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Depression

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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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jord Alone again
  • replies: 3

Feels like I'm constantly alone. Most of the time, people only contact me when they want or need something. I've reached out to people a couple of times & I don't think people know how or can be there for me. I know I've set up these unbalanced relat... View more

Feels like I'm constantly alone. Most of the time, people only contact me when they want or need something. I've reached out to people a couple of times & I don't think people know how or can be there for me. I know I've set up these unbalanced relationships because of a need to please others. It just feels like when I need a little help or even human contact, wherever I turn, its not there. Feels like I need to learn to do everything alone, but there are times I just don't want to. I spend a lot of time on my own. I feel like I just need to connect, to not feel alone anymore.

TK Sad all the time
  • replies: 2

I have just 22 i work full time and study at uni part time, recently over the last 8 months i have been feeling constantly sad i cant sleep at night, i cry at night because nothing seems to be going right for me, i have stopped hanging around my frie... View more

I have just 22 i work full time and study at uni part time, recently over the last 8 months i have been feeling constantly sad i cant sleep at night, i cry at night because nothing seems to be going right for me, i have stopped hanging around my friends i have stopped eating regular meals and have found myself drinking alcoholic drinks in large volumes in an effort to feel happiness, whats wrong with me?

SL not sure what to do.....
  • replies: 3

im just not sure what to do, im new to this and need help. ive never been diagnosed with depression but my partner and i am sure that i do. it feels odd writing about this but im sure all of you have felt the same as me at some point. im afraid to se... View more

im just not sure what to do, im new to this and need help. ive never been diagnosed with depression but my partner and i am sure that i do. it feels odd writing about this but im sure all of you have felt the same as me at some point. im afraid to seek help, it makes me nervous thinking that my best option is to see my GP, where do i start when i see my GP, how do i go about bringing up the subject, i guess im afraid of admitting it to someone else and embarassed that it might be shoved aside or not considered. i know that i can call beyondblue but im afraid of that too.

wheretostart Help me to talk
  • replies: 5

Hello, im new to this. I think I have suffered from depression on and of for 17 years now. My first bout of collapsing on the Dr's floor resulted in me getting some pills which I only took for a short time. It took me 10 years before I went back. Dr ... View more

Hello, im new to this. I think I have suffered from depression on and of for 17 years now. My first bout of collapsing on the Dr's floor resulted in me getting some pills which I only took for a short time. It took me 10 years before I went back. Dr told me he wouldnt give me sleeping tablets because I had suicidal thoughts, gave me a referral to a psychiatrist but never followed it up. I didnt go...I couldnt work out what to say and thought I should be able to handle things myself. I am back again today with the same problem. I have made the appointment with the Dr...but how do you initiate a conversation that needs to start with "Help me". It just sounds trivial and wrong when there are real sick people in the waiting room. Here is my story...sorry it might be long. I got married when I was pregnant with my first child but always had the nagging fear that he would never have married me if I wasnt pregnant or if he wasn't more scared of my dad than the alternative. My husband wasn't a bad man...he was never physically abusive but he was mentally draining. We always had money problems (we were farmers during Australia's worst drought crisis) He was a workaholic and never had time for his family. I never felt loved by him and he never told me he loved me. He constantly told his sons they were hopeless to the point that i sent them away to boarding school in yr.7. Our eldest son still lives there and still cops this on a daily basis. I worry for him but I think he stays out of some loyalty for his dad and because I truely think he likes the farm life. I hope he finds his happiness tho. My second son had cancer at age 11. I didnt get support from my ex-husband here either. My mum came with me when he was operated on and for his other appointments, but I always felt bad for him that it wasnt his dad. We had big financial problems at the time and I ended up taking out a huge debt to pay the bills because when i asked him how we would pay for it he just said "how should I know". I never told him about the debt and bought it with me when I left. With other things that have happened on top of it, I now a a very large debt that I struggle daily to keep under control. No-one else knows of this debt. My third son has an intellectual disability and lives with me. I would do anything for my kids and have done everything I can to help him. Even when I was married tho, I did it all on my own...my husband never helped - he was too busy with his farm. My son isn't going to get any better tho and it feels like I have failed him in lots of ways. As he gets older and school days are ending, I don't know how to help anymore. He is a lovely boy and I just want someone else to see it and help me help him. I worry constantly about what his future will hold. My daughter is just beautiful. And yes I think I kept having kids as a means to feel wanted. When I left my husband, I moved back to my hometown to be closer to my parents (5 hrs away). I bought the 2 younger kids with me. I had no qualifications for a job and for the first time in my life was on government support. I got a brief job working with disabled kids but lost it due to them not having enough work for me. I put myself thru an aged care course and got my cert 3. I got a job straight away. I loved this job and made some fantastic friends through it. I felt happier than I had in years. 7 months into it I injured my back. I went through 12 months of physical therapy before I gave in and had it operated on 5 weeks ago. It hasn't helped a lot. Then I got some bad news about my sons special support class which I am now going to have to find the energy to fight for. Then I lost my job because I was too high a risk factor. Now all I can think is who is going to hire a overweight, unqualified, slightly injured middle aged person. So here I sit...lonely and sad. I never had the bad upbringing that a lot of people mention on here. My parents are warm and loving people who love their grandchildren more than anything. They are my saviours...in a way. I have always wanted to please my parents and have done so much in the past few years that must have disappointed them...ie. separating from my husband. No-one in our family has ever been divorced. I cant tell them about this, I dont think they would understand. They were of the generation where you just got on with things. I can put on a bight and cheery persona around them and around my friends and children too. I fear losing my friends if I confide in them. They dont want to be around gloomy people. So now I dont go anywhere without someone in the car because I fear driving it into a tree. (I wont hurt anyone else tho) I have given all my dangerous medications (for pain relief for my back) to a friend because I dont trust myself not to take one too many. And yes, I did bite the bullet and talk to this friend and she didnt run a mile....yet. I am so lonely and sad. I am so tired...I havent slept through the night in years and never have more than 3 or 4 hours sleep a day. My brain just wont switch off. I constantly think depressing and irrational thoughts. An example...my son went away last week on his birthday and I worried all day that he was going to die on the same day he was born. Who does stuff like that? I even think about the funeral. Why? I love him dearly and certainly don't want anything to happen to him. I fear my kids leaving home and the lonely old age that awaits me. I don't think I want to be around when that happens. And Im tired of trying to be happy for everyone else's sake. Now that I have written this, I think I will just hand a copy of it to the Dr. So thankyou, I guess that coming on here had helped already. I will let you know how it goes. Sorry for the long post.

