BB Social Zone

Pinned discussions

Big Blue Table - Right here on the Forums!

replies: 8

Hello to our wonderful forums community! We have decided to run an ongoing Big Blue Table thread ‘Forums Edition’ until the end of October! What is a Big Blue Table? Big Blue Table is Beyond Blue's signature event held during October, Mental Health Month. Big Blue Table encourages people host a meal with their friends, family or colleagues while fighting the stigma that surrounds mental health. So why are we running one here? The reason we are doing this is so people have an opportunity to connect with others and have the experience of sharing their thoughts and feelings over a meal, no matter where they are in Australia. We know Mental Health Month can be a vulnerable time for many and believe this thread could be a safe space for people to be heard and learn from others’ experiences. Our community champions will be here to support you along the way, and our moderation team will be around to answer any questions you may have, as well as to ensure the thread remains respectful and safe for everyone. We encourage you to choose from the following questions to start a conversation: What do you do to look after your mental health? Are you comfortable sharing your feelings and emotions? If not, why? What are you passionate about, and why? Who would be your dream Big Blue Table guest, and why? After you have shared your answers, we would love to hear about what you are eating or bringing to the table. You can even tell us a little bit about your setup and what you can see around you to really immerse us into your world. This is your opportunity to be as creative as you’d like! But remember, there is no pressure or ‘right’ response, whatever you bring to the table will be more than enough. We hope this thread allows you to feel connected, supported, and a part of the Big Blue Table initiative. Now… get cooking!

Welcome to the BB Social Zone - guidelines for posting in this section

replies: 0

Hi everyone, This section of the forum is a little different to the others, as you may have noticed in looking around the threads. Elsewhere on the forums, we discuss some pretty heavy topics: mental health issues, thoughts of suicide, trauma, abuse, relationship breakdowns. Here is the place to come to get away from that and have a bit of fun. Distraction can be an important tool to draw on if you're finding yourself overwhelmed by distressing thoughts and feelings. As this is a section for respite from difficult topics, we will remove posts made in this section that attempt to discuss personal issues. Please use a support thread in the appropriate section for these discussions. Happy posting!

The BB cafe

replies: 20596

The BB cafe is open for business! Welcome all to a new chill and chat place for everyone on the forum. The BB cafe is whatever you want it to be. There are comfy sofas, tables and chairs, coffee machines, a kitchen stocked with everything. There's a pool outside, a bbq area, an annexe with comfy beds for a quiet sleep, tv, dvd, books and whatever else you would like to have here. Most of all, it's a place to meet friends and fellow travellers for a bit of company. Talk over problems, tell jokes, share your day, escape into a world of your making. Grab a coffee and pull up a chair ... So, with a nod to the wonderful Carole King (Hard Rock Cafe) ... Now if you're feeling just a little bit lonely Don't sit at home just mopin' Come on down to where the friendship flows freely You know the door is always open At the BB cafe Come to the BB cafe They will help keep your blues at bay At the BB cafe Important Message from ModSupport: The main intention of the BB Cafe is to encourage light conversation. Please look after your fellow community members by nuturing the BB Cafe as a place to escape some of the more pressing issues in life and save those conversations for personal threads.

All discussions

Sorted by:

Start a discussion

How Beautiful!!

replies: 1

Fed the dogs and let the chooks out and fed them too. Now looking out the window and watching the resident magpies eating and the resident wild goose and his pal, a wild duck!!! So gorgeous!

Delicious Cheery Ripe Cheesecake Recipe

replies: 6

Hi everyone, I made this beautiful cheesecake last night for today. I just wanted to share the recipe with others in case you would like to make it - yes I know Neil you will !! Base: 250g pkt Choc ripple biscuits 1c desiccated coconut 1/2c sweetened condensed milk 100g melted butter Filling: 4-5 x 65g cherry ripes 1/2c caster sugar 1/2c thickened cream 3 drops pink food colouring 2 x 250g blocks cream cheese at room temp 1 extra cherry ripe for top You need a 20cm spring round tin 1. Crush biscuits 2. In a medium bowl - combine biscuit crumbs, coconut, condensed milk & butter 3. Press mixture firmly onto base and all around the side of tin. Chill for 20 mins until firm 4. In a medium saucepan - melt cherry ripes over low heat. Melt until smooth. Add sugar, cream, food colouring. Stirring over heat until well combined. Let cool down. 5. In a small bowl using electric mixer beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in cooled cherry ripe mixture until combined. 6. Pour mixture into biscuit base. Chill for 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with chopped extra cherry ripe pieces. Enjoy !!! Jo

Back on the board...

