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?
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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
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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

Wombatz How can I fix it if you won’t talk to me?
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Have you heard this before? When you are in a state of total shutdown, you can’t talk, you can’t “fix it”. Husband just doesn’t get it. So I withdraw more. It’s not all about you FFS!

Have you heard this before? When you are in a state of total shutdown, you can’t talk, you can’t “fix it”. Husband just doesn’t get it. So I withdraw more. It’s not all about you FFS!

cc11 my boyfriend has depression and i dont know how to help
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my boyfriend and i are both 17 and just started dating a month ago, however we’ve been friends for years. He has depression and i feel like im very useless at trying to help him. He has family issues where he feels like his whole family hates him and... View more

my boyfriend and i are both 17 and just started dating a month ago, however we’ve been friends for years. He has depression and i feel like im very useless at trying to help him. He has family issues where he feels like his whole family hates him and he’s currently dealing with his parents divorce and his dad moving out. He usually talks about how his life sucks and he hates his life but during a call last night, he broke down whilst he was drunk and cried to me about how he couldnt deal with his life anymore. I continue to tell him im always there to listen to him but i feel like im not giving him the answers/words he needs to hear. i havent dealt with anyone with depression and i really do want to be there for him. Can someone give me few advices on this please! i’ve read several articles about how to help someone with depression but i feel like theyre not helping as much because theyre most useful to adults and not teenagers.

Kevo62 Fatigue and headache.
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Just want to sleep to turn off my thoughts. Makes Me so tied with overwhelming heaviness in my body.??

Just want to sleep to turn off my thoughts. Makes Me so tied with overwhelming heaviness in my body.??

TJR Help?
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I suffer from Anxiety, depression and PTSD and sometimes it gets really bad. but the main reason i am writing this right now is because lately I feel like I don't exist. I barely have any friends and the friends i always end up with end up leaving be... View more

I suffer from Anxiety, depression and PTSD and sometimes it gets really bad. but the main reason i am writing this right now is because lately I feel like I don't exist. I barely have any friends and the friends i always end up with end up leaving because of my mental health, i feel alone. i wish people actually cared, it is as if i am invisible, i don't know, i feel depressed for no reason at all what so ever. my own best friend only ask me if i am okay if she sees i post something like "no one even ask if i am okay?". i don't see a point in being alive, but like i would do anything? i have gone there before and so how hurt my family was. my siblings ignore me and expect me to be like them. i feel like the burden of the family. my siblings have great jobs, they finished school, they aren't quiet. where as i am full of mistakes, i dropped out of school due to the work being to easy for me. i don't want to work with food but all i keep hearing is "working with food is usually someones first job". i have a psychologist and i like her helping but talking verbally isn't my thing when it comes to my problems. i feel as if i am always someones last choice, people say that isn't true but i know it is because i have seen that i am with my own eyes. i get so irritated easily. i just don't know what to do anymore?

Mysts Need advice
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Hi, I have just joined and this is my first post. I don’t really have anyone I could ask for advice regarding this matter as I don’t really want them to know. I think it’s time for me to get help. For few years now, we’ll actually many years, I haven... View more

Hi, I have just joined and this is my first post. I don’t really have anyone I could ask for advice regarding this matter as I don’t really want them to know. I think it’s time for me to get help. For few years now, we’ll actually many years, I haven’t feel well or right. I get episodes of emptiness and sadness and I would want to do nothing. There’s also the unreasonable irritation and annoyance towards everything. When I’m in this state, I’ll just stay on my bed playing pointless games on my phone all day. My husband understands this and has been very supportive. Now that I think about it, he probably has been taking care of our son almost all of the time. He cooks, takes him to school, cleans, makes me coffee and bring meals to my bed when I’m isolating myself from the world. I need to stop this negative moment from happening as this is unfair to him. I barely talk to my son now because I can’t stand anyone talking to me for a long time. I still spend time and talk to him but not as much as I should. So this has been going for years now but I felt it worsened the last couple years. More days doing nothing. More masks. More bad thoughts. More urges (No, I’m not suicidal, I wouldn’t do it for my family). I’ve been thinking of going to the gp for help but when I’m out of my cocoon, I don’t feel the need to do it anymore. I also don’t want my family to know. Last month my husband’s mother passed away from cancer. My mother in law, that I barely visited the last several months because I was weak. She battled for many years. We always tried to be there for her. We only live 10mins drive away. On my good days I’ll cook and we’d take it to her place for lunch or dinner. Or my husband will drop her the cake that I made, or we’ll take her out with us to the park. But the last several months, I haven’t been there for her. I was weak and selfish, and I wasn’t there when she needed support the most. We knew she’s fighting cancer but no one knew she was going last month. So now that I’ve decided to get help, I’m not sure how to do it without my husband knowing. He’s got enough on his plate so I can’t put the worry on him. I’ve thought of talking to him but I know that’s not fair for him. Shoul I tell him? ••Thank you for taking the time to read this. Sorry if it wasn’t an easy read as I’ve been having difficulty to concentrate or letting words come out of me.