Tim Had enough of everything
  • replies: 1

Hey everyone, I'm new here, and I guess I just feel the need to tell my story as I'm just at a complete loss with things... For a long time I've been very unhappy- My earliest memory of feeling completely helpless goes back 20 years to when I was 7 y... View more

Hey everyone, I'm new here, and I guess I just feel the need to tell my story as I'm just at a complete loss with things... For a long time I've been very unhappy- My earliest memory of feeling completely helpless goes back 20 years to when I was 7 years old; I used to be a happy kid, but I found myself with an absolute monster of a second grade teacher who intentionally mispronounced my name (it's something obviously foreign), and would pick on me, and blame me for things I didn't do; soon all the other kids started against me too, and it got to a point where I was taken out of school and was so shaken by the experience I refused to ever return to a school again, so many years of homeschooling ensured until highschool. I struggled with social issues and lonliness for a long time, and it resulted in living with a checkered state of mental health.. However, fighting through it all I've managed to avoid the pratfalls of substance abuse, complete a cert III and IV in Multimedia at TAFE and a double degree in media studies and journalism at university; I'm in a relationship with who I'm convinced is the absolute best girl in the world for four and a half years, I've worked a multitude of jobs, am a responsible driver (have all my demerits and never been hit with a traffic fine) and am in an active band as a musician... Well, what's the problem? The fact it's becoming painfully clear is that it feels like NONE of that matters. I KNOW I'm a good person, I know how much I've worked, but I feel the old depressions mounting up and knocking me down harder than ever as I'm seeing more and more that I just CANNOT find a job; and combined with my failed attempt at doing a teaching Post Grad this year, it's just left me feeling completely lost and aimless- I feel like life has no direction or purpose and I just don't know what to do- well, I kind of know what I want to do, I want to have a JOB and work, make money and be the partner that deserves someone as amazing as my partner, but instead I feel like a complete failure of a human being as I struggle so hard with getting a job, and even when I HAVE gotten jobs, I'm usually met with the same old excuse of "Oh we overhired, sorry but we no longer need you blah blah blah"... It's seriously destroying my sense of self worth, and I don't feel like I can go on much longer...

Murmur Wrong
  • replies: 7

I know that I need help. But I am too afraid to talk. I hate talking. Phones. People. It is easier to just be polite and pretend I am fine. But I am not coping.

