Immediate support
Immediate support

Depression

Depression affects people in Australia every day. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with depression.

Start a discussion

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Categories
Start a discussion

Pinned discussions

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

All discussions

Start a discussion

bastet I haven't a clue what's wrong
  • replies: 3

Like most people here, I'm new and have no clue what I'm doing. I guess I just need to vent/ask. I've been struggling with what I believe to be anxiety, depression, and possibly schizophrenia. I have multiple medical issues that I'm not going to both... View more

Like most people here, I'm new and have no clue what I'm doing. I guess I just need to vent/ask. I've been struggling with what I believe to be anxiety, depression, and possibly schizophrenia. I have multiple medical issues that I'm not going to bother listing since there are so many. I don't want anyone to feel like I'm just seeking attention from all of this. I get so scared that people will get annoyed with me if I talk about and it, and I'm just scared of what they'll think. Ever since I was little, I have been slightly suicidal and went to a psychologist every Tuesday. I was in 4th grade and I didn't even really understand what I was feeling, I just had a really hard time with death. My grandma and dog died and for a youngster that's mind bending. Jump to present day and I've felt horrid, both physically and mentally. I just now admitted to myself a few days ago in the mirror of what I might have, which hurt me. I'd all ways thought I was true but I didn't want to believe it. Whenever I read sad things, it's like there is another me who pushes to the front of my head (she's all ways been there) and amplifies my emotions ten fold and brings forward thoughts of loss of faith in humanity and suicide. I've all ways been a pretty dramatic kid and I talk a lot and whine a lot and am really dramatic but only sometimes. When I'm in a social situation, I'm a shell. noone believes me when I say I'm shy. I feel like I have nothing to define myself. People say (especially family) that I act like my friends which sometimes annoys me off because it's not true or throws me into a pit of dispare because it is. I want to be normal so bad. I'm running out of room so I'llend it here, but there is so much and I'm sure you dint want to listen to a whining 15 year old. If you happen to no what's wrong with me, please tell me.beyondblue's clinically-trained moderators often work offline (invisible to you) on issues relating to suicide or self-harm. At the same time, general supportive comments from the community are encouraged. If you have concerns around suicide or self-harm, please phone our support service on 1300 22 4636.

Sparrow36 Don't no what to do
  • replies: 3

Hi I have ADHD, OCD,Bipolar and manic depprision I was doing really good then things started to go wrong my moods are everywhere and I have a lot of energy I was working but lost my job on Monday due to clashes with other staff and my mood swings I w... View more

Hi I have ADHD, OCD,Bipolar and manic depprision I was doing really good then things started to go wrong my moods are everywhere and I have a lot of energy I was working but lost my job on Monday due to clashes with other staff and my mood swings I was advised to resign so they didn't have to fire me. I am 39 and I thought I was doing good obviously I wasn't I have full support from my family I live alone with my dog. I am trying to stay positive but I am not doing well to be honest. Not sure what to do I have lost all motivation and feel I have let myself and my family down

Aly1987 depression/ anxiety merry-go-round
  • replies: 24

I'm new here, this is my 1st post. I'm really isolated because of my issues and have been for 2 yrs since I gave up a long term addiction to drugs and cut ties with the ppl I used with. I've suffered from depression, anxiety and borderline personalit... View more

I'm new here, this is my 1st post. I'm really isolated because of my issues and have been for 2 yrs since I gave up a long term addiction to drugs and cut ties with the ppl I used with. I've suffered from depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder for yrs as well as ocd and anorexia. I thought that getting clean would solve all my problems and I'd b able to live a normal life, get a job ect and convinced myself that all my problems stemmed from drugs. So when I was hit with depression and anxiety and all the ocd thoughts slowly crept back in over the past few months and everything I worked for in recovery fell apart bit by bit as the mental illness took hold again I have been shattered by the realization that it wasn't the drugs causing mental illness but the mental illness causing me to feel the need to escape with drugs. Now I'm very concerned about my future, I can't stick to anything for long b4 I am stuck at home again, too anxious to go out. I don't think I'll ever hold down a job or live a meaningful life. Anyway I thought I'd try this website to reach out to others who might understand. Aly.

