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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 chats on this Forum having 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_2223 Bi polar
  • replies: 1

Hi there my name is tash I am mother of 4 boys before I came a parent I was ok with everything that was going on then I had my first baby and I got Depression anxiety everything everything's just felt like it was falling apart it was falling apart th... View more

Hi there my name is tash I am mother of 4 boys before I came a parent I was ok with everything that was going on then I had my first baby and I got Depression anxiety everything everything's just felt like it was falling apart it was falling apart then I had my 2nd baby 2nd and things got worse And then I had my then I had my 3rd and I lost it After losing my baby girl I felt I wasn't a good mum so I went back to my doctor It asked him to put me on medication and then I felt pregnant again then I felt pregnant again and things got really really bad things got really really bad I felt after losing my bag after losing my baby girl I wasn't a good mum a good man and if I bring this baby into this world what will he think of me After a while things started to get back on track I had a lovely fiance Then we decided that we'll try again for another baby in for another baby we've got pregnant we've had the baby I watched all my boys grow upAfter 17 years being together we got married brought house and then I found a friend who need to a house so we gave her our living area but thing are starting to get bad we have fights she tell me what to do and I feel like my bi polar is coming back because it not just fighting with my friend or my family I am now fighting with my sister who been there for me a long time and it hurt when we fight I am getting no help at all

Reventon Does it usually get worse before it gets better?
  • replies: 2

Apologies up front - I tend to be verbose at the best of times and currently my thoughts aren't as focused as usual. I've got some actual questions in this post, but also my brain just wants me to get some of this out. Sorry if it's in the wrong foru... View more

Apologies up front - I tend to be verbose at the best of times and currently my thoughts aren't as focused as usual. I've got some actual questions in this post, but also my brain just wants me to get some of this out. Sorry if it's in the wrong forum too. Some background: I've had depression and anxiety pretty solidly since I was 13, and now I'm 39. I've done various forms of therapy but have never been on medication. It probably would have been worth pushing through my avoidance of SSRIs (and other options) as I made the choice to self-medicate with alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine for a number of years. What can I say, the risk of erectile dysfunction just scares the shit out of me. I've traced back the cause of a lot of my mental health challenges to growing up in a remarkably emotionally unstable household, also to being molested by a priest at 12 years old and not feeling like it was safe or ok for me to talk about this.My dad is an alcoholic from a broken home who tries his best but struggles with emotional conversations. My mother (also an alcoholic, probably anorexic most of her life) has never been officially diagnosed but demonstrates a lot of the behavioral hallmarks of borderline personality disorder with narcissistic tendencies.She was also molested by a family friend as a child, hence why I never felt like it was safe or ok for me to talk. She introduced my abuser to our house and celebrated his birthday with him pretty warmly right before he died. I've always been worried the guilt she felt would drive her from gaslighting us and threatening suicide to actually doing it. Anyway, I guess I recently had a bit of a breakthrough talking about the abuse with my older sister. In some ways that's been good and has me feeling lighter, in others I feel totally lost and adrift. I still feel really guilty about identifying it and asking for help... a lot of people have had it way worse than me. I know that comparing childhood trauma isn't supposed to be a contest, but I still feel awful about asking for help. The apologies in the first sentence were probably a dead giveaway, right? Since the conversation, there's been a pervasive sense of feeling tired, overly emotional, disconnected, and confused. I'm normally sharp and precise in my thoughts and now I'm anything but. This make sense to anyone? Any advice?

rorysmith Feel like a stuff up
  • replies: 3

I'm 21 living in Aus and I can't help to think I'm a failure. I've felt like this since I've graduated high school as I've found it hard to progress through university, but I've always been pretty contempt with that fact. In November I started talkin... View more

I'm 21 living in Aus and I can't help to think I'm a failure. I've felt like this since I've graduated high school as I've found it hard to progress through university, but I've always been pretty contempt with that fact. In November I started talking to a girl and I thought we really clicked, we had met up a bunch of times and we talked everyday for 3 months now. But for some reason I was so insecure I managed to push her away, I'd always ask to see her and ask what she wanted from this and I said I didn't want to waste my time with someone who wasn't ready for a relationship. I think this insecurity stems from the fact that I never really think I've been loved by anyone apart from my mother. A couple of weeks ago this girl told me that she doesn't want to do this anymore and that I f_ked this up, which at the time I couldn't believe but now all I can think of is to blame myself and it's really f_king with my mental health. I hate myself for pushing away one of the best things in my life, and for the past 2 weeks I've been crying myself to sleep every night. I want things to get better but I don't really know how, I haven't been eating properly and I try and sleep all the time so I can get my mind off it but it's driving me crazy. I've been looking online and I've seen antidepressants as an option and I was wondering if anyone thought that could help in my case.

