Depression

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

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BeyondBlue Hello! Read this if you're not sure how to get started
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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?
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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
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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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adamsmith720 It's all coming back
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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.
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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.

amamas light at the end of the tunnel?
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Does it exist? I feel like I've been walking for an eternity trying to find the end of this dark place and I'm beginning to wonder if there is an end. I'd love to hear from anyone that has made it out and managed to stay out. Thanks heaps

Does it exist? I feel like I've been walking for an eternity trying to find the end of this dark place and I'm beginning to wonder if there is an end. I'd love to hear from anyone that has made it out and managed to stay out. Thanks heaps

Helpme i don't feel like i can tell anyone i'm struggling
  • replies: 6

i'm in year 11 at school and went through a really rough year in year 9 in which i now realise that i had depression. everyday on my way to school i would think about ending my life . however, i felt like i was a coward for being unable to actually d... View more

i'm in year 11 at school and went through a really rough year in year 9 in which i now realise that i had depression. everyday on my way to school i would think about ending my life . however, i felt like i was a coward for being unable to actually do it and for doubting if I would actually die. after struggling with these thoughts for over a year without talking to anyone or getting any help, i felt like i started to get better and become more happy with my life, but not back to the standard it was before it all happened. (it wasn't until that time that i realised i might have been suffering from depression or some sort of mental illness) over the past year i have continued to struggle with thoughts of hurting myself, but not to the extent as when it started, and i feel like i'm starting to get bad again. i want to get help but i don't know how. i attempted opening up to my brother and telling him i was struggling which felt really good, however in the following days he revealed to my parents that he was suffering from depression and went and got help immediately. since then my mum has made comments to me about how he 'did it to himself' and blames herself for it happening. now i don't feel like i can tell her because i don't want to cause her any more pain than she already feels about what has happened to my brother. i also don't want anyone's pity or sympathy. as soon as people reveal that they suffer from mental (or other) illnesses, they are viewed in a different light and treated as 'damaged'... i already feel self conscious about myself and people knowing these things about me i feel would cause me to hide away even more from the world. im 17 and too lazy or maybe too scared to go to the doctors by myself. i keep using the excuse that i don't have the time to go see a professional but i can''t keep up this act that i call my life anymore. i could crack beyond repair at any moment and i need to get help before it's too late... before i hurt myself for real and not just in my imagination. PLEASE: Help Me...

Followyourheartxoxo Can't stop crying for no reason
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Hi, I am new to this website although have heard a lot of good feedback about it's support network. For the last month or so I have had little motivation to do anything, paranoid, never really feel happy and seem to be crying so much over the smalles... View more

Hi, I am new to this website although have heard a lot of good feedback about it's support network. For the last month or so I have had little motivation to do anything, paranoid, never really feel happy and seem to be crying so much over the smallest things. However, I am still happily eating, sleeping normally and enjoying my music so I don't believe I have depression...but feel something needs to be done as I am starting to feel less and less myself. Interested in replying to this thread and not already a member of our forums? Join up here. RELATED THREADS I can't seem to stop crying and I don't know why Tired of my self-destructive nature Anxiety and over-thinking There's got to be a better way Why am I suffering so? I need to cry but I just cannot

Spinningwheel Totally lost feeling lonely but not alone
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Hi This is my very first post, and in fact my very first type of anyhthing on how im feeling. I'm 52, married with two grown up children. I feel I have reached a point whereby Ive forgotten how to be happy. I dont know why and if I did I suppose i'd ... View more

Hi This is my very first post, and in fact my very first type of anyhthing on how im feeling. I'm 52, married with two grown up children. I feel I have reached a point whereby Ive forgotten how to be happy. I dont know why and if I did I suppose i'd be able to fix it. I feel alone in my relationship yet im not alone. I know I have many things in my life I should be happy about yet Im not. Its getting to a point that Im just unhappy all the time. Im employed and have a good job and good income. Im even questionniing what sort of person I am. I've been a really good father and good husband. I dont even know if I know how to love people anymore, and all i seem to be doing is shutting the ones i need to care about further and further away. Each time my wife speaks to me about anything, be it finances, or children or anything, I interpret everything she is saying as "I'm not good enough" or Im a failure. I feel as though everyone expects more of me than what I can do, particularly financially. I really just want to be able to love my wife again, and my kids again. I dont know why I feel so miserable. I dont know why every little thing that goes wrong seems to be the biggest disaster in the world. I dont know how to just be happy again. Whilst financially we are Ok, I always feel that my wife expects more. I dont know if Im reading into things or not. When I can't provide more I start to feel as though Im being looked down upon. Im just lost and I hate feeling the way I do. I just want to be happy, I just want to feel loved not just have people say they love me. I dont want to feel like a failure. I really hate the way I feel and hate the way Im shutting people out of my life.

