anxiety at all as it shows different kinds of variations. Sometimes, my heart pounds with the anxiety and other times, it amplifies my emotions to a certain degree. Well when I am in control of my anxiety then I fell that it has a good effect on my mind to get thought the day.

Guest_885 Feels like anxiety is taking over my life
  • replies: 5

Hi I’m T & I’m 18 years old, I’ve never posted in any type of online forum before but I’m just looking for people with abit of advice or literally just anyone to tell me I’m not the only one. I’ve always been a pretty positive person who’s always loo... View more

Hi I’m T & I’m 18 years old, I’ve never posted in any type of online forum before but I’m just looking for people with abit of advice or literally just anyone to tell me I’m not the only one. I’ve always been a pretty positive person who’s always looked on the bright side of things & done my best to keep my mental health in check as I know I’m prone to poor mental health ( pretty much my whole family is diagnosed with BPD, depression, anxiety disorders etc. Although this past year I’ve been sick with anxiety, I live with a family member who has quite severe depression & it has slowly taken a toll on me. I find it hard to go out without getting anxiety about every single little thing that could go wrong ( including just driving in the car now ) I know it’s irrational majority of the things I get anxiety about but obviously it doesn’t help telling myself it’s irrational because I still think it. I now have certain routines that I feel like I have to do or something bad will happen & I always tell myself to do odd things or the things I worry about will come true. I know it sounds odd but it’s now become my normal and I’m too used to it. I’ve tried so many different things to help like meditating, using oils and I don’t even use social media anymore because I felt like it was just adding extra stress to my life. I used to be such a social outgoing happy bubbly person with a lot of friends & now I just second guess every single word I say to people and sadly I know it’s probably got a lot to do with my family member who has depression because I have to tread egg shells majority of the time as there ** trigger warning ** suicidal a lot of the time so I’m always scared to say the wrong thing & ofcourse I’m not blaming them in any way I’m just saying it because it’s relevant to why I act this way now, I love them so much and would never blame them my problems definitely aren’t as big as there’s! Its just I seriously act like a shaky person who’s scared of life and I’m not sure what to do. I get chest pains and get dizzy because I hold my breath when I feel extremely anxious. If anyone has any advice that’d be great thank you!

yeahilovecats My poor fingers show that I have anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi friends, I was wondering if anyone else picks the skin around their fingernails when they are stressed/anxious? If so, how do you manage that? How do you stop the bad habit? I have stress from work (shift work and studying) but I’ve realised in th... View more

Hi friends, I was wondering if anyone else picks the skin around their fingernails when they are stressed/anxious? If so, how do you manage that? How do you stop the bad habit? I have stress from work (shift work and studying) but I’ve realised in the last couple of years that I have difficulty in social situations, and this bad habit of mine certainly isn’t doing me any favours. Any help would be much appreciated! J

Banks1992 New here, Anxiety Issues coming back around
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone, My name is Callum and I've suffered with Anxiety ever since I was a teenager. In the past I have also dealt with depression, which was causing me to turn on my parents and friends before I seeked help and saw a psychologist. But since th... View more

Hi everyone, My name is Callum and I've suffered with Anxiety ever since I was a teenager. In the past I have also dealt with depression, which was causing me to turn on my parents and friends before I seeked help and saw a psychologist. But since then I have started a new relationship which is now in its 3rd year which is fantastic (the way it started was incredibly difficult, but I don't want to get into that just yet). But my partner recently moved to a town about 4 hours by car away from our hometown. I was unable to join her due to work initially which hurt a lot. I moved back in with my parents and felt quite alone despite having some friends I was able to catch up with. She eventually admitted to struggling by herself so we organised a months work for me so I could finally move down. I was enjoying the job I was doing in my hometown so it was difficult to leave even though I had good reasons. The work I ended up doing was not enjoyable and was working from home, so it was very lonely and isolating, especially in a new town. Since I have left my hometown I have felt a change in my body. I went to a doctor as I was certain I had an issue somewhere. But nothing was found and my doctor was quite sure it was anxiety. It felt different from when I was a teenager though. Since that initial months work in my new town I have been moving to and from my hometown doing odd bits of work just to keep some money in. But I keep having symptoms that make me constantly worry 24/7. We even went on a tropical holiday but I wasnt able to enjoy it much at all. In an essence it feels like the symptoms I am having for Anxiety are giving me anxiety and it feels like I can't get away from it. I have a new job lined up in a few months time and for now I am just keeping busy. I feel once I start this new job and start interacting with new people I will be able to relax more, but I don't know. I hope this makes sense to someone. I really would like to talk to people and try and understand a way to get out of this anxiety cycle.

