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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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Wilebeast Need help staying clean
  • replies: 4

61 days clean... it’s been a rough few days for me, all I can think about is getting a fix. sometimes it consumes my head 24/7, so hard

61 days clean... it’s been a rough few days for me, all I can think about is getting a fix. sometimes it consumes my head 24/7, so hard

white knight Acceptance- is this our biggest challenge?
  • replies: 7

Acceptance is in the mix, in terms of the process we have to face where it comes to our demons. Like all the other factors in our quirky lives with mental illness challenges, we often have more intense fights to endure. We have to accept we have a me... View more

Acceptance is in the mix, in terms of the process we have to face where it comes to our demons. Like all the other factors in our quirky lives with mental illness challenges, we often have more intense fights to endure. We have to accept we have a mental illness- no mean feat before we can feel relaxed in our own skin. We have to accept being “different”, not normal and we have to accept others wont/don’t/cant understand. We have to accept the download of all this and the discrimination from nasty people. Then there’s the challenge of accepting ourselves. To top all this off we have the the computer. This machine has made incredible advances in communication, knowledge sharing and we as a result are far more aware and educated. But there is a downside….misunderstanding. In respect to forums we shed our outer skin, expose our deepest thoughts and in many cases display information about our inner thoughts we would not normal reveal. This can have ramifications. I’d argue that we with emotional needs far greater than normal and sensitivity at peak levels, that we are prone to fall into traps on the internet more often. Facebook is a good example. I covered this in an article (google) “topic: is social media good for you?- beyondblue”. Bullying from some quite nasty people had occurred with me over a 5 year period by one low life person that surprisingly was a popular fellow with others…for a time. Until people realised his inner persona wasn’t all that nice as his exterior appeared. By the time harm was done, the personal messages of “take more medication and go back to your doctor buddy” cut deep and there was no way I could just “laugh it off”. Internet disputes place us in a situation whereby you feel you cannot avoid them. We humans cannot agree about everything. But the worst thing about internet communication is, we don’t see the smile when the other posts, we don’t read the words how they were intended to be received and we certainly don’t have a vision of the good nature of the person…that often is clouded. We need to always try to move forward because the bigger picture of life itself is important. It isn’t an easy task because we are still chewing at the bit about our side of a story…so we have to be brave if we are going to use computers as our tool to talk, find common ground and swallow our pride. Acceptance, our greatest challenge? I think so. To accept ourselves and focus on the bigger picture. What do you think? Tony WK

Mental_Peace Constant urge to do my bit
  • replies: 11

Since several years, I have had this constant feeling that I want to do more and do my bit to help out the needy and those who cannot stand up for themselves. I am always on the look out of like-minded people who would be able to share how they help ... View more

Since several years, I have had this constant feeling that I want to do more and do my bit to help out the needy and those who cannot stand up for themselves. I am always on the look out of like-minded people who would be able to share how they help out in the community and actively support the causes that are close to them. This feeling of mine is quite strong and often makes me feel helpless that I am not able to support people who may need me. I often help out with donations but I feel the world needs more of it which again brings me back to the feeling of being helpless. Are there any of you in a similar mind space? Would really like it if you could please share your experiences. Many thanks!

Belladame Getting off SSRIs
  • replies: 2

Hey all, I’m wondering how anyone has coped with reduction and complete withdrawal from SSRIs and how long did the symptoms carry on? I am on my 8th day and wondering how long symptoms will last? ie,.... *the pins and needles, numbing in the face *th... View more

Hey all, I’m wondering how anyone has coped with reduction and complete withdrawal from SSRIs and how long did the symptoms carry on? I am on my 8th day and wondering how long symptoms will last? ie,.... *the pins and needles, numbing in the face *the light headedness and feeling faint at times *the sweating *manic behaviour(isn’t too bad but depends on who I’m interacting with, chilled people are fine but naturally argumentative people are setting me off) thanks in advance

gregz HOSPICE LIVING ...
  • replies: 4

Death and Dying is Alive, believe it or not. That's why hospices exist. Best would be "At Home". As our body collapses, various levels of support can be used. Eventually only very professional stuff, very expensive and tricky, might be needed. Betwee... View more

Death and Dying is Alive, believe it or not. That's why hospices exist. Best would be "At Home". As our body collapses, various levels of support can be used. Eventually only very professional stuff, very expensive and tricky, might be needed. Between these two extremes, we "living" people can be so upset. This discussion topic is for the End_Of_Life feelings. Our End_Of_Life existence is not usually comfortable. That's why so many chemical "Downers" (alcohol, tranquilizers, THC, etc) are so popular. Being sensible and awake to real life is so scary. In this topic, we will try to make this End_of_life stage less scary. Dying and death are natural. That's a scary secret.

