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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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Woody79 So numb to it all.
  • replies: 3

Hello, First time posting here and I don’t usually reach out like this, but....... So I’ve had (suffered) from Major Depression and GAD since adolescence (I turned 39 in June), been hospitalised for it, lost jobs because of it, there’s nothing here t... View more

Hello, First time posting here and I don’t usually reach out like this, but....... So I’ve had (suffered) from Major Depression and GAD since adolescence (I turned 39 in June), been hospitalised for it, lost jobs because of it, there’s nothing here that most of you can’t relate to so I won’t bore you all to death. But lately (over a year) I just feel so numb to everything, to me there is just no happiness to be found anywhere. Like most of you, I slap a smile on my face around people so I don’t burden anyone with my problems, but It’s getting harder to keep the smile there and even harder to pretend that I’m interested in anything. I just want to curl up into a ball and be left alone............. but at the same time I want to feel better and get excited about life again. Anyway I think I just needed to get these thoughts out of my mind and onto “paper.” Feel free to disregard

Rika23 What is the point?
  • replies: 5

Hi, im recently new here, i have joined to ask for advice from a different point of view and support people that are also struggling any way i can. I have struggled with depression a long time now and its recently been getting worse i have been askin... View more

Hi, im recently new here, i have joined to ask for advice from a different point of view and support people that are also struggling any way i can. I have struggled with depression a long time now and its recently been getting worse i have been asking myself what is the point of living anymore, whats the point of getting out of bed, i have skipped appointments, meals just daily things cause i dont see a point of anything anymore. I am confused and been struggling with my identity as a person and in the society we now live in. I tried working and thought i was doing fine for a while but after a couple of months i started getting really down to the point i was admitted in hospital. Every time i went to work it felt like i was being put in a bind, being pulled down, suffocating looking around every corner for a exit to breathe and be free , i wanted to stop freaking out and stop making so many mistakes, to be calm to not dread the next awaiting day again and again, to the point i stopped going to work and quit. I tried to work at other places but also felt the same pain over and over again. I have stopped trying to be in relationships because i have a feeling no one will love me until i love myself which to be honest i never have in my entire life. I hate myself so much i feel useless and worthless and cant understand how people get up in the mornings now or gets up at all. I dont see the point of working, eating, or living but i still try cause i know i still have loved ones around me and care for me so i do not give up entirely because of them, i may have given up on myself but they have not given up on me so i will continue fighting even if i live a depressing life its good enough to me to be there for them in return for what they done for me. Im lost and cant see much ahead of me right now, all i can see is tears, so here i am reaching out.... please help me

sqood On-and-off nothingness. I don’t know any more.
  • replies: 5

Hi. As the title says, I really just don’t know. I just know I need to talk and I don’t know how. I did have someone to talk to, for a while. She was the best part of my life. She was always there when I needed her. She’s the only person I’ve ever ta... View more

Hi. As the title says, I really just don’t know. I just know I need to talk and I don’t know how. I did have someone to talk to, for a while. She was the best part of my life. She was always there when I needed her. She’s the only person I’ve ever talked to about my real thoughts and feelings. I still fell, but she was always there to pick me up. We broke up about a year and a half ago, after being together for a bit more than a year. Ever since I’ve had no one to pick me up. I haven’t talked to anyone since either. Not in the way I used to talk to her. There’s another void left in me where she used to fit. Just another void among dozens. I guess I should explain exactly how I feel. Some days it’s just nothingness. Other days I feel everything at once. The nothingness isn’t a neutral nothingness. It’s a slow, sad nothingness. Like everything is difficult and I can barely move. And when I say I feel everything at once, I mean that I’m attacked by negative emotions. Anger, sadness, regret, guilt. Plus any number of other feelings my brain feels like torturing me with on that day. It comes and goes. It’s been happening for the past six years, give or take. I feel just fine, happy even, for a while. Maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe a month. But I always fall again. It was especially bad in years 11 and 12 of school. I thought I just hated school and I’d be fine when I started uni because I’d be studying what I love to do. I’m now doing that course. Yet I still fall. And I’m struggling more and more to pick myself up. I should be loving life right now. I’m young, have amazing friends and I’m studying something I love. So why do I feel like this? All my passion is gone. I’m failing assessments because I just don’t care. I need to talk to someone, but the only time I’m capable of talking about it is also the only time I don’t want to talk about it. My mother is an absolutely lovely person, and I know that if I tell her about how I feel she will blame herself for being a failure of a parent. I can’t do that to her. My father, on the other hand, just wouldn’t care if I told him. He’d just tell me it’s all in my head. As for my friends, I know they’d be there for me. I can guarantee that they would do whatever it takes to help me. But I don’t want to impose on other people’s lives with my problems. They all have problems of their own, and I’d hate to see them inconvenience themselves for me. I need help but can’t ask for it. I guess this is my first step.