Dan1982 I think I need help!
  • replies: 7

I had mild depression years and years ago but came through it by changing my lifestyle and diet. Recently I have had a really hard time with work, family life and financial commitments. I am really struggling to make basic everyday decisions, I don't... View more

I had mild depression years and years ago but came through it by changing my lifestyle and diet. Recently I have had a really hard time with work, family life and financial commitments. I am really struggling to make basic everyday decisions, I don't sleep and when I do I don't want to get up when I wake. I'm constantly negative and always turn a good thing into bad as that's what I expect to happen so I feel like I'm preparing myself for the worst all the time. I am always hungry but when I eat I only want bad, fast food and after a few mouthfuls I tend to become nauscious and vomit! I have started to shake a bit, I sweat like mad constantly and have had quite a few red spots appear on my chest. I do not want to visit a doctor as it will show on my record and will jeopardise any future work prospects I want to do but it is getting quite scary as today I began to have suicidal thoughts. I quickly talked myself round but it has scared me so much that I could even think this that I am now asking for help on here. I have no idea what to do as I can not afford treatments or psychologists etc.any advice would be so gratefully received!!!

ShelbyC The Spiral
  • replies: 7

I want, nope, need to rant a little. I don't even know which category I fit in anymore but i'll post here in the depression section cause I guess that's where it all started and where it will probably all finish. I was diagnosed with "severe depressi... View more

I want, nope, need to rant a little. I don't even know which category I fit in anymore but i'll post here in the depression section cause I guess that's where it all started and where it will probably all finish. I was diagnosed with "severe depression" in high school at around the age of 14/15 since then I have been on all the usual anti-depression medications on and off till last year when i was told by a GP that I was misdiagnosed all those years ago ( I'm now 35 ) and what i actually have is Borderline Personality Disorder. I was also informed at that time that Anti-D's were not going to help what i need is constant psychotherapy. I've given up seeing doctors when i feel crappy because i expect the answer to always be the same - see a shrink. I really cant say that i have a horrible life situation. I'm not homeless, i have money, i have friends and i have a solid job. But no matter what, I always end up not being able to be satisfied. My situation at the moment is that: I live away from my wife and kids ( 2 step and one my own ) The eldest stepson ( 17 ) moved up here to live with me I moved away from all my friends to take this job ( which pays really well ) I ended up with a shoulder injury which required the use of over the counter pain killers ( containing codeine ). Now i seem to have developed an addiction to them that i cant seem to shake alone. I know its not even a serious drug like heroine, but for me the withdrawals are horrible and i keep giving in and getting back on them. Now i find myself once again, losing self esteem rapidly after repeated failures to shake the addiction all while dealing with the long distance relationship with my wife and the isolation of being without my friends. Before i left my home town, i was told by my shrink that this move was a really bad idea even if it fixes our money issues. I now believe her. I once wanted to be an advocate for beyond blue ( when i felt like i was beating the years of depression ) but now i find myself on the victim end of depression once again. I feel this wont be my last post here, its probably only just the start, but i needed to vent so maybe i can sleep now. Why is it that after 20 years I still cant shake depression when i feel like things are starting to work out.

Butterfly91 Losing hope
  • replies: 15

Hi there, I have struggled with depression for most of my life. At the beginning of this year I seemed to have a grip on things and was doing pretty well but after a couple of months once I decided to stop taking my medication I fell into a dark and ... View more

Hi there, I have struggled with depression for most of my life. At the beginning of this year I seemed to have a grip on things and was doing pretty well but after a couple of months once I decided to stop taking my medication I fell into a dark and inescapable hole. I isolated myself and found it harder and harder to reach out to others. To this day I've tried three different types of medication and while i know it's not a cure, I'm still not feeling much improvement. I feel disconnected and barely like myself. I struggle to talk to others when I was once always sociable and optimistic. It feels like I am trapped and no matter what I do, nothing seems to make me feel better. In the new year I want to further my studies but even finding motivation is really difficult. It feels like I've completely lost myself and I don't know what to do. Please help

