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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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

All discussions

Guest_66191041 Myself
  • replies: 2

I don’t know what to say I guess I just need help to understand my feelings or just someone to talk to and tell me what’s wrong with me

I don’t know what to say I guess I just need help to understand my feelings or just someone to talk to and tell me what’s wrong with me

Janey_beyond School and living alone
  • replies: 4

Hi, I just wanted to rant about how I’ve been feeling & hopefully gain some advice or make others feel less alone. I’m in my senior year of high school atm and have been living alone for two years now. I achieve good marks but find I regularly lose m... View more

Hi, I just wanted to rant about how I’ve been feeling & hopefully gain some advice or make others feel less alone. I’m in my senior year of high school atm and have been living alone for two years now. I achieve good marks but find I regularly lose motivation for study because of my depression, eating disorder and often feel confused about my future. My most common feeling is loneliness. I have no friends at school or in my personal life so when I come home from school, I am alone & cope with these feelings through severe binge eating. This has become a daily routine of coming home and eating until I physically feel uncomfortable. Because of this, I have gained a bit of weight and struggle with body dysmorphia. It’s very hard to go out when I feel I don’t look my best because I place a lot of my worth of the way I look. I feel whenever people are looking at me, they are judging me, which causes me to isolate myself from the world. This usually results in major depressive episodes consisting of self harm and suicidal thoughts. I find when I feel sad, it’s an excruciating pain throughout my body and I become very desperate to get rid of these feelings (hence the binging). I am seeking professional help and about to start anti depressants for the first time in a couple years, I really hope they help. Thanks for listening:)

Keith3 Depression
  • replies: 2

I have been battling PTSD, depression and anxiety since 2007. Lately I have been getting angry at the smallest things. I'm constantly upsetting my missus. I'm seeing a psychologist but lately I have been missing sessions and telling my missus it's be... View more

I have been battling PTSD, depression and anxiety since 2007. Lately I have been getting angry at the smallest things. I'm constantly upsetting my missus. I'm seeing a psychologist but lately I have been missing sessions and telling my missus it's because of overtime, but it's really because I can't get motivated to go. I have no friends and hate social situations. I am starting to struggle to remember things. I'm also struggling to understand things I'm told and things I read. I'm struggling to spell words properly now. I hate being like this.

Guest_62892192 Autism
  • replies: 1

Hi, I’m an autistic teen, and I feel like all my friends are leaving me, judging me, and just being overall toxic. I recently was called a bad human by one of them, and it feels like my only friends are ones at my old school. I am pretty depressed an... View more

Hi, I’m an autistic teen, and I feel like all my friends are leaving me, judging me, and just being overall toxic. I recently was called a bad human by one of them, and it feels like my only friends are ones at my old school. I am pretty depressed and I don’t feel that happy lately…

Yimo I feel like I am depressed because of the life change in a new university that I never experienced
  • replies: 3

I just use the sentences in the daily life is all right? To introduce myself, I am a student which came from an international school that studied easy knowledges in China. When Melbourne Uni gave me this offer, I was very pleasant and feeling very an... View more

I just use the sentences in the daily life is all right? To introduce myself, I am a student which came from an international school that studied easy knowledges in China. When Melbourne Uni gave me this offer, I was very pleasant and feeling very anticipate to this school's life. But the life changed in the study period in Australia. An unlucky and unexperienced thing that I met was I were struggled with the scam. During this time, I was trapped and controlled by Chinese which was the same country and I doubted myself very much after this thing. It was like a terrible crack down for me and several weeks later was the final week and I did nothing in the scam in this seven week and I cried a lot. It was the most awful experience that I met in Melbourne but this thing can be blamed just of myself. So I failed lots of subjects and I don't adapt the life in Australia neither.Then after this bad thing happen, I decided to study in Summer term that rely on myself and I nearly have nobody to talk about my life so I feel isolated from others a bit of time, just the originally friends and parents. But this was a small thing to me .The time right now that I wrote is I just found my interest in subject not in my high school so doing some subjects that I dislike is a very suffered thing to me. So when I studied the building class which introduces lots of information in construction industry not the mathematics one, I feel anxiety and cannot pay attention in it. The most depression feeling is I found myself cannot do a successful subject throughout my hardworking. The only thing that I can do right now is to wait for my failing another subjects in the second or third semester and I can do nothing with it. I feel very nervous about the study and I want to get a good grade but I cannot do this so it is like I feel I am very depress right know when I am typing this words.

