Depression

Depression affects people in Australia every day. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with depression.

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BeyondBlue Hello! Read this if you're not sure how to get started
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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

All discussions

Karp Alone :(
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Hello, I am a newbie here but have been suffering for a long time. I am 31 and have no friends. Sure there are people around me like on Facebook but they are not really friends. I have been alone since 20 years old and I feel like it's taking its tol... View more

Hello, I am a newbie here but have been suffering for a long time. I am 31 and have no friends. Sure there are people around me like on Facebook but they are not really friends. I have been alone since 20 years old and I feel like it's taking its toll on me. I can't live like this anymore. My family tries to understand but I don't think they do completely. I literally have no one to talk to nor hang out with. I live alone with my dog and do not have a current job. I cry every night wondering where I went wrong I feel a doctor wouldn't be able to help because they won't be able to give me friends. I feel like I don't want to go outside anymore cause I don't want to see other people making memories with friends. No guy will want me because I have no friends. I'm in agony everyday. I just don't want to live like this anymore. I am so lonely

Leslie_ Start of the year was wonderful, then everything turned upside down.
  • replies: 9

Hello, this is my first time dealing with depression and looking for help while I wait for a psychologist. I quit my job to move from Melbourne to Perth in February with my boyfriend where he grew up and wanted to return. I started uni in early March... View more

Hello, this is my first time dealing with depression and looking for help while I wait for a psychologist. I quit my job to move from Melbourne to Perth in February with my boyfriend where he grew up and wanted to return. I started uni in early March, and then the country went into lock down a few weeks later. I was doing ok for the first couple of weeks, staying on track with uni and doing things around the house, but in the last 4 weeks my mental state really fell apart. I was fighting with my boyfriend, missing assignments, not wanting to get out of bed, and when I did I just moved to the couch. I started having suicidal thoughts because I felt so alone and I knew how far behind with uni I was, I couldn't see myself catching up. Everyday I feel like crying. I've just come back to Melbourne and need to get back to Perth for a practical assessment for uni. My boyfriend is saying that I'm not ready to come back because I haven't seen a psychologist. But I feel that by the weekend, I will be ready to come back and I need to get back, and if I miss this assessment then I won't have any reason to continue with uni, nor will I feel re-energised to get back on track. I don't know what to do. He's telling me to change the date for the assessment but all the sessions are booked out. I don't really know if anyone has some advice or anything, but I guess this is just a first step for me while I wait. Thank you for taking the time to read, I look forward to reading your comments. Stay safe xo

mel_04 i feel like there’s nothing left for me anymore
  • replies: 4

my parents couldn’t give a crap about me. nobody talks to me unless i start a conversation. why am i here anymore, what is my purpose, i don’t understand. i can’t do math, i’m falling behind so much in school, my body is disgusting and my face is une... View more

my parents couldn’t give a crap about me. nobody talks to me unless i start a conversation. why am i here anymore, what is my purpose, i don’t understand. i can’t do math, i’m falling behind so much in school, my body is disgusting and my face is uneven. nobody wants me, needs me or even thinks i’m important. i don’t even think about su1c1de, i think if it hurts.

Yelah90 Tired soul.
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I can't explain it but I'm tired not in the sleep way, my soul is tired. My friend and I made plans yesterday but she went to out with other people. I'm trying my hardest to keep getting support, but when is it enough? I went out for a bushwalk I did... View more

I can't explain it but I'm tired not in the sleep way, my soul is tired. My friend and I made plans yesterday but she went to out with other people. I'm trying my hardest to keep getting support, but when is it enough? I went out for a bushwalk I didn't want to but I was going to let my dad down So I force myself to go. All I'm saying is when is it okay to give in, stop trying, because feels li k e I'm just stuck here. Rotting away here anyways. But I'll keep on trying.

Lucyloo222 Lonely and trapped and no way out
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Hi I’m not sure why I’m posting here I guess I’m searching for help because I’m not really sure what to do anymore.. I’m 24 and I’ve worked on projects for the last few years so move to different remote areas all the time.. This in itself creates a l... View more

Hi I’m not sure why I’m posting here I guess I’m searching for help because I’m not really sure what to do anymore.. I’m 24 and I’ve worked on projects for the last few years so move to different remote areas all the time.. This in itself creates a lot of loneliness as I’ve found it’s inevitable that you lose touch with your friends and family back home.. people move on with their lives while your away.. I always had my long term partner working away with me though so I was happy.. we then broke up and I got into a relationship straight away because I made a mistake and felt I couldn’t be alone.. I was then alienated from everyone I knew.. I moved away and never spoke to my friends or family and isolated myself completely with this person.. He gave me a job and looked after me and i didn’t know how to look after myself so I stayed because I was scared of being alone.. anyway I finally came up with the courage to break it off because I knew it wasn’t right and now I am completely alone.. I feel stupid because atleast I had someone to talk to even if it wasn’t a good relationship.. I’m now back living with my parent and it is a hostile dangerous place for me that I don’t feel safe in.. but I can’t leave as I’m not working anymore. i can’t find somewhere to live that is affordable for just me.. I have slowly isolated myself from everyone by one way or another and now I don’t have anyone in my life that I can talk to about this.. I have no one to help me and I’m not sure how to help myself.. I’ve made so many mistakes and lost so many people.. I can’t think one 1 person that would notice I was gone if I disappeared tomorrow.. I feel trapped and don’t see a way out of this

