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Depression

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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.

Chris_B Are you looking to support someone else with depression? PLEASE READ before posting
  • replies: 1

This forum is for people seeking support for their own mental health issues. If you're posting on behalf of someone else with a mental health issue that you're concerned about, please have a look at this section of our forums: Supporting family and f... View more

This forum is for people seeking support for their own mental health issues. If you're posting on behalf of someone else with a mental health issue that you're concerned about, please have a look at this section of our forums: Supporting family and friends with a mental health condition It's full of threads from people who have family members and friends going through anxiety, depression or other related conditions. Have a read through the threads there, and feel free to take part in the discussions. Below are also some helpful beyondblue resources you might want to look through first as well: Supporting someone Have the conversation

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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Kaylaaaaaaaa Depression/anxiety. Feeling so lost.
  • replies: 2

Hi. I’ve been taking an antidepressant for two years to manage my anxiety and depression. I’ve recently stopped taking it as I want to change meds and I’m kinda suffering really bad. I’m currently taking another medication until my doctor prescribed ... View more

Hi. I’ve been taking an antidepressant for two years to manage my anxiety and depression. I’ve recently stopped taking it as I want to change meds and I’m kinda suffering really bad. I’m currently taking another medication until my doctor prescribed me another med to take. basically, just feeling really depressed at the moment and struggling with my anxiety. I can’t help but feel alone and helpless. I don’t know what to do. I’m stuck. I’m lost. I was going to call 000 for help as I didn’t know who to go to or where to go. I live with my husband and two dogs. Almost an hour away from my mum, dad and siblings. I feel isolated and alone. I can’t cope. I just needed to let it out. I’ve got other issues going on too at the moment. I’m just very overwhelmed and everything is too much. I can’t cope.

Leigh1987 Is the fog lifting?
  • replies: 13

I have a question I would like to pose to anyone who has successfully found their way out of a depressive episode. What changes did you first notice when a depressive episode was reaching it's conclusion? My follow up question would be how did you ma... View more

I have a question I would like to pose to anyone who has successfully found their way out of a depressive episode. What changes did you first notice when a depressive episode was reaching it's conclusion? My follow up question would be how did you make the most of the changes to continue on the path to mental health? I have been in the midst of a severe depressive episode for years now so for a long time the world has been a murky, foggy, isolated hell. Lately however I have noticed some changes in how I relate to the world. Formerly I was using my television to create noise to keep me company and distract me from my obsessive thoughts. It didn't matter what I watched, I mostly watched the same things over and over actually, the familiarity was a source of comfort. Over just the last week I have come to realise I am watching things out of a genuine interest again. And not only that but I can concentrate for lengths of time when the viewing material engages me. It may be a pleasurable activity for me again. This seems like a small victory but it appears to me to be like a light finally shining through that fog of disconnection and despair. Should I take this to be an early step in recovery? Or is it possibly just a freak lull in symptoms? Either way what can I do to take advantage of this slither of sunshine between barely parted clouds? I am incomprehensibly excited that I have finally enjoyed something again even if it is something as basic as watching tv. It has ignited a flicker of hope no matter how small.

Butterfly20 Feeling useless and stuck
  • replies: 1

I feel so worthless, not good enough, lack confidence, have fear of failing or making wrong decisions, i feel like i am disappointing myself and others all the time. These feelings have been with me since childhood and I am 35 now. Its like this dark... View more

