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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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Sla24- Feeling lonely and depressed
  • replies: 1

I am feeling so depressed and lonely lately. My marriage hasn’t been very good for a long time now and my children are grown up, my Mum passed away over 3 years ago and I really only have 1 friend. We used to catchup every 2 weeks,and it was really g... View more

I am feeling so depressed and lonely lately. My marriage hasn’t been very good for a long time now and my children are grown up, my Mum passed away over 3 years ago and I really only have 1 friend. We used to catchup every 2 weeks,and it was really great, but lately we only get to catchup about once a month or sometimes not even that often. I know my friend is busy, but I am always the one who messages her first and I feel really hurt that I am always the one who is always making an effort to catchup and she doesn’t put any effort in. My first baby was stillborn and I have been constantly hurt by family, friends and inlaws in my past, and I am at that point in my life where I don’t know how much more I can take. I often wish that I would go to bed and not wake up, that way I would not have to feel so lonely and have to deal with all this hurt and heartache that I feel. Is there anyone else that feels like this?

KeepCool99 Newly diagnosed
  • replies: 3

HeySo as title says newly diagnosed just couple of days ago. I had guessed it in back of my head for a while now but just kept trying to shrug it off. It's hard but I guess everyone else here knows that as well. Cheers.

HeySo as title says newly diagnosed just couple of days ago. I had guessed it in back of my head for a while now but just kept trying to shrug it off. It's hard but I guess everyone else here knows that as well. Cheers.

William_Chen2142 Playing a fake character in order to maintain friendship
  • replies: 2

From childhood onwards I have managed to deal with what used to be an asocial attitude of mine by essentially becoming somewhat of a people's pleaser. Not in the sense of actively going out of my way to present the certain princess with an expensive ... View more

From childhood onwards I have managed to deal with what used to be an asocial attitude of mine by essentially becoming somewhat of a people's pleaser. Not in the sense of actively going out of my way to present the certain princess with an expensive diamond ring out of the blue, but more so catering to the religious and political views of those who I am surrounded by and occasionally affiliate myself with. Do note that here when I refer to those whose community I am part of, only a small percentage of those are people who I can call friends since we rely on one another for casual or personal comfort. But it's absolutely having a detrimental affect on my productivity and overall productive and in worst case scenarios, livelihood morale. I have found that as I start to draw a line between me and my community once religious and political conversations were brought up which drastically contradicted that of what is actually correct, only then I did truly realise that the whole time I was living a double life, a completely fake persona. Every single time I was dragged into such conversations, I would always just stay completely silent. I had no courage to speak up because I know I would be ostracised if I did due to diagreements on such sensitive topics. However while my attitude towards such topics were fake, all the times we have spent bonding together were not and that is what in retrospect I would refer to as "an ignited match stick splintered into one's heart". But now that works related to such topics have become somewhat of a profession for me, it is now more of a critical time than ever for me to find somebody who truly gets me. Not just as an acquaintance, but someone I can generally just love. Further discretion is advised here, because the following event is highly sensitive. Just two nights ago I have in the peak of my loneliness dreamed of going on a jog and picnic with an imaginary Woman. Although produced in an artificial environment, the happiness and fulfillment I have felt that instance in my own labyrinth was never matched before. When I did wake up, I immediately without thought went to fix up my room in preparation for a visit, only to realise it was all fake. Ever since then my performance at my projects and my emotions have been going DOWN a consistent spiral. I have actually for the first time thought about whether it was worth going through all this or if it is better to from now on isolate myself and let my emotions take full control.

IneedHelp_1234 I’m depressed
  • replies: 1

Hi i have been struggling with depression for 7 months now and its really hard for me to cope i have had two family members die last year and the year before that i had a family member go to hospital with a serious injury and i have lots of friends t... View more

Hi i have been struggling with depression for 7 months now and its really hard for me to cope i have had two family members die last year and the year before that i had a family member go to hospital with a serious injury and i have lots of friends that turned out to be not good friends and every night i cry thinking about everything

Stilloutthere Hopelessness and Anhedonia
  • replies: 1

Hello all I will preface this by saying that I am safe, and have no plans to harm myself. I have had a tumultuous last 3 months or so. Work has been terrible, and relationships inside of the environment have devolved to a point where my so called tea... View more

