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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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Flowerchild07 Totally out of control.
  • replies: 2

My whole life has spun totally out of control. After battling, mostly alone, for more almost 40 years. I think I've tried everything anyone could possibly suggest to try to help me. Nothing has ever really helped. Every single aspect of my life has b... View more

My whole life has spun totally out of control. After battling, mostly alone, for more almost 40 years. I think I've tried everything anyone could possibly suggest to try to help me. Nothing has ever really helped. Every single aspect of my life has been ruined because of this dreadful, ugly illness. I don't even know where to start. I'm unemployed, single, no home of my own, no car, no money. Just on unemployment benefits and dragging myself through each day. I have sisters and a brother who are busy with there own lives. They love me and care about me but there's really nothing they can do. I am tired, so very tired of fighting. It's true, no one wants to hear about it. I've lost all of my so called friends because of this. What I hate most is there is nowhere to turn, so I suffer in silence my whole life. This only makes it harder to cope. If you asked me if I was suicidal, I would say no. I don't want to die, but that's because I don't want my family to suffer. Honestly, what I do want is to be sedated, so I'm still alive for them but I don't have to feel like this any more. I try to sleep the day away, but one can only sleep for so long. I feel like I'm out of options.

Tikese Do I have clinical depression?
  • replies: 3

So I'm a 19 year old male who has recently finished working full time for around 5 months on a construction site. I know it may sound quite obvious that my depression has flared ever since my last day on the job due to the sudden change in environmen... View more

So I'm a 19 year old male who has recently finished working full time for around 5 months on a construction site. I know it may sound quite obvious that my depression has flared ever since my last day on the job due to the sudden change in environment and routine, but for the last few days, my depression has reached to a point I've never experinced before. It started as i was working, due to the isolation and such long hours, but it has gotten a lot worse ever since i no longer work in the industry. I'm unmotivated to do anything, sleep strange hours, feel a general sadness and extreme mood swings. I'll also add that i am on medication for an anxiety disorder (OCD), which may play a role. I'm scared that i will soon be diagnosed with clinical depression, considering the fact that I'm already on meds and i still have it tells me that my depression is non-curable. Any thoughts?

LesDave Advice dealing with anger and stress
  • replies: 2

I have depression and have pills. The past few years I find myself getting angry a lot of the time. I just cannot cope with incompetence or mediocrity anymore. I have so much anger I try to deal with and it gets my blood pressure right up. I am alrea... View more

I have depression and have pills. The past few years I find myself getting angry a lot of the time. I just cannot cope with incompetence or mediocrity anymore. I have so much anger I try to deal with and it gets my blood pressure right up. I am already on high meds and I check it all the time. I exercise really hard each day and eat a reasonable diet. I seem to be ok until something goes wrong and then I get so frustrated. It can be simple things like people not paying attention in the traffic, or badly designed websites, store people getting my order mixed up. Any advice would be appreciated. I feel like I am going to explode.

Tarzi Why would anyone want to talk to me if I'm being such a downer?
  • replies: 11

I have been struggling with depression for about 18months now and it has gotten progressively worse. about two years ago I moved away with my partner for work. It takes three flights just to get back to where our family and friends are from so as you... View more

I have been struggling with depression for about 18months now and it has gotten progressively worse. about two years ago I moved away with my partner for work. It takes three flights just to get back to where our family and friends are from so as you can imagine we don't get home much. I had a baby about 10 months ago and with no family support it has been difficult. I told my GP how I have been feeling and about three months ago he put me on anti depressants. I haven't told any of my family or friends because I am embarrassed. I feel like I'm weak and why would anyone want to talk to me if I'm being such a downer so I always put on a happy fake phone self. Now it's to the point I am avoiding their calls. I don't want to call anyone. I don't do anything or go anywhere, I'm at home all day with a baby and it's an effort to get out of bed (I always attend to all his needs no matter how bad of a day I am having) but I find it hard to even want to do my hair or makeup, clean the house etc. but I also feel like by moving home I am ruining our future because we are here working away for a reason. all as my partner ever says is it's my fault for not helping myself and I understand if I did things like mothers group and took the baby to the park etc. I would probably feel better but it just feels like such a big task to get myself organised enough to get out the door. Especially when I dread seeing anyone else. Can anyone else relate or am I just super crazy. i don't feel like myself at all!! I don't feel normal. I don't feel like I will ever be happy again even if I do move home. Where as six months ago I thought moving home would be great as I would have support and friends and family now I can't see myself happy anywhere. Feel so lost! P.s- partner works 13days straight and only has every second sunday off and he leaves for work at 5am and doesn't get home until 6pm or 7pm! I feel so alone.

