Immediate support
Immediate support

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.

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

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

Start a discussion

Guest_1055 Comfort Eating
  • replies: 27

Hello I was wondering if anyone else struggles with this issue. The issue being comfort eating or eating to receive comfort. I know of two other people on the beyond blue forums who do. Is there truly anyone else out here that does struggle with this... View more

Hello I was wondering if anyone else struggles with this issue. The issue being comfort eating or eating to receive comfort. I know of two other people on the beyond blue forums who do. Is there truly anyone else out here that does struggle with this??? I am beginning to think comfort eating is like a circle, or a merry go round, where it is extremely hard to get off from. I think it all ties into depression somehow as well. For me when I feel sad, alone, neglected, unloved, hurt and there is probably more emotions that I haven't recognized yet. But anyway when these emotions are strong, like they just blare out, and you are completely overwhelmed by them, well for some reason, I just turn to food. The food I turn to is mainly the junk stuff. I don't eat a lot of food, except for the chocolate. So I am feeling these emotions, I turn to the food, the junk in the food, whatever is in it, which for me is sugar, causes more depressed emotions. It seems to go around and around..... But I must clarify, eating the sugar brings me a small bit of comfort, but it is very short lived. And yes I have written out a list of strategies, to help myself get off this merry go round, in which I am now visualising painted happy horses going up and down, up and down. I know I also eat for comfort when I feel well.....empty, empty inside my heart. Or just a plain emptiness inside. But I am looking at it very logically now, and saying to myself, how can food actually fill that emptiness or that enormous hole in my heart. Because when you actually eat food it fills your physical stomach not your heart..... Well thank you to whoever is reading this, I so very much appreciate you listening to me ramble on and on. It is just I think I have kept my thoughts and feelings, which are many... all locked up for so ,so long, and now they are just flowing out. With much appreciation and many, many hugs to you Shelley anne xxx

ggcatlady In remission...hoping to help others get there too...
  • replies: 6

Hi, I'm a crazy cat lady just wanting to introduce myself to you. I only have one cat these days, my other cat passed away earlier this year (that was a time of a lot of tears). I am 'in remission' when it comes to my depression. I'm hoping that I ca... View more

Hi, I'm a crazy cat lady just wanting to introduce myself to you. I only have one cat these days, my other cat passed away earlier this year (that was a time of a lot of tears). I am 'in remission' when it comes to my depression. I'm hoping that I can help others by sharing what has worked for me. I also have another mental illness that is not very well known, it is called schizoaffective disorder. It has the mood features of bipolar disorder and some features of schizophrenia (such as unwanted thoughts, hallucinations and delusions). Thankfully, I respond well to medication so this mental illness is also in remission at the moment. One of the things that has helped me be in remission is staying compliant with my medication. I usually follow my psychiatrist's advice (except when she says I should exercise more for the endorphins. One day I might catch the exercise bug but so far it hasn't happened.) I have lots more to share but I think I will leave it for future posts.

rok finaly found
  • replies: 9

Hi Christopher, I don't really know where else to contact you on this site so ive used this section, on Tuesday last I was in a very bad place I was overwhelmed with emotional pain, more so than I have been for quite sometime I phoned your hotline an... View more

Hi Christopher, I don't really know where else to contact you on this site so ive used this section, on Tuesday last I was in a very bad place I was overwhelmed with emotional pain, more so than I have been for quite sometime I phoned your hotline and ended up from their advice at the P.A, mental health unit where I sat for some 7 hours watching other patients in a distressed state of mind, some were quiet some were angry and it got me thinking about the suffering that others were going through some obviously unable to cope with reality and in a worse place than where I was, being absolutely tormented by there problems I felt compassion for them.Then after accessing your poetry section and reading others poetry I could see that although the authors were in a distressing place I could notice that with that outlet and replies sent, there was a positive feel about it all. I did feel dejected when you didn't publish my "nightmare" but I could understand the validity in your reasoning, I wish to cause no one distress or harm and I took that onboard gladly and it also helped me to understand myself a lot more. I realized that I do have a lot of compassion and understanding toward my fellow human beings. I have always given rather than taken and to see someone smile gives me a very warm positive feeling, even though it has only been material possessions or giving my seat up on a bus etc. Yesterday when I replied to CMF and got a positive response and being helpful it was like a doorway opened down a very long and empty corridor, one I had been walking for many many years trying all kinds of employment and schooling, I have a Dip. in agriculture, i'm a WH&SO, an undergrad BSc and many other qualifications I have achieved yet never happy in any of those areas and I could never understand why..Now I do, thanks to yourself and your team and CMF, for today I enrolled with online learning to gain a Dip. in counseling, I feel in my heart that this is what I have been searching for, for a very long time a way to help others the way I have been helped, and I just wanted to thank you all for showing me that door. Regards Rok

