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
Jump to
Start a discussion

Pinned discussions

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

All discussions

Start a discussion

Hollywoo I have no reason to keep on trying
  • replies: 12

There is nothing in my life but work, sleep, repeat. I'm alive to pay bills. I can't find happiness in anything and I have tried EVERYTHING. Hobbies. Exercise. Volunteering. Gardening. Reading. Sports. Changing jobs. Travel. Nothing gives me joy. I h... View more

There is nothing in my life but work, sleep, repeat. I'm alive to pay bills. I can't find happiness in anything and I have tried EVERYTHING. Hobbies. Exercise. Volunteering. Gardening. Reading. Sports. Changing jobs. Travel. Nothing gives me joy. I have no passion for anything. I have no family connections. Making friends feels like torture. I feel so disconnected from everyone I know. I genuinely don't enjoy spending time with people. I don't enjoy spending time by myself. Sleep is the best part of my life. I have spent countless thousands of dollars of therapy, hospital stays and medications. Nothing helps. What am I holding on for? What am I supposed to do? The more I think about how fruitless life is, the more it feels like the walls are closing in and I'm suffocating.

Puglett Reporting mental health condition - driving
  • replies: 2

Hi, I was just wondering how many people have reported their mental health condition to the department of transport? I want to do the right thing though am scared I will need to undertake a driving assessment and won't pass it (e.g. not so good at ce... View more

Hi, I was just wondering how many people have reported their mental health condition to the department of transport? I want to do the right thing though am scared I will need to undertake a driving assessment and won't pass it (e.g. not so good at certain types of parking). I do feel safe driving though. Also, does the severity make it more important? E.g. mild anxiety/anxiety vs bipolar or schizophrenia. Thank you.

maddie_faye Should I keep texting a depressed person that takes ages to respond?
  • replies: 4

I have posted on these forums before in the past. so basically, a few months ago the love of my life (who is now my ex) became severely unwell with depression, to the point where even a teenage family member of mine could pick up on how unwell he was... View more

I have posted on these forums before in the past. so basically, a few months ago the love of my life (who is now my ex) became severely unwell with depression, to the point where even a teenage family member of mine could pick up on how unwell he was by just being around him. I myself suffer from mental illness (anxiety and PTSD) and seeing him literally have the life sucked out of him was really affecting me too and after months of not seeing each other he realised that as much as we loved each other being together at this point in time isn’t the best choice so we broke it off. and we did communicate for a little while afterward by saying how much we loved each other and that when things are better for us both then we can try and give it another shot, but the problem is that it was giving me false hope at that time and even he was able to pick up on that through communicating with me. The last thing we had said to each other around that time was that maybe we’ll get back together in the future once we’ve healed and how we’re both open to that idea. And then a month passed with nothing from him, so I sent another text message asking how he was going and he said “Same as usual I guess. What about you? X”, I replied and haven’t heard anything since and that was about a month ago.im so tempted to text him again but as others, including my psychologist have pointed out that he still really loves me but isnt ready to communicate with me and that I should be more understanding because of how unwell is really was/is. I understand that I really need to respect his boundaries, and that things like this take time and that as he said he’ll let me know when he’s ready.Should I be mindful and respectful of his boundaries with understanding how unwell he is , (and as my Mum said that if it were me in his position I’d want him to do the same) OR should I message him as I really really want to?

Romaine I’m really depressed and I don’t think anybody hears me
  • replies: 5

I feel very low and lonely in general, everything feels pointless and I don’t have joy or hope anymore. I think the feeling has just been getting progressively worse over time. I’ve tried to tell people but I don’t feel very heard, I think it’s becau... View more

I feel very low and lonely in general, everything feels pointless and I don’t have joy or hope anymore. I think the feeling has just been getting progressively worse over time. I’ve tried to tell people but I don’t feel very heard, I think it’s because it’s really no one else’s problem anyway and other people have their own stuff. I do have a therapist and I am working on things. But I feel incredibly isolated and overwhelmed and lately I’m concerned it’s becoming suicidal ideation. Life is starting to feel like there’s no point to keep living it and I just really don’t want to exist. I haven’t told people (other than my therapist) about the suicidal-ish thoughts because I don’t want to worry them or for them to contact the police or something. Please give me some advice to talk to people or feel less lonely or just get better.

