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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 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?
  • 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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Le13 Lost and lonely and needing to get these thoughts out of my head.
  • replies: 3

Im new to this for forum thing. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and have been on since I was in high school. Lately I have been finding it hard to fall asleep because as soon as I go to bed all these thoughts and feelings just drown out a... View more

Im new to this for forum thing. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and have been on since I was in high school. Lately I have been finding it hard to fall asleep because as soon as I go to bed all these thoughts and feelings just drown out any chance of sleep then morning comes and I don't want to leave my bed. I fake being happy all day to the family and hubby as best as I can and don't really have any close friends or family who understand or that I can talk to. They just put it down to a bad day. But every night my husbands asleep and I lay there and cry until I'm so tired I don't remember falling asleep. Usually when the sun rises I dose. I don't know why I'm feeling like this all the time again. Why aren't my meds working anymore. What's wrong with me. I hate this and I'm hating life. I just want to give up and disappear. Why can't i just be happy. I don't what to be me anymore. Its getting harder to fake it, harder to care, harder to do life anymore. I wish I hard someone to talk too. I don't want the sadness anymore. Life is too hard. What did I do wrong. I feel myself slipping and I don't know if I'm strong enough to stop myself or pick myself back up. I'm just so tired. I just needed to get this out of my head.

Jarf Disclosing Depression on Pre-Employment Health Assessment
  • replies: 3

I'm starting a new job in a few weeks and I have to fill in a Pre-Employment Health Assessment form. On it it has a health questionnaire that outright asks if I currently have or have ever had depression or any other mental illness. Do I have to answ... View more

I'm starting a new job in a few weeks and I have to fill in a Pre-Employment Health Assessment form. On it it has a health questionnaire that outright asks if I currently have or have ever had depression or any other mental illness. Do I have to answer truthfully, and, if not, is it better if I do not disclose my depression at all.

Debzmites Sick of feeling as though I'm worthless.
  • replies: 5

I've been going through a legal process due to my mental health and have realized how irrelevant I am. No mental health people will stand up for me, no one listens to me I'm irrelevant, it's driving me crazy. I keep thinking what do I have to do to h... View more

I've been going through a legal process due to my mental health and have realized how irrelevant I am. No mental health people will stand up for me, no one listens to me I'm irrelevant, it's driving me crazy. I keep thinking what do I have to do to have a voice? Become a Psychologist? Am so tired of feeling like a failure. Any advice?

Notreallyhere Eerie calmness
  • replies: 8

Depression for me is an eerie silence in my soul, everything is uneasy in my body. I don't feel any other emotion other than sadness, but mostly it's just a numbness, that infects every aspect of my life, I am losing hope that I can get through this ... View more

Depression for me is an eerie silence in my soul, everything is uneasy in my body. I don't feel any other emotion other than sadness, but mostly it's just a numbness, that infects every aspect of my life, I am losing hope that I can get through this on my own, I have been trying for years! Although I am taking antidepressants nothing is getting any easier it's actually getting so much worse. I literally have no desire for anything. Can I be helped?

Asriyah Career Anxiety and Loneliness
  • replies: 3

Hi all, I'm new to the forums, but everything felt like it was a bit too much today and I think I need to get some things off my chest, and see if anyone has any advice to offer. I'm 23 years old, and for about the last year I've been working in a la... View more