Guest_1055 Does what I eat affect depression?
  • replies: 53

Hi Just wanting to know if anyone has experienced changes in behaviours, moods and their emotions depending on what they do or do not eat. Because I am very convinced that for me, consuming refined sugar, the ingredient you find in a lot of processed... View more

Hi Just wanting to know if anyone has experienced changes in behaviours, moods and their emotions depending on what they do or do not eat. Because I am very convinced that for me, consuming refined sugar, the ingredient you find in a lot of processed foods makes my emotions all over the place. And when I choose to eat mainly whole natural foods, I am so so much calmer, happier and my brain is no longer foggy or heavy.Just want to know what others think. Thanks heaps.

fatima emotional hygiene
  • replies: 2

yesterday I was listening to some TED talks and came across a talk by Guy Winch which was called emotional first aid. I thought some of you would want to listen to it. It addresses 'negative self talk' and 'taking care of yourself' in a down to earth... View more

yesterday I was listening to some TED talks and came across a talk by Guy Winch which was called emotional first aid. I thought some of you would want to listen to it. It addresses 'negative self talk' and 'taking care of yourself' in a down to earth way.

BKYTH What is life?
  • replies: 12

What is the life that we should/ought to expect? Like so many who have made posts on BB I could recount accounts of difficulty and seemingly impossible situations that one is confronted with. But what is it that it should be? I wonder if we exhaust o... View more

What is the life that we should/ought to expect? Like so many who have made posts on BB I could recount accounts of difficulty and seemingly impossible situations that one is confronted with. But what is it that it should be? I wonder if we exhaust ourselves in some 'otherwise' that we insist that our lives should be? Does the life we would hope for exist as commonly as we, in our despair, would wish for ourselves? It may be that this 'otherness' is more a fantasy than a fact. There is much that ails the people of this world and experiencing a mental illness does not of itself separate us in some unique way from others. Suffering is a part of every persons experience and if that suffering is grounded by a 'diagnosis' then it is not more unacceptable than that which isn't. The human condition can be diagnosed but remains forever beyound such simplistic analysis. Where an understanding, a diagnosis is applicable, then the situation is malleable and can be approached in various means but suffering has a much broader basis than our terminology would allow. Suffering is a complex issue especially if we resist it and see it as something that we should reject as incompatible with our vision of life as it should be lived or experienced. Perhaps it is that our aversion to suffering, our desperate desire to avoid it that attaches us to its cause. To accept that suffering is inseparable from life can enable us to sustain ourselves in the face of it because it demands something more from us. We are compelled to be be more than we've had to be before. It asks of us to find that within ourselves which have never yet had to discover. Don't let the darkness ask of you. Ask of it. Bkyth.

Chris D Progress
  • replies: 2

I am here in the hope of helping and inspiring people and that things will get better. I posted a thread in "Depression" with heading "My story". This thread goes into detail of how much darkness I went through to get to where I am today. Everything ... View more

I am here in the hope of helping and inspiring people and that things will get better. I posted a thread in "Depression" with heading "My story". This thread goes into detail of how much darkness I went through to get to where I am today. Everything I went through has made me a better and stronger person. I first noticed the signs of depression in my late primary school years it got much worse in high school with bullying etc. When I left school I enrolled in numerous courses in the hope of obtaining work, it didn't eventuate. I went 7 years without obtaining any part time work, during this time I had 1 transplant and have had another to save my sight. I eventually obtained work in 2007 and finished in 2012 during this time my depression got worse. The year I finished (2012) was hard but I tried my best to obtain work, I was going out 3-4 times per week handing out 5-6 resumes each time, the year after turned out to be my breaking point I just couldn't keep looking for work knowing I had done everything I could. Later that year I eventually told someone of how I was feeling, I kept this feeling to myself for 14-15 years. I had my first hospital visit later that same yr. last year was the same as the previous 2 hospital visits and still looking for work so over 2 years unemployed until at the end of October where an opportunity presented its self to me and I took it, while clinging onto any hope that was left. Since then I have made a lot of good progress I am working all days through the week and the bad thoughts I had each hour of each day have eased quite a bit, I can't remember the last time I had bad thoughts. It was a hard road but it got me to where I am today. In a better mind set a better more positive outlook on life I hope people read this and get inspired to NEVER GIVE UP ALWAYS CLING ONTO HOPE Things may not be good but all it takes is just one opportunity to turn your life around. You start with baby steps then a couple of years down the road you will see how much progress you have made. Take care Chris

white knight Are you after a miracle cure?
  • replies: 5

You broke your leg. An ambulance is called, they pin your leg, moon boot, pain and 8 weeks later you walk normally. A miracle. Not so the struggles with mental illness. Yet in these BB pages we are seemingly bombarded by sufferers of mental illness w... View more

