You are not alone. Anxiety affects 1 in 3 Women in Australian at some time in their lifetime and there are effective treatments to assist you to deal with it.
For Amanda, her anxiety was at its peak when she heard the two-way radio. Now that she is at home it is the thought of doing something new and the fear of failure. For you, anxiety might occur when taking on a new run at work, a friend asking you to go somewhere you have not been before or meeting new people.
As Anxiety is normal it is important to understand if it is starting to interfere with your life. For Amanda she resigned from her job because of it and repeatedly experiences symptoms of a racing heart and fear of failure.
Anxiety can present in lots of different ways. For more examples of what anxiety might look like, explore other bus worker scenarios on the website.
Being worried or stressed is normal. But when those anxious feelings don’t go away, and they interfere with your ability to complete tasks (as you can’t control the thoughts or worry) it is a serious condition that makes it hard to cope with work, commitments and daily life.
The great news is that there are proven treatments that help people manage their anxiety. Your GP can diagnose your condition and then match you to the right treatment according to your diagnosis. To learn more about anxiety and how it can be managed, please click here.
HOW CAN I TELL IF I HAVE ANXIETY?
To help you understand if your symptoms are likely to be anxiety, Beyond Blue has a Mental Health Check-in. It is a short questionnaire that asks how you have felt over the past 4 weeks. The results are anonymous and will give you some recommendation on how and what kind of support you may benefit from:
Beyond Blue – Mental health check-in
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/mental-health-check-in-k10.
WHO CAN I TALK TO? WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE?
Your GP can help you understand mental health and provide advice. Other good links for you to review or people to talk to include:
Beyond Blue https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety
Black Dog Institute https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/
Lifeline https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/information-and-support/anxiety
If you want to talk to someone for free you can
- Call Lifeline – 13 11 14
- Text Lifeline – 0477 13 11 14
- Lifeline online chat https://www.lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat
Mindspot https://www.mindspot.org.au
