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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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cheeko100 Help
  • replies: 4

hey guys, I'm new. My name is Dan and im 27, i have been suffering with deppression and anxiety for a long time. i just hate my life at the moment. Recently i got rear ended by a car so my car was at the repair shop.I got a rental car and accidently ... View more

hey guys, I'm new. My name is Dan and im 27, i have been suffering with deppression and anxiety for a long time. i just hate my life at the moment. Recently i got rear ended by a car so my car was at the repair shop.I got a rental car and accidently crashed it cause im a pizza delivery driver. the rental car company is going to charge me $3000 and i just cant afford it. Wtf is the point of this all? i hate myself and i keep struggling to keep going.

Pelayn Exhausted and lonely
  • replies: 9

I suffer from depression. I don't hate myself. I dont hate my life. I have a supportive husband and i have friends. I am doing therapy. I'm on medication. I'm trying to keep 'doing' things like seeing friends. I've reached out to one closer friend fo... View more

I suffer from depression. I don't hate myself. I dont hate my life. I have a supportive husband and i have friends. I am doing therapy. I'm on medication. I'm trying to keep 'doing' things like seeing friends. I've reached out to one closer friend for support. Still I'm consumed with depression. I feel empty and lonely. I'm not close with family as that is where my depression stems from in the first place. Today was a day i could take a break from fighting it. Not have to put on the fake smile and pretend. Not have to get out of bed. But my husband accepted a last minute play date. I couldn't put on the brave face so i left the house while he had company. Tomorrow i will have to be strong again to get the kids to school and go to work. I'm mentally and physically exhausted. How do people keep finding the strength to push forward will little sign of improvement?

Seza Life at a stand still
  • replies: 1

Hi im 29, my life is at a stand still.i suffer from both anxiety and depression and have done since i was 17. I havent actively sought help until lately because i couldn't see a way of getting through this night mare alone anymore. I think the fact t... View more

Hi im 29, my life is at a stand still.i suffer from both anxiety and depression and have done since i was 17. I havent actively sought help until lately because i couldn't see a way of getting through this night mare alone anymore. I think the fact that i have just come out of a controlling 8yr long relationship hasnt helped the situation nor coming into a new relationship that is heading toward turmoil. My partner to suffers from anxiety and iv been trying so hard to help him i feel iv left my only problems in the back ground. He pushes me away but i keep being they're for him and i have no body to support me i can't keep going like this iv had enough my life seems to have no purpose hope or meaning feeling lost

anotherPeter I want to disappear.
  • replies: 3

Haven't been on here for a long time. currently trialing my sixth different antidepressant. Everything I have tried either has nasty side effects, doesn't help or both. I feel sick all the time and am becoming increasingly withdrawn and disinterested... View more

Haven't been on here for a long time. currently trialing my sixth different antidepressant. Everything I have tried either has nasty side effects, doesn't help or both. I feel sick all the time and am becoming increasingly withdrawn and disinterested. I want to disappear so I don't have to do anything or see anyone. I am not suicidal and I am not a danger to myself or anyone else but I have had enough of everything.

gorjus Overcoming social isolation
  • replies: 1

Hello, I hope below makes sense as I've got persistent headaches and fuzzy thoughts. How do I make friends as a lonely stay at home mum, and fill in the days for at least 6 months? Background: 3 days before Christmas last year I was made redundant bu... View more