You broke your leg. An ambulance is called, they pin your leg, moon boot, pain and 8 weeks later you walk normally. A miracle. Not so the struggles with mental illness. Yet in these BB pages we are seemingly bombarded by sufferers of mental illness who draw no distinction between the two. Person develops depression then a labyrinth of twists and turns take hold from denial to even hospital admission and everything in between. It is scary for many as they weave their way through the unknown, add to that the deplorable health system and even misdiagnosis. It is full on stress until things settle. It's like we really need a monopoly board just for our help. eg partner is in denial go back 3 spaces to see your GP together. Take a chance- pursue a correct diagnosis advance to GO. It is really difficult to accept that most mental illnesses need to be managed for the rest of our lives rather than seeking cure. "The rest of our lives" sheesh, that's like- forever!!! crikey...how am I going to handle that? Well its really an attitude/state of mind thing not unlike any other life changing event. Marriage, becoming a parent, suffering grief. Add to that taking medication regularly and accepting ups and downs as part of your routine like waves ebb and waves flow. Sometimes we need to go through many hurdles before we settle. Education plays a large part of this. The more we learn about our illness the more expert we become until there is little else to know except latest research news. If you don't read up on your illness, your medications, share experiences with others including BB and reject therapy then you are in for a bumpy ride with more confusion and questions rather than knowing where you are at with it. Knowledge is power. Power is confidence and confidence is essential to endurance of your symptoms. Confidence and knowledge of your illness also has a big benefit, it gives you that little more wisdom when those bad times come around. You know the ones, when you want to walk away from life as you know it...escape? This has happened to me a number of times in recent years especially when having a fallout with my wife (she has depression, I have depression bipolar 2 and dysthymia). I know, no matter how bad I feel that a few hours later I'll feel better. A day later you wonder what all the fuss was about and I'm almost back to normal. So the closest thing to a miracle cure IMO is education. Keep reading threads here on this site. Tony WK

sadgirl57 Following your gut to find happiness
  • replies: 15

So this is more a question in terms of staying well rather than tips because I personally find my depression is due to trying to find not an easy path but a path that gets me to at least coping and surviving than following my gut. taking risks and do... View more

So this is more a question in terms of staying well rather than tips because I personally find my depression is due to trying to find not an easy path but a path that gets me to at least coping and surviving than following my gut. taking risks and doing things that'll make me genuinely happy and finding my purpose so my question is has anyone used spirituality to get in touch with their intuition, meditation etc to find what they really wanted and go for things that may have not feel like they made sense at the time that turned out to be great? Sorry if this thread isn't fit for here but I just... there's a lifestyle I want to live and things I want to do but I feel so stuck in my current rat-race lifestyle and part of me feels like I should try fit in with the norm and it be against everything I'm about and make the most of it or completely go against the grain and do the best that I can, maybe not be rich but be happy. I don't know. I don't know. I need to find some guidance within myself and want to know if meditation not just helped with the calm but real, life-changing experience. I hope someone can help, no pressure though.

Dwwmills Effort needed to stay well
  • replies: 2

Hello everyone. I would like to ask about the amount of effort it takes to stay well and whether this effort reduces over time. I have suffered from GAD on and off for the last 35 or 40 years. For the last 15 years I would say the anxiety has been at... View more

Hello everyone. I would like to ask about the amount of effort it takes to stay well and whether this effort reduces over time. I have suffered from GAD on and off for the last 35 or 40 years. For the last 15 years I would say the anxiety has been at a level of very average to bad but I’ve just put up with it. A couple years ago my family got together and confronted me with how it was affecting them and made me realise I had to do something about it. This gave me the willpower to tackle the anxiety like I have never tried before. CBT and medication. The first 6 to 9 months were hard but then things rapidly improved to the point where I am now off the medication and my anxiety levels are back to normal. Friends and family have noticed a big difference. I’m becoming aware of the amount of effort it takes and how vigilant I need to be to stay on top of my thinking. Life is going well and there is no great stresses, yet I still need work at catching my thoughts. I’m not lying awake worrying about it at night or stressing too much it’s more of an observation. In some ways I had expected to be doing this this early after finishing medication but I’m wondering if this is likely to reduce the longer I stay well. Hopefully someone with a working crystal ball can give me the answer to this one. I’m just wondering what other people have experienced.