Rebel_chamberlain Anxiety symptoms? stress?
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, how are we all? im new here, and its taken me a long time to sign up here, even though ive been on this site a long time. Let me just explain this as best as i can, i have generalized anxiety and depression, which was extremely high and ... View more

Hi everyone, how are we all? im new here, and its taken me a long time to sign up here, even though ive been on this site a long time. Let me just explain this as best as i can, i have generalized anxiety and depression, which was extremely high and is now quite moderate. i was taking medication for months.. and i ran out of it nearly 6 weeks ago, at the VERY same time my doctor was away for 6 weeks and trying to get a script for it from another doctor when its not a regular medication was a nightmare. so i instantly got it in my head that i was alone and just had to 'suck it up" and i have since gone through what feels like a nightmare. I thought i was almost out of the woods until last night.... I am waking up with a panic/anxiety attack (why? i dont know) and then it starts, my breathing is off, i feel like im in and out, my eyes open and close, i feel like im going to fall and pass out, and now something new has happened. Last night i was laying down trying to calm my breathing and all of a sudden my arm and hand was next to my chest and then its like it spasamed and it just threw its self of my chest down to the side of my body, like a nerve was hit and it couldnt handle it. i have really bad headaches, and im not eating hardly, i do try too, and my head feels like i can almost feel the blood rushing around in there. obviously im being a hypochondriac about that one but, i dont know whats going on with my body and if its actually anxiety and stress? or if something alot worse is going on. Im incredibly head strong and want to ride this out, but not at the expense of my safety. has anyone else had this happen to them? or should i really see a doctor. ? thanks

Brightwater Anxiety
  • replies: 5

HI Everyone I'm a newbie here looking to chat with others who also suffer with anxiety I suffer from anxiety regularly but heightened at the moment after another fall , losing balance , I did regain my confidence but then developed a chest infection ... View more

HI Everyone I'm a newbie here looking to chat with others who also suffer with anxiety I suffer from anxiety regularly but heightened at the moment after another fall , losing balance , I did regain my confidence but then developed a chest infection and any confidence I had was lost. I can get in car and drive but getting out of the car especially when on own is terrifying , I am so frightened of falling .in my own environment I am confident but outside of this is frightening , I am attending physio to regain balance and I carry on like a baby and my self talk is so negative eg sorry for being a baby , I'm a basket case , I am told not to beat myself up like this. I want to be better yesterday , I have seen a Councillor , who as she said all is up to me , but it is not easy to suddenly turn my mind around . Can anyone else relate to the above , I just would like to chat to others in similar situation , get the the negative thoughts out , instead of bottling all up

Joycey83 The sky frightens me.
  • replies: 2

Hi, i have had this fear for quite some time and it really scares me, it scares me to the point of having to run to somewhere indoors. I have a fear of the sky, when i'm out walking and i am out in a wide open area i start to have severe panic attack... View more

Hi, i have had this fear for quite some time and it really scares me, it scares me to the point of having to run to somewhere indoors. I have a fear of the sky, when i'm out walking and i am out in a wide open area i start to have severe panic attacks and it frightens the hell out of me. I should not be fearing the sky, even on a beautiful sunny day. This is really affecting my daily life and it is a horrible feeling when the panic sets in, what the hell has happened to me?. The other day i went for a walk down to the shops and half way there i had a massive panic attack and started running for cover, now i am frightened to even go outside. Seriously if it is not 1 thing, it is another with me. I hate anxiety, i hate having fears, i am so mentally sick.