Staying well

Support each other to stay well, from mindfulness, sleep, diet and exercise to reducing drug and alcohol use and coping with difficult emotions.

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

Pinned discussions

Just Sara A Bouquet for Pearls - share your appreciation for other members
  • replies: 715

Every now and then, members share a beautiful Pearl of Wisdom. How often do you think to yourself; "OMG that's great! I wish everyone could see this." Presenting someone with a bunch of flowers is a generous way of acknowledging their insightful word... View more

Every now and then, members share a beautiful Pearl of Wisdom. How often do you think to yourself; "OMG that's great! I wish everyone could see this." Presenting someone with a bunch of flowers is a generous way of acknowledging their insightful words. I hope this thread stays active through members giving out praise regularly to people they feel deserving, and therefore keep generosity of spirit alive within the pages of BeyondBlue Forum. My bunch of Red Roses (my choice) goes to Wishful for the following sentence; 'Personally, I see no reason to be praised in me, but I'm learning that seeing through the eyes of others can be more accurate!!' I so hear you Wishful. Just beautiful... Try to keep your leading comments short to focus on 'their' words. Choose specific flowers (or a gift if you like) to present to them. Sign off respectfully and sincerely. I hope this takes off... Spreading the love...Sara

All discussions

BP1 World Bipolar Day
  • replies: 1

We may think it's nothing to celebrate, but I always see it as an acknowledgement of what we go through daily, how important our carers are, and our survival.

We may think it's nothing to celebrate, but I always see it as an acknowledgement of what we go through daily, how important our carers are, and our survival.

Ashmad It will not beat me 😉
  • replies: 2

It doesn't matter who you are what you have it will find you. I will infest you to core of your being. It is unrelenting and will not let go. It is with you for life!!!! There is one difference. Do you let it control you ? It is up to the person that... View more

It doesn't matter who you are what you have it will find you. I will infest you to core of your being. It is unrelenting and will not let go. It is with you for life!!!! There is one difference. Do you let it control you ? It is up to the person that you are to decide where it stays and I choose for it to be at the back of my brain. Not to come forth, but stay there where I can control you and you cannot, control me. This is my journey so far and by God it has taken a long time and many countless hours of counselling and soul searching to get here. This has been my journey for the last eight years. I will have the last word not the black dog!!!!! There is a end to a dark tunnel and it is light,happiness and inner strength

RedCurrawong What I've learned so far...
  • replies: 5

Hi everyone; first time poster, long time social "anxieter" When I was 13 I suddenly realised that I didn't have many friends, and thus began my problems. I began to worry, get depressed, and wonder what was wrong with me; leading to social anxiety/a... View more

Hi everyone; first time poster, long time social "anxieter" When I was 13 I suddenly realised that I didn't have many friends, and thus began my problems. I began to worry, get depressed, and wonder what was wrong with me; leading to social anxiety/avoidance and low self esteem. 10 years have passed and I've tried many times to get rid of these psychological hindrances. From self-help books and psychologists and much reflection, I have summarised my own kind of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) "guidelines" which have helped me: 1. Be Honest: Set yourself free of trying to "please" everyone else and just be yourself. You don't need anyone's approval. Only if you be yourself, you can find people who you can truly be happy with. 2. Accept your negative thoughts: But move on. All your perceived inadequacies, all your negative thoughts, your fears, all your past mistakes. Ruminating over these will not fix or prevent anything. Instead, focus on the present and the now. 3. Be rational: Be fair. Acknowledge the positive points not just the negative; don't just see the glass as half empty. 99% of the time our absolute worst fears don't occur but yet each time we panic and worry over them way out of proportion. 4. De-awfulise: Realise that you are just one person, of over 7 billion in the world, of over trillions of planets in the universe. Anything bad that happens in your life should be seen as just that. A bad thing. We shouldn't feel as if it was the "worst thing in the world". Besides, most of the time we cope with bad situations with time. 5. Just do it: Most CBT programs will focus on behavioural experiments. That is because psychological strategies can only get you so far, you need to act if at all you want to make a change. If it feels uncomfortable then it is probably good for you. Challenge yourself, desensitize yourself, let go of safety behaviours (very important), and fake it before you make it. Anyway just felt like I'd share what I've learned so far about coping with anxiety. Hope you found it helpful in some way. Feel free to add any other strategies, I'd be interested in hearing what has worked for other people. Thank you for reading

