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Young people

A space for people aged 12-25 to discuss life. If you’re over 25, please be mindful that this is a space for younger people to connect.

izzy My 16 year old struggles
  • replies: 2

I’m not really sure what i’m meant to write, this is my first time going to a place like this and talking about it, but it seems to help everyone else. Im in year 11, which has a lot of work and exams and stress… which doesn’t help anything! But i’m ... View more

I’m not really sure what i’m meant to write, this is my first time going to a place like this and talking about it, but it seems to help everyone else. Im in year 11, which has a lot of work and exams and stress… which doesn’t help anything! But i’m finding that i have been struggling alot, i just feel tired, i feel drained, i’ve had enough, i’m sitting at lunch while everyone is laughing and just don’t have it in me to join them.. i’m not sure what’s going on but i’m not hungry and i just want to sleep. My step grandma is fighting with cancer and only have about a week left, which has a huge toll on everyone.. but my actual grandma died of cancer when i was 8, so it’s flushing everything back. I’m just not sure what to do or how to deal with it, I also got kicked out of my friend group which is now bullying me at school, my new friend group is still settling in with me and it’s really hard. As well as loosing my boyfriend of almost a year who was so special to meAt home my parents are split, so there is some fighting and it always a-bit eh, but lately it seems everyone is yelling at me and everything is my fault, so i want to get away. but at school i have tons of work and i just can’t find a place.I don’t really have anyone to talk to… I told my parent about how i’m feeling and they simply said i don’t know.Its hard to describe how i feel, i may have a good day and then the next i'm just really horrible. this has gone on for about 2 weeks, everything is just dull. It’s like someone just vacuumed everything out and i’m just empty. I had a huge cry over the tiniest thing the other day which i thought would help. i hope some one understand what i’m feeling.. i don’t know how to finish this but i’m just tierd.

Laney-BB1234 friends and school
  • replies: 1

ok so basically i have a friend (lets call her v) she is my best friend of like 4 years now. initially we were a trio with this other girl, but she moved schools recently. it hit us both rlly hard, but her especially. since then, i've joined a group ... View more

ok so basically i have a friend (lets call her v) she is my best friend of like 4 years now. initially we were a trio with this other girl, but she moved schools recently. it hit us both rlly hard, but her especially. since then, i've joined a group of ppl that im friends with and she followed suit. these ppl are rlly kind, friendly and like us both a lot. thing is there a lot closer to me than her. recently my friend broke down saying she felt rlly alone since our old friend left and since i'm hanging out with these ppl more than her. she doesn't rlly have other friends. she told me she was gonna try and find some other friends (since she doesnt rlly like my friends a lot) but so far there's been no success. and look, she means more to me than those other friends but i like them a lot too and i dont wanna leave them. i told them about how she was feeling (she told me i could) and they were like 'tbh we like her but we've rlly only tolerated her this long cause she's your friend' (v doesnt know about this btw) v has since said she wont be sitting with us and it sucks, since without her i'll always feel like a bit of an outsider compared to them, and since shes my best friend. and look ive supported her a lot but in all honesty i think shes being dramatic, although i understand i dont own her and she can sit with whoever she likes. anyways, i wanted to ask if there's anything i should do? or should i just let her leave? idk someone help pls.

lemon-lexy im 13 and i am so close to just ending it bc of school
  • replies: 1

i am in the 8th grade and i already just want to leave i have changed schools and everything and i really just want to leave. I am constantly skipping class, skipping school, injuring myself on purpose to get out of school ect. I am constantly beggin... View more

i am in the 8th grade and i already just want to leave i have changed schools and everything and i really just want to leave. I am constantly skipping class, skipping school, injuring myself on purpose to get out of school ect. I am constantly begging my dad to let me homeschool. The 2 week holidays are almost over and i don't want to go back considering the fact that i had the most embarrassing thing of my life happened right on the last week of term one. A girl got on my friends nerves and her and my friend got in a fight, i went to separate them and the girl who is infamously weird dislocated my knee and i have not been back since so i am soooo scared.

Sexuality and gender identity

Peer support and conversations about anxiety, depression and other issues in the mental health space affecting LGBTQI+ people.