darkfoxau It's so hard to cope
  • replies: 3

I just feel like going for a long drive and forgetting about work the next day. Just piss off somewhere, lay down somewhere and just relax to forget about all the crap. I hate that it feels like I never have an outlet. I could post my woes on Faceboo... View more

I just feel like going for a long drive and forgetting about work the next day. Just piss off somewhere, lay down somewhere and just relax to forget about all the crap. I hate that it feels like I never have an outlet. I could post my woes on Facebook, but most of the people on my friends list don't care or don't understand. It's hard to try and get my point across to people. I think a lot of people think I'm acting angrily towards them for a personal reason but it really isn't. Just seems like people have just given up on me. Used to be a friendly individual, but things have changed. People are starting to resent me and it feels like I can't do anything to reverse that. Sometimes I try hard to be friendly towards people but it's never taken seriously. It's annoying because I try to so hard to treat other people with the same respect I expect, but barely get it. That's when I get annoyed and just think "Screw everything". I thought I was a relatively likable person, but it seems people are just staying clear of me for whatever reason. The only people that understand me truly are my parents and friends. All these issues are pointed towards work as well. I try so hard to please everybody and I get pissed off if something is hindering my ability to do a good job. Also just feels like no one truly cares about me and any sort of empathy towards me is either half assed or full of crap. People seem to think that I despise them, but it's only because I'm struggling with all these mental gymnastics going on. I hate it how people assume that you can cope with things perfectly without taking in consideration the crap you have to deal with in your head on a daily basis. Sometimes I wish people could read my mind and it would make my life so much easier. But at the same time, why does everyone seems to only care for themselves. Is that the way we are supposed to live? We're all in this together and I thought we all would try to make life a better experience for everybody. Everyone is truly self motivated and that pisses me off. I try my damn hardest to make people understand what I'm feeling but when I do, I get everything half assed with little emotion. Show me some damn respect like I've shown you. It feels like my superiors at work don't give a crap about me, even though I've put in blood, sweat and tears, while other employees get treated like royalty in comparison. I could go on forever, but any reply would be appreciated. Thank you.

RiverBend Forced holiday from work
  • replies: 2

I work as a kindy educator and have been under a lot of stress this year. I have a really challenging class who have lots of undiagnosed developmental concerns. The parents on the whole are needy, demanding and do my head in every day. I have told my... View more

I work as a kindy educator and have been under a lot of stress this year. I have a really challenging class who have lots of undiagnosed developmental concerns. The parents on the whole are needy, demanding and do my head in every day. I have told my managers so many times that the children and the parents are getting to me and they just say I should ignore it, not stress so much, not let it get to me etc. All the patronising cliches but no acknowledgement of what it's doing to me or offers to help in any real way. A week ago a group of parents began to criticise me publicly and described me as rude and unapproachable (this feels like the fallout of "ignoring them" as I was encouraged to do). My managers brought it up with me... they believe they were doing their job but it just felt like I'm being targeted by these parents and i don't know why they hate me so much. This week I've tried to move on and forget about it, but it started within 30 minutes on Monday. Parents complaining, children having meltdowns, staff numbers being low and just feeling like I'm on a knifes edge. A colleague complained to my managers that I'm so stressed and negative that it's uncomfortable for others. Called in to the office again. They suggested I take a week off to "have some me time" and "put myself first". I was so upset I couldn't even respond to half of what they were saying. I felt like I was in trouble for not coping. All I want (as childishas it seems) is for someone to just have my back and feel like they're seeing how sad I am. Instead it was like being scolded for not being happy enough. I've now had to explain to my partner that I'm off work and feel pathetic and useless. I love my job and care so much for these kids... but there is only so much I think I can take of being kicked when I'm down. I can't stop crying, I can't eat and I'm so exhausted I can hardly get up out of bed. I now have ten days without work where I'm supposed to do things that make me happy so I can come back and just... be great I guess. I don't even know where to start when I can't stomach the thought of ever going back. I feel such shame, guilt and despair that i can't even cope being a freaking kindy teacher. It shouldn't be this hard. I know I shouldn't be this stressed. But with another class like this one already lined up for next year, I can't see the light. How can i get past this?

unicornprincess29 Things keep getting worse...
  • replies: 26

Hi everyone, I've had depression and anxiety for about a year now, and the past few months I just feel like everything is getting worse and it's harder to keep fighting it. Initially it was just that I was having problems at uni... I failed a few sub... View more

