You are not alone. Anxiety affects 1 in 4 Australians at some time in their lifetime and there are effective treatments to assist you to deal with it.
For Russell, his anxiety is at its peak when he sees the stimuli (teenager boys) and where he fears he will be attacked, either physically or verbally. Feeling fearful can be about protecting your self-esteem as being called “old” challenges Russell’s view of himself.
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 your 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
Mensline https://mensline.org.au This is a free, confidential online and telephone counselling service for men
Mindspot https://www.mindspot.org.au
