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

HelenM If
  • replies: 5

If ....... Rudyard Kipling had been a depressive If you can keep your head when your mind Is losing it and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself when depression doubts you But make allowance for the illness too, If you can wait and not be tire... View more

If ....... Rudyard Kipling had been a depressive If you can keep your head when your mind Is losing it and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself when depression doubts you But make allowance for the illness too, If you can wait and not be tired by waiting For appointments that don't materialise, Or feeling hated, don't give way to hating, And still see the good and not be paranoid. If you can dream and not make dreams your nightmares, If you can think - and not make thoughts your pain, If you can meet with chaos and disaster And carry on as if you are quite sane; If you can bear to hear the truth you've told Changed by nurses to show your errant ways, Or let the story of your life unfold, And so admit you've spoilt so many days. If you can make one heap of all your tablets And bin them and not even give a toss, And lose and start again at the beginning And never tell the doctor of your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To wait for the bus and make yourself get on, And so hold on when there is nothing in you But the driver's voice shouting 'Hey - hold on!' If you can walk with crowds and yet not panic, Or walk alone - but never feel the fear, If you can keep your friends when you are manic Because these friends believe you are so dear; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds thinking what you ought ter, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be sane my daughter!

batgirl Steps to recovering my twin sister - multiple mental illnesses
  • replies: 1

I'm new to this community forum but I thought it would be extremely beneficial for me. I'm Rachael and I have a twin sister (18 years this august) and she is finally following the beautiful path to recovery for many of her mental illnesses. My sister... View more

I'm new to this community forum but I thought it would be extremely beneficial for me. I'm Rachael and I have a twin sister (18 years this august) and she is finally following the beautiful path to recovery for many of her mental illnesses. My sister Madeline has been placed with the burden of (in order as early as 14 years old) Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, OCD and the personally worst of all, an eating disorder - Anorexia. During these many years, my twin sister has suffered through these mental illnesses, that are sadly becoming more and more prevalent amongst the youth of Australian society. It has affected her and her family in immensely terrible ways as I'm sure many of you too experience. However, despite the scarring, the violence, the deadly weight loss, the tears and the loss of hope, my twin sister found hope in many ways, predominantly through family support, and according to her own words, "my sibling and friends". It has become familiar to me that through this experience that family going through the illnesses of the suffer in a patient, but passionate and dedicating way will encourage and simplify their path to recovery. It definitely was not a quick path, but after 2 -3 years of my high-achieving sister staying out of hospital, wanting to be perfect, she recovered and now is at a healthy weight, back at school doing year 11 over two years, and is making new friends. She still has anxiety and depression, but the mere fact that she has gone through the hard yards of going to Eating Disorder clinics, hospitals with nasal gastric tubes etc, proved to herself that she was missing out on her teenage hood. To me, it seems it is eye-openers and realisations that powerfully helps a person suffering an illness to recover. I finish year 12 at the end of this year and my goal is to do a bachelor in psychological science and obtain a career helping the youth/adolescents like my twin sister who are suffering. I wish all the parents/families/individuals out there to stay strong and look towards that pathway to recovery. - Rachael B

JessF Do you have a vision board?
  • replies: 4

Hello everyone, well I had dinner with a friend last night and she stumped with this out of the blue question; do you have a vision board? Now, I took my time to answer because I had an idea that 'vision boards' were those new agey things where you p... View more

Hello everyone, well I had dinner with a friend last night and she stumped with this out of the blue question; do you have a vision board? Now, I took my time to answer because I had an idea that 'vision boards' were those new agey things where you put up pictures of things you'd like and it's supposed to magically make them happen, I don't believe in that kind of thing. So I played a bit dumb and asked her what she meant, and we ended up having this discussion about goals and plans. Where do see yourself going in life, what are your goals, dreams, etc. And you know, I don't actually have any grand plans. I used to. When I was younger, I had years of things planned out, and when I look back on those times they were the unhappiest of my life. Now that I'm living for no more than what's happening this week, this evening, tomorrow, I am far more content. And yet the conversation left me feeling as if somehow I am off track with others. What do yout hink? Is it necessary to be working towards some big goal in life, or is striving for everyday happiness and contentment enough?

viper57 depression a new day
  • replies: 2

Hi so far today is good my extra tablet seems to be kicking in son is arriving today to be with me for a few days ate breakfast had some dinnner last night also have realized wanting to live where it snows isnt always what I needed it was a dream

Hi so far today is good my extra tablet seems to be kicking in son is arriving today to be with me for a few days ate breakfast had some dinnner last night also have realized wanting to live where it snows isnt always what I needed it was a dream

yesse the mask
  • replies: 3

I wrote an earlier thread that had to do with how much i hated myself and the main question was "how can you make a deep connection with someone new when you hate yourself?"- the main answer was basically no, that you have to 'learn to love yourself'... View more

I wrote an earlier thread that had to do with how much i hated myself and the main question was "how can you make a deep connection with someone new when you hate yourself?"- the main answer was basically no, that you have to 'learn to love yourself'. i hate myself because of my depression. And i feel like most of my depression and aunguish stems from me believing i was stronger then i really was and feeling that i didnt need help from anybody. an example of this would be when i was on my way to compete in a national tournament for NSW and when i was about to leave i was told that my mother had died, i was 17 at the time. I remember being told that i could stay or i could go, and thinking that i was strong and could carry on i went. This is the first time i remember really wearing the mask as i did not tell anyone for a week what had happened to me and instead played with the team... I normally wear this mask all the time nowadays with my friends with people i meet, i dont think that when you see me you would think that i have chronic depression or that my self esteem is through the floor. Basically what this thread is about is me asking for peoples opinion on this mask i talk about, is it good (because i can make connections) or is it detrimental (because it prepetuates my feelings of depression because i keep it all bottled up)?

