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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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JJJJ Muscle spasms
  • replies: 3

Has anyone got any good tips for getting rid of anxiety related muscle spasms. Get so much worse when I try to sleep, that plus insomnia means no sleep so far tonight and I'll have to feed my baby soon anyway but know I can't keep this up

Has anyone got any good tips for getting rid of anxiety related muscle spasms. Get so much worse when I try to sleep, that plus insomnia means no sleep so far tonight and I'll have to feed my baby soon anyway but know I can't keep this up

Girlbond_007 Being swallowed up
  • replies: 6

Hi everyone, Have been feeling quite wound up this week, not sure if this is because of Christmas or not. I have had major mood swings and had a huge argument with a family member today. I then went into the first anxiety attack I have had since star... View more

Hi everyone, Have been feeling quite wound up this week, not sure if this is because of Christmas or not. I have had major mood swings and had a huge argument with a family member today. I then went into the first anxiety attack I have had since starting new medication. Now I just feel empty and guilty for having my part of the argument. My worst fear always comes to the front of my mind and that is putting my daughter into kindy in 2017. I know that is ages away but I feel like I go into fight flight to prepare myself for the worst. Mainly how I will feel on this day. I just now feel really sad and emotional and I am not sure if this is depression talking. I don't want to me feeling like this tomorrow. thanks for listening

Stormgrl101 Anxiety
  • replies: 3

Why am I so anxious?I really do not know.I know my thoughts are irrationalBut that doesnt make them go. I try so hard to reasonWith the voices in my headBut the voices overpower meSo i listen to them instead.I know I shouldn't worryI know I shouldn't... View more

Why am I so anxious?I really do not know.I know my thoughts are irrationalBut that doesnt make them go. I try so hard to reasonWith the voices in my headBut the voices overpower meSo i listen to them instead.I know I shouldn't worryI know I shouldn't careI shouldn't overthink thingsLook for problems that aren't there.And yet i cannot fight itThis feeling deep insideThe anguish that I'm feelingIs something I cannot hideThe more I try and fight itThe more it grows and growsHow do I make it go away?!Goodness only knows!!-poem found on internet Im sure many can relate. I finding it so hard to find MY voice, thats not overcome with anxiety and depression. Learning that its okay to ask for help and its okay to cry. Its all about baby steps to try and overcome these mental illness.Take care all.

Beckinson1 Anxiety making me feel fearful every day
  • replies: 9

This is my first post on any kind of forum and I am posting because I don't know what else to do. I am now in my early 20s but had a health plagued childhood. While I have been fine for many years now, about a year ago I began to experience terrible ... View more

This is my first post on any kind of forum and I am posting because I don't know what else to do. I am now in my early 20s but had a health plagued childhood. While I have been fine for many years now, about a year ago I began to experience terrible anxiety and hypochondria. I can no longer have a scratch without deducing I have a terrible illness and my anxiety has become so overwhelming I now feel fearful every day, especially in regards to my health. A lot of the problem is that I love life and am terrified of things going wrong as I do not deal well with uncertainty or anything that is outside my control. This ties in with a fear of being judged and I often find myself going out of my way to avoid social interactions with people I do not know well or perceive to be different to me (I assume these people will automatically dislike me). This of course affects my relationships and as an example, I sat alone in my car, in a car park for an hour on Saturday night because I was too nervous to go to my boyfriend's place in case he was talking to the people in the unit next door who make me uncomfortable for no legitimate reason. I also experience OCD type symptoms/thinking patterns, and particularly fear religion, worrying that any sort of omniscient being is out to punish me by causing suffering to myself of loved ones. This causes me significant distress because I know I am a good person but am terrified the world just doesn't want me to be happy and that I do not deserve to be healthy over other people. I am seeing a psychologist but am unsure if this has helped me much. I was hoping users could kindly provide me with some tips because at the moment evidence based reasoning and mindfulness techniques do not seem to be working for me. Subsequently I am scared I will be stuck feeling fearful instead of enjoying life for good. Thank you in advance for your advice.