Guest_78557685 Feeling lost
  • replies: 0

I’m a gay male I had a friend who was straight he was my best mate we shared secrets together and were always there for one another but also had a little fun on the side. Recently he’s mates found out that he were best friends and found out that ther... View more

I’m a gay male I had a friend who was straight he was my best mate we shared secrets together and were always there for one another but also had a little fun on the side. Recently he’s mates found out that he were best friends and found out that there was stuff happening between us now every one knows he’s gone and told everyone that our friendship was all base on lies and he was only my friend because I was blackmailing him. None of this is true I’m heart broken I know our friendship was real for him to say what he has said has really taken a big impact on my mental health he as also gone to the police because I just wanted to know the truth and now the police have placed an advo against me I feel lost I haven’t been to work since this has happened I just don’t know what to do all I want to do is talk to the guy he was my best friend and now I feel like I have no one 😞

Winesue Coming out advice needed, scared as to what the consequences will be.
  • replies: 5

I (Male, 19) want to come out and start looking for a partner of the same sex. I “found out” I was bisexual when I was 16 and more or less accepted I wasn’t straight when I was 18. I went to a mostly Christian school, grew up in a mostly Christian fa... View more

I (Male, 19) want to come out and start looking for a partner of the same sex. I “found out” I was bisexual when I was 16 and more or less accepted I wasn’t straight when I was 18. I went to a mostly Christian school, grew up in a mostly Christian family, and as a result, many of the people in my life that I am close with are both very religious and straight. I have wanted to come out for the better part of a year now, especially since starting university, but I’m extremely worried that my friends and family will either be hurt by it, or socially ostracise me.Several of my friends have begun dating and are directly asking me why I’m so awkward about looking for a partner. My fear is that they would not accept me if I got together with a guy, meaning I would loose people who genuinely mean the world to me. I already have a pretty rocky relationship with most of my family for reasons I don’t want to get into here, and I’m genuinely scared me coming out would be the killing blow of me being a part of their lives. At the same time however, I’m really eger to start dating and feel like I’m denying myself something I need in order to make other people happy (not helped by work and my uni workload).I should probably also mention that I’ve never told or even hinted that I’m bisexual to anyone. Everyone, including my Mum, is under the assumption that I’m straight and just burying myself in work and study (the study part is partially true lmfao). I have this fear that they think I should have “figured out what I like by now” and that they would be shocked or dismissive of me contradicting that internal head-cannon.I’m at a complete loss as to what to do, hoping some people here have had similar experiences and can help me rationalise all this.

Willow Jude Happy Transgender Day of Visibility!
  • replies: 2

TDoV aims to celebrate gender diversity and to recognise the experiences of transgender and gender diverse people 

TDoV aims to celebrate gender diversity and to recognise the experiences of transgender and gender diverse people 💗💙

Multicultural experiences

Designed for members who were born overseas, have parents who were, speak a primary language that isn’t English or have mixed cultural heritage.

hs5u seeking some advice on how i should behave in an australian work place with bosses
  • replies: 2

hiI come from a different country and my english language is a second language and ive been living in australia just over a year now and I sometimes have trouble understanding the ways of things of the native english speakers and i just wanted to get... View more

hiI come from a different country and my english language is a second language and ive been living in australia just over a year now and I sometimes have trouble understanding the ways of things of the native english speakers and i just wanted to get some help from people to guide me to adapt in the working environment in australia. When i first got a part time job at a large retail chain i noticed some workers there are the in charges, team leaders, upper managers and i noticed usually these people don't try to get along with other working employees like myself and i presumed that they are the bosses with some responsibilities and didn't want to socialized at workplaces. One trouble im having at the workplace is getting along with these people in a way that is not intrusive of their positions but still getting along as an employee. Most of the time up till now it has been saying the greetings when i see them which i have been having difficulty with. It would be something like, they would go "hello how are you" then i would respond with something like "good thanks how are you" and a lot of them afterwards don't look happy and wouldn't make eye contact with me and up until now i still don't understand what i am doing wrong here. I have been trying to be friendly at workplaces, cooperative, and supportive but when it comes to talking to the bosses i find it daunting and stressful. This is also my first time having a job and i just wanted to seek some advice on what i might be doing wrong and how i should behave at a workplace and in an australian setting if any of the people can help me out it would be greatly appreciated

Illbeok No friends
  • replies: 14

Whenever I read articles or books about mental health, "talking to your family and friends is one of the keys for better mental health" and moreover it's often suggested people who have no friends are more likely to be unhappy and become depressed, a... View more

Whenever I read articles or books about mental health, "talking to your family and friends is one of the keys for better mental health" and moreover it's often suggested people who have no friends are more likely to be unhappy and become depressed, and have poor health. I feel like I'm in this category of people who are helpless and destined to have depression and other illnesses. I don't know what to do and I feel so isolated. I immigrated to Australia when I was 30 and now I'm 50 with no friends, no close family. I have social anxiety and I've been having episodes of depression (trying hard to tame it every day), have mostly recovered from anorexia, but I'm having PTSD now from an assault / loss of my sister. I have anxiety attacks and other typical PTSD episodes with additional anxiety about having a serious depression and anorexia. Please help.

