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Sophie_M Sleep and Mental Health
  • replies: 0

Many of us have struggled with bouts of troubled sleep, and needless to say, these periods of nocturnal restlessness can be utterly overwhelming and exhausting. Sleeplessness can filter into every aspect of our lives: our ability to be present, remem... View more

Many of us have struggled with bouts of troubled sleep, and needless to say, these periods of nocturnal restlessness can be utterly overwhelming and exhausting. Sleeplessness can filter into every aspect of our lives: our ability to be present, remember things, regulate our emotions, or to feel excited and energised… it can change the way we think and feel in such a significant and impactful way. Whether it’s due to big life changes, global pandemics, financial or work stressors, health concerns (like menopause), how much ‘you’ time you have, or even unprocessed emotions you weren’t aware were there – so many things can impact how you sleep. All of this goes to show that not only do your daily habits, routines, and experiences play a huge role in maintaining healthy sleep cycles, but so does your mental health. And frustratingly enough, your sleep also impacts and informs your mental health and daily habits. Like most things, it’s a very easy cycle to fall into. So, it’s imperative that we are gentle and compassionate with ourselves on our journey to understanding what is making us so hypervigilant and unable to rest in the first place. Studies show that journaling or mindfulness practices throughout the day, healthy food, movement, sunshine, connection with loved ones, and support from health professionals can help us to feel more grounded and able to rest. But we are curious… what has worked for you? When do you notice that your sleep is most affected vs. when you get the best rest? And is there a way you could practice regulating your nervous system more throughout the day to help promote better sleep at night? We would love to hear your thoughts! Let us know if you have any questions and be sure to check out our page on ‘Sleep and Mental Health’ for more guidance and insight into a more supported and restful night’s sleep: Sleep and mental health - Beyond Blue - Beyond Blue Looking forward to hearing from you! Kind regards, Sophie M

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

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Roberty_Bob 5 4 3 2 1
  • replies: 1

I find the following quick mindfulness technique useful when I need to return to the here and now. Five things I can see. Four things I can hear. Three things I can feel. Two things I can smell. One thing I can taste.

I find the following quick mindfulness technique useful when I need to return to the here and now. Five things I can see. Four things I can hear. Three things I can feel. Two things I can smell. One thing I can taste.

Andrew1 Lego Therapy
  • replies: 2

Hi, For the past 7 years I have suffered severe depression and anxiety issues. I was diagnosed in 2010 with dysthemic anxiety disorder after suffering a major break down working in the financial industry. It all came to the fore when one evening my w... View more

Hi, For the past 7 years I have suffered severe depression and anxiety issues. I was diagnosed in 2010 with dysthemic anxiety disorder after suffering a major break down working in the financial industry. It all came to the fore when one evening my wife walked into the room to see me staring at the computer blankly. I didnt know how or what I was doing and couldnt string a sentance together to articulate how i was. To the best I could describe my brain suddenly shattered into a thousand little lego pieces and although i could see a picture of what things should be, I could not place the pieces together at all. All cognative behavior and responce had broken within my brain. The next 9 months were a blur for me but torture for my wife and 3 young children. Apparently between doctors and psychiatrists and psycholigists my life consisted predominantly of sleeping. Doctors expressed repeatedly that I may never return to work. Because of that, I cannot express the appreciation love and amazement i have for my wife in the support and care she gave me through the ordeal. Not only did she have me to care for in every way, but our youngest girl was only newborn at the time. To my amazement it was this responsibility she used to start rewiring my brain to start dealing with tasks and situations. At first it was laying our little girl in my arms as she slept and i dozed. This subconsciously gave my mind a sence of responsibility that was immediate and present. Small steps, but piece by piece, just like a lego creation, my mind was reintroduced to dealing with life. I use the illustration of lego because another form of therapy i used was playing with lego. As mentioned before, my brain was able to see point A of a task (just like a huge pile of lego pieces in all shapes) and then see point Z (like the picture of the completed model on the lego box) as a completed task but had no idea of how to piece each piece together. I related my thoughts to the chaos of a pile of unsorted lego. So cognatively starting to piece together lego was like repiecing together the thoughts in my mind. After sleeping for 9 months, the next 3 months was spent playing with lego.