I know that I need help. But I am too afraid to talk. I hate talking. Phones. People. It is easier to just be polite and pretend I am fine. But I am not coping.

kezza76 hi there.
  • replies: 4

hi Ive suffered depression in different severeties since i was 20 (now 36). This bout of depression I am having this time, is only allowing me to get for the last few nights 2 - 3 hours sleep and for the week before its ranged from 6 hours going down... View more

hi Ive suffered depression in different severeties since i was 20 (now 36). This bout of depression I am having this time, is only allowing me to get for the last few nights 2 - 3 hours sleep and for the week before its ranged from 6 hours going down to 1 hr 40. I have just started back up on medication again but it has not even been a week and I feel like im fighting a loosing battle. I would just love to chat to people who are suffering insomnia aswell, What your suggestions are and just general support thanks. I have had the bad thoughts(dont think i would ever do anything though). please some help is desperately needed.

JoeFirefly Sinking to the lowest of lows
  • replies: 2

Its tough trying to even put this into words. So many times Ive thought " Ill be ok. Something good will come along." In all honesty, it has been a long time coming. Just by reading the front page of this website the alarm bells were ringing. ive sta... View more

Its tough trying to even put this into words. So many times Ive thought " Ill be ok. Something good will come along." In all honesty, it has been a long time coming. Just by reading the front page of this website the alarm bells were ringing. ive started my own business. something ive wanted for so long. working with such talented people. I have great deal of resources available to me. What have I done about it? Nothing.. I have my reasons. Excuses some may call them. I have to visit venues in order to get gigs for artists I have on my books. The thought of dealing with ppl causes me so much anxiety. I was abused and threatened by a customer a long time ago. I was so defenceless. I froze. To be honest I was flat scared. Im struggling with so many different things. Im a complete wreck. To get rid of the anxiety. I began to smoke weed. I haven't stopped for 5 years. Sometimes I want to stop. Most times I enjoy it. Even tho I know I shouldn't. The tip of the ice berg. Im a compulsive gambler that has lost a lot of money over the years. Poker machines have pretty much ruined my life. I don't normally gamble in other forms. Like Id have any money left.. ( I have a sense of humor..) I have a great family around me. But telling them this will disappoint them. Its not like they wont support me, im just afraid they will go overboard in their reaction. I cry a lot. For a man to cry this much.. its not normal.. I know I need help.

melbournegirle I Feel Like I'm Living For Other People
  • replies: 5

I was diagnosed with depression about four years ago (although after extensive therapy suspect I suffered from it intermittently throughout my teens as well). I've been on medication pretty much for the last four years except for one particularly ill... View more

I was diagnosed with depression about four years ago (although after extensive therapy suspect I suffered from it intermittently throughout my teens as well). I've been on medication pretty much for the last four years except for one particularly ill-advised six month period where I decided I didn't need them anymore and luckily recognised the signs of an impending breakdown and went back on them. I have good times; times when I don't even think about depression and I'm as happy as the happiest person on earth. I have good reason to be happy: my family are amazing and have loved and supported me throughout, I have firm friends who have stuck by me thick and thin, a strong partner and a stable job in a shaky economy. Yet, lately I have just been feeling worse and worse. I attempted suicide a couple of times when I was first diagnosed, and since then have not considered it an option, because I wanted to live for myself and to beat this thing. Now, though, I've realised that I no longer have any desire to live for myself. I guess it's a good thing that I have these wonderful people around me to keep me here but life just...I'm not sure how to put it into words and make it make sense. I feel so sad it hurts, and like life is just passing me by, like I'm just a helpless spectator. I dropped out of uni last year because of my depression and after being one of the top students of my high school I'm now working in retail whilst my friends finish their studies and get "real" jobs. I met my partner at uni (we were both mature age students) and he is in his final year of studies, and if I hadn't continually failed and eventually dropped out, I would be right there beside him. I feel like a failure, and the pain of the sadness is sometimes unbearable. Sorry this has been so rambly. I guess I just needed to write this out and tell someone other than my psych what is going on. Thanks for reading.

Over-it-all A dark place.. i need help :(
  • replies: 4

hey guys, I've hit a depression all time low and i'm ready to give up and don't know what to do about it Work problems, money problems, about to be homeless problems, stuck in a bad situation as a carer for my mum, and to top it all off, my girl and ... View more

hey guys, I've hit a depression all time low and i'm ready to give up and don't know what to do about it Work problems, money problems, about to be homeless problems, stuck in a bad situation as a carer for my mum, and to top it all off, my girl and 4 yr old have left me for another man.. She was dazzled by a new guy with money and limosines and casinos and stolen away from me on the weekend. I'm ready for it all to be over.. life is just too hard.. i can't and don't want to deal with it anymore please talk to me. i'm desperate. I have no friends and it's a battle with my mind at the moment, which i'm quickly losing. help needed