Guest_1211 So very lost, scared and confused.
  • replies: 5

How can I be I so petrified of something happening to me, or getting sick, or not being here for my kids, but at the same time wish I wasn’t here? Why do I bother to try and heal my injuries, stop my migraines, to feel better, but then intentionally ... View more

How can I be I so petrified of something happening to me, or getting sick, or not being here for my kids, but at the same time wish I wasn’t here? Why do I bother to try and heal my injuries, stop my migraines, to feel better, but then intentionally hurt myself a few minutes later? Why do I desperately await a chance to try and talk to someone about how I am feeling, and then freeze up and waste my time once I’m there? Why do I spend whole hours consumed in my own hopelessness and self-loathing, then underplay just how desperately bad I am feeling when asked? Why do I smile when I want to scream? How can I see no shame in anyone else’s tears or pain, but am petrified of my own? Why do I spend ages looking forward to something, planning and saving for it, then spend that whole time finally doing it, wanting to be in bed? Why do I go bed exhausted, then lay there and not sleep? How can I keep myself under control some aspects of my life and other parts feel so helpless? How do I have so much patience for others, yet such quick judgement for myself? How can I want to hurt myself so much but at the same time also want to feel nothing? How can I keep getting through each day feeling like this? How can I work forward without a clear and tangible goal or timeline? How can I get the courage to take the help I need without feeling like an enormous burden? How can I justify my behavior to myself? How can I get some relief without letting anyone down? How can I even work out what the hell my problem is?

SpinelessChimp I Like A Lot of Others Have Depression
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Hey, I'm new here, I haven't really spoken about this stuff publicly, maybe with a few friends and those who are close to me, but I wanted to put my feeling out there, what depression feels like to me. For me it's like a rollercoaster at times, I hav... View more

Hey, I'm new here, I haven't really spoken about this stuff publicly, maybe with a few friends and those who are close to me, but I wanted to put my feeling out there, what depression feels like to me. For me it's like a rollercoaster at times, I have my ups and I have my downs and sometimes it's just smooth sailing. But when I'm feeling the downs they feel to me like an extreme feeling of tiredness, I feel beyond exhausted, like I pulled an all-nighter and only got 30 minutes of sleep, but on top of that I try to sleep and I can't sleep, the insomnia hits and no matter how much I try I can't fall asleep. I feel like I'm trying to fix something, I'm not sure what, but no matter how hard I try to fix it, it never gets fixed. For me, depression is like being in a small pitch black room with no light, no entrance and no exit. The only thing in there is a TV and I'm watching the TV on the screen is my life as it plays on, but I can't control it like there is a producer and a director in control of what I do, think and say. If you have ever seen the movie 'Get Out' by Jordan Peele I would recommend watching it, there's a scene with the "sunken place" it feels very similar. Anyway to continue, I would say I'm a logical person in the way I think, its like I have a cabinet made of glass with all my feelings, worries and precious things stacked in there, and when I'm put on the spot its like someone has gotten a rock and thrown it at the cabinet, destroying it and spreading everything everywhere, and I have to spend ages picking everything up and placing it in its rightful position. I have no idea if anyone can relate but that for me is what depression is. Thank you.

LL688 Can my employer get rid of me becasue I have suffered depression?
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I had been bullied in the workplace and was diagnosed with severe depression which was confirmed by my employer's doctor through Fitness For Duty Assessment about 2 years ago. In the medical report the doctor said that I can go back to my own positio... View more

I had been bullied in the workplace and was diagnosed with severe depression which was confirmed by my employer's doctor through Fitness For Duty Assessment about 2 years ago. In the medical report the doctor said that I can go back to my own position if the "ISSUE" was addressed. I was off from work and back to work through graudally return to work programe. Then I was arranged to work in another other area and one day my department told that I was approved for not going back to my old position. Two years later, my department told me that I became "Unattached" and forced me to take a package via a deed of agreement. If I am not agree I will move to next step which is forced redundacy. Since I have my first depression in the workplace, my situation never be better and my department just try to get rid of me by telling me I became EXCESS. Can someone tell me what can I do? Many thanks in advance.

addison tired and going insane bpd
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tired and insane I just don't feel the same,my brain says no but who knows , my self expression an original thought divided into sections from therapy and sorts , the indignity of having no choice

tired and insane I just don't feel the same,my brain says no but who knows , my self expression an original thought divided into sections from therapy and sorts , the indignity of having no choice

R_R_R Episodes of sadness, looking for advice
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Hi all, Newbie here I've been experiencing periods of time, usually at night, where I get incredibly sad for no reason. Sometimes it can be triggered by thinking about something that happened earlier in the day, other times spontaneously. My body sha... View more

Hi all, Newbie here I've been experiencing periods of time, usually at night, where I get incredibly sad for no reason. Sometimes it can be triggered by thinking about something that happened earlier in the day, other times spontaneously. My body shakes, I get these horrible thoughts about myself and I cry for hours either way. A few years ago, my mother took me to a psychiatrist who told me I had mild depression and a mood disorder. I saw her 2 more times, and then stopped because apparently me going was part of a trial program. My mother said if I went there afterwards that it would appear on my record, which according to her wouldn't look good to employers. I recently did the K10 (I think that is what it is called) test and the results suggested to talk to someone about what I am experiencing. However, I am far too intimidated by the concept of going to someone (a professional) under my own steam. I don't have friends that I am close enough to be comfortable talking to either. Both my mother and partner have a "harden up" type of attitude as well which doesn't help. I know I could google self help tips but for once I would really like someone to tell me what I should be doing. Everyone just expects me to know how to live like a functioning adult but I jist need some help this time yknow. Sorry if this is a little scattered, just needed to get it off my chest. Any advice with how to deal with the sadness is appreciated ta