replies: 3

Hi, I am have decided to start posting a few replies on the board but thought I should share a few things... I have been on and off the BB bulletin board for at least 5 years - I would say many more but cant remember exactly when it started. In terms of my metal health history I would say I am a 'recovered borderline' - meaning I had borderline personality disorder but no longer meet the criteria. I also have a history of 10 years of depression and suicidal thoughts/ideation and self harming. I am also currently recovered in this respect for the past 2 years. I have previously been on antidepressants (pretty much tried them all), antipsychotics, mood stabilisers and who knows what else!! For 10 years nothing really worked. I mention all this because I hope that even though I am currently recovered I can give advice to people and they know I have walked that road and understand. Trust me - I haven't forgotten and probably never will. I don't want to because I have learnt a lot from the experience and although I would rather I hadn't been through it I do believe it's made me a better person. Anyway why am I back? ... Truth is I don't know. Sometimes I find myself here. I want to help others but it's also about me. I guess mental illness has been a big part of my life and I am not letting go of that yet. I hope I can help others but first I need to protect myself and hope people understand this. So here are a few things I need to do and reasons I left in the past... - I am very paranoid about my identity. It's irrational. But I feel my friends will come on here and know who I am etc etc. I feel everyone will. So I hope people understand I will sometimes avoid some details that I perceive might identify me! I don't use my real name so it's unlikely but that how my mind works. At least some people here will understand that. - Sometimes I got offended by what others on here said to me. Sometimes this might of been unfounded but it's how it was and I note from peoples posts this happens to other people too. - Sometimes I will recognise it's not healthy for me to be here. This means I will go and take a break. I need to do this for me. I want to be here as my past is important but I cant spend too much time here. This needs to be a very small part of my life so I can continue to move forward. So I wont answer posts for the sake of it. There are so many posts here these days. Sometimes I want to reply to everyone but I am only going to reply where I feel I really have something useful to say. I don't know. This comes across as a bit of a list of rules! You are probably thinking who is this person - we didn't ask her to be here. True you didn't. I chose to be. I just don't want to write a few posts an then upset people on here by not replying or disappearing. Sometimes I will only pop in once a week or less. That's what's ok for me. I know we are all vulnerable. I guess also in the end I have essentially recovered from my illness but I want you to know that I am still vulnerable too! And I guess that's the thing - I know one day I too may be back needing support! Joey

Siri says, "turn left at the next roundabout for the depression clinic"

replies: 1

Hi there You might remember me from bulletin boards at Beyond Blue from a number of months ago … I was once called the ‘long lost uncle’. Well it appears I’m back again. While I’ve been ‘ok’ for a while, I’ve never been fully safe and happy. I refer to my depression as the ocean and I’m the beach. It’s there all the time and it continually laps away at me; coming in a bit further at times and other times, it recedes back a little. But all the while, it’s still there. What it IS doing though is encroaching on my beach a little more as each year goes by. It’s getting worse. At present it feels like there’s a massive storm cell and I’m experiencing some massive tidal damage. You go along to your Doc, to your psyche and do all the things that you “should be doing to help yourself” and the very sad thing is, that at the end of all that, the depression is still there. I feel like crying, but the tears just won’t come. I am in the midst of writing up ‘my story’ as was advised by my psychologist. As I mentioned to her, how I keep a diary of my life (every day) but I also journal down my thoughts on my depression and how I am – thoughts that are straight from the mind when I’m in an incredibly low place – kind of like an unedited version of what’s going on in my head. My psyche suggested that to put all that down “and more” to try and create a book of some sort. So this has taken a lot of my time over the past number of months and I really feel like it’s coming along quite well. I think I mentioned this, as I read recently that another poster out there is also writing a book about their battle with depression. I really don’t know how many books there are out there in regard to this subject and also of people’s personal accounts of it. But hey, why not give it a shot and see what happens out of it. So there you go, the long lost uncle has come back for a while … this is my want, I guess … where I pop in for a while and try to make contributions as well as to seek personal assistance from like minded folk. No doubt will be in touch at some stage in the future and ps: it’s good to see Geoff still appearing here on a regular basis … and you know what I mean by that, in that, it’d be fantastic if “no-one” had to write or comment or appear on such a website as this, which would mean there’d be no such thing as depression, anxiety, nervousness, you name it, but because there is, it’s always good to see familiar names and people who have amazing skills in being so caring and supportive to others. Cheers Neil

Big Blue Table - Right here on the Forums! replies: 8

Welcome to the BB Social Zone - guidelines for posting in this section replies: 0

The BB cafe replies: 20596

How Beautiful!! replies: 1

Delicious Cheery Ripe Cheesecake Recipe replies: 6

Back on the board... replies: 3

Siri says, "turn left at the next roundabout for the depression clinic" replies: 1