Speechless Trying so hard but so broken
  • replies: 1

Around 6 months ago I wrote here in a very, very distressed state. I had no real support otherwise in real time. Its hard to write about myself as i have alot of shame and almost non- existent self esteem esp atm. Im 41, female who has never really l... View more

Around 6 months ago I wrote here in a very, very distressed state. I had no real support otherwise in real time. Its hard to write about myself as i have alot of shame and almost non- existent self esteem esp atm. Im 41, female who has never really left home and had traumas at a young adult age with little support other than home alone with my animals and the very nice environment we were living in. 5 acres around farmland just outside our costal tourist town.I had my big chicken house that looked like a giant cubby. I had the pleasure of having ducks, a turkey, chickens and lots of roosters, two sheep, and more. On complete rain water and out away from pollution in the fresh air, quiet away from any cars, very secluded and with a very nice view. Id lived there with my parents for 26 years, since i was 14. I have social phobia/ GAD and complex parents -mum with hearing disabilities and who can be very dominant and quiet and dictating at times. Ive always tried to help myself and at times been on a roll, but i’ve always had my environment to be my calm go-to, part of my spirituality and support for myself, my foundation, my calmness and basically a romance with the place. Nearly 6 months ago, dad declared we were moving asap because he wanted to invest money for my sister to get a house. It was a complete shock and distress. It was out of the blue with no warning and with no emotional care at all. 2-3 months asap in dead winter to find a house to buy and live by selling my everything place. It was irrational and made a prolonged distress for me having to be yelled at for being upset and having to be just me and dad moving everything. I told him i was feeling suicidal and he threw stuff at my face. It was stressful times but I was incredibly mentally unwell in a very bad way, continuing to push myself for everyone with no support. By the time we moved and i had my own time to myself, I severely broke down. I couldnt sleep, I was in severe shock and emotional distress and on my iwn with it, my mum didnt want to know. I had to ring the hospital for some support at some point.My days for months was pushing myself if i had to drive my parents anywhere and taking my dog for a walk, and then in bed so distraught and crying in so much emotional pain it hurt so much. Its now nearly 6 months later and ive come a long way from where i was emotionally, ive settled in more. I see a psychologist and counselling. I push myself everyday.I get creative with clay and gardening. Try to improve the house. But at the end of the day, im still so upset i dont have my sanctuary, half my animals, were in a built up urban area, i hate the backyard and the dark house,I feel so hopeless- the things i loved are all gone, and altho i practice radical acceptance and try to improve things- i still hate it. I love country valleys, fresh air, gumtrees bushland, away from urban, i love a sunny north facing house and farm animals. I wash myself with a bucket of rainwater boiled rather than use the horrible tap water that gives me rashes, i go outside for a drive and walk the dog to be in the sun, i plant a garden to try and improve the backyard which is slabs of concrete and a hills hoist. But at least there room for my chooks. What weve gone from to here because of dads irrational choices is hard to swallow. Our lifestyle has changed. My health has gone downhill mentally and physically. I know in my bones what i need and want in life. My sanctuary was my everything. Now when i go out, im severely depressed and severely lacking in self esteem and have somewhat self neglect. And esp at home. Its an added depression ontop of the depression i had b4 the move. I feel like ive lost my compass, ive lost my value and who i am since weve moved and i feel hopeless in ever being able to get what i want in life which is a sanctuary of my own. I feel heartbroken and not home here. I hate living urban so much, but i push myself everyday, but i know its just not me.

Atomic_Wolf_Boy Completely f*cked!!!
  • replies: 20

It's a complicated scenario but I've been wrongly diagnosed with schizophrenia and I've been stuck under psychiatry for the last twelve years. I have to have consultations every six months that I don't want to have. I have to constantly get scripts a... View more

