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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_46187476 Suicidal thoughts
  • replies: 2

im a teenage boy i dont want to give my exact age bit im in the range of 15-17 i have been struggling with depression and have been suicidal for a while now. I’ve been struggling with depression for a good year now it just feels like everything has b... View more

im a teenage boy i dont want to give my exact age bit im in the range of 15-17 i have been struggling with depression and have been suicidal for a while now. I’ve been struggling with depression for a good year now it just feels like everything has been getting heavier and it won’t stop. I feel I need friends thay understand this most my friends can not understand this at all. I just don’t know where to look or where to go. Nothing helps I’ve tried everything. im open to suggestions and thank you for reading this is my best option right now

Roses_191 I'm the worst daughter ever! Im a fool!
  • replies: 1

I feel so sick 冷 and depressed I have so much finicancial stress, I dont even know how im going to eat this week. Im just survinging on handouts from family but my dad dosent give enough money for food for the week. I stomped and my knee hurts and it... View more

I feel so sick 🤮 and depressed I have so much finicancial stress, I dont even know how im going to eat this week. Im just survinging on handouts from family but my dad dosent give enough money for food for the week. I stomped and my knee hurts and it cracked and now ive got this painful feeling im the knee. Im really hating life. Ive been crying last night and still today..I feel too stressed. I feel like im the wrost person you can ever meet. I have the wrost tantrums and I dont respect my mum, I dont even help her. Im useless, and I feel like life keeps getting worser and worser. My friends dont even text me, its always me. When I go to social events, im the one that always goes up to people, and in rare cases they come up to me. I feel crappy. I dont know if im liked as much as I was when I was younger. I am struggling so much, more than ever. I have the wrost diagnosis which is psychosis which is the closest to schizophrenia but it basically is schizophrenia. I dont even have a grade 10 certificate, and Im getting kicked out of grade 12, but its still being decided. I have all this stress, and if I dont get to do grade 12, i'm on my own. Im getting kicked out of the house, because Ive wasted every opportunity. I went to a private school and skipped the whole of year 10 due to the voices and bullying and religous belifies. I can't with life anymore, Ive never felt so depressed. I wasn't even this depressed when I skipped school. I can't follow instructions so thats why the school is kicking me out. But the feedback they given me from the work are adjustments, for one of them they wanted me to fit all the information onto 2 pages when I fited the info into 3 pages, but the instructions dont say that on the course. I will be at the meeting with all the teachers, cymhs and my mum to discuss what the options are for year 12 or if I will get a job. Have no idea what my purpose is as I can't get it together and I'm a christian but I dont seem like one . #schizophrenic #lazybum #worstdayever #deadintheinside #depressed

Guest_10343 Does anyone else feel mentally exhausted even on “normal” days?
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, I’ve been reading through a lot of discussions here recently and I really appreciate how open people are about their experiences. After posting here the other day and seeing the thoughtful replies, it made me feel a bit more comfortable ... View more

Hi everyone, I’ve been reading through a lot of discussions here recently and I really appreciate how open people are about their experiences. After posting here the other day and seeing the thoughtful replies, it made me feel a bit more comfortable sharing again. Something I’ve been noticing lately is this constant mental exhaustion, even on days when nothing particularly stressful happens. It’s not always intense sadness - sometimes it’s more like my brain just feels drained all the time. Even simple decisions can feel like too much. Things like deciding what to cook, replying to messages, or planning the next day suddenly feel overwhelming. On the outside everything probably looks normal, but internally it feels like I’m running on very low battery. I’ve been trying a few small things to manage it - short walks, stepping away from screens for a bit, and occasionally talking things through with someone. During a rough week recently I also tried a quick telehealth chat with a GP (I ended up trying Hola Health once and also looked at a couple of other online options). It helped a little just being able to talk things through without having to organise a full clinic visit. It didn’t magically fix anything, but it did remind me that sometimes just talking things out can take a bit of pressure off. I’m curious if others here experience this kind of quiet mental exhaustion too.Does your mind feel tired even when you haven’t done much physically?What small things help you recharge when you’re feeling mentally drained? Really appreciate this space and the conversations here. Take care everyone.

Guest_41410015 I should be happy with my life but…
  • replies: 3

By all accounts I should be happy with my life, good job good friends, a range of hobbies. However I feel empty, like a part of my brain can’t experience true joy. I cry often at the smallest things and find myself afraid of disappointing/being seen ... View more

By all accounts I should be happy with my life, good job good friends, a range of hobbies. However I feel empty, like a part of my brain can’t experience true joy. I cry often at the smallest things and find myself afraid of disappointing/being seen as useless to those around me because I should be thankful for the life I have so I pretend and mask and appear very capable at work and in society but feel dead on the inside. I struggle to find joy in hobbies I once pursued with so much passion and turn down hangouts with friends and family. Nothing sparks joy for me and I often feel this void. I look back at who I was 2-3 years ago and burst into tears because I can no longer see that person in me.

