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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: 0

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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ecm1 I'm not sure what to do....
  • replies: 3

Hi, I am new here and need some help figuring out what to do. I have been feeling very down/sad/worthless since taking an acne medication 4-5 years ago. If feels as if ever since taking the medication I have not been the same person. I was warned tha... View more

Hi, I am new here and need some help figuring out what to do. I have been feeling very down/sad/worthless since taking an acne medication 4-5 years ago. If feels as if ever since taking the medication I have not been the same person. I was warned that it caused depression but I am not sure what I am feeling is depression or not because some months I feel okay and others I feel horrible. When I do feel bad I feel worried, hopeless, worthless, I have no self esteem and no motivation. As well as this I have started feeling a bit nervous like having hot flushes and racing heart. I am too scared to see a doctor because I feel stupid going if what I am feeling is just the "normal" feeling down in the dumps because I know what I am feeling is not as severe as some peoples experiences. I have not talked about this to my friends or family because I am too scared that they wont understand or think i was being pedantic so your advice would be very helpful and much appreciated. Thank you.

dwilli10 Reaching Out...
  • replies: 5

Hi, My name is David. I’m 33 years old. Married. Two kids. I’ve been living with depression for nearly 10 years now. I tried to write why I’m depressed for this forum. I read it and I laughed. Then I thought, what’s wrong with me?! On the surface I s... View more

Hi, My name is David. I’m 33 years old. Married. Two kids. I’ve been living with depression for nearly 10 years now. I tried to write why I’m depressed for this forum. I read it and I laughed. Then I thought, what’s wrong with me?! On the surface I should be happy. My kids are healthy. My wife loves me. So why do I hate them so much? Why do I do this to myself? I can’t stomach own reflection most days. I see my family as burden sucking the life out of me. I’m constantly thinking about all the things I’ve never done in life: a youth squandered, a tonne of regrets, no fulfilment. I have very few friends who I rarely see. I have interests but I don’t have the freedom to pursue them. I feel trapped in my own existence, walled within commitments and responsibilities. People say to me, “the grass is always greener…” or that “things could be worse”. Sometimes I think they’re right. But then it’s back to the drudgery of work and home, work and home. I get nothing out of it – no pleasure whatsoever. I’m reasonably healthy, I don’t take drugs or smoke. I wish I had an alcohol problem sometimes. I wish I had a specific problem to pinpoint all this on. But I don’t. It’s a bit like purgatory – that middle ground where it’s not quite Hell but sure ain’t Heaven. You go for months not being noticed. An insignificant spec whose very existence doesn’t matter. You want things to be better, but you should be grateful that they’re not worse. So if that’s the case then why do I always feel like this? Why do I feel so lonely? Like no one understands me. I’m only here to prop up others. Drowning while everyone around me breaths easy. It’s like the whole world is in on some secret to living life that I’m not privy to. I feel like such a loser. A failure. I could’ve done more but didn’t and can’t. I’m not even sure why I’m posting here. Maybe I just need to vent, or find someone to talk to - the people near to me are sick of hearing me bitch about the same things. Hell, even I'm sick of myself. I'm just so tired of being me.

Lisado Lost the plot last night
  • replies: 4

Last night I lost the plot . Had nothing to eat for 2 days, had too much wine , fight with my hubby for " not understanding" he does but he keeps it to himself and I am mean about it. So I took some pills. More to show him I'm at the depths of dispai... View more

Last night I lost the plot . Had nothing to eat for 2 days, had too much wine , fight with my hubby for " not understanding" he does but he keeps it to himself and I am mean about it. So I took some pills. More to show him I'm at the depths of dispair. It was silly off. I seem to be doing so mAny things which are out of character for me. i was very sick all night and feel dreadful now. Going to book counsellor for first time but I feel scared and I'm a huge failure if wife and mother . lisa