ThisCarl So yesterday I had some kind of mental snap. Not sure what to do...
  • replies: 1

Hi all,So yesterday something within me snapped and I think I had some kind of breakdown. I work 2 jobs (I have to) and my girlfriend and parents have been pestering me to take a break for years. They don't understand that work = money and money = re... View more

Hi all,So yesterday something within me snapped and I think I had some kind of breakdown. I work 2 jobs (I have to) and my girlfriend and parents have been pestering me to take a break for years. They don't understand that work = money and money = rent. I cant simply stop working for a week as then I won't have somewhere to live.Anyway, I think this pressure was really getting to me, alongside the constant work lifestyle I have to live. Then, on Wednesday night, my car broke down. I realised I would have to chose between paying to get the car fixed and my electricity bill and I just snapped. I got out of the car and just lost it. My vision blurred and nothing seemed to make sense. I found my self walking one way then 5 secs later walking in the opposite direction. I would get back in the car and try to start it only to leave it again, keys in the ignition. I felt like my brain was fading in and out of consciousness within my concious body. I rang my parents and girlfriend to sayI needed help and guess what they did? Lectured me about taking a break from work! That sent me into a blind rage of sorts. I managed to get home and sleep but the next day, yesterday, I was still really upset. My parents and GF started lecturing me: "Take a break", "Buy a better car" like I had all the money in the world. I would get incredibly angry at little things. I smashed my phone and laptop, which was incredibly stupid but I just lost control for a second. I would just pace the house endlessly. I feel a bit better today but still really mucky and not thinking clearly. What can I do???

Luke123456789 need a level head to give an outside view.
  • replies: 5

Hello, so my name is luke, i'm 20. I've never been an extrovert or enjoyed delvulge my own personal problems. mainly because of trust issues and well, its not something I really want to put on others. so i guess i'll cut to the chase. I'm just really... View more

Hello, so my name is luke, i'm 20. I've never been an extrovert or enjoyed delvulge my own personal problems. mainly because of trust issues and well, its not something I really want to put on others. so i guess i'll cut to the chase. I'm just really lost in life, it really all started when i was 16, my older brother ( one of two) had a car accident while i was on holiday with my family in england. he spent along time in hospital with brain injuries and its still an ongoing process. the day we flew back, we quickly moved from our old family home ( situated a couple hours from the hospital) to somewhere were we could be there for him. my school was quite good with it all and re enrolled me for the year later. as i did not want to be away from family and back in that environment, and by not coming back lost almost all childhood friends. ( small town talking). In the end i dropped out and got myself an apprenticeship, fully qualified now. a couple months ago my parents decided there marriage wasn't working, I'm living with my mother now, who needs the support, she needs someone to remind her on a bad day lives alright.. she hasn't worked for the last 25 years and the life change will be difficult. I've never dealt with emotional problems well at all, and i don't think i've ever worked through my problems. I've found myself with no friends, and the people that are in my life, i find cynical dark reason behind all there actions, in the end forcing them away, or just fading into the background. i've had problems with substance abuse since i was 15, and find self medicating has slowly made it all worse, downward spiral that has no exit. A couple months ago i quit my job to focus on trying to sort the bigger problems in life out which worked well for the first month or so, really tried kicking bad habits and tried to enjoy my own company.I find myself alone and Recently money has become an extra worry as christmas and etc, but i had planned for all this previously, unforced problems with cars and etc through that out the door. these thing are just little problems and i know that but I hate life, theres no fun in life, and i'm so alone, i try to make friends but i can't even start basic conversation. I'm not even sure who i am anymore, the moods are so flat and negative in life. I'm angry and been known to blowup over nothing . This isn't the person i wanted to be.