Hello all I will preface this by saying that I am safe, and have no plans to harm myself. I have had a tumultuous last 3 months or so. Work has been terrible, and relationships inside of the environment have devolved to a point where my so called team mates have attempted to set me up to be at the head of non compliant safety incidents (I am an engineer). Thankfully I have my immediate managers support, but honestly every time I engage with work I am either sitting blankly and unengaged or reverting to an anxious fight/flight state. I work from home, which at least allows for breakdowns and tears when everything becomes too much, but these can be set off by the smallest things now. The work environment no longer feels safe, and I am having great difficulty pulling myself out of the "humanity is disgusting, greed inspired, selfish" misanthropic attitude and even intellectually engaging with the idea that "not everyone is bad", despite all the proof otherwise. I find myself frequently having thoughts that I am so disillusioned with the human species as a whole that I no longer want to be a part of it. While these thoughts do not take the form of suicide, there is definitely a death ideation, or desire to no longer be.I have many mental health routines that have been in place for a very long time. I have suffered from depression on and off for over 30 years now, and for the last 10 years or so have managed through mindfulness, a consistent meditation routine, and exercise. I am glad to say that I am managing to continue with my meditation and exercise at the moment, even though it does not appear to be assisting in any way. I have always had trouble feeling joy/happiness, and stopped aiming for that a long time ago and reoriented to "contentment", as I can at least be content even in the midst of sadness and despair. Lately I have experienced difficulty even imagining that I could be content I lost my best friend and fur baby companion (dog - Jacko) at the start of November, and then his brother Banjo (cat) less than a week later. Between work stress and grief I feel like I have been almost on autopilot for the last 3 months, unable to feel anything other than despair/unhappiness. I have battled since a teenager for good mental health, through addiction, suicidal thoughts, and thought I had made great progress. I have thought of self blame for letting work stress get me to this point. I have booked in an appointment with a therapist and my GP in the next week.

sugarplum1999 I feel lonely!
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone. How do people deal with loneliness? I am not from Australia and I suffer depression and anxiety. Last year I moved in with my boyfriend but we had to move to a different houses after 9 months due to some issues we had. He is an alcoholic... View more

Hi everyone. How do people deal with loneliness? I am not from Australia and I suffer depression and anxiety. Last year I moved in with my boyfriend but we had to move to a different houses after 9 months due to some issues we had. He is an alcoholic and lost his job and he got injured at the time so he had to move with his parents because he couldn’t afford rent with me. Now, that we don’t live together I feel so lonely even though we talk over the phone everyday sometimes, but I feel lonely and pretty sad, can’t cope with depression on my own, I was thinking to go to a psychologist but I can’t afford it as I don’t have Medicare. I was wondering if someone could give me some tips and advices on how to cope with these issues. Thank you in advice!

Lonely_Ship Depression and anxiety for years, and struggle to trust most people since 2021.
  • replies: 5

As title says I've struggled with depression and anxiety for over a decade. I'm a 28 year old male so I've probably already lost most sympathy there. Everything seems so hard and exhausting and I keep trying to make positive steps in life, particular... View more

As title says I've struggled with depression and anxiety for over a decade. I'm a 28 year old male so I've probably already lost most sympathy there. Everything seems so hard and exhausting and I keep trying to make positive steps in life, particularly trying to be social and physically active but I struggle so hard to trust anyone beyond my immediate circle, even people I used to be very close but haven't seen in ages I feel closed off and apart from. Like shit said likely off-handedly or on social media will stick with me for months and cause tears. I see so much stuff that make me think large parts of society would hate me and struggle to cope with it.I feel like I cannot stop thinking about these things despite how much I want to be just relaxed and immersed in something else. Speaking of things to be immersed in, I find hobbies, games, and media to be immersed so difficult to find that I have not already played or watched. Everything seemed to have something which is a modern day reference or thing which brings me back to hat I'm trying to escape.I just don't know what to do anymore, I feel useless and used up of my energy and productivity.

startingnew Struggling alot right now
  • replies: 11

Hi everyonei havent been in here in quite some time now but i am struggling alot. My mental health conditions are worsening and having several chronic pain and other health conditions everything is so hard. i feel so alone and isolated. the only peop... View more

Hi everyonei havent been in here in quite some time now but i am struggling alot. My mental health conditions are worsening and having several chronic pain and other health conditions everything is so hard. i feel so alone and isolated. the only people i speak to are those that need something or those that i have to support otherwise im just alone and have no one.

idkanonymousig09 I'm not sure if there is something going on with me
  • replies: 1

Recently, i have been having mental breakdowns randomly, but specifically at night alone in my bedroom. it is school holidays for me and my groupchat with my friend group has been blowing up. they have been making plans to hang out over the break, no... View more

Recently, i have been having mental breakdowns randomly, but specifically at night alone in my bedroom. it is school holidays for me and my groupchat with my friend group has been blowing up. they have been making plans to hang out over the break, normally i would go with the plans but lately i would rather stay at home instead. not even telling anyone that im not going, not messaging anyone at all. every time i hear a notification, i mostly ignore it. i dont mean to ignore my friends, but something inside me is wanting to, school is coming back soon and im afraid to face them again, and have them possibly question where ive been, why im not responding or hanging out. every time i think about this, leads me to tears and me wanting to throw my phone across the room. idek anymore........

jenny059 Lost and alone at 60
  • replies: 1

Hi new hereim divorced and renting I’m 60i have no means to get my own home I don’t have anything after divorce and very little superannuation my ex now has an inheritance and living very well my son just built a beautiful home with his wife and kids... View more

Hi new hereim divorced and renting I’m 60i have no means to get my own home I don’t have anything after divorce and very little superannuation my ex now has an inheritance and living very well my son just built a beautiful home with his wife and kids I’m happy for himmy brother just bought a brand new home around the corner from him financially very stableIt breaks my heart I’m in this position after losing the family home and only having my last pay cheque when it was sold. My ex used our mortgage as his atm so nothing left there.How do I find happiness and feel secure now. I live pay cheque to pay cheque I get so down and worry when I have to retire thank you