It's a complicated scenario but I've been wrongly diagnosed with schizophrenia and I've been stuck under psychiatry for the last twelve years. I have to have consultations every six months that I don't want to have. I have to constantly get scripts and go every month to the chemist and buy un wanted medication. I have to have medical certificates and possibly occupational assessments just to legally drive a vehicle too because of it, when I'm sane anyway. After over coming weight gain, I then have had lasting un wanted belly stretch marks. To make it worse I then was diagnosed with pre diabetes and three years after that I was made to have a cholecystectomy. I'm constantly fighting with any therapist and doctor because their telling me that I'm indenyl and that I lack insight and that their experts and I know their wrong. It's abusive when I know I am the injustice and the victim. I also have so many experiences where I know it's a combination of North American's or doctors/ therapist's and their laughing about my malpractice scenario and misdiagnosis that they are trying to make me feel different, less intelligent or wither I'm more on the autistic spectrum. It's furthermore abuse. I even had one GP write caution on my patient paper when given to another GP. All my life before and even still now I've disliked my father. But I've always obviously been financially dependent on him. He tells me wither I'm disabled, soft, inept, weak, pale, wither I should be driving, wither I want to work or wither I can cook anything without burning the house down. I not only had been socially, verbally and physically bullied and degraded all during high school and hated everyone in my school. I made the mistake of knowing two of them until I was 23, when I was more wanting friends because I was in a younger personality back then. Since high school it's been 11 years and I've only had 9 month's of volunteer because I've had no direction for which jobs I would want to do. There's no certificates I want to do and I can't achieve anything from University. I won't work a apprenticeship or a traineeship or anything with construction. I was told by one of their mothers at 19 that I was a loser. I don't want to work entry sales, hospitality, factory or even retail most likely. There's no route to direct my life in now.

Earth Girl Worried about my future and not sure where to live
  • replies: 6

I'm worried about my future because I'm going to be 30 this year and I'm still having trouble getting a job. For the time being I'm fine because my parents are letting me live with them and they will also be helping to get an apartment or house, but ... View more

I'm worried about my future because I'm going to be 30 this year and I'm still having trouble getting a job. For the time being I'm fine because my parents are letting me live with them and they will also be helping to get an apartment or house, but we don't know which one would be better. I feel like it would make more sense for me to live in an apartment since I will be living by myself and it would be cheaper, but my parents are worried that there might end up being some scary people in whichever apartment I move into (I'm very shy and naive for my age). I know you can visit an apartment you're thinking of getting, but that doesn't garuntee that there won't end up being scary people there. I said to him that I will probably have to eventually move into an apartment one day anyway and he just said "mmm." (I think he knows I'm screwed either way). My older sister told me that when our parents are no longer here that she would be able to help me out with money which is very kind of her and she also said that I could live with them which is also very kind of her, but to say that we don't get along when we live together is a HUGE understatement. When we lived at home together (the parent's houses) we had at least one HUGE fight every. single. day and that's if it was an okay day. We literally fought so much, it was crazy! It's got to be better than being homeless though. I'm hoping I will be able to get a job soon with help from disability. If I can do that and I one day soonish move into a house and I get a partner, we might be able to share the bills one day if we live together. Also, do guys find it a turn off if their lady doesn't have a job? I wouldn't mind being a housekeeper if my bf was okay with that just as long as he picked up after himself and didn't order me around. I would enjoy keeping the house clean and tidy. I moved into a group house last year and for several months I was living by myself and the real estate agent said she was very impressed with how I was looking after the house and so did a lot of other people and I enjoyed keeping the house tidy. I'm assuming most men would want us to have a job as well though? Also, I still need to learn how to cook (other than just really simple things like fish, eggs and pasta).

CatMum55 TPD
  • replies: 2

Hi, I am a long term sufferer of mental illness. My current job is high pressure and I am suffering more and more as time goes on. I have taken a lot of leave and am now feeling like it is harder for me to continue on with work. I would like to make ... View more

Hi, I am a long term sufferer of mental illness. My current job is high pressure and I am suffering more and more as time goes on. I have taken a lot of leave and am now feeling like it is harder for me to continue on with work. I would like to make a claim on my income protection but am scared about the process. Is there anyone who has made a successful claim for Temporary Disability or permanent disability? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Guest_41856421 Stepchildren
  • replies: 2

So i have 2 adult stepchildren in my house and a stepdaughter and my biological son and it is hard i cop alot of disrespect from the adult stepchildren and I'm sick of it but my partner won't see it and help me and now I'm lost their also very cruel ... View more

So i have 2 adult stepchildren in my house and a stepdaughter and my biological son and it is hard i cop alot of disrespect from the adult stepchildren and I'm sick of it but my partner won't see it and help me and now I'm lost their also very cruel to my child and it is impossible to treat them all the same there is a 18 year age gap between my son and his eldest i am lost and lonely and so unsure of my life right now