Arian Anyone else out there
  • replies: 1

Hi all This is my first time posting here. About 12 months ago I went to my doctor because I felt like I just wasn't coping with life and the smallest things set me off crying. He asked how long I had felt like that and I said a couple of months but ... View more

Hi all This is my first time posting here. About 12 months ago I went to my doctor because I felt like I just wasn't coping with life and the smallest things set me off crying. He asked how long I had felt like that and I said a couple of months but he suggested it had been much longer than that. A year later I understand that he is right, feelings of hopelessness and sadness are things I have dealt with for many years. Found it hard talking to a psychologist, was never encouraged to talk about feelings when I was young and really struggle to articulate them now as an adult. Been on anti-depressants 12 months and dose just been upped recently so feeling a bit better but find that i just want to scream sometimes because I feel constantly weighed down and havent resolved anything. I have been reading stories and forums on here but I find it hard to relate. I am a single 34 year old female with no dependents and never been in a serious relationship. Most posts by females seem to be young or older and married and with children and a lot of their issues seem to come from those relationships. I also dont think i have had a dramatic life event which has caused these feelings. Is there anyone else out there whose experience is similar? Thanks

hobbitmomma losing my mind?
  • replies: 5

ok here goes I am hoping that by writing this down it will all become either much clearer or just disappear into thin air - don't hold out much hope of either happening. I am off work due to stress caused by the attitude of my manageress, fighting wh... View more

ok here goes I am hoping that by writing this down it will all become either much clearer or just disappear into thin air - don't hold out much hope of either happening. I am off work due to stress caused by the attitude of my manageress, fighting what appears to be an endless battle with workcover, 12000 miles from my family, live in a very remote outback town in south australia, live by myself and am feeling so low it hurts. I cannot see a way out of the mess my life is in right now - and I don't think anyone realises how bad it has become. My days seem endless - not just boring but pointless, I cry for no reason, feel suicidal a lot of the time, only am too scared to do anything about it - that seems really stupid I know but it is how i feel. Most of the time I feel l am going crazy by degrees - I have had panic attacks when out and am now too scared to do that unless I have someone with me - that is not always possible so I tend to stay in a lot. I want my life back - I want to go back to where none of this was happening and where I felt if not in total control , at least in partial control. Sorry if this sounds like the rambling of a mad woman but I think I need help and am afraid to ask for it in case I am told to go away ans stop being silly.

SirLanky why is it so hard?
  • replies: 2

I just started working in a telecommunications call centre. Ive been unemployed for 2 years. I need the money from this fulltime job. But im not coping. Out of 5 weeks ive had almost 2 weeks off. I just feel like crawling in a hole and dying. I feel ... View more

I just started working in a telecommunications call centre. Ive been unemployed for 2 years. I need the money from this fulltime job. But im not coping. Out of 5 weeks ive had almost 2 weeks off. I just feel like crawling in a hole and dying. I feel like a complete failure. I dunno what to do. I just cant cope. I hate leaving the house. My wife is supportive but she just doesnt understand.

MaryG New
  • replies: 20

Hi everyone, I have read quite a few posts now and I can see there is a lot of support out there. I am new to this label of depression but I realise now that at 47 years of age I have suffered for most of my life. I just didn't have a name for it. It... View more

Hi everyone, I have read quite a few posts now and I can see there is a lot of support out there. I am new to this label of depression but I realise now that at 47 years of age I have suffered for most of my life. I just didn't have a name for it. It took a death of someone very close to me and some other huge life upheavals to break down my defence against it...and I haven't been coping that well for a couple of years now. I am at it's mercy. One thing I can't get my head around is how I can feel good one day and then crash and burn so badly the next. I don't get how my family and friends can suddenly mean nothing to me and how I could even consider ending my life. But there are days and weeks when I can't get the thoughts out of my head. Alcohol is a problem for me and I know it's bad and I can go without for a while but then I'm back on it and the whole guilt thing kicks in with the deceit and hiding it from everyone. I just want to feel good. I read a book recently and the author described the voices in her head as the depression talking. It made total sense to me but I had never thought of it that way before. When they tell me I'm not good enough, or I'm stupid or I'm ugly....its not true, its just the depression. The black dog. This has helped a little. The weird thing is I have positive voices too. I mentioned it to my husband once and said that the voice in my head was pushing me on and telling me I could keep running and not to quit (I was running in a race) He didn't know what I was talking about. He has no voices...positive or negative. Am I the weird one? I am working in a foreign country for the next couple of weeks. I crave the solitude, but it's not good for me. The hotel room is quiet and gives my mind too much space. Those negative voices came with me and the vodka is very cheap here. Not sure why I am writing this...other than I think I need some help.