I feel so worthless, not good enough, lack confidence, have fear of failing or making wrong decisions, i feel like i am disappointing myself and others all the time. These feelings have been with me since childhood and I am 35 now. Its like this darkness thats always there in the background and just intensifies during difficult times or percieved difficult times. As I am getting older it is more complex and intense. Im aware of thoughts i have, but I find it so hard to dissociate from them. I get so involved that they exhaust me, paralise me and stop me from taking action towards things that matter to me. This then makes me feel even worse because then I just feel pathetic and weak. I just feel like I don’t deserve life since I can’t live and I know as I get older it will only get worse. I even started being forgetful, can’t focus and lost motivation completely. This is my current situation where the above affect me: Currently I am due to go back to work from Maternity leave in couple of months but I really would prefer to look for another job. I have been working for this employer for almost 10 years and I really feel like I need a change because towards the end I was feeling miserable at work but stuck around due to maternity leave. The factors that are stopping me from looking for another job are: feeling bad that i will let my employer down, thinking I am not good enough/not competent enough, fear of being rejected, thinking someone else will get it anyway, also being indecisive of which path to take because i dont want to wrong decision. Not working for 10 months also did not help my confidence. All of this makes me feel so useless and worthless. I hate being the way I am. I feel that most people have their life figured out by now and seem to be more successful, doing better and coping well with life. I just feel so pathetic and useless, like i am not capeable of living. This current situation has made me so depressed. I’ve been loosing sleep, i lost my appetite, i lost joy in things and i have absolutely no motivation for anything. I attend to my baby and his needs and then clean house when i have energy but thats about it. By end of day i feel so exhausted. I just feel so useless and like a failure. I feel bad for my son too, I really dont want him to end up like me but how can I teach him things that I can’t figure out myself. I just dont know what to do. I feel like there is no way out and that i will forever be stuck with being like this.

Miranda_J Not sure what is wrong with me
  • replies: 3

Hi, I just need some help to understand what is wrong with me. I’m not originally from Australia but the uk and I’ve lived here for 3 years, the past 2 with my partner who is Australian. I suffered with depression around 10 years ago in the uk due to... View more

Hi, I just need some help to understand what is wrong with me. I’m not originally from Australia but the uk and I’ve lived here for 3 years, the past 2 with my partner who is Australian. I suffered with depression around 10 years ago in the uk due to an abusive relationship and spent many years looking after myself and thought I got through it. this relationship is the first since and things are ok my partner loves me dearly I can trust him but I don’t see anything good in my life and it’s ruining everything. We struggled with his family accepting our relationship and how toxic they were to him, so we moved and he has been very supportive of everything to do with our life however I feel like I am alone and push him away. I don’t have many friends that don’t have their own life or kids That will be that friend I guess I need. My partner works fifo so I am quite alone a lot of the time. We are in a semi rural part of Australia and moving further isn’t an option but being where we are means little options for me to meet people. I am out of touch with the things I enjoy because I can’t reach it here. I just feel alone and lost and like my severe depression from years ago has come back and I don’t know what to do. I go to sleep hoping I won’t wake up. I don’t feel like I have a purpose or use and that I’ve become dependent on my partner when that’s the last thing I want to do. I hate myself how I look how I feel and I don’t know how or what I can do to make a change

darce Getting Help
  • replies: 2

I'm trying to finally get on top of my depression and have recently been back to my doctor to change my meds and she said I should start going to a psychologist again, but I don't know who to go to, as i've only gone to talk to someone back in my hom... View more

I'm trying to finally get on top of my depression and have recently been back to my doctor to change my meds and she said I should start going to a psychologist again, but I don't know who to go to, as i've only gone to talk to someone back in my home town and now that I live in the city (Melbourne) I don't know where to start. Been looking online but it's so hard to know if someone is actually good from their bio's alone, and my doctor didn't know of any that weren't booked out for months. Just trying to find someone good because I've had bad runs with psychs in the past and I know that it really takes a lot out of me to actually talk to someone, like I seem to have a major setback in my illness for a few days afterwards so I don't want to go through that with someone who may not be good

Allymay94 Waking up feeling weird in the head.
  • replies: 5

Ok everything I’m gonna say think of it as not psychically. So I sometimes wake up and my head feels like there’s a loud sound inside it (again not literally) I don’t know how to explain it I don’t feel pain, I don’t know why I would be scared, I don... View more

Ok everything I’m gonna say think of it as not psychically. So I sometimes wake up and my head feels like there’s a loud sound inside it (again not literally) I don’t know how to explain it I don’t feel pain, I don’t know why I would be scared, I don’t hear noises or have any psychicall symptoms just want to hold my head and I squeeze my eyes tight! My heart would sometimes be pounding and other times not. I tend to be ok falling asleep I just lose track of my thoughts quickly and have I have more awareness of my pre sleep visions which can sometimes cause me distress. But anyway my head all of a sudden after waking up just feels like it’s vibrating (not literally) kinda like I’m stuck in my own head but I’m not actually thinking of anything besides “calm down your fine” it doesn’t last to long and I can get back to sleep fine. I tried to explain it to my psych but she didn’t really give me any idea what it is. Hope someone can help thanks