Roberty_Bob Mind, body and soul
  • replies: 6

In moments of distress I use one or more techniques from three sets of three in order to deal with the situation. Mind Cognitive behaviour therapy Decision making charts Interpersonal relationship Body Run Swim Walk Soul Mindfulness Breathing Subtle ... View more

In moments of distress I use one or more techniques from three sets of three in order to deal with the situation. Mind Cognitive behaviour therapy Decision making charts Interpersonal relationship Body Run Swim Walk Soul Mindfulness Breathing Subtle change of environment If the level of distress is too high to get the mind or body techniques to work I'll use one of the soul techniques. As distress reduces I may then be able to pick up on a body or mind technique.

Roberty_Bob The gift of running
  • replies: 9

Of all the things I've given myself recently, such as sobriety, quitting smoking and losing weight, the thing I most appreciate is the gift of running. Being able to hit the road on a whim and clear my mind. The freedom to travel when and where I wan... View more

Of all the things I've given myself recently, such as sobriety, quitting smoking and losing weight, the thing I most appreciate is the gift of running. Being able to hit the road on a whim and clear my mind. The freedom to travel when and where I want. Being alone and one with the landscape. The pain on pulling up only serving to remind me of the pleasure I've experienced. I love running.

Elizabeth CP Changing your attitude to aid mood & motivation Suggestions /comments welcome
  • replies: 4

I have been thinking that one of the issues with dealing with depression & other mental illnesses is the influence out attitude has on our mood & motivation. We become tired so everything seems hard & unrewarding thus affecting our mood leading to a ... View more

I have been thinking that one of the issues with dealing with depression & other mental illnesses is the influence out attitude has on our mood & motivation. We become tired so everything seems hard & unrewarding thus affecting our mood leading to a downward spiral. I thought if I could work at changing my attitude to things I do it might help. For example: Instead of thinking Ï have to clean the house which leads to negative thoughts such as I'm too tired'', It is pointless because it will just get messed up again. ' The positive thought to counteract these negative attitudes is 'I enjoy sitting in a clean & tidy room & it is so much easier to find things if everything is in the right place so I will spend X hours a couple of times a week to ensure the house remains how I like it. Instead of saying I have to paint the house. I'll start painting the bedroom this week in my favourite colour. I look forward to a new fresh look. Only think about the other rooms once the bedroom is done so you aren't worried about the whole house. Perhaps other people have comments & suggestions because it is easy to slip back into negative self talk & attitudes & doesn't come natural to change to the positive attitude when you are depressed.

SeanA Don't Think Of A White Elephant
  • replies: 3

Ridding yourself of negative thoughts is impossible.As parents we know this when our child is crying. We make them laugh or show them something that interests them and within moments they are laughing. They have at least forgotten the trauma.As adult... View more

Ridding yourself of negative thoughts is impossible.As parents we know this when our child is crying. We make them laugh or show them something that interests them and within moments they are laughing. They have at least forgotten the trauma.As adults we must replace negative distractions with positive obsessions. You see, by concentrating on defeating something like depression your focus increases the subject of your thoughts. That is, depression. It’s like trying not to think of your father. Instantly his face springs to mind.To combat depression all you need is an idealistic goal to chase. Victor Frankl, the psychiatrist who found himself in a concentration camp, accepted his place in the world, he just didn’t focus on it. He focused on the difference he wanted to make. He looked at how he could make a difference even though he was confined to Auschwitz with death all around him.Okay, you are not in a concentration camp. But as the saying goes, “Man can make a hell of heaven or a heaven of hell”. So it’s up to you.It’s up to what you concentrate on.

gloria10 Creating a support network - what has worked for you?
  • replies: 3

I have realized lately that I have been dealing with depression and the reason is due to the fact that my support network has diminished. My friend went overseas and that was hard since our friendship was improving. Then there were issues with my par... View more

I have realized lately that I have been dealing with depression and the reason is due to the fact that my support network has diminished. My friend went overseas and that was hard since our friendship was improving. Then there were issues with my parents and I felt that my mum has pulled away as my emotional support as I feel I disappointed her. Now if I say I have depression she thinks its best if I deal with it on my own, I can't do that. I also can't live up to their expectations when I have limited support from them. As a bit if a turn around for me I have started to look for a positive support network and I am looking at how others may have managed this. Is it through doctors, friends, family? What has worked best? I am trying different activities to mingle with a variety of people and that does help. I am seeing my GP tomorrow and a therapist, also reaching out to Beyond Blue Any advice would be appreciated