RayS just feel like it's punishment!
  • replies: 2

I've been dealing with manic depression since I was first diagnosed over 20 years back. I do the right thing and take the meds, as best as possible keep a positive attitude in front of others, try to look at life as a glass half full adventure and ba... View more

I've been dealing with manic depression since I was first diagnosed over 20 years back. I do the right thing and take the meds, as best as possible keep a positive attitude in front of others, try to look at life as a glass half full adventure and basically take things as they come. I've managed the condition for so long it just feels like part of my "normal" existence. Life throws the odd curve ball at me, my psych's wife being diagnosed with and subsequently from cancer a year after I started seeing him, mum dying of cancer a few years back, my mother-in-law (whom I loved very much) taking her own life a year later, my wife's battle with her own depression and anxiety following her mum's passing, me living with severe chronic RA....the sought of things most people have to deal with at some point in their lives. I've handled it all, and kept plugging. There have been times when the depression has swung in and hit me full face, but I've always worked through it. I always felt I could take whatever it threw at me as long as I felt I could fight. And then, two weeks ago, my wife of 8 years is diagnosed with a potentially life threatening condition following one of those "routine" checks that women have. She's handled the news so much better than I have. All of a sudden that damn mongrel black dog is turning feral on me and I'm back where I was when this lousy thing first started. I feel like I'm being punished for something I don't understand and that in turn makes me feel so damn selfish when my wife needs my support more than at any time in our lives together. I know I'm not the first bloke to have faced this, so I guess all I'm looking for here is some positive feedback. Have you been through this sort of thing? How did you handle it? Increased meds? Therapy? Faith? I'm not at all suicidal. Just.....lost.

adamsmith720 It's all coming back
  • replies: 1

Hey all, didn't know where else to turn to with this stuff. Things just haven't been going too right lately. Will try and water this down so not to go into too much detail but that might be hard. Firstly I have suffered through depression, anxiety an... View more

