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BeyondBlue Hello! Read this if you're not sure how to get started
  • replies: 0

Welcome This section of the Beyond Blue Forums is for talking about our experiences with Depression. There are lots of chats about how it makes us feel, what it’s like to live with depression and what has worked to help in these times. Thank you for ... View more

Welcome This section of the Beyond Blue Forums is for talking about our experiences with Depression. There are lots of chats about how it makes us feel, what it’s like to live with depression and what has worked to help in these times. Thank you for coming this far, we know it can be really hard to take these steps if depression is in your life - we see you and think this is a great step. To get the most out of this space we have a few tips: Get involved. The Forums work best for you when you get active and post where you can. Now, we know that can be really hard, especially when you are experiencing depression. So, if you can post something supportive to someone else here, that would be an incredible start. Speak from the heart. This community wants to know how YOU feel and what has worked for YOU. We trust that you have something unique to say and we can’t wait to hear it. Check in. Lots of the 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?
  • replies: 9

I’ve been struggling with my life for the past 7-8 years but I finally made an appointment with a doctor. I feel really scared though because I don’t ever go to the doctor for anything, and I havent seen this doctor for so many years that I’m really ... View more

I’ve been struggling with my life for the past 7-8 years but I finally made an appointment with a doctor. I feel really scared though because I don’t ever go to the doctor for anything, and I havent seen this doctor for so many years that I’m really scared that they’ll judge me or won’t believe anything I say. I’m really anti social so I feel like I won’t be able to say what I wanna say or I’ll say the wrong thing causing them to just dismiss me and move me along without helping. I’m just tired of feeling alone, depressed and just worthless but I’m really scared to talk to them.

AGrace SELF HELP TIPS FOR MANAGING DEPRESSION
  • replies: 132

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas you might like to try for managing symptoms of depression. Of course everyone's different, so let us know what works for you, and please feel free to add to the list... Mindfulness – through breathing or engaging the ... View more

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas you might like to try for managing symptoms of depression. Of course everyone's different, so let us know what works for you, and please feel free to add to the list... Mindfulness – through breathing or engaging the 5 senses Distress Tolerance – Accepting Emotions and Self Soothing Distraction – Put the thoughts/feelings aside and come back to them when you are ready to deal with them Positive Affirmations – Have some affirmations written down repeat them to yourself daily Sleep/Exercise/Diet – All 3 aspects of our lifestyle can impact the way we think/feel Increasing Pleasurable Activities – Engage in at least one pleasurable activity per day

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Malen PAIN!
  • replies: 15

I have SI Joint Dysfuntion, I had an RFA recently. Recovery was supposed to be 48 hrs. Its been 12 days now since the procedure and the pain is worse than the pain I had before the procedure, in some rarer circumstances it can take up to 6 weeks for ... View more

I have SI Joint Dysfuntion, I had an RFA recently. Recovery was supposed to be 48 hrs. Its been 12 days now since the procedure and the pain is worse than the pain I had before the procedure, in some rarer circumstances it can take up to 6 weeks for recovery. Im still on the pain killers I was on before the procedure, which is alot. Like one med needs a new prescription written each fortnight. Another needs a doctor with a certain license to presscribe it. Now we have been adding more common but still hard to get pain meds on top of that to try and get the pain under control. I should mention an RFA is where they go in and burn the nerves where the spine and hip joins, its supposed to eliminate the pain from the problem there. I probably shouldnt have had the procedure when I did as I was in the midst of a brief psychotic episode, not that I was aware of it. Ive been incredibly depressed which is making the pain worse.Pain and mental health often go hand in hand which sucks and is so not fair.

Guest_1243 Major life reset at 44. Where do I go from here?
  • replies: 2

Hi, thank you to everyone that responds to the messages on these forums. After reading the welcome post, I had a look through the forums to find other relevant stories and found there are some very helpful people here. I'm hesitant to post my own sto... View more