Blissy There is nothing wrong
  • replies: 4

I am so sick of feeling down when there is nothing wrong. I am getting so angry at myself. I am surrounded by loved ones and positive vibes but still feel completely alone with tears streaming down my face and that constant anxious feeling deep in my... View more

I am so sick of feeling down when there is nothing wrong. I am getting so angry at myself. I am surrounded by loved ones and positive vibes but still feel completely alone with tears streaming down my face and that constant anxious feeling deep in my stomach. I want it to stop so badly. I want to convince myself that I am loved and people do care and think of me and miss me but it doesn't go away. I want to be humble and not expect back what I'm so willing to give. I want to be able to turn a blind eye to the apparent small things that cut me so deeply. I just want to be normal. If I keep acting how I am, I create the same vicious circle. Pushing people away for fear of them just breaking me more, them promising they won't leave so I push them until they can't handle it. there is nothing wrong. I create problems in my mind, find reasons that they might be true and can't escape feeling so sad.

peaches1 Can't cope with staying at home
  • replies: 7

I can't deal with staying at home doing 'nothing' (i.e. not going to the shops/seeing friends) for more than a day or two at a time before getting stressed over...nothing. I recently graduated from school, and I would experience this anxiety during t... View more

I can't deal with staying at home doing 'nothing' (i.e. not going to the shops/seeing friends) for more than a day or two at a time before getting stressed over...nothing. I recently graduated from school, and I would experience this anxiety during the holidays. I had a Christmas job, but I won't be getting any more shifts, so I now have two months where I am doing absolutely nothing and I can already feel the anxiety building up. I don't know why it is, but I feel so stressed about not having something to do. I don't even have particularly bad thoughts - I just start feeling like I'm drowning when I think about staying at home with no plans to do anything in the future. It gets worse when I see other people having fun on social media, as I feel like I'm wasting my time by not having something to do. It sounds stupid when I type it out, but I don't know what I'll do with no plans for the next two months...

elizabeths90 Managing Anxiety and New Relationships
  • replies: 12

First time ever posting on any kind of forum in regards to my own issues, but this just seems like such a welcoming and supportive environment to do so. I find it difficult to always approach my friends about these issues as I feel like they think I'... View more

First time ever posting on any kind of forum in regards to my own issues, but this just seems like such a welcoming and supportive environment to do so. I find it difficult to always approach my friends about these issues as I feel like they think I'm a burden or complaining - There is my anxiety again! I've struggled with it for ages and now I can recognize whats my anxiety and whats ME. Though I really really struggle with it when trying to form new romantic relationships. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this? How they manage it and maintain the relationship. I've had many off and on relationships and many with a manipulator and my first relationship as a teenager was an abusive one, I struggle with thoughts of doubt, stress, hurt and anxiety when I meet someone I like. Sometimes the anxiety towards a new relationship is absolutely unbearable! I'm 25 and am dating again now, I don't want to have a complete melt down when it doesn't work out or in the initial stages because I struggle with the anxiety. I see my GP and psychologist regularly, but just wanting to hear from other people who experience the same issues and have coped with them. Thank you all so much in advance

Alexander I think I am suffering anxiety
  • replies: 10

I am a middle aged male in a happy home environment. My youngest daughter last year experienced an event related to vomiting (a gear of) that led to her rapidly losing weight and displaying a range of really weird behaviours ranging from scratching h... View more

I am a middle aged male in a happy home environment. My youngest daughter last year experienced an event related to vomiting (a gear of) that led to her rapidly losing weight and displaying a range of really weird behaviours ranging from scratching her skin to saying she just wanted to die. This culminated in her being admitted to hospital to be refed via a naso gastric tube. Since then she has gained weight but there are still a whole range of anxious behaviours continuing. At the start of the school year she has made it very difficult for us to get her to school. She says she likes the school but comes up with many reasons why she can't go. This revolves around her stomach and the sick feelings she gets. We have been seeing a group therapy team since she left hospital which has been helpful but there still seems to be so much unresolved business. This experience has left me feeling very distressed and unsure what the future will bring. I work a high pressure job but I am now constantly worried about what the future looks like because I can't see past the problems we are currently experiencing. I feel I cannot be an effective father because I get unreasonable angry when my daughter won't conform to what I see as a normal behaviour such as getting up and going to school. I know we have to deal with this but in the meantime I feel like my usually strong character is dissolving me into an anxious person. I have seen a psychologist and occasionally take a half a relaxation tablet. I have lightened up my professional workload but I still feel vulnerable and as a result, I am worried what the future will bring

