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BeyondBlue Hello! Read this if you're not sure how to get started
  • replies: 0

Welcome This section of the Beyond Blue Forums is for talking about our experiences with depression. There are lots of chats about how it makes us feel, what it’s like to live with depression and what has worked to help in these times. Thank you for ... View more

Welcome This section of the Beyond Blue Forums is for talking about our experiences with depression. There are lots of chats about how it makes us feel, what it’s like to live with depression and what has worked to help in these times. Thank you for coming this far, we know it can be really hard to take these steps if depression is in your life - we see you and think this is a great step. To get the most out of this space we have a few tips: Get involved. The Forums work best for you when you get active and post where you can. Now, we know that can be really hard, especially when you are experiencing depression. So, if you can post something supportive to someone else here, that would be an incredible start. Speak from the heart. This community wants to know how YOU feel and what has worked for YOU. We trust that you have something unique to say and we can’t wait to hear it. Check in. Lots of the discussions in this section of the Forums have been going for years and they are some of the richest conversations we have. Keep checking in to get new ideas and offer your support. We know it can be tough to start, but when you are ready we want to hear your thoughts. If you need some time to get to know the community, that's okay! Have a look around and see where you want to get involved. Thank you for being here! Beyond Blue

Jeriava How do I talk to my doctor?
  • replies: 9

I’ve been struggling with my life for the past 7-8 years but I finally made an appointment with a doctor. I feel really scared though because I don’t ever go to the doctor for anything, and I havent seen this doctor for so many years that I’m really ... View more

I’ve been struggling with my life for the past 7-8 years but I finally made an appointment with a doctor. I feel really scared though because I don’t ever go to the doctor for anything, and I havent seen this doctor for so many years that I’m really scared that they’ll judge me or won’t believe anything I say. I’m really anti social so I feel like I won’t be able to say what I wanna say or I’ll say the wrong thing causing them to just dismiss me and move me along without helping. I’m just tired of feeling alone, depressed and just worthless but I’m really scared to talk to them.

AGrace SELF HELP TIPS FOR MANAGING DEPRESSION
  • replies: 132

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas you might like to try for managing symptoms of depression. Of course everyone's different, so let us know what works for you, and please feel free to add to the list... Mindfulness – through breathing or engaging the ... View more

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas you might like to try for managing symptoms of depression. Of course everyone's different, so let us know what works for you, and please feel free to add to the list... Mindfulness – through breathing or engaging the 5 senses Distress Tolerance – Accepting Emotions and Self Soothing Distraction – Put the thoughts/feelings aside and come back to them when you are ready to deal with them Positive Affirmations – Have some affirmations written down repeat them to yourself daily Sleep/Exercise/Diet – All 3 aspects of our lifestyle can impact the way we think/feel Increasing Pleasurable Activities – Engage in at least one pleasurable activity per day

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Guest_09781325 That time of year?
  • replies: 3

Hi, posting as I don’t know what to do or where to turn. I’ve suffered depression most of my life but had been doing well lately. This week everything feels like it used to, and due to recent (past few months) false allegations about me and cyber bul... View more

Hi, posting as I don’t know what to do or where to turn. I’ve suffered depression most of my life but had been doing well lately. This week everything feels like it used to, and due to recent (past few months) false allegations about me and cyber bullying I have only a few friends who are too busy to talk to me. I think social media have a false else of people in my life. It’s my 40th birthday tomorrow so I don’t know if it’s just this combined with Christmas, nothing has happened but I can’t pull myself up & feel like I’m falling deeper into a black hole

booga suddenly dont feel like talking to anyone
  • replies: 2

all of a sudden, i just dont want to talk. just like, in general. even over text. i love my best friend and theyre one of my favorite people, but suddenly i just,, dont want to talk to them. its not that we're growing apart, they might be getting a c... View more

all of a sudden, i just dont want to talk. just like, in general. even over text. i love my best friend and theyre one of my favorite people, but suddenly i just,, dont want to talk to them. its not that we're growing apart, they might be getting a computer tomorrow so we can play games together, and its not like i dont like them. i just dont feel like talking. i dont know whats wrong with me and i feel guilty about it

Quilter57 Getting over depression inertia
  • replies: 2

I have had depression for years. It is being treated with meds and lifestyle changes. I have been suicidal in the past. I also have AUD and am on medication for it. Christmas was horrible this year due to estrangement from my DIL. I can't say anythin... View more

I have had depression for years. It is being treated with meds and lifestyle changes. I have been suicidal in the past. I also have AUD and am on medication for it. Christmas was horrible this year due to estrangement from my DIL. I can't say anything to family cos my daughter bent over backwards to make it nice for us. I appreciate that. I had been doing well , but have fallen in a heap. No motivation, don't care about anything, exhausted just playing games on my phone. There are things I'd like to do but can't push myself. Hubby and I are not talking. We have a good marriage, but he is very angry with DIL and I want to reconcile. So I don't know what to do. I know the medication im on exacerbate depression and suicidal ideation so going to see my Dr on Jan 8th.