Doolhof Love Hugs and Kisses
  • replies: 33

Hi Everyone, I posted the following questions on the BB Café thread and received some insightful answers from people who both appreciate the sentiments and others who do not find these expressions helpful to themselves. There are no right or wrong an... View more

Hi Everyone, I posted the following questions on the BB Café thread and received some insightful answers from people who both appreciate the sentiments and others who do not find these expressions helpful to themselves. There are no right or wrong answers to my questions, they are just questions to reveal how people feel. These are basically the questions I asked: I would just like to know what it means to you to read that people are sending you love, hugs, kisses and other best wishes. How comforting, appreciated and special is it to receive these comments? Do these comments make a difference to how you are feeling and thinking? For me personally, I find them to be heart warming, to know that people care enough to share their well meaning with others. Some people may find these sentiments flippant and to not mean anything, so I would like to know your responses. Remember there are no right or wrong answers, just your own opinion. I'm posting this in the STAYING WELL section, as the comfort and encouragement some people may receive from these comments and sentiments may be just what that individual requires right now. Thanks all from Mrs. Dools

RedJam88 Gratitude Journal
  • replies: 5

I started doing a gratitude journal at the start of the month, and I was just interested if anyone else has one and how they approach it? At the end of the day, I try to write one thing I am grateful for that has happened or specifically caught my at... View more

I started doing a gratitude journal at the start of the month, and I was just interested if anyone else has one and how they approach it? At the end of the day, I try to write one thing I am grateful for that has happened or specifically caught my attention that day. I understand some people might write 3 things or 5 things every day but I struggle somedays to come up with one. Is that weird? I want to find something different everyday, and I kind of want to avoid really broad general things like being grateful for food on the table, or a bed to sleep in (unless perhaps I've just had a really full on day and a good nights sleep is exactly what I need.) Do other people put these kinds of things in their gratitude journals?

citizen1911 The depth of darkness to the heights of glory
  • replies: 4

Dear everyone, It has been a very long arduous road. I find it hard to remember a day in the past when I was happy, or simply joyous and content. Many unfortunate events happened in my life the past few years and sometimes I find it hard to different... View more

Dear everyone, It has been a very long arduous road. I find it hard to remember a day in the past when I was happy, or simply joyous and content. Many unfortunate events happened in my life the past few years and sometimes I find it hard to differentiate whether the depression was caused by the tragedies or simply compounded by it. For most of my life I pride myself as being unnaturally strong. I survived a very traumatic childhood, defy all ridiculous conventions set upon me, left home as a teenager and achieved a lot of things in life including academic, athletics, world travel and was able to retire financially before I turned 40 years old. Yet the cruel irony was, with my potent survival instincts I seemed to be a hopeless judge of people and had invited too many toxic scumbags into my life. Nearly everyone I had loved, including my own parents and only sibling had betrayed my trust and faith and in my time of need no one stayed around. I broke. Really badly, many times. All this time, when all around can fail me, I can always rely on me, I had never seen me fail myself this bad. There were no safety net, no family and no friends to help. The number of times I had cried myself to oblivion, the number of days I lock myself in my beautiful house never uttering a word with anyone; the number of days not having a friend to share a meal with. I had lost count. The words that got me through this ordeal: "The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach." (-Pliny the Elder). Every night before I sleep I was glad to survive the day. Every morning I wake I tried to do something useful whilst I'm alive. I reckon, as long as I am not dead, the reason for my existence may one day be known to me. I found a great psychologist whom reached into the root of my problems and helped me resolve them. I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is still difficult; I lapse into bad moment every once in a while. I have to keep reminding myself to be patient. I am taming the beast and rebuilding my mind. It does not happen overnight. I am kinder, gentler to myself now. I am trying very hard to trust people again. Anyways, I kind of just wanted to say this to the void. I am looking forward to the day I am strong and whole again, because I miss that formiable person whom I hope will scale some stupendous heights one day.