GreenEgg Tips on how to get the most out of therapy?
  • replies: 8

Hello I recently had my first session with a psychologist. I have my second one in a couple of weeks and I’m just wondering how I can get the most out of it. Do you have any tips on what’s worked for you? I feel like my first session wasn’t that help... View more

Hello I recently had my first session with a psychologist. I have my second one in a couple of weeks and I’m just wondering how I can get the most out of it. Do you have any tips on what’s worked for you? I feel like my first session wasn’t that helpful, but I also feel like maybe I wasn’t completely honest and that’s why. I talked to my GP mostly about anxiety so I think it was pitched at that, but I mostly think I struggle with just feeling empty and detached. Then little things send me into anxious spirals, but they often resolve in time. I kind of misled them too about some things, like whether I’d ever thought about hurting myself before, or didn’t really know how to describe my relationships or feelings properly. H

peeka_boo hi
  • replies: 2

earlier this year I was diagnosed with a chronic illness I was super sick depressed and malnourished and I recently got better but the problem now lies in the fact that I can slowly start to feel myself slipping back into depression my family when th... View more

earlier this year I was diagnosed with a chronic illness I was super sick depressed and malnourished and I recently got better but the problem now lies in the fact that I can slowly start to feel myself slipping back into depression my family when they thought it was only a mental illness going on with me treated me quite bad I would get yelled at for it and it would be my fault my sister would even bully me over it some days I couldn't eat or shower but I was just being lazy and when I told my therapist something I didn't want my parents to know they made me stop seeing her 'for the best' and if it happens again I don't know how to help myself I've signed up to this website and others to try and ask other people for help I only just got out of hospital and I don't want to go back they treat me the same as my family.

Bubble44 Is there any way to stop caring?
  • replies: 3

Everyone I meet either hates me so much I'm surprised they don't try to kill me, or they tolerate me at best. This isn't unique to one group of people. It's everyone I meet. I'm apparently an extremely dislikable person. It's not how I view myself, b... View more

Everyone I meet either hates me so much I'm surprised they don't try to kill me, or they tolerate me at best. This isn't unique to one group of people. It's everyone I meet. I'm apparently an extremely dislikable person. It's not how I view myself, but I'd have to be completely delusional to deny that fact. I've already been through the whole 'oh just get more confident and charismatic and you'll eventually get a group good friends!' And I don't just mean I've been through people advising me to do that. I've literally already done that. And all of those so called friends cut me out of their lives because I objected to one of them who was in the wrong. I'm so sick of being hated or ignored. It's not just sadness or depression (which I've had for my whole stupid life) anymore. Something feels... wrong. Broken in a way it wasn't maybe a few years ago, despite struggling with depression at that time. Ever since my closest friends effectively told me I am worthless, something inside me is dead. I can feel it. Now, don't worry this next question is not meant to be some disguised parallel to suicide or something. I have no intention of taking my own life and I'm confident I never will. But the question is; Is there a way to stop caring? Has anyone figured out a way to burn out that last shred of that person inside who wants people to like them? Who wants to fit in? A lot of that has been destroyed inside me, but not enough. Every time I see all the people I work with having drinks and either deliberately excluding me or simply forgetting I exist, it hurts. It really, really hurts and I feel so alone. I know I'll never have an actual group of friends who care about me. I've accepted that is never going to happen. And while that acceptance spares me some of the pain, some of it's still there. And I need to stop feeling it. I broke years ago and I can't take any more pain. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to collapse just from being mentally exhausted.