Andyst Lonliness with no end
  • replies: 4

I'm not sure what I'm hoping for by posting here, perhaps simply expressing it somewhere will help or maybe help someone else. I'm 29, male, and have never been in a long-term relationship or at least any meaningful relationship. I feel like I've fai... View more

I'm not sure what I'm hoping for by posting here, perhaps simply expressing it somewhere will help or maybe help someone else. I'm 29, male, and have never been in a long-term relationship or at least any meaningful relationship. I feel like I've failed at life and there is no going back. I really can't see how or when I'm going to find someone that loves me. I constantly feel down, unmotivated and sad. I don't see anyway out. In my late teens and most of my twenties I simply took the rejections and failures at dating to be just part of the process. But having recently moved back from the UK after 3.5 years there (I quit my job in my mid 20s to do a PhD), I see all my friends here moving on in there careers, in long-term relationships, getting married, or having kids. I feel left behind with no hope of finding happiness with anyone. All my female friends in the UK where either already in relationships or weren't interested in me. I really thought I would meet someone in the UK who shared my interests and things but it just didn't work out. I don't see how things are going to change. The sort of employment that my PhD leads to is one where I will end up spending short amounts of time (1-2) years hopping between different unis. This is not going to help with settling down into a stable relationship. When I start thinking about the future and my 30s I feel my chest tightening and almost have a sort of panicked anxious feeling. When I tell people how all this makes me feel they say I should be happy that I'm privileged to have been able to study what I love and do it at a high level. But I would give it all up just for a girlfriend or some prospect of a loving relationship.

SamanthaCam Overthinking Perfectionist
  • replies: 6

Hi Im a 27year old Female living with my fiance in our 1 year old brand new house, we are due to get married in August pending Corona Virus Restrictions... But I am constantly finding myself overthinking and pin pointing small details of the house th... View more

Hi Im a 27year old Female living with my fiance in our 1 year old brand new house, we are due to get married in August pending Corona Virus Restrictions... But I am constantly finding myself overthinking and pin pointing small details of the house that i dislike and then it begins to spiral into me hating everything and nothing is perfect. I do feel like im a perfectionist, as when i was younger at school, if something wasn't done right i would start again multiple times until it was perfect, and i feel these tendencies are coming back more aggressively. I know that i love my house as we designed everything how we wanted it, and its beautiful, but then my mind begins to wonder and i cant help but feel like its not good enough. Im struggling with turning off these thoughts and being at peace as its still a work in progress: landscaping not done etc.. But i really cant. I dont want to live like this and i dont know how to turn my head off

lola1234567 where to start
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Around 18 months ago I started a new part time job. It has been a really stressful environment and I found myself constantly stressing about work, waking up in the night and being unable to sleep because I was so worried. This lead to me constantly f... View more

Around 18 months ago I started a new part time job. It has been a really stressful environment and I found myself constantly stressing about work, waking up in the night and being unable to sleep because I was so worried. This lead to me constantly feeling down, even when I was on a holiday or taking time off work I was in a really bad mental state. Things started to get worse and I would with feel withdrawn, nauseous, tired for nor reason, unmotivated and just unhappy. After feeling this way on and off for almost nine months I have begun to wonder if I suffer from a form of depression My biggest problem is I don't know how to go about this. What sort of medical profession do I talk to in order to find out if I do have depression? What can I do to help me cope? Is there something else that could be making me feel this way? and should i talk to someone about this? I want to tell someone but I don't want people to see me feeling this sort of way as a burden, or for people to worry about me. Thank you

Kid_in_denial My BPD hell
  • replies: 3

Diagnosed with BPD about 3 years ago after a long battle with "not feeling like myself" and I am really struggling to stay connected with therapies and medications. Most of the time I feel like I have lived like this for so long that this is the only... View more

Diagnosed with BPD about 3 years ago after a long battle with "not feeling like myself" and I am really struggling to stay connected with therapies and medications. Most of the time I feel like I have lived like this for so long that this is the only normal for me. I mean what's a few mood swings and a touch of emotional instability, right? I ditched a few shitty relationships (surprise surprise) and was happily living my single life - with only a few self sabotaging behaviours and an addiction problem. Addiction to anything I can be addicted to really. And alas, along comes a person who makes the world stop and confesses their growing feelings for me. At first I was so unsure if I could feel the same. It took months of thinking and no pressure to give in to the idea that romantic feelings could develop. Well I thought I was being mature and was using my brilliant insight to make every tiny decision, until BAM! I let love in. Now I haven't confessed my undying love and I am not chasing them away with my obsessive need to hear them say good morning as soon as I see they are online, but instead I am internalising all of these thoughts and being dumped with them in my lonely hours, trying to sift through what is logical and what is all in my head! This person has been a close friend for 20 years. There are no surprises when it comes to my mental health. I just can't keep reading internet articles about BPD and relationships. I need to talk to a real person. Someone please connect. xx

Seeta Depersonalisation
  • replies: 5

I’m new in here but I just wanted to ask if anyone else feeling the same. I feel really strange as if I’m the only person in this world and that everyone else is in my imagination. I can’t sleep at allll and every day is becoming harder and harder. T... View more

I’m new in here but I just wanted to ask if anyone else feeling the same. I feel really strange as if I’m the only person in this world and that everyone else is in my imagination. I can’t sleep at allll and every day is becoming harder and harder. Things seem so fake.