BenD Swimming my way through mental illness.
  • replies: 4

Hi all, This is a positive story I have a history of mixed anxiety/depression and chronic pain associated with a motor vehicle accident. For years people have recommended that I take up swimming as a form of physical rehab and mental meditation, but ... View more

Hi all, This is a positive story I have a history of mixed anxiety/depression and chronic pain associated with a motor vehicle accident. For years people have recommended that I take up swimming as a form of physical rehab and mental meditation, but I was uncomfortable with the idea of stripping down and going for it (probably the anxiety kicking in there). Well yesterday I gave it a go...and it was sooooo good. I did about 10 or 15 laps and it literally felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off of me. The buoyancy, the timed breathing and the mixed strength/cardio exercise was wonderful. When I had finished I felt looser, more relaxed and calmer than I had felt in a long time. So if you are looking for something to try out as a treatment for your mental illness, give swimming a crack! It has work wonders for me BenD

viper57 depression and eating
  • replies: 4

I am not eating much due to my depression and anxiety is this safe and what would be the things to eat

I am not eating much due to my depression and anxiety is this safe and what would be the things to eat

vip Constantly explaining and apologising
  • replies: 6

and Hi everyone another post from me. 4 yrs ago as some of you already know on this forum I had a attempted suicide event. Now this event took place because I was on medication that I did not take properly took myself off without gp supervision and a... View more

and Hi everyone another post from me. 4 yrs ago as some of you already know on this forum I had a attempted suicide event. Now this event took place because I was on medication that I did not take properly took myself off without gp supervision and and that the time had a careless gp who didn't monitor me and sent me to a female psych who took a fee of over $300 every consultation and every time I told her my about my personal stories she would smirk and actually did not help me sought what I was going through. 1 day before this event took place I went to this gp and told him how I felt he told me that's really silly of you . you shouldn't mess with this medication do you think he would of told me you feel that bad ill get you to go into a clinic until these thoughts have gone. My husband and some family members did not take me seriously enough they know im not courageous and gutsy nobody would of guessed that this event would of have occurred. Anyway it did occur and in the hospital they told me due to the chemical imbalance in my brain and the way this medication was taken it probably gave me a sleep walking effect that I did not know what I was doing basically. Everytime I explain this story nobody believes it all I get is yeh yeh sure sure and the horrid looks how could you have left your son behind like that and do that to your family. And people calling me dumb, stupid ect ect . So this situation I don't want sympathy from others and the injuries I have I don't like to moan and groan about because the comment will be well you did that to yourself . This event is my past I have scars on me that remind me everyday what happened so why are people around me still bringing it up 4 yrs later and making me rehash this event its just not fair. I understand it comes as a shock to people as I don't look the type of person who would of done this and what about other people in this world who have done things. Is it just me that has to keep explaining and apologising this event ??? I no longer am on medication and due to this event the doctors psych would like me to see me medication freeand using the tools ive learnt in therapy to manage my mental illness .

Eddie6 Apologising for behaviour
  • replies: 3

I was just wondering if there if anyone has ever apologised for their behaviour while they were depressed or dealing with other mental health issues? I'm in the middle of honours year and felt depressed for the first 5 months of it. As a result I hav... View more

I was just wondering if there if anyone has ever apologised for their behaviour while they were depressed or dealing with other mental health issues? I'm in the middle of honours year and felt depressed for the first 5 months of it. As a result I haven't been social with my lab, who are a very welcoming group of people, I haven't been contributing to lab meetings, I've been missing them often, or showing up late. Occasionally, I feel like I've let depression affect my behaviour so that I've made curmudgeonly comments in discussions, and I'm embarrassed by my behaviour. To make matters worse, I switched universities to be part of this lab because I'm really interested in the research they do, and feel like I've brought a negative attitude to the environment. I'm no longer feeling depressed, and have some energy back. I would really like to turn things around become a contributing member of the lab, but I feel like I've already put myself in a particular role, and I don't know how easy it will be to change it. I was thinking about apologising to my supervisor for missing meetings as a start, and telling him that I'm feeling much better mentally, because he was aware that I was feeling unwell at the start of this project. Has anyone else dealt with this type of thing?

white knight DIET change helped us
  • replies: 1

Hi all, My wife and I have different types of depression and I have other issues like dysthymia and anxiety. Earlier this year I got a bout of gout. As my kidneys weren't 100% I couldnt take anti inflammatroies. So I had to check out natural ways to ... View more

Hi all, My wife and I have different types of depression and I have other issues like dysthymia and anxiety. Earlier this year I got a bout of gout. As my kidneys weren't 100% I couldnt take anti inflammatroies. So I had to check out natural ways to get the swelling down. This event started a culture in our household of making juices. We made a juice of - cucumber, celery, ginger root, mango, coconut water and pineapple for the anti inflams. It worked a treat. Once the gout was gone I drink cherry juice to keep it away. Other juices included carrots and apples. We have also embarked on other good nutritional foods like porridge, salad sandwiches and the pie chart for dinner. The pie chart being one quarter meat, one quarter pasta or balsamic rice and half vegies. We both feel these changes has helped our mental well being as well as losing weight. Do any of you have a diet fit for us all? Or can recommend foods to eat for depression?