Mary1 Anxiety ruining my life please help
  • replies: 7

Hi all my General story is posted under "coping with Xmas" thread. I didn't intend to write about myself at all but rather support others. Yet reading through the stories of people living with anxiety, I felt strongly I needed to reach out. I suffer ... View more

Hi all my General story is posted under "coping with Xmas" thread. I didn't intend to write about myself at all but rather support others. Yet reading through the stories of people living with anxiety, I felt strongly I needed to reach out. I suffer from crippling anxiety. At worst which it is now I struggle to do anything I need to & can't bare leaving the house. My husband & 2 kids have a holiday planned from Wednesday & I'm extremely anxious about how I'm feeling & not wanting to affect their holiday with my anxiety. Yet we are going away up the north coast to a beachside suburb & I don't cope well with the heat or with being out of my normal routine. My biggest anxiety really will sound pathetic. My bedroom looks like someone's ransacked it & I have baskets & baskets of clothes to put away which is necessary to fix or I won't have any clothes to take. Yes it sounds so minor. But I keep putting it off & get overwhelmed by what I need to do to the pint I end up doing nothing. And I have irrational fears that people will judge me on our holiday & I feel so self conscious. This holiday is so important to my family as my husband has & continues to fight a life threatening illness. I feel weak, overwhelmed, struggling with an overload of thoughts, feeling unmotivated & out of control. I wake up anxious & spend days feeling so ill on stomach, constantly realising I'm not breathing propeley but rather holding my breathe too long. I feel like is someone made an unexpected noise I would jump through the roof. for me anxiety precedes depression. I get so wound up, full of self hate & hopelessness & then when I feel the anxiety is all pervading I then get depressed at my inability to cope & my sense of being overwhelmed. Today for example I woke in full anxiety mode struggling to breathe with my mind full of racing thoughts & then felt so so down at the impact this is having over my life. Why can't I simply deal with folding & putting away a ton of washing, why am I more anxious about people looking at me or stressing over what clothes to take rather than looking forward to being on hols with my family? Admittedley it's been one of the most difficult years of our lives. And without going into detail there are also a range of reasons why I feel burnout as well. i just need some support that I'm not being pathetic & how to get through this time given my mind is racing constantly & I just want to hide. Mary x

steviewonder87 feeling alone and unhappy with who i am
  • replies: 2

Hi all this is Steven here and I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like my happiness is slowly going away and all that is left is hurt and pain. Starting to be ashamed at the person I am. My aniexty that I have I thought I could mange and be alri... View more

Hi all this is Steven here and I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like my happiness is slowly going away and all that is left is hurt and pain. Starting to be ashamed at the person I am. My aniexty that I have I thought I could mange and be alright with but today something so simple happen that really hurt me and made me upset. To anyone who knows me they think it be silly but its not. I have been in a battle with this all my life but these last few years have been the best but this year as it comes to an end has been the worst year for me. I lost the love of my life. My first real relationship and I feel it was because of the person I am. From that my heart has been shattered and my happiness has not been the same. All I have now is this hurt and pain. I feel like my dream of wanting to get married and have family is never going to happen now. I am going to be alone rest of my life that's how it feels. Nothing I feel as much as I try and try as I have I still dealing with this and it a battle that I just don't know how to handle anymore. I don't want this anxiety anymore. I don't want to be shy and quit anymore. I want someone special to love me and who would want to build something special with. I want to be happy overall. Just don't know what to do anymore.