Hi everyone, I've had depression and anxiety for about a year now, and the past few months I just feel like everything is getting worse and it's harder to keep fighting it. Initially it was just that I was having problems at uni... I failed a few subjects last year and was on the verge of being kicked out, however I wasn't because they took my mental illnesses and things happening at the time into account. I am however a year behind my friends now, and I just feel like the cohort I'm in now is so unfriendly compared to mine. We were all so close last year, but my new one is just so segregated and no one seems to really have friends. I'm currently waiting for my results from last semester, and I'm really anxious about it, because if I failed again, I'm definitely getting excluded and I would have no idea what to do if that happened. I need this degree for the field I want to go in to, and it's one of those degrees where if you get excluded from one uni, you're basically guaranteed to not be accepted elsewhere either. There's nothing else I want to do with my life though except this, so I'm just really worried at the moment. Apart from this, I spent the majority of last year having problems with my BF's family, and I've spent the majority of this year having problems with my own. And every time I feel like I'm making progress with my family, it's one step forward, three steps back. I've been lucky though that my BF has been my absolute rock. However now the problems between my family and I are affecting my relationship with him, and things are going downhill very fast, and now I'm worried that we're going to end. I don't have many friends, and the one or two I do have, have really busy lives so I feel like I don't have many people to talk to at all. I feel really alone a lot of the time now, and as the bad things keep piling on, I just get more tired of trying to fight it. It's kind of like I feel like I make some progress, but then something else happens, and it undoes the work I put into trying to fight this, and now it's just exhausting. I haven't ever had suicidal or self harm thoughts, but I do sometimes wonder what's the point of all this pain.

Lonewonderer Change is hard
  • replies: 2

I've left my boyfriend of 25 years and now in a flat all alone,I'm lost and no one to talk to with no friends in this new town,my family think I'm crazy and unstable,but I'm very lonely and depressed I'm broke paying bills left behind from the house,... View more

I've left my boyfriend of 25 years and now in a flat all alone,I'm lost and no one to talk to with no friends in this new town,my family think I'm crazy and unstable,but I'm very lonely and depressed I'm broke paying bills left behind from the house,and now I am alone thinking of negative thoughts I don't know what to do

Janeie Troubles at Work
  • replies: 14

I'm struggling at work. my relationship with my boss has got under my skin so much that whenever I have to spend prolonged time with her I want to go to the bathroom and cry as soon as it's over. I feel like I have so much to give and so many ideas b... View more

I'm struggling at work. my relationship with my boss has got under my skin so much that whenever I have to spend prolonged time with her I want to go to the bathroom and cry as soon as it's over. I feel like I have so much to give and so many ideas but am shut down all the time. It's not like she's 'evil' she's just not in anyway interested in people, in developing them, challenging them, nurturing them in fact it's the opposite - we are cogs in a machine. i know it's my fault and I should look for another job but my confidence and resilience has taken a beating. I moved house recently and am still feeling very unsettled and am struggling so don't feel I could take another big change Plus I probably couldn't find a job anyway. I feel like I'm being miserable and unprofessional. But don't know how to approach the issue or snap out of it.

jay_dee497 Zoned out and feeling detached
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone, This is my firdst post on here but thought it's the place to seek help and maybe get some feedback on my situation. At present I work in a technical job on the road and am able to work from home. I find myself isolated a fair bit which I... View more

Hi everyone, This is my firdst post on here but thought it's the place to seek help and maybe get some feedback on my situation. At present I work in a technical job on the road and am able to work from home. I find myself isolated a fair bit which I feel affects my relationships with people. I have suffered from depression since I was 17 (now 40) which I find has affected my relationships, even through I wasn't aware of it. Alot fo the time I feel confused and exhausted from daily anxiety. Feels like I'm always over tired where I feel uptight regulary even though I consider myself to be laid back. I really enjoy sociallising but don't seem to fit the mould at work, which I really domn't know what sort of job I am aligned to. I feel zoned out alot and disconnected from the world. My mind runs around in circles most of the day where it feels like I'm having a continuous mid-life crisis. Some times I may ose contact with people for a month or so and don't even realise it. I have trouble reading people at work in an office environment where I feel I am a different person to who I really am. I've lost my father recently, and this has added extra stress, along with dealing withmy brother who is recovering from a drug addiction and mental health issues which has putmuch strain on the family and myself. My mind feels foggy alot where I used to drink almost daily but have reduced it to 1-2 times per week over the last month to cut back. I think I've used alcohol to self medicate but I dont want to do that anymore, I want to enjoy life as it is. Wondering if anyone has any advice? I'm currently single and live alone in my own house.