Hi Greg and welcome to the BB Forum,
The forum has different sections and at the moment you are in the Social one where you are welcome to chat and join in. This is a good section for less heavy topics.
But there are various other sections including one on Depression here:
https://forums.beyondblue.org.au/t5/depression/bd-p/c1-sc2-b2
You are welcome to post and share your own story or join in on other threads. Whatever you feel comfortable doing.
It’s not easy living with clinical depression and this is a safe place to share and connect with others. Is there anything you find helpful, such as an any hobbies you enjoy? I’ve certainly found contact with other people helps quite a lot as I live on my own and I have a strong interest in photography which really helps me too.
At the moment are you looking for online social connection or in-person connection as well? I wasn’t sure if you were also looking for in-person groups? I know there is an organisation called Meetup that includes groups for many different areas of interest, hobbies etc but also for things like social anxiety and mental health. What’s available though may depend where you live as there will be more options in a city than regional areas, though some groups are online. Also the groups may vary in how they are run. They have a website anyway if you look up Meetup but I imagine there may be other groups as well. I also just looked at the Black Dog Institute which deals with depression and they have a list of support groups for each state which may also be of interest.
But in any case, please feel very welcome here and free to share about yourself if you would like. There are many here with lived experience of depression.
Best wishes,
Eagle Ray