x_terminator2304 I don't know what to do about my mental health
  • replies: 2

I don't know what to do. I am currently undertaking the IB system in year 12. I go to boarding school in a different state from where I live, so I'm pretty isolated from family and out-of-school friends. In year 10 I started seeing a councillor for g... View more

I don't know what to do. I am currently undertaking the IB system in year 12. I go to boarding school in a different state from where I live, so I'm pretty isolated from family and out-of-school friends. In year 10 I started seeing a councillor for generalised anxiety, depression (Dysthymia and Cyclothymia) and OCD. I went on anti-depressants at the end of year 10 but have recently stopped taking it due to side effects. I have struggled with body image my whole life, and the weight gain because of anti-depressants despite doing exercise during the week has actually worsened my depression and struggling self-esteem. My school has recently introduced a new set of rules that requires us to both wake up early and hand our phones in for the entirety of each school day. As someone who also struggles with insomnia, the small amount of sleep I get each night makes me very emotional and exhausted during the day, and it's more difficult to manage now that my communication with my family has been cut off. The stress of year 12 work, combined with all other mental health factors and school situation, has caused my mental health to become the worst it's ever been, and I have multiple mental breakdowns over the course of each day. If I tell my parents they will put me back on anti-depressants, and if I tell anyone at school they will send me home and I don't want to sacrifice my year 12 marks. I also don't want to see a school councillor because missing classes every week will put me very behind in work. I know that year 12 is hard on everyone, but I am mentally struggling to get through each day. Does anyone have any solutions for how to make it all easier?

Outside observing Persistent Depressive Disorder
  • replies: 12

Struggling again. Mostly with fatigue. A few weeks ago it was more the persistent thoughts about dying but now its just - i don't think i belong in this world. I don't have any energy either. I really had to force myself to visit my parents on Christ... View more

Struggling again. Mostly with fatigue. A few weeks ago it was more the persistent thoughts about dying but now its just - i don't think i belong in this world. I don't have any energy either. I really had to force myself to visit my parents on Christmas day. I ended up being OK, but I had to push everything down. So I'm either surpressing everything or feeling like crap. I really just want to be normal. Just normal. Get up in the morning and be able to just smile and get on with my day. But everything is a drag, a long drawn out drag. I used to take anti-depressants but haven't for several months now. I have seemed like a normal person in the past and was able to fake it, but I've never really been a happy or sociable person. Anyone else here with a persistent depressive disorder? Do I have any hope?

criss Relapse in to addictive behaviour
  • replies: 3

Hello, I've had a difficult weekend where I relapsed after a long term recovery of a gambling problem I had developed. Needless to say I felt crushed, ashamed of myself and very isolated as I find it extremely difficult to talk anyone about it and es... View more

Hello, I've had a difficult weekend where I relapsed after a long term recovery of a gambling problem I had developed. Needless to say I felt crushed, ashamed of myself and very isolated as I find it extremely difficult to talk anyone about it and especially as I hide it from my family who aren't much available to me and don't know how to deal with it. I don't want to share this ugly side of me and have struggled with this alone for a long time. I have sought help on gamblers helpline and do the 100day challenge on going as it has been a tremendous support. My issue tonight is; after the initial painful grief of lost money and shame I have pulled myself together and again trying to learn from what went wrong.My triggers are very much loneliness, stuckness, anger/frustration perhaps at times at not be able to get a grip on how to get passed this stuckness. I do everything I can within the confines of work commitments and life. I try to keep busy, see people, reach out. I don't know how else to think. Last year I came off medication for depression and I was fine. Today I rescripted and started them again because I've noticed my mood drop and sway like it used to. The pressure and stress of trying to control things that are out of my control has been overwhelming.Okay so I decided to revisit the idea of throwing myself in to work again. I always have but recently I've been trying to relax more and take time out. I'm realising that for people like myself work can be a comfort and a saviour and I want to reassess my perception to this. I'm also starting a class once a week for a couple of months as a distraction and see how I go. Hopefully in a few months I will be back on track with these measures I am putting in place now. Short term goal to lift me up. What do I do about constant anxiety and restlessness when at home..I cant even watch the news any more it's all the same and negative. Thanks for listening all. And take care.

tpman Just came by for some support during a relapse
  • replies: 7

Hello all - For the past 3 or 4 days I've really detoriated and it's leaving me feel very scared and panicky. I had a major mental breakdown about 5-6 yearsago which was terrifying. I was hospitalized multiple times and it was just an incredibly awfu... View more

Hello all - For the past 3 or 4 days I've really detoriated and it's leaving me feel very scared and panicky. I had a major mental breakdown about 5-6 yearsago which was terrifying. I was hospitalized multiple times and it was just an incredibly awful time. I managed to stablise over the years and have been on a journey of recovery, however these last few days have really just come out of no where. I can't think of any major triggers, but there has been a few things which have happened which may have culimated into this relapse which I won't go into. Anyway, i'm just super scared and anxious. It's like I've just gone back in time 5 years too my mental breakdown period.I've got a psych appointment early March which seems like an eternity away, im hoping I can get in earlier. Anyway, just came here to vent and hopefully get some words of support. Really struggling, the anxiety and panic is awful = ( Thanks for listening.

