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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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Montahh Borderline Personality is taking over my life
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, Recently I have been diagnosed with BPD. For those of you who don't know what that entails, it's a mixture of feeling empty, low self-esteem, Paranoia or emotional detachment, Anxiety about relationships, efforts to avoid being abandoned... View more

Hi everyone, Recently I have been diagnosed with BPD. For those of you who don't know what that entails, it's a mixture of feeling empty, low self-esteem, Paranoia or emotional detachment, Anxiety about relationships, efforts to avoid being abandoned,Impulsive, risky behaviour, Self-harm, threatening or attempting suicide, Anger, moodiness and irritability. I also have depression and anxiety and my medication are definitely doing there job. I'm just worried about my constant efforts to be apart of risky behaviours, it's as if I get a rush off them. I feel like I'm going to put myself in a lot of danger one day and I would like some advice as to what to do before it gets to that ? Thank you !

Billy-Mae Struggling with the day to day realisation of my health
  • replies: 3

Hi Guys, I am new here and i guess i joined because until 6 months ago i thought i had all the support i ever needed, until i actually asked for it and struggling on my own hasn't been working so i hope this helps. 3 years ago i was told i had a seri... View more

Hi Guys, I am new here and i guess i joined because until 6 months ago i thought i had all the support i ever needed, until i actually asked for it and struggling on my own hasn't been working so i hope this helps. 3 years ago i was told i had a serious hear condition which caused my to faint up to 21 times a day, this was brought on by stress. I will stress, worry about everything and everyone. I try and make sure they are ok, taken care of, looked after at all times. I have dealt with this medical issue and i thought i was on the mend until 6 months ago when i was told i can't have children due to the damage i have caused my heart over the years i just won't be strong enough to pump blood for me and a baby. There is an 85% chance i will die if i fall pregnant. I have been in a hole ever since. My friends have all left because i don't pay them enough attention anymore and i can't tell my family it would kill them so its just me alone stressing (ironically) about the future. I am only 24 years old and didnt want children yet but it was like a switch, the moment i heard that news come out of the doctors mouth that was it and i am so tired. I am tired of crying, of being alone, not wanting to wake up in the morning because i know my dreams are much better than my actual life. I never knew you could miss something i never had. I don't know if i should even be this upset sometimes i think there are people out there much worse off than me but i don't know how to shake this, i lay at home alone every night realising that the one thing i have always wanted was to be a mum and now i can't do that and its my fault. I don't know what to do i haven't slept in 6 months and i barley eat now. I think being alone is the hardest thing of all with no one to talk to or make sure i am ok. What can i do to get out of this hole i am in? X

RnrDad New Here - Struggling and Losing Hope
  • replies: 3

Hi Team, I've heard plenty of awesome things about these forums, and I know how great BeyondBlue as an organisation is to help with Depression and Anxiety, so I decided to join and tell my story. I've been battling some serious depression and anxiety... View more

Hi Team, I've heard plenty of awesome things about these forums, and I know how great BeyondBlue as an organisation is to help with Depression and Anxiety, so I decided to join and tell my story. I've been battling some serious depression and anxiety for 2 years now, and I'm really at a low point. A few points to provide some context, I am a 32 year old male who is an Exercise Physiologist, as well as a Dad to a beautiful infant boy. Not sure how or why the anxiety or depression started, but each day now is a constant battle. My job requires a lot of positive energy, as well as being a good dad and husband. Energy which, unfortunatley, I just don't have. Of course like everyone I had good and bad days, but the bad days are really bad. As a Health Professional, embarrasing to say my health is probably the worst it's ever been. I am putting on weight/bodyfat due to the almost non stop flow of stress hormones that are absoloutley tearing my nervous system apart. My CNS is drained, depleted, and broken. I'm broken. Apart from the anxiety and depression, I also suffer from OCD, Misophonia (hatred of select sound), ADHD-PI. I know each of these can be related to an overactive nervous system, and gut health, however I'm at a total loss of how I will fix this. I eat plenty of vegetables, keep refined sugars to an absoloute minimum, and limit alcohol. My one vice is caffeine, but working in the job I do, I feel it's the only way I can get through each day. Part of me wants to live in a cave. Part of me wants to stop my job (which I've given up a good government job for and studied for 5 years to get) and focus on my own health while I work a job more suited to depression. I want to get better, and for the sake of my family, will never lose hope. However, I'm completley at a loss as to how to direct my rehabilitation. I've been on AD's which unfortunatley did nothing for me, and feel the one way I can solve my issue is by fixing my poor, toxic inflamed gut and broken body. I should have the answers being an Exercise Professional, but I don't. This is my cry for help.