Egbert97 my depressions & anxiety story
  • replies: 13

I thought I'd try write out my story tonight as I'm really struggling and just need somewhere to vent. The first half of 2020 was perhaps the happiest I had ever been. I've had depression and anxiety since 2012, and although it was stressful, it was ... View more

I thought I'd try write out my story tonight as I'm really struggling and just need somewhere to vent. The first half of 2020 was perhaps the happiest I had ever been. I've had depression and anxiety since 2012, and although it was stressful, it was manageable. I was content with my relationships, my friendship circle was wide, I was working, losing weight, feeling confident - everything was absolutely perfect. Around September I started going into a depression, which I thought I could handle, that eventually collapsed into a lot of health anxiety (you might be able to see my old posts from that time). TL;DR after a dentist appointment I became obsessed that there was something wrong with me and that I'd die or my parents would die. This climaxed into two major panic attacks where I nearly passed out, and several weeks in a disassociated state. I left my job and just tried focusing on myself. I started medication that worked wonders on my overall mood, anxiety and disassociation for a few months and at the start of 2021 I got to move out from my parents place and move in with all my friends, and that was admittedly pretty fun and exciting, though I still struggled within. The medication had stopped my panic attacks, but after a few months the problems came back, and I still struggled in finding joy and peace. I moved out with my partner in May 2021 and endured the lockdowns, which exacerbated my symptoms. I was in a disassociated state for several months, trying to hold down a job and work on our relationship, but this didn't pan out. My partner wasn't very supportive during this period and would put a lot of guilt and blame onto me for my situation. Christmas passed, my birthday passed, my pet passed away and everything moved by me in a blink of an eye with no emotional resonance. Fast forward to today and here I am. I ended things with my partner, I'm not working, I've tapered off my medication with help from my psych and it's much the same. For the last several weeks the disassociation is gone, but I still feel zapped of all life. Nothing makes me especially happy anymore and I've always got a nervous ball of tension being squeezed in my abdomen. Enjoying the moment is really hard; I have brainfog a lot of the time - so much so that any really *deep* or complex conversations make my thoughts really hard to organise, or when I meet new people I struggle to know what to say and do. If I could be half as happy as I was in 2020, just for a day, I'd cry.

Craig22 Lost hope
  • replies: 20

Hi all , new to the forum , the amount of strong people sharing their stories is amazing and makes me realise I'm not alone. I have suffered from depression for a number of years , normally I can manage it that no one even knows. When I leave the hou... View more

Hi all , new to the forum , the amount of strong people sharing their stories is amazing and makes me realise I'm not alone. I have suffered from depression for a number of years , normally I can manage it that no one even knows. When I leave the house i put on my mask and can only be myself when im alone. I just dont know why I am here or what the point of life is ? Like many others I just hope every night that I dont wake up , the torture to finally stop. I use many different tactics such as gym, meditation , healthy eating , music but nothing is helping .... How do you maintain a relationship when im like this ? My partner complains that Im distant , but i cant even get close to myself ? Any help is appreciated..

Poochlover I Hate My Fat Body
  • replies: 2

HiI am really struggling. I have packed on the kilos and feel so fat, ugly and worthless. I feel constantly unwell and I know that my lifestyle is to blame. The biggest problem is that I feel out of control over my life. I have so many stressful thin... View more

HiI am really struggling. I have packed on the kilos and feel so fat, ugly and worthless. I feel constantly unwell and I know that my lifestyle is to blame. The biggest problem is that I feel out of control over my life. I have so many stressful things going on and nothing positive to balance it out. I drink and eat far too much as it is a comfort...but then I see myself in the mirror and I want to die. I was underweight for a great deal of my life....verging on an eating disorder. I always thought people would not like me if I was not thin. I started packing it on when I left my awful husband in 2007. Had to start a new life with a two year old and no help from anyone. The latest debacle is my son is now 18 and causes me no end of worry. He sleeps all day and games all night. Works the bare minimum and does nothing to help around the place. Also my beloved rescue dog who I adopted 6 months ago has been diagnosed with terminal lymphoma. So every day is a struggle....sorting my son out...looking after my sweet beautiful dog....I have no social life whatsoever. I have started a part time job to pay for my darling dog's huge vet fees and this is a physical role that is causing me a great deal of pain with my shoulders. I feel I have nothing else in life except food and alcohol Because I don't. I am totally finished. I have tried everything...for my son...for myself..for my darling dog. Spent over $10k in one year on same. Now I am just old, fat, washed up and done. I know my pooch will not survive for much longer...that is killing me in itself. I worry sick about my son....I just do not know what to do anymore. It is all a big ugly mess and I am so distraught. Thanks for reading.