Guest_10343 Taking small steps when depression makes everything feel heavy
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone,I’ve been reading through a lot of the posts here and finally felt ready to share something of my own. Depression has been part of my life for a while now, and lately it feels less like intense sadness and more like a constant heaviness a... View more

Hi everyone,I’ve been reading through a lot of the posts here and finally felt ready to share something of my own. Depression has been part of my life for a while now, and lately it feels less like intense sadness and more like a constant heaviness and lack of energy. Even simple things, getting out of bed, replying to messages, taking care of myself, can feel overwhelming. Some days I don’t feel “bad enough” to justify how hard things feel, which then just adds guilt on top of everything else. I know logically that depression doesn’t always have a clear reason, but emotionally it’s hard not to question myself. One thing I’ve been slowly trying is breaking help into smaller pieces. Sometimes that’s just talking things through online rather than face to face, or checking in briefly with a GP or mental health professional when I don’t feel up to a full appointment. I’ve used a couple of telehealth services like Hola Health Beyond blue, abby and while it didn’t fix everything, it did make reaching out feel a bit less daunting on low days. What I’m still struggling with is consistency, keeping up routines and self-care when motivation is basically non-existent. I wanted to ask:What small things have helped you when depression feels flat and draining rather than intense?How do you get yourself started when everything feels like too much?Has anyone else found low-pressure ways of reaching out for support helpful?Thanks for reading. Just being able to write this out already feels like a small step.Sending strength to anyone else who’s having a hard time right now.

indigo22 Following the breadcrumbs to improve mental health
  • replies: 202

Hi everyone, The last few months have been somewhat confusing as I have discovered more about my mental / physical health and how it has all been connected. I had not put the pieces together, I am not sure why, it seems so obvious now. I have dealt w... View more

Hi everyone, The last few months have been somewhat confusing as I have discovered more about my mental / physical health and how it has all been connected. I had not put the pieces together, I am not sure why, it seems so obvious now. I have dealt with Dysthymia since about 12 and Major Depression since about 14 but was not diagnosed until my 40s and had no idea that had been the problem all along. I knew I wasn't like everyone else but thought I was just born that way. Back then mental health was not a subject that was openly discussed and the signs mostly went unrecognised and untreated. I had about 10 years of talk therapy with a social worker that helped immensely. I have had a sensitive digestive system for a good portion of my life, not so much that I sought treatment, just things like indigestion with certain foods, bloating and the like. I suppose I thought everyone had those types of issues. I have also had nervous system reactions over the past 15 years, like involuntary shaking in certain situations, that I had put down to getting older and being less resilient having been through a lot of difficult challenges. I have been seeing a psychotherapist who also does somatic work (turns out you were right mmmekitty, I did need some more help). The first session of somatic work, in this case EFT (tapping), brought up a deep and long standing belief that I did not deserve to be helped. The emotions were buried so deep that I was not even aware of them. After that session things went haywire physically for a few days and took some weeks to start to settle. Being the type of person who needs to have an understanding of what is happening and why, I have been reading many books on the symptoms I have had. That is when I began to join the dots about how interconnected by mental and physical health actually were. It has required a lot of processing on my part, and an acknowledgement of what I have been consciously unaware of, but it has been necessary to finding a way forward. This will be an ongoing journey as new symptoms show up that need to be looked at. I know now that there is a lot of unreleased trauma in my body that is a contributing factor in not healing mentally or physically and I know now what needs to be done to improve. There is only so much that the medical profession can do, I believe the rest of the responsibility lies with us in digging deeper to find the causes and the answers. In many ways, that in itself becomes empowering. Take care all.indigo

phightingphan I hate art
  • replies: 3

Art is probably one of the only good coping mechanisms I have in life. For as long as I can remember, I've loved to just... pick up a pencil and draw. Or open up a drawing application and draw on it. However, lately, for the past year or so, I've sta... View more