Guest_75865734 Trying to support someone who keeps pushing me away
  • replies: 3

I’m confused about a person suffering the spiral of depression. they’re good one minute then absent the next. They go no contact for days at a time and won’t respond to messages checking in, sometimes they blame me for their behaviour. This last epis... View more

I’m confused about a person suffering the spiral of depression. they’re good one minute then absent the next. They go no contact for days at a time and won’t respond to messages checking in, sometimes they blame me for their behaviour. This last episode has lasted almost 4 weeks and while I’ve been supportive for months, this last episode feels a little more than I can take. To be clear we were in a relationship, they probably still think we are but I’ve mentally and emotionally checked out. I feel bad about this and I’m angry, upset and hurt. I feel like a ping pong ball, never really sure what any second will bring and I’m exhausted. I’ve tried to be supportive, reached out for help in their roughest days but they’re reluctant to seek help but keep pushing me away. They keep telling me they love me but then leave me hanging like I’m a convenience and I can’t keep doing this. I want to be supportive, maybe even feel obligated, definitely feel like I have a duty of care but it’s pulling me down being treated this way. I’m struggling with feeling like I need to step away but not wanting to be yet another person who’s abandoned them. They’re also not very good at opening up, instead holding things close to their chests which makes me feel like I don’t really know them. It’s a confusing place to be. I don’t know where to turn or what to do just that I can’t keep going in what feels like this cruel cycle. I’ve experienced mental health issues in my lifetime but I’m at a loss with this situation.any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

Syllable Painful nostalgia and low expectations for future
  • replies: 2

Hi all, I am 16 years old and recently while taking a trip down memory lane I experienced this overwhelming amount of nostalgia for my past, especially childhood experiences, and was hit with this crushing wave of grief and just couldn't stop crying.... View more

Hi all, I am 16 years old and recently while taking a trip down memory lane I experienced this overwhelming amount of nostalgia for my past, especially childhood experiences, and was hit with this crushing wave of grief and just couldn't stop crying. I find myself to be quite a nostalgic person and instead of feeling warm and happy about my experiences so far in life, I find myself often feeling really freaking depressed. It kind of all came at once and made me reflect on how nice it was to feel so happy about the littlest of things and the good experiences i had with so many people. I thought of people who had passed, old relationships with family members who have now become strained, a bunch of things I just did occasionally throughout my childhood and how dreamlike and nice it all felt. Like I just remember everything feeling so adventurous and fun all the time, like literally pouring water on rocks at my grandma's old house was seen as a special event. Now currently, my life is going somewhat wrong in so many ways. My relationships with many family members feel strained because I feel like everyone hates me and we barely talk, I don't get much joy out of interacting with my friends, and the whole world kind of feels pretty gloomy rn with so much hate and slop out there. All my hobbies are solitary. There's a long list of other stuff but in short, nothing feels good anymore, just kind of bland and unfulfilling in every way. I have days where I just feel really sad and that my life is wasting away. That being said, I'm constantly trying to improve my circumstances, meeting new people, being more sociable, trying new things ect, as well as kind of doing certain things I used to do during childhood just for fun and to get a kick out of it again. But it feels like no matter what I do, nothing ever changes and for like a few years now it has just been getting worse and worse, like I never feel truly happy ever. Ik it's probably cause I'm romanticising the past or smth but like that realisation doesn't make anything better. I have moments where I literally just hope that reincarnation is real just to experience it all again, and that after I die I'll be happy with everyone again (also I DO NOT want to die, just in case this gives off a bad vibe). Now looking to the future, I just don't see anything stacking up to that. Like i could find a partner, raise kids, travel the world, but I feel like I would trade all of that for a week just to go back to my childhood doing stuff with my parents and having fun with little things and that it's all just a downward spiral from here. My whole family before me will die over time, I'll lose contact with so many people, I don't see any partners or future friends being able to make me feel better, and to top it off I'll slowly get older and weaker and more senile as time goes on, going out with a whimper. Maybe it's because I'm at an awkward phase of life right now, maybe later on moving out and building my own world will make me feel fulfilled again, but for now I just feel like it's probably just all downhill from here. Is there anyway to cope with these feelings of nostalgic grief, does life become cooler later, and is there any advice on how to actually feel fulfilled in the present again?