Hopefullseeking I'm falling again
  • replies: 12

I want to vent but if anyone has any suggestions I will accept them too. My depression has slipped again and I am having difficulty with it. I was due to go to New Zealand in February to catch up with a childhood best friend, tickets payed for and so... View more

I want to vent but if anyone has any suggestions I will accept them too. My depression has slipped again and I am having difficulty with it. I was due to go to New Zealand in February to catch up with a childhood best friend, tickets payed for and sooo looking forward to it. I was having a lot of trouble with one of my knees, more than normal, an MRI (have had arthritis since my 20s) later and NZ trip cancelled, (did get 75% of tickets refunded) now on waiting list for a knee replacement. I am in constant pain during the day and at night, so not sleeping. Due to medical condition I can't take pain killers or anti-inflammatory. I don't have a car anymore, it died, taking public transport but the extra walking I think is what has aggravated my knee. Consequently my depression has gone down due to pain, and tiredness from not sleeping. When my depression goes down my food consumption goes up and that makes me more depressed. Saw my psychologist Tuesday and she wants me to take something to help me sleep, I have always been against sleeping tablets. She also wants me to see a dietician. I am sick of feeling down and having to fight with my depression, I still maintain all my outside activities which I know is vital. My friends don't really get it. I have one friend who tries her hardest but sometimes I just want a hug. I feel teary and I am having to fight the feelings of wanting to give into to it. I am at my volunteer job using their computer to write this. I just feel like shit.

Mc62 Anyone forget why there at the psyc/ gp's?
  • replies: 6

Just curious I seem to forget or "loose" the things I'm at the specialists to discuss . Seems strange to just loose months of angsiety/ dispair /depression .. perhaps likley cause I go weeks withought seeing or speaking to anyone.. or posibly it's th... View more

Just curious I seem to forget or "loose" the things I'm at the specialists to discuss . Seems strange to just loose months of angsiety/ dispair /depression .. perhaps likley cause I go weeks withought seeing or speaking to anyone.. or posibly it's the old thing that mental illness isn't realy illness, the get over it "thing" any thoughts folks rdgards mark

girl_interrupted Just having a bad day - vent
  • replies: 10

Feeling really crap today. Sometimes it helps to talk about it, but I'm not very good at that either. Slept in and after a cup of coffee I thought I'd put on a nice dress to go to the shops. I thought the distraction would help. It didn't. In fact I ... View more

Feeling really crap today. Sometimes it helps to talk about it, but I'm not very good at that either. Slept in and after a cup of coffee I thought I'd put on a nice dress to go to the shops. I thought the distraction would help. It didn't. In fact I started to tense up the minute I got out of my car, tried to slow my breathing but just felt worse with each step. (social anxiety). Had to get a script from the chemist and had the intention of doing a bit of shopping while I waited but I couldn't breathe so I ended up sitting in my car and listening to music. That calmed me down but then I couldn't stop crying. Just feeling sorry for myself I guess. I hate feeling like this. I don't have anyone to talk to as I've become a total A hole and have no friends thanks to my mood disorder and long term depression and anxiety. Probably serves me right and I deserve everything I get. Sick of these mood swings. Already talked it over with doc. Says to amp up the dose again. Then I think what's the point really? I should go try another psych but I can't seem to change who I am so why bother trying. I'm so tired of everything.

Gamal I don't know what to title this..
  • replies: 4

I've arrived recently to Australia. Came with an open mind and an open heart. Looking forward to the new life, and the dreams I wanted to achieve. I've always been a man with massive ambition, I want to achieve in life. I'm 39 y/o, no family, and no ... View more

I've arrived recently to Australia. Came with an open mind and an open heart. Looking forward to the new life, and the dreams I wanted to achieve. I've always been a man with massive ambition, I want to achieve in life. I'm 39 y/o, no family, and no friends. And it seems this is having its toll on me; I spend long weeks not talking to anyone, and to make things worse, I'm an introvert, so for me to start a conversation is an alien concept to me. Loneliness is a monster, and I don't know how can I be so poor when it comes to social skills. I know how to keep a conversation going, but it's like there is nobody interested in talking to anybody -not just me-. And it's like I picked the wrong time to be in Australia, with the hostile atmosphere towards immigrants. If everyone didn't want us arriving here, why do you have a skilled migrant program then? I started developing dark thoughts, I can't really describe what is going on, it's a mix of thoughts; Did I fail in life? Was I too old to come here -since everyone my age is already married and settled in life socially-, so they nobody welcomes anyone onboard anymore? And to top it all, I'm without a job -I apply to tens of jobs within my field or closely-related fields- and I barely get a callback. I keep telling myself to "keep pushing, not to give up, not yet", but I fear that my grip is becoming weaker. I had friends where I came from. I miss our laughs and time together. I wish I wasn't a person who blindly follows his ambition, I just wanted to make something awesome out of my life. I feel lost. I feel my dreams abandoned me. I keep saying "It could be worse", or "Someone else in this world wishes he could swap his life with yours". But, who wants to live a life so silent, that the only conversations I have are the ones I have with myself..? I literally speak out loud to myself about whatever topics that jumps on my mind, and sometimes I stop talking, and wonder if this means I have officially lost my mind. I looked around online for social meetings for people around my age, but they all look so happy and as if they own the world already. Plus it would cost to go out to where they normally go. Was life meant to be like this..? And what is so unrealistic about me expecting the minimum social life a human is worthy of having..? I'm sorry if this wasn't meant to be here, I have nowhere else to post, and literally nobody else to talk to.