Hi all, I'm new to the forums, but everything felt like it was a bit too much today and I think I need to get some things off my chest, and see if anyone has any advice to offer. I'm 23 years old, and for about the last year I've been working in a law firm full-time. . I've been maintaining a GPA of 6.6, and I've really worked hard at my uni studies. I thought when I got this job that it was everything I'd been working towards. Working in a law firm used to be everything I wanted. I now believe I'd rather do anything but. I know that my law degree will help me in other areas, and I would still like to become a solicitor and perhaps work in government, I just don't want to work in a firm. I hate the culture at my workplace. But currently, I can't see any way out of my situation. With the number of law graduates there are every year, I know I should be grateful to have a job in this field but I find myself wishing something would happen to me on the way to work every morning, so I don't have to go. It's the disorganised workplace, a high workload, and the feeling that I have spent years of my life studying something I don't enjoy in practice. Every day feels like another challenge to face. Get up, go to work, come home, cook, study, sleep, repeat. I'm so scared of this coming year. I'm only doing one subject over Christmas, and in order to finish my degree this year I need to do three or four. I'm already struggling right now with how I feel just doing one. I want to get this study over and done with but I'm afraid I'm going to have a breakdown if I keep pushing at this pace. My partner of four years works night shift, and although before I used to love the time to study, I now find myself in tears Sunday night knowing I won't see him until the weekend. I can't stand the loneliness. I feel like I'm sinking into depression again (I had a bout in my teens) and I'm desperate not to. I know that it's mainly my job and my partner's work hours, but I feel as though I can't change either of them. We have a mortgage, and I can't just quit. Although things have been rocky in our relationship lately as well, I can't just quit that either, because I know the legal costs and problems it would cause (he bought most of the money to the relationship and some things he has said while fighting make me believe he would make it hard) and that it would likely make things worse. I don't know what to do. If anyone has advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

SJ22 My struggling journey
  • replies: 3

hello everyone My name is SJ,I'm 28,I'm single and I'm an overseas trained physio.I come from the middle east and I'm new to this forum. I like to share my life story since I moved to Australia and how it affected my mental health with you guys. 3 ye... View more

hello everyone My name is SJ,I'm 28,I'm single and I'm an overseas trained physio.I come from the middle east and I'm new to this forum. I like to share my life story since I moved to Australia and how it affected my mental health with you guys. 3 years ago I moved to Australia where most people with medical/para-medical professional backgrounds(similar to mine) have to go through many many strict,costly,hard and at times painful filters to be able to work independently in Australia,and physiotherapy is not an exception.one of the worst feelings in life is moving to a country and not being able to work(not having your qualification acknowledged)although you are competent enough. anyways,I started work(supervised work under limited terms)shortly after I got a work visa(I was sponsored by my employer,which gave them a chance to abuse me even more)shortly after I arrived,I was then severely abused and neglected at work and I had to change my job twice in one year. not hard to imagine,the severe pressures of getting through my professional registration process,the many problems I faced at work,the cultural shock and difficulties of settling down in a new country(Australia was the first country after my hometown that I've lived in)as well as the huge sudden change of my life course: being alone and all on my own(back in my hometown,I had a huge network of close friends with whom I used to hang out all the time,whereas in Australia it's been very hard for me to make new like-minded friends,or have such deep and real connection with people as I used to have)knocked me down after 1.5 years of non-stop struggle with severe depression,up to a point where I had to be hospitalized for a while. my whole life was shattered and dark, without the slightest ray of hope for months after this incidence,I had come into this wonderful land in search of a brighter future like many people do,but I was defeated and broken in a way I'd never could have imagined.I experienced the hardest most painful moments of my life for few months,until I gradually started to recover and began to get back on my feet.my family was very supportive of me during this time,though my breakdown came as a shock to them as well. long story short,I successfully finished my registration process very recently and I'm very proud of myself. and I've come into terms with myself about my mental and emotional health status,somehow I had to convince myself that the the life I had before,is gone.

kombitop GRATITUDE
  • replies: 6

Hi all, 3 weeks ago today I was in an ambulance for the third time in 2 months as the result of my illness (es). Today at the forefront of my mind is something that helps me. A friend said long ago: "I'm not where I want to be; I'm a million miles fr... View more

Hi all, 3 weeks ago today I was in an ambulance for the third time in 2 months as the result of my illness (es). Today at the forefront of my mind is something that helps me. A friend said long ago: "I'm not where I want to be; I'm a million miles from where I thought I'd be, but I'm so grateful I'm not where I used to be".

mtxo Do i quit yet another job because of my depression/anxiety?
  • replies: 3

Hi guys, Basically i was out of work last year for 6 months. I was on welfare benefits struggling to find work and hating it. I was accepted for a HR trainee ship in November and thought i loved it.. until now. This role is for one person yet there a... View more