Hey all, didn't know where else to turn to with this stuff. Things just haven't been going too right lately. Will try and water this down so not to go into too much detail but that might be hard. Firstly I have suffered through depression, anxiety and mild bipolar since I was around 17. Things turned bad when I was 18, with various incidents leading to self harm, cutting and eventually suicide attempts. I was medicated and things eventually calmed down and things seemed to be 'healed'. In saying that, it was always 'there', but I managed it. I'm now 26, and earlier this year things started to rear their head again. I got a full time job that was unrelated to my ideal career and I was forced into leaving it in the second week due to severe anxiety and panic attacks. This happened about 12 months ago as well in another job, but at that stage I thought it was an isolated incident. I put a lot of pressure on myself to reach my dream job, and given I have been graduated for 2 years now without getting a job on my degree, it's been stressful. There is a long story related to my work issues, but that's not the main issue I'm posting here today. My anxiety attacks lead me to go back to the doctor for my issues for the first time in 8 years, where I prescribed anti-depressants and recommended for a psychologist. Initially I felt as though she helped, but in the end it was hard to tell given I had left my job and that at the time was the only real issue. The anti-depressants I was on also affected me badly more so than good, with various mental issues and other physical side effects. My GP recommended I go off them which I did. Things seemed to be just sitting at a 'normal' level. Recently though this has changed when it has come to my mental well being and emotions. I should mention I have been in a long term relationship for a while now, but recently my feelings for my partner seem to be diminishing. I recently met another person who I have connected with online quite a bit, we chat pretty much every day and have become very good friends. We have met in person and basically I feel as though she has become one of, if not my closest friend since I've gotten to know her. Gradually I found myself having feelings for her, and eventually really discovered that I was in fact in love with her. This has then diminished my feelings for my current partner where I'm not sure if I am in love with her still. Things with this other girl were just going fine, I wasn't going to tell her my true feelings as past experiences had always gone bad for me in that case (related to my previous bouts of depression when I was 17/8) and there was no need for me to say anything. Things came to a head recently though when a conversation basically made the 'truth' come out in that she found out that I liked her. Since that night, things did turn a little weird, and then it amounted into a couple of days of non talking. In these last few days I literally haven't stopped thinking of her every single second, I have a knot tied in my body that I can't shake and I was literally obsessing, checking to see if she was online and then waiting for her to message me. We went 2 days without talking which basically was the longest I had gone given we had literally talked every day for over 2 months. It was killing me. I was trying to not go out of my way to message her and 'give her space' but I caved tonight and messaged her. Things were fine, we were joking around like old times but I asked if we were 'cool' and she basically fobbed it off and asked me not to ask things like that. I then asked if she wanted to Skype which she said yes, before coming back and making up an excuse that she couldn't. Long story short...I know that by me admitting to a 'crush' on her (which is all she thinks at this stage), things have gotten weird. And basically the whole point of me spilling this out is that I just can't shake these feelings and it's killing me. So badly, I can't function on a day to day level and I feel urges coming back inside of me that I had back when I was younger and it scares me. It does. I know the option is to seek help but honestly that hasn't helped me in the past and I just don't see it helping this time. I feel as though maybe I should give the anti-depressants another go (I still have the packet and script for refills) to see if they work now that I actually have issues. I also just am so goddamn lonely that I just need people to talk to. Another part of everything that is building up is that all of the people close to me in my life have left interstate or overseas so I literally have to troll the internet for intervention that never comes. I know I'm a 'desperate' person so to speak when it comes to attention and that i'm 'needy' but this is just such a terrible situation that I'm in right now that I just don't know what to do. It's taken a lot of courage for me to post on here and I feel as though I'm only telling part of the story, and even then it's way too damn long. It would just be great to meet people to chat to through this experience to try and help me get through it. Any help would be greatly appreciated

CatherineD Not sure how to feel anymore.
  • replies: 4

I'm a 17 year old girl and i've been depressed since i was 11. I was bullied when I was little about my appearance which is something i can not change. Ever since the bullying happened i've always been self conscience about the way i look. The bullyi... View more

I'm a 17 year old girl and i've been depressed since i was 11. I was bullied when I was little about my appearance which is something i can not change. Ever since the bullying happened i've always been self conscience about the way i look. The bullying affected me in so many ways I would cry every day and it got to the point where i self harmed a few times. The bullying stopped at the age of 13 but the pain and memories were still there. For a few years i just wasn't the same, through those years i went through bad friendships and fights with family that made me feel even worse. I left school at the age of 15 and lost so many friends and was having health issues. I turned to self harm again and isolated myself from the few friends i had left. At 16 I had an ultra sound and was put on diane 35 pills to see if it could help me with my health. I am now 17 and i've stopped hurting myself because it makes me feel twice as hopeless. I'm off diane 35 pills it didn't help me, I have polycystic ovary syndrome which basically means I have a high chance of not being able to get pregnant when i'm older. Hearing that news broke me into a million pieces because all i've ever wanted was my own child to give my all to. I don't get my monthly's anymore which has heightened my chance of not being pregnant. I've pushed away all my friends and I isolate myself now from everyone. I feel so numb but at the same time I feel so angry and suicidal. I don't know what to do right now.