Art is probably one of the only good coping mechanisms I have in life. For as long as I can remember, I've loved to just... pick up a pencil and draw. Or open up a drawing application and draw on it. However, lately, for the past year or so, I've started to despise drawing. I can never draw the way I want, and I'm aware I need to actually practice the fundamentals and practice and whatnot, but I have 0 energy and drive to do these things. Making art and seeing how ugly or disproportionate it is has genuinely caused me to have multiple breakdowns, because I realise how far behind I'm falling. I was so convinced I was ahead of other kids my age in art, but then going onto the internet and seeing the masterpieces people YOUNGER than me can make destroys me. "Be happy for them!" Like it's that easy for me, oh my GOD?? I try my best to be confident in my skills, but it is so soul-crushing to see that everyone else can somehow grasp these things that I'm unable to. I've tried to study a few times before, but I can never create study routines or good practice methods, or do things that actually stick in my brain, and it's like... am I missing something?? Is there just something wrong in my brain that doesn't let me understand/do these things? This is also the reason I'm falling academically. Studying is something that seems to come easier to others, but never to me. It is impossible, and when I try it, it's unenjoyable. It is NEVER fun. Which, I guess, you would assume it would be, but studying anything feels like hell. I refuse to learn anything at all. I've seen people say that I don't need to study art, but I want to! I want to get better, and I want to understand these things I just... can't. It's likely a matter of me having a very fixed mindset; I'm aware of it, too. But once again, I can never get up to fix it. Do you understand how it feels to see something I thought I was so good at, something I put endless hours into, being done 10x better by another teenager? Someone in the same position as I, someone who has lived the same time I have, someone who can do it better than I ever could dream of. It's not a competition, I'm aware, if anything, I should only be improving for myself, right? I know these things, but I can't believe them. I'm losing my passion. I hate art.

phightingphan I don't know what to do
  • replies: 6

I really don't know what to do with myself. I've gotten so lazy and apathetic that it's pushing me back. All I wanna do is play games and lie down and not talk to anyone. My family has noticed. Everyone has, for that matter. I'm not who I used to be,... View more

I really don't know what to do with myself. I've gotten so lazy and apathetic that it's pushing me back. All I wanna do is play games and lie down and not talk to anyone. My family has noticed. Everyone has, for that matter. I'm not who I used to be, I'm freshly 16 and I have no job or license or drive to do anything at all. My mum tells me to wake up and do something, or she tells me I can't do anything.I feel so hopeless I don't know what to do anymore. I need good grades, but I'm too lazy to get off my ass and I have nobody to blame but myself. I'm in fucking year 11 next year and I can't get a grip on anything, I have no solutions or anyone to lean on. I'm alone. I have trusted adults, or I thought I did, but I tried opening up to them and got shut down instantly. My friends can't help me, nobody can even tell I'm suffering so what the fuck do I even do??? Im so tired of everything and everyone I wish I could stop time, curl up into a ball and rot. For what reason??? I don't know. I don't know anything. Im burnt out and stupid and lazy and weird and ugly and slow I cant do anything right and I want to kill myself because of it.

Emotions26 Do not feed the monster
  • replies: 142

I am struggling to understand this website and find my way aroundI have replied to some peopleI think that two champions replied to my first two postsI do not know where they are now I have supported several posts of othersI have replied to one perso... View more

I am struggling to understand this website and find my way aroundI have replied to some peopleI think that two champions replied to my first two postsI do not know where they are now I have supported several posts of othersI have replied to one person I think today I am resonating with several posts in different areas but cannot remember where they are I am literally lost within this website as well as within myself I am working very hard at keeping the dreaded "D" at bay which I have battled with too many times.I have had this since young apparentlyI have had large gaps of time where I am mostly symptom free I think The monster is the dreaded "d"It is also a relative whom I have had to relinquish her hold over me.I have only learnt about this stuff recently so struggle talking about it. So I think of do not feed the monster as in do not think of her. Or do not feel guilty or upset or worry or a thousand other things Also do not feed the dreaded "d" as it lurks waiting I will not find this piece again

Guest_55975423 ECT
  • replies: 1

Hi, I have had 7 bilateral ECT sessions and dont feel any better. Is this normal. Regards, Steve

Hi, I have had 7 bilateral ECT sessions and dont feel any better. Is this normal. Regards, Steve

Guest_69577657 The only thing stopping me
  • replies: 1

Is my pets. I have family, but we are a little distant, i am studying towards a phd...but financially i am in the shit. My husband is sometimes very supportive, and sometimes a abusive (psychologically mostly). Literallly my responsibility for my pet... View more

Is my pets. I have family, but we are a little distant, i am studying towards a phd...but financially i am in the shit. My husband is sometimes very supportive, and sometimes a abusive (psychologically mostly). Literallly my responsibility for my pets is what makes me keep going. Does anyones else feel this way? I need some help.