Hi, thank you to everyone that responds to the messages on these forums. After reading the welcome post, I had a look through the forums to find other relevant stories and found there are some very helpful people here. I'm hesitant to post my own story as it just still feels unreal. I'm doing my best to get a handle on it all, in some ways at least, but as things start to finally settle in, I don't know how to move forward. I just feel stuck.How I got here...I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety just before the lockdowns in 2020, this was related to work and something that developed over a long time, so I took a break. Me not working turned into a fairly practical situation at the time, as I could home school my daughter during lockdown, and my partner could continue working, so that's how it went. Although my extended leave from work wasn't easy, we could handle it. Several months into that I started to get quite sick, and weathered this (with my GP and Therapist)until I had a massive heart attack just over 18 months ago. This was a fairly significant event, thankfully my wife was home to call someone, and the ambulance were there and able to revive me when my heart stopped about 30 mins later.Coming back from this has been difficult. I was only 43 when I had the heart attack, plus having to spend 4 days in ICU with no visitors due to Covid restrictions was hard. So it rattled me. I didn't take the best care of myself, I wasn't reckless, but I could have done better after the heart attack. This whole situation was compounded by the guilt of what I'm putting my family through, so I wasn't exactly feeling like I was granted a 2nd chance at life or anything like that, I just felt terrible. This reached it's inevitable destination when my wife decided she wanted to separate. I don't blame her, it has been a very rough few years at this point.Finally, 6 months ag our house caught fire. Thankfully noone was home at the time, and everyone was ok, but we lost everything. We are insured, and that process is finally coming to an end, but we are not able to rebuild.So here I am. I went from stay at home dad, to 4 nights per month living in temp accomodation. The house is gone, my partner has left, and I have no physical possessions (besides my car and donated clothes). My life life has always centred on my home and family. What am I supposed to do at this point?

Patat Lost and Exhausted but looking for advice
  • replies: 2

Hello, I am 28 years old and for a long time I have struggled with negative thoughts, which have at times culminated in bouts of depression and anxiety. On the surface however, I have a pretty good life: I am in a loving relationship, I have some goo... View more

Hello, I am 28 years old and for a long time I have struggled with negative thoughts, which have at times culminated in bouts of depression and anxiety. On the surface however, I have a pretty good life: I am in a loving relationship, I have some good mates and a somewhat nice, if at times alienating, family. All of this makes me feel like these feelings of negativity are just self-indulgent. Why should I whine when there are people out there who are really suffering? This has led me to repress these feelings, to keep them hidden from family and friends, to disguise them behind a façade of jocularity and humour. I know this isn't right but I feel so awfully embarrassed about my own internal stuff, I hate the idea of putting all my that on my friends and family. When I get home from work I sometimes I feel like I am going to burst out crying , and I constantly catch myself whispering to myself that I should disappear. I can't sleep some nights, I just stare up at the celling thinking about how useless I am, how I have wasted my talents or potential and I am going nowhere. When I go on social media sites like Instagram I get so insanely jealous about other people: everyone seems like they progressing and following there dreams and whatever, and here I am, looking at my phone and going nowhere. Then I feel guilty about feeling jealous, which makes me feel desperately sad. But then it starts all over again. I feel exhausted and am at somewhat of a loss about what to do. Maybe I need to shake things up but I have responsibilities to fulfil for the sake of my partner, so I feel like I can't. Even writing this down and posting it on this forum makes me feel embarrassed. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had any advice or tips to breakout of this ? Thanks for listening.

jampet2002 I am 50 and nothing to show for it.
  • replies: 1

I know what it is I need to do but I am so deep in a funk that I can’t see the light anymore. I am 53 and feel I have achieved nothing. I’m so damn tired. I’ve been to therapists but it’s ultimately up to me but when you hate something you remove it ... View more

I know what it is I need to do but I am so deep in a funk that I can’t see the light anymore. I am 53 and feel I have achieved nothing. I’m so damn tired. I’ve been to therapists but it’s ultimately up to me but when you hate something you remove it from your life. Harder to do when the thing you hate the most is yourself. I have no one to blame but myself for my profound sadness. for thirty years I have struggled with being profoundly deaf in the work space. I feel it’s something else as there a lot of very successful deaf people in the work space. I feel invisible as work - I’ve spoken in public forums in my workplace about my disability hoping to get noticed and be offered in a position in a section that focussed on diversity etc (maybe I such at manifesting! In the past I have emailed senior management about how happy I am with the departments inclusion and accessibilities for people with disabilities hoping to be noticed etc) but nothing .. am I being bratty? Probably .. I don’t know what I’m writing here - all I know is I am just damn tired.

DutchieSydney Self sabotaging behavior
  • replies: 2

Hi all - this is my first time posting as honestly don’t know what to do - I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety in the past, am on medication and have seen a psychologist. However, over the last couple of months my behavior has gotten out of control and ... View more

Hi all - this is my first time posting as honestly don’t know what to do - I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety in the past, am on medication and have seen a psychologist. However, over the last couple of months my behavior has gotten out of control and I can’t stop it - I am not not productive at work - I’ve recently started a new job and feel like I’m trying to fly without wings - I am a senior exec in marketing however I’m not involved with the rebrand or website development at work but can post social media content and send out emails…. I feel so disheartened so got a bad performance review yesterday as my output is not on par which I agree with but I feel I can’t do anything right and mistakes are slipping in as I cant concentrate. My house looks like a bomb site, I drink too many glasses of wine each night, spent too much money and I know I need to stop all of this but I feel I’m on a train that I can’t stop anymore… I’m planning to resign on Monday and focus on getting myself in a better headspace and then start up again whilst creating positive habits - if anyone has been through something similar - I’d love some input on what has helped you break this cycle?