Hello, I hope below makes sense as I've got persistent headaches and fuzzy thoughts. How do I make friends as a lonely stay at home mum, and fill in the days for at least 6 months? Background: 3 days before Christmas last year I was made redundant but this was a blessing as the workplace was toxic, and my son was unhappy in fulltime care. He's happy now and does parttime kinder, but only has his kinder friends for company as street kids are quite old. My lovely husband works on the other side of Melbourne CBD so leaves quite early and gets home late, and he's desperate to help me. My aging parents are on the other side of the city, my siblings interstate, and my extendeds are estranged. I'm damn lucky to be a wife and mother, but I feel only like a housekeeper. All I do now is clean and sometimes cook. Now that my son can get his own breakfast I've been staying in bed longer and longer. I've tried to socialise with the other kinder parents but it's like I'm wearing an 'I'm weird' shirt because they are quick to keep walking past after a hurried greeting. There are 2 who give me a bit more time, but they are a bit wary of me too. Sports clubs largely don't suit my availability and the Council's help is a joke. I find Melbourne cold, rushed, unfriendly, clogged, and huge. Recently I hoped to move to Darwin to be with my sister and her kids and in a warmer, more colourful, less rushed environment where my son can grow up with his family, commute is less, and there's a younger base and network. She had similar issues to me and has been happy there for 5 years after trying a few places with her husband. My husband has managed anxiety and loves Melbourne so I can't just tell him to move for my own wellbeing because he said he will crash. He won't even try a few months elsewhere which I think is unfair, but then, why should he since I'm the problem. I'm socially trapped and I can't wait 6 months until my son starts school. I'm scared my depression is doing big damage to my family. Mental health services just prescribed ADs, the counsellor is another few weeks wait, and outreach program is God knows when. Since there is no hope of moving to a happier place with a fresh start like Darwin, I'm sure I need to just find social weekday things to do that compliment the kinder schedule. Sorry to clog up a forum with this but I hoped to just put my thoughts into logical order and I needed someone to talk to.

Just Sara Triggered by posting on BB
  • replies: 36

Today I posted a few times; the last time I wrote some really interesting stuff about power and control. As my day has progressed, I've had increasing low feelings and a heavy chest. I figure power is an item of contention, especially with re to my e... View more

Today I posted a few times; the last time I wrote some really interesting stuff about power and control. As my day has progressed, I've had increasing low feelings and a heavy chest. I figure power is an item of contention, especially with re to my ex who I wrote about. This is difficult...I'm trying to ride it out, these feelings are known to me oh so well. It's now moving into my shoulders and up into my throat. I feel depressed, but my body says anxiety. Tears are building; trying to see the screen. Waiting for words to come...I just want someone to hold me and tell me it's going to be alright. (many tears) I miss physical touch. I feel raw...exposed...vulnerable I ventured out of my protective bubble and am paying the price. I talked with him...setting myself up. His false charm got me again. Why do I punish myself like that. Memories of his hugs? Self destructive behaviour...OMG I'm so angry with myself. I hate feeling needy. He's not worth this...I deserve to feel better about myself. Learning to protect myself...not from him...from me. My bubble is my space and who I let in or venture out to meet has to be learned. I need to be more self aware. (Taking a breath)

TheChosenOne_4883 My loneliness is making me feel genuinely depressed and almost ill.
  • replies: 6

I'm a 19 year old male, by the way. I had quite a few friends in high school, and one or two that I'd even call 'best' friends. We saw each other heaps and got along so well. But now we've all gone our different paths and don't see each other anymore... View more

I'm a 19 year old male, by the way. I had quite a few friends in high school, and one or two that I'd even call 'best' friends. We saw each other heaps and got along so well. But now we've all gone our different paths and don't see each other anymore, and so I started at a university in March with a four month pathways course. I was pessimistic going in, thinking that nobody would be interested in me or want to be my friend, but to my genuine surprise I was wrong, and within a few days I had several friends (all female, which was weird for me). One girl in particular I became quite close with. She was somewhat quiet and introverted like me, and we shared many of the same interests (video games, anime, etc). She lived near me so I picked her up and dropped her off from her house every day when we went to the train station to go to uni. We quickly became really good friends and saw each other pretty much every day. You have no idea how good this made me feel about myself, and it snapped me out of the depression and insecurity that I'd had for a couple of years. I finally felt like somebody (of the opposite sex) was interested in me and cared about me and was happy talking to me every day. I've never had a girlfriend so that's another reason this made me feel like my life was back on tracks. But sadly and inevitably the four month course came to an end, and that was today. When I dropped my friend off at her house and gave one last look at her before driving away I knew I'd probably never see her again (since she has a very busy social life outside of university, and she never showed much interest in going out with me outside of school). Words can't even really describe how utterly alone I felt then (and still feel now as I write this). It may sound extreme and stupid, but seeing her and being with her and talking with her every day made me feel like I had value to someone's life and that I wasn't worthless and that my life could finally become good. But all that's over now. In my emotional state I wrote a message to her on Facebook telling her how much I appreciated her friendship because I thought I wouldn't make any friends, and how I'd miss her, but that was an hour ago and she hasn't replied (even though she's online and has seen my message). I just feel... horrible. Like, I haven't felt this alone and depressed and hurt for a really long time (maybe never). All the progress of these past four months are gone... like they never even happened.