Happydays88 Do I have bi-polar
  • replies: 12

Hi all, I am new to this page as a member although I have used the facilities in the past for information and help. About 3 years ago I fell into a severe depression and entered a mental health plan, started medication etc. my psychologist was great ... View more

Hi all, I am new to this page as a member although I have used the facilities in the past for information and help. About 3 years ago I fell into a severe depression and entered a mental health plan, started medication etc. my psychologist was great and managed to really get on top of the worst parts of the depression that was affecting my work, and social life. Although I felt there have been some minor bumps which I have managed to keep in check using the cognitive therapy I really focused on, as of the last 6 months the feelings of emptiness and lack of motivation/sleep have really stopped my life. Last month I lost my job and have financially damaged myself, as someone who has a mortgage and maintained a relatively comfortable lifestyle with my job and pay. I'm really feeling this snowballing. of the last 3 deeply paralysing episodes I've had ie not leaving house no contact with family friends etc both have ended with a significant burst of energy, positive feelings and ideas to fix the problems that seemed impossible to overcome only a few hours earlier. theres are few other characteristics which do suit some of the mild symptoms of bi-polar or hypermanic depression. My question is, is bi-polar or hypermanic depression something that can develop? Or happen in what feels like such a short time? I am prepared to fight this along with my psychologists help but I really want to talk to someone who has had a similar story, to confirm with my psych as we are both trying to diagnose or figure where my depression is leading thank you

janojas Its All Happening Again
  • replies: 4

I have suffered from depression for most of my adult life, and it all hit its peak about 3 years ago when I become non functioning. Really handy when I was in the last year of a Uni course, but looking at a computer screen for 3 hours and writing one... View more

I have suffered from depression for most of my adult life, and it all hit its peak about 3 years ago when I become non functioning. Really handy when I was in the last year of a Uni course, but looking at a computer screen for 3 hours and writing one sentence(which didn't make sense) told me I was cooked. Everything in my life went to garbage, and as usual it was all my fault. I refused to talk to anyone, my daughter was terrified about what I was doing(I wouldn't eat), and my wife eventually gave up on me, and I couldn't blame her, as it was all me. I went to psychologist's(waste of my time, I have done plenty of psych interviews in my time as a nurse), and then a psychiatrist, who like my GP actually gave up on me. I actually feel no ill will towards then as I was unreachable, and although I tried all the meds they put me on(anti depressives, anti anxiety and eventually anti psychotics to control my anxiety) nothing really worked. The only thing that worked for me was to shut myself off and embrace the very small support network I actually could deal with(my wife, my daughter and my Grandfather). My wife had drifted away from me as she could not understand my weakness, as I had always been the strong one, but in my quiet emotionless way she stayed with me. Then my Grandfather died. I had been raised by my Grandparents from 2 months old, and when my Grandmother died when I was 20 it damn near killed me. But when my Grandfather died when I was 45 it was even worse, because he had become my main support structure, literally the only person I went to when things became difficult. I now feel lost and lonely, and staring into the abyss, and all I see is black and empty. If not for my daughter I would dive into that abyss, she is my best excuse, but excuses are running out.

neens Just can't get motivated or enthusiastic about things at the moment.
  • replies: 5

I am a long term sufferer of depression and generalised anxiety disorder since my late teens and I am now in my early 50s. My problem at the moment is I just can't get motivated or feel enthusiastic about anything. I am also having issues adjusting t... View more

I am a long term sufferer of depression and generalised anxiety disorder since my late teens and I am now in my early 50s. My problem at the moment is I just can't get motivated or feel enthusiastic about anything. I am also having issues adjusting to one of my medications. It is making me feel nauseous and at times I even vomit and this has been going on for months. I generally enjoy my food, but not at the moment. My psychiatrist wants me to have one final try at this medication, by taking a 1/2 tablet at breakfast and the other half at dinnertime, hoping to minimise the side effects. We are reviewing this in mid December. I'm going to make an appointment to see my GP tomorrow and discuss things with him. He is also very supportive. I've been caring for my husband at home for the past five weeks as he has had a major back operation. This week he has gone back to work and I'm feeling lonely and unmotivated again. My husband thinks I should set goals for each day and write them down to motivate me. But I'm finding even this is too much at the moment. Does anyone have any ideas that may be able to help me? Thanks for reading my post. regards, Neens.