Leigh1987 Should Depression be renamed?
  • replies: 12

Hi all, I just wanted to share a few thoughts I have about depression being a misnomer. One frustration of depression is the internal experience differing from what it looks like on the outside. Friends have said to me for instance that I am refusing... View more

Hi all, I just wanted to share a few thoughts I have about depression being a misnomer. One frustration of depression is the internal experience differing from what it looks like on the outside. Friends have said to me for instance that I am refusing to enjoy life or have fun. However from my perspective I am just incapable of enjoyment while I am going through a depressive period. I think this stems from the incorrect view that depression is the same as being sad or low. After all when they felt low they engaged in positive activities and felt better. Thus they don't understand the experience of the condition as opposed to simply being depressed. As our understanding moves away from viewing depression as a feebleness of the mind and towards seeing it as a condition that impacts on both mind and body I really do think we should consider reterming it altogether. This would help move away from misconceptions and towards a more nuanced appreciation of the illness. It would help alleviate at least one frustration experienced by sufferers. Thoughts? Feelings?

Gonetroppo Lock down
  • replies: 3

Hi everybody, I came on this site some months age, stuck around for a while then wandered off. I've come back over the last couple of days. Life has been a little tough. I moved from Adelaide to Melbourne last November and have spent 6 of the 10 mont... View more

Hi everybody, I came on this site some months age, stuck around for a while then wandered off. I've come back over the last couple of days. Life has been a little tough. I moved from Adelaide to Melbourne last November and have spent 6 of the 10 months I've been here in some form of lock down. The isolation has been difficult to deal with (I live alone). I usually spend a lot of time on my own and generally prefer to be by myself. I don't really form strong social networks. I usually get my social contact through work but obviously I don't have that right now. It has been difficult to link up with health professionals, so only been only the meds to get through this. I have been able to hook up with some doctors which has made life a lot easier. I still struggle and the hardest things to deal with are sleep and work. My sleep is all over the place at the moment. In fact, I can't remember the last time I fell asleep before 3 am. The other thing is work. I don't function well in an unstructured environment and home lacks the structure I need to stay productive. Before I moved here, I lived in two bedroom apartments and I always used one room as an office. I'm in a single bedroom here so I don't have a dedicated space for work. I have fallen behind on a lot on work tasks - something that is causing some stress. I've been trying a lot of things to fix this but haven't yet come up with something that works. Anyway, that's my life right now. I guess it could be worse.

Padden There’s no point
  • replies: 3

There’s no point. We live and then we die. my husband is dead. He was my everything and now there’s no point in continuing. I wish I could die. I have spent my whole life trying so hard to be a good person, someone lovable but now there’s no one. My ... View more

There’s no point. We live and then we die. my husband is dead. He was my everything and now there’s no point in continuing. I wish I could die. I have spent my whole life trying so hard to be a good person, someone lovable but now there’s no one. My family have not supported me at all since my husband died. I have no one to talk to or share anything with. People might say, let me know if there’s anything I can do but what can they do. They can’t bring him back, they can’t make it hurt less. There’s nothing so I say nothing and hurt on my own. I can’t do this. This isn’t a life and I don’t see any hope that it will get better. Every day I wish I could die. what is the point in trying to feel better. Terrible things will happen and there is so much pain still to come in my life.

Lagela How to get husband to understand it’s a condition.
  • replies: 18

This has been a long journey and still undiagnosed. I’m just coming out of number 5 MDE, all suicidal but no attempts. I have realised that my husband has been one of the hurdles in me getting the support that I need. I have been scared for a long ti... View more

This has been a long journey and still undiagnosed. I’m just coming out of number 5 MDE, all suicidal but no attempts. I have realised that my husband has been one of the hurdles in me getting the support that I need. I have been scared for a long time to get help and felt like I am to blame and have to save the relationship before myself. it actually feels refreshing to have this realisation but I do need help with it. Because I do value my marriage - it’s great when things are great. sorry for the ramble - not the clearest mind today.