EloiseS I've never felt so low, I can't get out of the fog
  • replies: 8

Hi, I'm Eloise and around 3 weeks ago a personal experience affected me deeply and profoundly. At the time I was overseas on the trip of a lifetime and was in very happy spirits. My life has never been perfect and even prior to this experience I was ... View more

Hi, I'm Eloise and around 3 weeks ago a personal experience affected me deeply and profoundly. At the time I was overseas on the trip of a lifetime and was in very happy spirits. My life has never been perfect and even prior to this experience I was and still am in a very unhappy marriage. Despite this my life was functional and I sought and found enjoyment in many things that I now longer do. I can't function at all. I'm drinking almost every night or taking things to numb me or take away the horrible feelings and I was never like this before and just a social drinker. I only find solace in sleep and hate having to drag myself out of bed in the morning. I'm barely eating and have lost weight but seeing this as the only positive!!!! I have 3 kids and finding it hard to find happiness or joy in anything. The kids are happy and well cared for and would have no clue that I am going through this as I put up a good happy facade. The person responsible for my sadness initially came across as a charmer and now wants nothing to do with me and won't give me any explanations or answers. I know deep in my heart this person should be written off but I don't have any closure and cannot move forward. It has been 3 weeks now and I don't feel any better and have made the decision to seek professional help/medication tomorrow as I am having awful thoughts I cannot seem to to quash. To be honest I am not sure why I'm even here as I don't believe anything can help me. I hate myself.

artilleryman37 Getting things off my chest and looking for opinions
  • replies: 2

I have decided to write here because my life is on the verge of ruin and I have trouble talking to anyone let alone medical professionals about this sort of stuff. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety, especially social anxiety. It takes me ye... View more

I have decided to write here because my life is on the verge of ruin and I have trouble talking to anyone let alone medical professionals about this sort of stuff. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety, especially social anxiety. It takes me years to fully open up to people. Anyone new I meet can walk all over me because my anxiety stops me from being able to express myself and I just do whatever I can to keep others happy no matter the personal cost to myself. The males on my fathers side are a long list of bipolar sufferers so I'm concerned I may be bipolar too but I'm not sure, I could have something completely different. I have intermittent sleeping problems, sometimes I'm fine and sometimes I'll get as little as 15 - 20 hours in a week. I have bad problems with memory. I have been known to forget how to spell my name or what my birthdate is. Sometimes I forget what I'm saying mid sentence or repeat things to people many times not knowing I have already told them. I forget to tell people things even minutes after thinking to tell them. I have even had times I have been driving and forgotten where I am and where I'm going for several minutes. I suffer from cognitive problems where it's like my brain doesn't work anymore. Its severity varies from day to day. Some days I'm at 100% and I'm like a computer, I am smart enough to have done university level maths in high school and came top of the school for the school certificate (which was a while ago as I'm now 29), and then there are days I take 10 minutes to calculate simple things like, for example, 128 + 37 and i'll still get the wrong answer. The anxiety, memory and cognitive problems have stopped me from holding any job in the last 8 years for more than 6 months which has ruined my employability in the eyes of employers and can no longer find employment. I get audible hallucinations. Sometimes not for months, sometimes every day, usually when I'm zoned out and not concentrating on anything. They used to be of an aggressive guy and a placid girl saying they were going to get me. That was years ago. These days I either get babies crying and screaming or I get a massively crowded room with hundreds of people talking to each other. I reached my character limit and will post the rest below as a reply.

Guest_9845 better people have it worse but...
  • replies: 3

I'm 35 off meds but they messed with my head too much and don't solve the issues of the character flaws I must have, I have always had. Better people have it much worse , i know, i know, but i'm really getting tired of it all. It's like anything to h... View more

I'm 35 off meds but they messed with my head too much and don't solve the issues of the character flaws I must have, I have always had. Better people have it much worse , i know, i know, but i'm really getting tired of it all. It's like anything to help is just like putting the braindead on life support. I've no hope and no forthcoming solution but dont fret, I'm too weak for suicide.

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