pj1987a Depressed - Addicted
  • replies: 2

Hi All, First post. I am a 31yo male who needs some help. I have depression and anxiety. I am having a major issue with pornography addiction. I am finding myself in a never ending cycle. I am lonely and depressed, so I look up porn obsessively. But ... View more

Hi All, First post. I am a 31yo male who needs some help. I have depression and anxiety. I am having a major issue with pornography addiction. I am finding myself in a never ending cycle. I am lonely and depressed, so I look up porn obsessively. But then that makes me feel even more depressed and upset/ sad as I had promised myself to never look at it again. It just continues and continues..... It is effecting my work as I have lost all self confidence, made me anxious etc..... I have never been good socially, but I am becoming more and more socially withdrawn. Does anyone know of some good self help, plans, books etc to break this porn addiction. I don't know what else to do ? I've tried web filters/ blockers in the past, they work for a while, then I convince myself to disable the filter what ever way possible. Even if I hide the passwords from myself. I still find a way....

Intrigued123 Golden question of what's the meaning of life!
  • replies: 4

Hi, New here/to beyond blue in general. I don't necessarily think I have depression but I don't also quite know what's up with my mental health (In my mid-twenties for reference). I had to have 2 weeks off work due to a surgery, which has caused me t... View more

Hi, New here/to beyond blue in general. I don't necessarily think I have depression but I don't also quite know what's up with my mental health (In my mid-twenties for reference). I had to have 2 weeks off work due to a surgery, which has caused me to stay in bed/home. This has resulted in me spending a lot of time thinking about this thing we call life. I could sense that over the past couple of months I've been a little down, but in these 2 weeks, I've really had the grand old question of 'what is the meaning of life?', constantly come up in my mind. Sure I haven't had a boyfriend in the past 5 years or so, but I don't necessarily think that me being with someone just all of a sudden means life is ace. I'm sure after years of being with someone and having a family, I will eventually come back to this question.What is the actual purpose of life? We get married, we have kids, we have fun and travel the world, but what does this all mean? Don't get me wrong, I have a very strong community around me currently, and have many friends. I literally had people visit me every 2nd day whilst recovering. But still can't shake this weird feeling of emptiness/lack of clarity about life. I see my friends, I go to work and sure I have fun along the way, but I find myself sometimes just counting down hours and days for no real reason. It's like I'm just counting down time until I die of old age or something! It's actually all quite hard to explain, in terms of what I'm actually feeling. It's this weird thing that I only really think about when I'm alone or at night before I go to sleep. Anywho, not sure what the answer is but figured I should write this all down somewhere. Cheers,

Sara25 Depressed again!
  • replies: 2

Hi i’ve battled depressed and anxiety for years, but felt like i’ve been managing well the last few years. Then on Tuesday it hit me again at full force. Went from the night before feeling pretty good, to having to leave work feeling dreadful - panic... View more

Hi i’ve battled depressed and anxiety for years, but felt like i’ve been managing well the last few years. Then on Tuesday it hit me again at full force. Went from the night before feeling pretty good, to having to leave work feeling dreadful - panicky, nauseous, and generally feeling like everything is pointless. It’s the worst i’ve felt in a long time if ever. I’ve got a supportive husband, and two young kids and I feel guilty i’m putting them through this. I’m trying to do things to help me feel better, getting outside etc but I only having small moments of slight release. Hoping getting off my chest and hearing how others have got through sudden bouts of severe depression/anxiety might help.

Asenna Recurrent brief depression or dysthymia
  • replies: 24

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone can tell me why I go down in my mood and feel hopeless, anxious, depressed, sad and have absolutely no pleasure in life. It’s been going like this for almost 4 years. The strange thing is that by the evening at aro... View more

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone can tell me why I go down in my mood and feel hopeless, anxious, depressed, sad and have absolutely no pleasure in life. It’s been going like this for almost 4 years. The strange thing is that by the evening at around 5-6 pm 99% of the time it lifts and I feel more relaxed and I feel more sociable. The depression seems to last about 7 days and then it goes away along with all the negativity that comes with it for it too only last one week or maybe two. There are even times it could last for two months for something to happen and I feel it gradually come back and I’m in the thick of it for another week. I feel it was dysthymia it would be a constant feeling of being sad and constantly negative. But it’s just not the case. I’ve found it hard to work for the last 4 years and I’ve only convinced my psychiatrist to put me on a mood stablizer with my current AD. I’ve been on ADs for twenty years and it’s served me well but I’ve had a number of life altering things happen along the way that has shaken my equilibrium. One was being told I had cancer of the liver to be told 3 weeks later that it was nothing. I freaked out quite badly. Then cracks in my marriage started to appear and just as we started to sort that out I got possibly ptsd which completely F’ed me. I was still struggling with that and even during that I was having these ups and downs. A year later my wife left me and I desperately begged and lived on hope for about 3 years of getting her back. It’s been very much a yo-yo since 2014 and I want it too stop. I don’t understand how I can be depressed for a week for it to go away almost completely and I become engaged in the world, out going and feel much lighter and even possibly go on dates for it to come back again a week or two later and be quite debilitated by it. I don’t get it. What do you think? I’m sure its not bipolar as I don’t get highs or manic highs, and if it was dysthymia it wouldnt just stay for a week, and then disappear for a while and then strike again. Im at my wits end as my fingers are crossed it will be sorted by the mood stabliser. I cannot keep living like this. It’s just debilitating and soul zapping. Fab