Rolls157 Anxiety by new friendship
  • replies: 6

Hi I am new to this so apologies if this is all over the place.I moved to Aus in 2007 with my wife and two kids 6&10 at the time. My wifes side of the family is settled here moving from india, i thought it would be better for her (being close to her ... View more

Hi I am new to this so apologies if this is all over the place.I moved to Aus in 2007 with my wife and two kids 6&10 at the time. My wifes side of the family is settled here moving from india, i thought it would be better for her (being close to her family) and my kids growing up in a rural setting. I left my career, family and friends since childhood to do this. A long drawn out visa process caused a lot of stress but has now thankfully been resolved in aug 2022. This process made me anxious for the first time in my life. In about dec22 a female started to talk to me at work which was not usual for the area. Through regular interactions i really began liking her and it started reminding me of what i was missing with my friends from uk. Although i liked the chats i noticed it made me more anxious when they didnt happen (when she was busy at work etc). Ive told her that all i want is friendship and that i am happy with my marriage. Ultimately I dont know if this relationship is good for me or is making me more anxious. In my heart I dont think she really wants to be friends but just likes to chat occasionally. I haven't made any other friends since moving here although there is new family connections. I dont like sitting in pubs etc and dont follow aus football which excludes a lot of people. I feel lonely and really miss speaking to friends in social setting. I try to talk via phone but its often difficult due to time differences. Ive told my wife how i feel and she has been awesome, she phones me throughout the day which helps to an extent. Should i stop talking to the new 'friend' if it makes me anxious?

Grief and loss

Support and advice following the loss of a family member, partner, spouse or someone close to you.

Guest_93768673 losing a mum to cancer and watching everyone move on
  • replies: 1

i recently lost my mum early this year even though it feels like yesterday, my mum suffered from breast cancer since i was 11 and i was lucky enough to have until i reached 17 me and my family had a 6 years as well as several other things happening t... View more

i recently lost my mum early this year even though it feels like yesterday, my mum suffered from breast cancer since i was 11 and i was lucky enough to have until i reached 17 me and my family had a 6 years as well as several other things happening too my mum is my best friend she was the one person who truly cared and loved me i never got a long with my dad so i always had in around November of 2023 she started getting really bad and i saw a different person than my mum at the end of December she got a lot worse in such a short amount of time then it reached start of january and she couldn't walk and even after that i still thought she could make it then we found out the cancer had travelled to her spine and that they werent able to do anymore and she only had a few months to weeks left to live i was torn it was the worst few weeks of my life i her life slowly drain away and she was so scared she wasnt my mum anymore she couldn't speak i didnt hear her same bubbly laugh that would echo of the walls and make people smile she was drifting away from me i couldnt hold her tight enough she soon after passed away. i thought i would do a summary of my mum's story before i start with the question first is how long does it take to grieve my dad 4 weeks after my mum passed started dating someone new and now is always away and never there for me or my sister me and my dad have never gotten along but this has really put strain on our relationship even more i hate him for it ive tried talking to him about it but he wont listen hes already saying i love you and treating her kids better than he ever did us am i wrong for hating him for this? if not what can i do to change my perspective?

Guest_69958073 meeting a new therapist
  • replies: 1

iv'e lost more than many close friends over the year and have been feeling very down, i lost my bestfriend of 9 years and other close friends of 3-4 years. i want to improve my self esteem and help put myself back together again.

iv'e lost more than many close friends over the year and have been feeling very down, i lost my bestfriend of 9 years and other close friends of 3-4 years. i want to improve my self esteem and help put myself back together again.

Sad Divorce
  • replies: 1

My parents are about to split. I’ve attempted suicide before a few times when I was at my lowest. We’ve waited so long for our new house to be built but now, it’s all going to waste. To be honest though, my parent’s marriage was holding on by a singl... View more

My parents are about to split. I’ve attempted suicide before a few times when I was at my lowest. We’ve waited so long for our new house to be built but now, it’s all going to waste. To be honest though, my parent’s marriage was holding on by a single thread. I’m so scared. I don’t want to pick sides. I have 2 siblings, I want to be with them.