Doolhof Merry Christmas in 2020
  • replies: 66

Hi Everyone, I did try and do a search for Christmas 2020 on the forum and kept getting a message stating something like "Page not found" every time I tried to click on the word Christmas. Maybe the Grinch is trying to steal Christmas yet again! If t... View more

Hi Everyone, I did try and do a search for Christmas 2020 on the forum and kept getting a message stating something like "Page not found" every time I tried to click on the word Christmas. Maybe the Grinch is trying to steal Christmas yet again! If there is another thread about Christmas, can someone pleas let me know. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, I understand that. This year it may be especially difficult as well due to Covid and so many other issues people have in life. This year will be our first without my Dad. As I was decorating the tree I was thinking of Dad and the Christmas celebrations we had as children. Way back then we were able to go out in the scrub and cut down a native Christmas tree. This year I have to work Christmas Day so I won't be able to attend Church, nor a Christmas Eve service as family are coming for dinner. I am very thankful that at present we are still able to plan for some of the family to be together. I have no idea how busy I will be Christmas Day at work. Hopefully people will be relaxed and happy! Christmas can mean different things to everyone. It may mean nothing and that is okay too. If you'd like to share thoughts here about Christmas, the end of this year or any other celebration you have happening soon, please do so. Today I am trying to boil a Christmas pudding! I have to ensure the saucepan has water for 3 hours! In the past I have neglected this step and ended up cooking the saucepan when it ran out of water and the pudding was a rock! Wishing you all a great day no matter how you are spending it. Peace to all, cheers from Dools

TheBigBlue I found my zen today
  • replies: 5

I haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time. I had even lost my desire to draw which had been very therapeutic in previous month. But the warm weather & sunshine is back in Sydney. I brought myself a new outdoor lounge for Xmas, I’ve used it a little,... View more

I haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time. I had even lost my desire to draw which had been very therapeutic in previous month. But the warm weather & sunshine is back in Sydney. I brought myself a new outdoor lounge for Xmas, I’ve used it a little, but today I was able to lay out on it & soak up some sun. Ive done some sudoku puzzles, had a beer & been totally chilled out. I can’t remember I time I felt so relaxed. The anxiety isn’t entirely gone, but it’s dulled today. I think the happy outdoors sounds are drowning it out. I can hear happy kids playing in the distance, the insects are humming, there’s a gentle, cool breeze blowing & I've been out here for hours now. I just found myself staring at the pine tree in the garden, deciphering all the colours in the pine needles, branches, trunk & I am suddenly inspired to go grab my sketch book & oil pastels & capture it. so nice to have some happiness back, I hope it sticks around & gets me through my work day tomorrow

monkey_magic Which guilty pleasures do u spend $$ on?
  • replies: 117

Hi All, For me it's lotto, poker machines and hotel stays. Ive been lucky and won small sums of money which entice me to go back for more. I've been one number short of a first division lotto win twice. I've also won the venues $1000 win while playin... View more

Hi All, For me it's lotto, poker machines and hotel stays. Ive been lucky and won small sums of money which entice me to go back for more. I've been one number short of a first division lotto win twice. I've also won the venues $1000 win while playing a pokie. I like change which is the reason for my hotel stays. I usually stay for one or two nights to explore a new area. What are your guilty pleasures?

CaptainCab Lack of Friends - starting to get to me
  • replies: 2

I spend a lot of time on my own at home and if I wanted to I could message any of my friends to organise to see them. However, none of my friends ever message me to initiate to see me, there are no invites to New Years Eve or ask what I am doing on a... View more

I spend a lot of time on my own at home and if I wanted to I could message any of my friends to organise to see them. However, none of my friends ever message me to initiate to see me, there are no invites to New Years Eve or ask what I am doing on a particular day/night. It's starting to get to me now, I am in my 40's and I suspect I may have autism, it's hard to make and maintain friendships and I feel so desperate if I initiate seeing any of my friends. I just feel so lonely and lost, there is so much emphasis on how friends can make your life so much happier. The friends that I do see (when I make the effort) are difficult to talk to. I am always there to listen to their problems and when I try to talk about mine they can't even look me in the eye and actively listen. Feeling kinda crappy!

white knight What's your new years resolution?
  • replies: 14

Some years ago I made a resolution for New Year that was rather simple but very effective and achievable. My plan was to get the best balance of medication, therapy, family harmony and sleeping pattern that I could possibly achieve. I began with a vi... View more

Some years ago I made a resolution for New Year that was rather simple but very effective and achievable. My plan was to get the best balance of medication, therapy, family harmony and sleeping pattern that I could possibly achieve. I began with a visit to my GP which resulted in a sleep study and that led to the discovery of mild to moderate sleep apnea. I've used a CPAP air pump ever since and that has changed my moods for the better along with a reduction in melancholy periods. Family harmony was achieved with the removal of a close relative that proved destructive my whole life, boy, have I been far less stressed!. I'm always working on balance but approaching new year it's an opportunity to reflect on the year that's passing to fine tune my life. So my new years resolution is- more caravanning and reading up on mental health conditions that will assist my knowledge. What's your new years resolution? TonyWK