Ofosol_4 I feel like I’m wasting my teen years
  • replies: 3

I am 16 years old and I’m scared to go out and not because of social anxiety. My parents start huge arguments over petty things I do when I am out. For example last night I was out at my best friends house and didn’t answer my phone for one hour beca... View more

I am 16 years old and I’m scared to go out and not because of social anxiety. My parents start huge arguments over petty things I do when I am out. For example last night I was out at my best friends house and didn’t answer my phone for one hour because I was watching tv. My parents have made a big deal out of it and yelled at me over dinner saying I would never be able to sleep out again. I feel like it’s not worth going out sometimes because of these arguments so I’m waiting 18 months till I’m 18 and I can do what I want even if they hate me for it. But I feel sad that lm wishing away what’s supposed to be some of the funnest and carefree times of my life.

-t- My depression is bad and it’s affecting me going to work
  • replies: 4

Hi, I’ve just lost my great nan in jan, I feel lost and hurt just so much pain. I hate work, I hate people my work doesn’t care and doesn’t seem to help besides when they “have” to.

Hi, I’ve just lost my great nan in jan, I feel lost and hurt just so much pain. I hate work, I hate people my work doesn’t care and doesn’t seem to help besides when they “have” to.

bit-lost Depression from career
  • replies: 10

I thought I'd post here because I am completely lost. I've been going to therapy, taking antidepressants and I think they have helped me to the extent they can. I've tried lifestyle changes which just don't work out for one reason or another, and I a... View more

I thought I'd post here because I am completely lost. I've been going to therapy, taking antidepressants and I think they have helped me to the extent they can. I've tried lifestyle changes which just don't work out for one reason or another, and I am deflated, hopeless and completely lost. I don't know if depression is fuelling my unhappiness at work or if work is the cause of the depression but it makes it hard to function properly. Long story short, I lived a fast-paced corporate life pretty much as soon as I graduated high school. High achiever, always pushing myself, working full-time, studying full-time, maintaining a ridiculously high GPA. I spent 8 years of my life like this, and fitting myself to the mould. I knew the type of person employers wanted, I knew how to behave, what goals to set... I set myself up for a high-paying, successful career and always had a good income. Well, that crashed and burned badly. I suffered severe burnout. I left that life because my body just gave up on me. All before the age of 25. After time off, I looked for work outside that high-pressure, all-hours sphere. But ever since, I have been completely lost. Before all this, I never worried about what I would eat or how I would pay the psychologist/GP. Before the burnout, I actually enjoyed what I did. I was working on complex work and had ownership of tasks. Since coming back to work, I have bounced from job to job, miserable in everything I have done. We struggle with money now. I feel myself going around in circles every time I look for another job. Everything I am qualified to do does not interest me, and I will probably just be miserable. Things that interest me either won't pay the bills or I am unqualified for. I have tried going back to study twice and dropped out twice because I am still too burnt out to take on more study. I just can't cope with it. So I am at a complete loss because finding other jobs in my (corporate) field doesn't seem to help. It is just not the right field that I studied, and I wish teenage, people-pleaser me knew that. My unhappiness/lack of motivation/lack of inspiration with what I do everyday is starting to impact other things, affect my partner, my relationship, libido long gone, I don't have motivation to gym, and only sometimes do I have the energy to apply for jobs that seem half decent that I am qualified for. Those jobs tick some boxes, but even then don't appeal to me. Words of wisdom much appreciated!

MMMJ I feel alone in my feelings and that no one understands me
  • replies: 1

I'm currently at a point in my life where I am feeling SUPER alone. I don't really have any friends I can talk to, let alone on an emotional level. And my husband is not an emotional person at all. If I tell him about something that has happened or h... View more

I'm currently at a point in my life where I am feeling SUPER alone. I don't really have any friends I can talk to, let alone on an emotional level. And my husband is not an emotional person at all. If I tell him about something that has happened or how I'm feeling emotionally, I feel worse then before telling him because he just kind of turns into a brick wall and doesn't actually consider my feelings or want to discuss what I'm feeling. I just get told to basically "dont worry about it" or i get told im wrong. I don't have my parents to talk to because my Dad passed when I was little, and my mum is emotionally abusive and toxic so I had to remove her from my life. I just feel so completely alone and like an alien. I'm unsure what to do.

Marsy_1965 Hi All I'm new to this site
  • replies: 1

Hi I know this is a support group, however because I've been isolated for almost 14 years. With not one solitary friend, they all deserted me when I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder & Severe Anxiety. So my question is would anybody know o... View more

Hi I know this is a support group, however because I've been isolated for almost 14 years. With not one solitary friend, they all deserted me when I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder & Severe Anxiety. So my question is would anybody know of a support group in Melbourne?