Damien Religion and Depression, Anxiety, &c.
  • replies: 22

Hello. I have noticed on a few of beyondblue's Facebook posts in particular that there are occasional Bible verses posted as if the answer to mental illness is found in religion. In other places I have noticed that people who have a religious faith h... View more

Hello. I have noticed on a few of beyondblue's Facebook posts in particular that there are occasional Bible verses posted as if the answer to mental illness is found in religion. In other places I have noticed that people who have a religious faith have had their "reason not to feel hopelessness" abused by people who don't like religion at all. I am interested in this stream and wonder what people's experiences of this sort of thing is. Does Christianity (and other religions) offer anything positive to the way we feel as Anxious and Depressed people, (and I experience GAD, Depression, and Social Phobia), or is religion just another reason for people to bully us when we're down because we "don't have enough faith" or we're "sick because we're superstitious"? Please don't Bible-bash or bully me with your atheism. If however you have been Bible-bashed or put down for being religious I'd love to know how this has affected you as a person with Depression or Anxiety. Thanks, Damien.

Hoddie32 Meditation, yoga, mindfulness classes, any suggestions?
  • replies: 8

Hi, I'm sorry if this is a topic that's already been covered. I was just wondering if anyone had had any experience with meditation, mindfulness or yoga classes and had any recommendations for what they felt helped them. Personally I've tried just ly... View more

Hi, I'm sorry if this is a topic that's already been covered. I was just wondering if anyone had had any experience with meditation, mindfulness or yoga classes and had any recommendations for what they felt helped them. Personally I've tried just lying down on my own and meditating but it doesn't really work out. I wanted to join a class or course in Melbourne where I have to make a commitment to go each week and make time for it. Any suggestions?

hope4joy What does 'recovery' mean to you?
  • replies: 39

Hey guys, I just had an interesting chat to my Mindspot phone therapist (thanks to whoever it was that recommended this course) about my expectations about experiencing depression. I realise that I've been feeling like a failure because I haven't eli... View more

Hey guys, I just had an interesting chat to my Mindspot phone therapist (thanks to whoever it was that recommended this course) about my expectations about experiencing depression. I realise that I've been feeling like a failure because I haven't eliminated my symptoms from my recent bout before uni goes back next week. But in the broader scheme, I've been busting my gut in therapy for the last six years, trying everything to 'get better', yet am still faced with many issues. I'm starting to question which bits of my mental illness I keep fighting and which bits I accept and try to manage. I've always had such high hopes and standards. Sadly my depression is not the once off isolated episode sort - but I've had all sorts of difficulties since I was around nine years old. So my question is, what does recovery from mental illness look like to you? What does it mean? What does it involve? What do you accept and what do you keep fighting to change? I'm keen to hear your experiences, with loving thanks, Christina

Elizabeth CP Spending time thinking rather than being mindful of your surroundings
  • replies: 4

Going for my walk today (see Walking shoes Thread) I noticed that I spend a lot of my time thinking whereas others are more mindful of their surroundings. This got me thinking about which is better & when. Mindfulness helps you focus on the here & no... View more

Going for my walk today (see Walking shoes Thread) I noticed that I spend a lot of my time thinking whereas others are more mindful of their surroundings. This got me thinking about which is better & when. Mindfulness helps you focus on the here & now thus stopping run away thoughts which is a benefit that I acknowledge even though I don't do it enough. My question is should I be trying to be more mindful of my surroundings or is there a place for allowing thoughts to flow particularly when doing something like walking which doesn't require a lot of concentration. Sometimes having time to think is good because at home there are so many things needing attention so thoughts are focused on coping with what is happening now. Maybe allowing thoughts to flow gives the mind a chance to sort out what needs to happen without the restrictions imposed by focusing on what is needed right now. I'm not sure if I am making sense but wondered what others thought

white knight What is your challenge tomorrow?
  • replies: 26

Last night when I went to bed I was undergoing my nightly muscle tensioning exercises. This process that takes around 25 minutes helps me sleep and has been almost totally responsible for me conquering my anxiety that peaked in 1987. My mind drifted ... View more