D_Junior It feels like i found out who i am, and i hate it
  • replies: 3

Recently i have started to feel anxious about every conversation ive ever had, it feels like everything i have done and the moments in my life where ive felt fulfilled or happy where all just lies, all my friends are only my friends because they feel... View more

Recently i have started to feel anxious about every conversation ive ever had, it feels like everything i have done and the moments in my life where ive felt fulfilled or happy where all just lies, all my friends are only my friends because they feel sorry for me, or cant shake me. Everyone has just been taking the piss out of me and ive never noticed it. No one has told me when im being stupid or annoying because they're too nice or believed im too nice and did not want to upset me. I cant help but feel, i am just a unintelligent, uninteresting and that i have very poor social skills. I just want someone to tell me the truth so i can work out if it is just my anxiety or something else like low self esteem, or something i can work to recover. I have been diagnosed with Major depressive disorder and Anxiety, and also Borderline Personality disorder. But these thoughts are new and have slowly started to creep in, all these passed events in my life have started to make sense, and im starting to see that maybe people treat me differently. Which sucks, i just want to be normal and have a normal life, and not even be happy. I just dont want to be a charity case. Cheers for any advice

Ravk So close to giving up
  • replies: 3

Hi, for about 5-6 years I've been suffering from anxiety and depression (which has been caused by several events during my life), and have recently started seeing a counsellor about it. However I dont receive constant or immediate assistance. Over th... View more

Hi, for about 5-6 years I've been suffering from anxiety and depression (which has been caused by several events during my life), and have recently started seeing a counsellor about it. However I dont receive constant or immediate assistance. Over the last few weeks I feel like I haven't been normal and haven't been doing things I used to. I recently came back from Europe from a study tour and since then I haven't been the same. During the study tour I went through some periods where I felt like I was being bullied, I had some people who studied with me that had called me names and basically cornered me. Also recently, I was once again rejected by a 'close friend' who I have had on and off feelings for since he claims to never feel the same (there's more to that story). But overall I have been going through 'lapses' of depression (like even 2-3 in a day) and I end up spending the entire day in bed with no motivation to do anything. Everyday I feel more lonelier and lonelier, and it's coming to the point where I dont really feel like I have anyone to talk to. So that's why I made the initiative to post here. I just need some support and advice to help myself out of this mess. Thanks a lot.

Missberri Room mate issues
  • replies: 3

Hi all, I'm feeling really down at the moment and feel like i don't have anyone to talk to. I'm struggling a bit in a few areas of my life and I guess a lot of it is involving my social anxiety. For one - I am struggling at work a bit. I started a ne... View more

Hi all, I'm feeling really down at the moment and feel like i don't have anyone to talk to. I'm struggling a bit in a few areas of my life and I guess a lot of it is involving my social anxiety. For one - I am struggling at work a bit. I started a new job 4 months ago and while it has been fine I've found it hard to build any work relationships. I feel as though I had a lot of friendships in the very beginning but most of those people have now left. It's a very big company that I work in and it's really odd having so many people around and not really having anyone to talk to. I think this is somewhat the nature of my team as when I see other new people start as well I always see them sitting alone, not really welcomed very openly into the company and while everyone in my team is so nice - no one puts any effort in to really involve any of the newcomers. It's been hard as I am a very shy person and I've just given up on trying with the people at my work in a way. So I spend the whole 38 hours each week sitting at my desk alone not really speaking to anyone and feeling really isolated and alone. Another issue I'm having is one with my room mate. My room mate is one of my closest friends but I am starting to feel really tired of her and have for a while.. This week she invited my ex up so they could see a concert together (as they are also good friends) and I was okay with this at first, but having him here has really started to make me feel really down. He was supposed to leave on wednesday but he is still here and it's sunday. The two of them have been flirting, laughing going out together for food and shopping and I have just been here in the background and crying in my room. Being around him is bringing up so many negative feelings as he is someone who hurt me so badly over and over again. I have tried to stay friends with him as my room mate still is but this is becoming really difficult. The fact that she is being completely inconsiderate of my feelings really hurts as well. I just don't know if i can be friends with her anymore because this is just for me, crossing the line. I am so scared to lose a friend but I really can't take this.. I haven't felt this down in a while and I just want to move on from my past with my ex. I feel like a complete mess.. completely unwanted, unloved and like I'm not worth the time of day as this is how he made me feel in the past. I feel like I am being the problem here for being upset that he is here but really hurts..