Hi guys, Basically i was out of work last year for 6 months. I was on welfare benefits struggling to find work and hating it. I was accepted for a HR trainee ship in November and thought i loved it.. until now. This role is for one person yet there are two of us sharing it, i constantly come into work and have nothing to do for most of the day. The girl i share this role with is not very good at it and i think that is why they thought they should hire someone else to help. The past two weeks have been a struggle, my anxiety is through the roof and i am having small panic attacks almost everyday. The kind where your chest tightens up, you cannot take a deep breath no matter how hard you try, and all you want to do is cry to let all the pain out. To be honest, HR is definitely not what i want to be doing. I am expected to be holding interviews at some point and the thought of that terrifies me. I was desperate to find work I was sick of being on welfare and i just wanted to work like a normal 22 year old. I know I jumped into this role without truly thinking about it and now i am basically stuck and unsure of what to do. I am scared to quit and go back onto benefits because I do not know what i will do with myself if i did but the anxiety is getting to the point where i am resenting everyone i work with and hating everyone and everything. What the hell do i do?

Guest_934 Newbie with a New Years Resolution to Reach Out & Get Better in 2017 - Need Help.
  • replies: 13

Hi I'm Ana, I'm embarrassed to say that I'm severely depressed. I've always prided myself on being strong and externally tough however inside I'm falling apart. My family tell me I should be happy: I'm 28 and I was promoted to a management position 1... View more

Hi I'm Ana, I'm embarrassed to say that I'm severely depressed. I've always prided myself on being strong and externally tough however inside I'm falling apart. My family tell me I should be happy: I'm 28 and I was promoted to a management position 10 months ago at work and I received an offer into a prestigious art degree. I've had to defer my study until 2018 for financial reasons but overall I should be happy but I'm not and I don't know why I feel this way and what to do? I've had depression all my life and it's been manageable with medication. I haven't seen a psychiatrist for over two years and might consider seeing one again. I don't know any good ones in Sydney so any recommendations would be good. Right now is not a good time for me to fall off the rails - however I feel like it's about to happen when all the pieces in my life are falling into place! I feel completely unmotivated. Getting out of bed is a struggle and dealing with my passive aggressive (turned slightly aggressive) supervisor everyday is starting to gnarl at my soul. I don't want to clean or contribute to my family life. I feel like a shell really. My spiral down began when I started to show my art publicly and it was televised a year ago (after many years of hiding it due to the bullying in high school for it) and I've been receiving a lot of attention for it and it's open doors for me - doors I would never had dreamt would be open. However I under estimated the affect it would have on friends and family and the jealousy involved. I've had to unfollow/delete/block friends and family who were very negative towards me and I still don't feel happy. I feel alone - friends don't want to hang out as often because they don't want to hear my stories or what I've been up to in the art world and family are acting indifferent. It's a terrible place to be and completely different from a year ago. The cyber bullying from strangers, friends and family has taken it's toll on me to the point where I rarely log on to see anything online except reply to my emails. I've lost faith in people and that upsets me. My situation sounds so silly and the sadness of it is that's true. I feel annoyed, angry, disappointed and frustrated and at times wished I had never pursued my love for art or made it public. I need help and I'm reaching out. Any advice, understanding or help would be appreciated. xAna

Daisy_Walker Depression started due to big tumour on uterus
  • replies: 3

Hello, I am new to the forum, I have had a bleeding and painful tumour on my uterus for the last four months. I am now on the public health system awaiting consultation then a hysterectomy. I feel i have underlying depression and my medical condition... View more

Hello, I am new to the forum, I have had a bleeding and painful tumour on my uterus for the last four months. I am now on the public health system awaiting consultation then a hysterectomy. I feel i have underlying depression and my medical condition, and have been feeling hopeless , sad and down for this whole time. I work full time , had been booked in privately for surgery and got knocked back by my health insurer. I am constantly worried at work about everything, and bleeding through my pants. I am on medication which is stemming the bleeding but the last couple of days it isnt really working. I just want this tumour out as I am unwell, trying to fulfill my duties as work, trying to maintain a marriage and friendships and family commitments. I am feeling down, sad and at times unable to cope. Any advice to get back to my happy self ?