Last night when I went to bed I was undergoing my nightly muscle tensioning exercises. This process that takes around 25 minutes helps me sleep and has been almost totally responsible for me conquering my anxiety that peaked in 1987. My mind drifted into a state whereby I thought about my challenge the next day (today). That challenge was to find my reversing camera in my shed to mount on the roof of the caravan we have just finished building. The camera has eluded me for a long time. This morning I was feeling unwell and like many of us I just wanted to stay in bed. That challenge haunted me. So I dragged myself out to the shed and 2 hours later found the item. Being a cold windy day I returned indoors and was so pleased with my efforts was buoyed by it and felt really good. So I thought "why not have a daily challenge?" Wouldn't that help to avoid a full bad day? Have you had daily challenges and what are they? Do they work like mine did. Tony WK

white knight Can back to basic help you?
  • replies: 8

There is an google article called "Millions of Britons unable to cope with modern life" which in part says- "Millions of people are unhappy, lonely and unable to cope with profound changes in the workplace, relationships and family life, according to... View more

There is an google article called "Millions of Britons unable to cope with modern life" which in part says- "Millions of people are unhappy, lonely and unable to cope with profound changes in the workplace, relationships and family life, according to a major study. It portrays Britain as a psychologically fragile society in which increased wealth has been accompanied by soaring levels of individual isolation and stress. Although welfare services have made big strides in addressing material poverty, they have failed to get a grip on the growing problems of mental illness and distress caused by the rise of individualism and family breakdown, it says. The UK [is a] largely happy country, but one with many unhappy people ..." Some years ago, well before my diagnosis of bipolar 2, dysthymia and depression I knew my need to move from the city. So now many years later I feel I have the mix about as perfect as I can get it. My first challenge was to get work in the country- no mean feat. But once I got that I could begin to plan a more relaxing future. A move to the country might not suit everyone but I believe the move had such a profound positiveness that it deserves to be spread to you. There is a disease called "Twentieth century disease" which is not what I'm referring to here. That is a serious illness. What I'm suggesting here is, that our great grandparents around 120 years ago, hadnt seen a plane fly, a car being driven, a washing machine, a computer, a mobile phone, a skyscraper and so on. So in a short 3 generations humans have had to adapt and accept these modern creations...and some of us cant do it. Back to basics could include- a vegie garden (even in a unit in the city!), a move to a country town no more than 400 people, limiting your social media, direct debit for bills so there are few accounts to pay physically, walks to sight wild animals and any other actions that allow you to withdraw. My wife and I (as we call it) "Swan in" to large towns or Melbourne to go shopping. We are there for less than 2 hours. We tend to stay away from areas with parking meters because a ticket could cause us anger and upset. Parking meters indicate to us that the city is too big for us and has added pressures like peak hour traffic. I was planning to reject society altogether. I soon found that my plan was flawed. Balance is needed. Many things in life is a balance including finding peace, working, socialising and back to basics. Tony WK

Elizabeth CP Suggestions of enjoyable, relaxing &/or helpful activities for self-care when you are feeling down
  • replies: 24

I am starting this thread in the hope people will share ideas of things to do which they enjoy or help take their mind off their problems or just help them feel better. Since becoming stressed & depressed things which I used to enjoy are no longer av... View more

I am starting this thread in the hope people will share ideas of things to do which they enjoy or help take their mind off their problems or just help them feel better. Since becoming stressed & depressed things which I used to enjoy are no longer available, are too hard or no longer fun and I suspect their are others like me who need to do things to feel good again but have trouble thinking of ideas. Everyone is different so what suits one person won't suit another but each person's ideas will suit someone else. When you are tired, depressed, stressed or just need a break what do you like to do? I like to visit a friend who I can trust. We can complain & vent to each other without it being taken out of context or shared with anyone else. Unfortunately she lives 2 hrs away so I can't visit often