G79 The cost of loyalty and the reality of a corporate handshake
  • replies: 2

After ten years of giving everything to one organisation I have learned the hardest lesson of my professional life. I am sharing this anonymously to warn others who still believe in the gentleman's agreement.Before I realised I was being pushed out t... View more

After ten years of giving everything to one organisation I have learned the hardest lesson of my professional life. I am sharing this anonymously to warn others who still believe in the gentleman's agreement.Before I realised I was being pushed out the company made it a priority for me to finish all my documentation and procedures as a key part of my KPIs. I was titled as a supervisor but every peer confirmed I was performing the role of a manager. Keeping me in the lower position allowed the company to keep my pay at the award minimum while extracting maximum value from my knowledge. I was happy to support my colleagues but when pressure was placed on me I was met with silence. People were afraid that if they spoke up they would be targeted as well. It left me feeling angry and entirely alone.I reached a point where my mental health was failing and my family needed me as we faced a serious crisis with my teenager. When I went on stress leave the company was fully aware of the situation. I thought a decade of service would earn me basic human decency but I was met with hostility and treated as if my struggle was a fabrication. I was micromanaged to the point of breaking. In boardroom meetings I was isolated while my support person was made to sit at the far end of the room. A manager told me I did not care about the company while I was at my lowest. They denied my holiday leave and tried to withhold my long service leave until I proved every medical appointment date.The most painful part was watching my own systems and reports being used by others to get promotions while I was being discarded. I saw my work presented by people who took all the credit and I realised my documentation was simply being repurposed. They found me at my most vulnerable and pressured me until I signed a settlement. My lips are now legally sealed so I cannot fight back because the costs of a lawyer are too high.Now I have been out of work for over a month and the depression is heavy. It is hard to feel like the man of the house when you have been pushed out after ten years of loyalty. My advice is simple. Document everything. There is no such thing as a handshake agreement in a corporate environment. If it is not in writing it does not exist. Do not sacrifice your family or health for an organisation that views your vulnerability as a weakness to be exploited. I am just trying to find the patience and the strength to keep going and be the example my family deserves.

Guest_33999966 Life
  • replies: 2

So I have never done something like this before but it’s go to the point i need to express myself. Life feels so like hell everyday waking up same stuff different day I try everyday to upcome muself and achieve different stuff but I just can’t my hea... View more

So I have never done something like this before but it’s go to the point i need to express myself. Life feels so like hell everyday waking up same stuff different day I try everyday to upcome muself and achieve different stuff but I just can’t my head races everyday. I just think ok life is on repeat till the day I go .. it’s tiering I have no friends I’m a young female so not having a girl-friend to talk about things to need to I can’t.. it hurts but I blame myself over all these years of college high school primary I’m the reason I have no one.. my mental health always makes everyone leave left with no one.. if only I did not get mistreated at such a young age maybe Just maybe I would be different and successful..

Scared What it feels like to go insane
  • replies: 19

Been away a while and I dont know where I been. But my life views have changed dramatically. Depression sufferers are amongst the toughest breeds mankind has ever seen. The sheer weight we carry and still survive somehow is remarkable. Its sad we hav... View more

Been away a while and I dont know where I been. But my life views have changed dramatically. Depression sufferers are amongst the toughest breeds mankind has ever seen. The sheer weight we carry and still survive somehow is remarkable. Its sad we have no strength to communicate this but I am bound with my brothers and sisters for life as we struggle for survival together. Yes I have seen death felt it lived it but I see the beauty in my brothers and sisters and if I could I would protect you all. Yes my tone has changed as I have relived my hippie days during treatment. A long lost part of me that has been buried for decades. A hidden aggressive non violent protest for change that I was lost in 40 years ago at the beat if Bob Dylan Neil young at the time of Laurel Canyon and Woodstock. But I had to die first to get there and lose my mind on the way which was frightening to my core. They tried to silence the hippie for what reason. They exercised brotherly love and care for mother earth and natural lifestyles. Their non conformity towards the way things were going in the 60 70s was about LOVE and PEACE. And you stamped him out. Why? Why would you do that. Manson was never a hippie so dont blame hippies. So I live in this world eons away from the beauty I was once involved in. Not being able to tell you here where I go twice a week at hospital is a crime and yes I am anti establishment but not wrecklessly indifferent to things that make society run. My treatment is out there and I cant tell you. Thats crazy to the enlightened person because people need information but instead are bombarded by misinformation lies scams gag orders and integrity has become almost a mythical idea from a long lost time. And all this does matter. Its our health we fight daily for and it doesnt come cheap and without effort. Respect to all my brothers and sisters and let your freak flag fly and above all peace in our suffering

Guest_10441 Prep Teacher Overload
  • replies: 2

I have been a teacher for 19 years and this is the worst year of my career so far. I’ve got 3 students in my Prep class that constantly reek havoc and I’mnot receiving enough support to manage them. Each day they are taking my things, engaging in dan... View more

I have been a teacher for 19 years and this is the worst year of my career so far. I’ve got 3 students in my Prep class that constantly reek havoc and I’mnot receiving enough support to manage them. Each day they are taking my things, engaging in dangerous play (jumping off tables, running around the classroom) hitting me or other people, screaming and swearing and I’m in a constant stress state. I feel so down about it all. This evening I snapped at my own son because of the emotional fatigue. I quit drinking 2 years ago and will not return to it, I exercise most days, I eat salads and fruit smoothies everyday, I get my 8 hrs of sleep and meditate everyday. I’m trying so hard to protect my mental health but am constantly miserable. I don’t see quitting as an option but not sure how I’m going to sustain this for a year.

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