King_Geedorah Need some inspiration
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Hey all Ill give a little background about my situation. I am 28 years old and have smoked pot heavily since i was 15, a few years before that i had had an incident of some minor sexual abuse, during my years of smoking i was also taking many other d... View more

Hey all Ill give a little background about my situation. I am 28 years old and have smoked pot heavily since i was 15, a few years before that i had had an incident of some minor sexual abuse, during my years of smoking i was also taking many other drugs on the weekends but my 'go-to' drug of choice was pot. At around 16 i met a girl, she was a very good looking girl and at the time i was not interested in girls and just chilling with the boys and getting high, our relationship was a real rollercoaster, we knew how to push each others buttons and would end up in very toxic arguments. The relationship ended when i was 22 with her finding another guy and me getting extremly jealous and i threatened her over the phone, yet to me it was only words and it was an empty threat, i guess i was trying to make her feel some of the pain i was going through. She called the police and i spent a couple of nights in the cells, but this was the end of our relationship. I must add that the jealousy went both ways and it got too a point where i was not aloud to see my own friends even though i would give her all the freedom she wanted. After that i started to distance myself from my group of friends as i felt that they where on her side, more too the fact that i didnt want to explain myself to my friends and she would tell them how much of an a-hole i was (im guessing). I started smoking pot on my own at home and eventually seperated myself from my friends, i lost all motivation, my sleeping habits got extremely bad and my eating habits even worse. I have put on weight which was almost an impossible feat of strength when i was a kid due to my fast metabolism. Anyway, im sitting her with no job, no real friends, and guilt over my pass, i am not happy with myself at all. I have tried an antidepressant for a few months and it didnt seem to work. I guess i just need some tips to get out of this rut i have been in for so many years. Thanks

Jess-E Denial of depression
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In 2011 I had a severe health scare...almost died. in 2012 i lost my job of 6+ years to an awful accusation that could not be proved. There are times where i have the why me mind set and sometimes i am just bawling and curled up in a heap and sometim... View more

In 2011 I had a severe health scare...almost died. in 2012 i lost my job of 6+ years to an awful accusation that could not be proved. There are times where i have the why me mind set and sometimes i am just bawling and curled up in a heap and sometimes driving...which can be dangerous. I have being telling myself for a while that its healthy to get it out. But now its turning into a daily occurance, not yet in public or in front of family and friends but its there. I even get the sometimes feeling of if my nephew wasn't born when he was i might have done the unthinkable. But know i could never go through with it. (here comes the tears again). I have also have the dreaded insomnia. i am so damn tired, so tired. Am i just having a bit of a sook of have i got depression.

Lost69 The light at the end of the tunnel is grey.
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I'm a first timer here..... i am in a bad place at the moment. I have had one bout of depression four years ago and now feel like I am walking along that cliff edge again. Looking back over the last year I think a failed mediation with my ex husband ... View more

I'm a first timer here..... i am in a bad place at the moment. I have had one bout of depression four years ago and now feel like I am walking along that cliff edge again. Looking back over the last year I think a failed mediation with my ex husband has brought back all the feelings of worthlessness that I lived with whilst I was married. Now I find myself looking at the negatives in everything when I used to see the positives. There is a lot of uncertainty in my life right now. My partner (who is supportive, loving, kind and motivated) has been out of work for 14 weeks and although he is motivated and positive he will find work there don't seem to be any jobs in his field to apply for.We have big financial commitments and I am worrying about money. I am trying to downplay how I am feeling (I know - its the wrong thing to do:). as I need my partner to stay positive for his job searching. He is reassuring me that it all will be ok - my head is telling me that it all will be ok, but there is part of me that just doesn't believe it. i have been in counselling for over a year and am finally learning to face a pretty terrible childhood (which made me choose completely the wrong type of husband) I have so many wonderful things in my life I just don't seem to be able to rejoice in them. Lost69

Lilyn I am all of the things people warn you about becoming
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I , like MaryG, am new here. Reading her posts has given me some courage to write my own. I am 39 and if I am truly honest, I have been unwell most of my life. But I have become worse in the last few years- particularly the last few months. I am real... View more

I , like MaryG, am new here. Reading her posts has given me some courage to write my own. I am 39 and if I am truly honest, I have been unwell most of my life. But I have become worse in the last few years- particularly the last few months. I am really struggling to find reasons to keep going. I feel like I am a waste of a human being. I am not capable of having relationships of any kind- I have destroyed every relationship I have ever had- family, friends, partners. I am literally alone- I have no-one. I don’t have a single friend. I come from an extremely dysfunctional family and abandoning eachother is a common theme. It is not unusual to go years without speaking, or completely removing one from your life altogether. The minute something is a little off- they disappear. When I say I am alone, I really mean it. No one would notice if I was gone. If I went ahead and just ended it, I wouldn’t even be found as no one is looking for me anyway. The thoughts in my head are getting stronger and everything around me continually shows me that I am just not worth anything. People talk about how selfish suicide is and the devastation it leaves your family with. What if you don’t have any family? What if no one would care if you are here or not? What if you don’t have ANYONE that would be sad or sorry that you are gone? I think those that have known me in life would be relieved to hear that I am dead. I don’t have any support or love from anyone. I am not exaggerating. I am truly alone. What do you do if there are literally no reasons for you to go on? I don’t find joy or pleasure in anything. I am a failure at everything I do- especially the most important things like relationships and interactions with others. And the most ironic thing is I don’t even want to be around people. I just want to be in my own four walls and not come out ever again. There is no point to my life- I don’t have anything to live for. I do not understand why I am here on this earth. I hate who I am and everyone else does too. I don’t see or feel things the way other people do. I am all of the things people warn you about becoming- bitter, angry, alone, incapable of love or being loved, sad, untrustworthy, desperately lonely and completely self loathing. I just want to scream………..