ElyseH Going off antidepressants
  • replies: 7

I have been on antidepressants for over 6 years. For the past year I'd thought I wanted to start going off them. I finally started to halve my dose about 6 weeks ago. The found the physical side effects subsided I a week. But I get angry, frustrated,... View more

I have been on antidepressants for over 6 years. For the past year I'd thought I wanted to start going off them. I finally started to halve my dose about 6 weeks ago. The found the physical side effects subsided I a week. But I get angry, frustrated, irritable and hate everyone. As most people would know getting in to see the Dr isn't easy and even pre booking it is at least 4 weeks apart. The psychologist is even longer, more like almost 2 months in between. I had no idea how much they were masking. People try to make me feel better but I don't believe them. For 20 years, I have been like this and I don't believe anyone. To me I see that they don't understand. This is ridiculous, I have been like this for a month and im starting to remember why i decided to go on them in the first place. I lost it on Christmas morning found myself uncontrollable crying to the point I was having a panic attack and nothing anyone could say helped,mind you I was pretty bad and no amount of sweet talking was going to just bring me out of that state. Another family day today and I feel humiliated that I stormed away making a point that I didn't want to be a part of this day and wanted to be left alone. But I don't believe anything anyone tries to tell me. I do wish that someone at least just knew how to help.I don't initially feel depressed about something. I get upset at someone of something. One person tries to explain away someone else's behaviour which completely disregards the fact that I am upset so I then become upset that they are defending everybody but me. It's any wonder why I have issues with believing people and getting angry that my emotions aren't legit. Apart from being number 5 in a family of 9. People say " don't let your depression beat you, you are not your depression" its hard to believe that when you have had these symptoms since you can remember. I've grown up with these symptoms. I've been wired with this.

Dwings Rejected again, feeling upset and lonely
  • replies: 42

Hi all Some of you may have seen posts in another thread and I thought Id share whats been happening recent times I have been single for a very long time, in fact too long, up until say 2019 I refused to use dating sites. At the beginning of the year... View more

Hi all Some of you may have seen posts in another thread and I thought Id share whats been happening recent times I have been single for a very long time, in fact too long, up until say 2019 I refused to use dating sites. At the beginning of the year, I met someone online chatted every day and we went on a couple of dates. I thought everything was fine, after the second date this girl still kept in contact with me but I didnt hear from her for a few days then I found out that she deleted my contact on this dating app, indicating she wasnt interested in me without any reason. This made me feel upset and angry. I questioned myself why this happened, as it happened in 2019 quite a number of times Fast forward to later in the year, where I didnt really try and look for a date but then this girl messaged me on Tinder and we started chatting every day, really good conversations which gave me quite a bit of hope. Then I didnt hear from her for about a month but she later explained she needed some time off to herself. Once she was ok, we starting chatting again and the conversations between us were great. She was so nice, she made feel so good inside, I had so much hope. Despite being in lockdown I was feeling positive every day and I thought that maybe we could meet up eventually. We did a zoom chat recently but I felt so nervous that I couldnt say much, I did explain this to her and she said she was nervous too. We chatted after a couple of days but then I didnt hear from her again. I thought maybe something had happened to her or needed time out like before. But last night I checked my messages and they no longer exist, which means she has cut ties with me, just like what happened earlier in the year. Ghosted without saying goodbye and no reason why she left. This really upset me as I had feelings for this girl. I didnt sleep much last night and I dont think I'll get over this. It keeps happening every single time. All day today I felt depressed upset and angry. I am at the point where I should accept that I'll never meet the one and accept that I'll continue to have this miserable life, because no one would clearly be interested in me. I have no one else to talk to.

Hayley040 Deep depression for too long
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, I've been suffering from depression and anxiety since my teenage years, I'm currently 29. I've been on a number of medications seen numerous therapies, but yet I'm still struggling.What's the worst for me, is the fatigue and lack of moti... View more

Hi everyone, I've been suffering from depression and anxiety since my teenage years, I'm currently 29. I've been on a number of medications seen numerous therapies, but yet I'm still struggling.What's the worst for me, is the fatigue and lack of motivation and the guilt of thinking I'm just "lazy" riddles my mind.I work a 38hr weekand. I'm able to do so because other people are relying on me, but I have a goal of starting my own business and have so for so long. When I finally have the free time to work, I just have no motivation and I just end up sleeping because I'm so frustrated with myself and want this day to end, so I can start fresh.What has worked for you all to get through the depression fatigue? I can no longer handle it. Thank you.