zailleh Self Intro - Recently diagnosed long-time depressed
  • replies: 3

Hi Everyone, I'm a man in my mid-twenties and I've only just been diagnosed with depression. Actually, that's not strictly true, it was first suggested I might be depressed (melancholic depression) about 3 years ago but I was only on medication for a... View more

Hi Everyone, I'm a man in my mid-twenties and I've only just been diagnosed with depression. Actually, that's not strictly true, it was first suggested I might be depressed (melancholic depression) about 3 years ago but I was only on medication for a short time as it seemed to be related to another medical condition I was then suffering that had me confined to the house for about a year. It's gotten to the point now where I've approached a psychologist and GP for help. This was prompted by months of trouble at work - not caused by bad working conditions but more by my difficulty coping. I first started noticing I was taking days of work simply because I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed. More recently, I've started noticing increasing anxiety in crowds (agoraphobia). This was the final straw that took me to the GP to get medication. On a good day, I can manage to force myself out of bed to go for a walk; otherwise I'll procrastinate until the last minute and then trudge off to work, only to leave work as soon as I'm possibly able. I generally start to feel almost like a normal person around 7:30... and then because I need to go to bed early at around 9pm in order to get up at 5:30 to start the day, I get cranky because I only get about an hour of feeling human before I need to go to bed. I hate going out to places where there are people, but at the same time I get bored staying at home. It's gotten to the point now that I don't even know what activities I actually enjoy. I feel like I've lost my identity. It's not like I'm not good at things; I'm great at my job and I'm well paid for it, I'm relatively fit and healthy as I force myself to go to the gym (which is easy because there's one at work). I'm at the point now that, with diagnosis, I'm ready to admit that my life over the past 15 or so years has been heavily influenced by depression and it's not just "my personality" or "the way I am". Knowing that doesn't help me feel like any less of a failure but hopefully, with anti-depressants and help from a psychologist, I can begin to make a difference in my own life and gain back the joy. If I were to sum up my experience with depression simply it would be: I'm incapable of feeling excited and cannot remember the last time I did so. I'm hoping that, by spending time on this forum, I can come to terms with my condition and gain confidence by being able to speak more about my experiences in a friendly understanding environment. ~ZaiLLeH::

EMH80 I came across Dysthymia yesterday online and i think it fits
  • replies: 6

I wondered if anyone has been diagnosed with Dysthmia and can tell me anything about it. I have been wondering for some time now if I have depression. When I read the information about the different types (bipolar, major etc) I think no I'm not that ... View more

I wondered if anyone has been diagnosed with Dysthmia and can tell me anything about it. I have been wondering for some time now if I have depression. When I read the information about the different types (bipolar, major etc) I think no I'm not that bad. I'm not suicidal and I do look forward to things and get enjoyment out of a lot of everyday activities. I came across Dysthymia yesterday online and i think it fits. I know i should talk to my gp about it but i havent plucked up the courage yet. I do realise that self diagnosis is not a good idea but i thought i would look for some info here first before i go any further. I seem to suffer with a chronic low mood. I'm not in the depths of despair, i just cant be happy a lot of the time and there is no apparent reason. I feel really tired a lot even though i get a full nights sleep. I snap at my husband a lot and get angry at him for no good reason. I find it hard to motivate myself at times and feel hopeless and completely drained. I just want to disappear sometimes. There are times when i feel like i'm just passing through this life not really living it. For a while i thought it was all down to hormones and time of the month certainly seems to have an effect on my moods but it doesnt explain everything. This has been going on for so long now that it feels like part of my personality and maybe this is just who i am- a moody person. Exercise helps lift my mood but only temporarily. The past year has been stressful and the one ahead is looking to be quite stressful too and i think this is contributing to my current low mood. I dont have major highs and lows, I feel like maybe its chronic depression. Does anyone out there suffer with chronic depression and have any words of wisdom? SIMILAR POSTS Living with dysthymia Does anyone else have dysthymia? Dysthymia - I'm newly diagnosed Doctors and dysthymia Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) Dysthymia and chronic illness