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Sophie_M Money stress? You are not alone!
  • replies: 4

So, I’ve been chatting with my friends over here at Beyond Blue and it seems we all have something in common right now: money worries. Whether it’s stressors about finding enough cash for the basics or wishing we had enough money for a holiday, we al... View more

So, I’ve been chatting with my friends over here at Beyond Blue and it seems we all have something in common right now: money worries. Whether it’s stressors about finding enough cash for the basics or wishing we had enough money for a holiday, we all seem to be experiencing a greater amount of stress surrounding money than we have in the past. And it’s impacting our ability to show up fully for the things we love. It’s not uncommon for us to experience shame and fear around expressing our financial challenges; it can be hard and somewhat taboo to openly discuss money matters. However, we believe this conversation is incredibly important and beneficial to have. Like all challenges, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’, so let’s help each other out. Of course, discussions about the economy and how to manage our money during inflation are a much larger (and frustrating!) conversation… but what we would really love to know is what your personal experience around money is. Are you feeling the pinch too? How is added financial pressure impacting your wellbeing? When was the last time things felt even slightly easier? And if you have struggled with money in the past but come out the other side, what suggestions do you have for others who might still be finding their feet? This is an opportunity to share openly and honestly about your experience in a judgement-free space. There are no wrong answers, and we encourage you to share all the things that you might be finding hard to express in your every day life. Looking forward to your answers! Abundant hugs from yours truly, 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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Traveller73 Mindfulness
  • replies: 5

A common thread on here is that mindfulness has not worked for them. But am wondering if its because the symptoms persist and the thoughts keep coming back? This will happen. The trick is to notice the thought. "I notice i'm thinking about X', then g... View more

A common thread on here is that mindfulness has not worked for them. But am wondering if its because the symptoms persist and the thoughts keep coming back? This will happen. The trick is to notice the thought. "I notice i'm thinking about X', then go back to concentrating on your mindfulness exercise. It might happen several times. It takes practice as you retrain your brain to focus. I hope this post encourages others to try mindfulnrss as it really helped me. The book 'The Happiness Trap' really goes into it more andtotally recommendd. Good luck.

dontpaintbynumbers beyond blue guides/articles
  • replies: 2

Which of the beyond blue articles has spoken to you and how have you used it as a starting point to help yourself?

Which of the beyond blue articles has spoken to you and how have you used it as a starting point to help yourself?

Torte Not coping with noisy workplace
  • replies: 6

Just wondering if anybody has a similar issue to me and how they dealt with it. I have extreme stress reactions to noise and this is being triggered by conversations around me in the workplace. I work in an open plan, hot-desking environment and have... View more

Just wondering if anybody has a similar issue to me and how they dealt with it. I have extreme stress reactions to noise and this is being triggered by conversations around me in the workplace. I work in an open plan, hot-desking environment and have little to no control on how loud conversations around me can become. I've tried noise cancelling headphones, music, asking people to talk more quietly and/or move meetings to meeting rooms instead of standing around workdesks, putting up signs to indicate a 'quiet area' but can still end up crying, shaking and digging my nails into my skin so hard I break the skin by the end of the day. So instead I've had to isolate myself from my team to escape from the noise. My manager has been able to arrange an ergonomic assessment for me, with the outcome of getting equipment so that I can work in an area not normally set up for full day working, but it's isolated. I'm now starting to feel miserable and have significant difficulties collaborating with people because I spent all day, every work day, in a room by myself. I try to work one day per week with the rest of the team but some days only last 15 minutes before relocating to escape the noise. I've never had this issue until working in the hot-desking environment. Has anyone else experienced this? Did you have any success making complaints to change office culture? Did you see an occupational therapist or psychologist to get help coping with this situation?

Doolhof To All Experiencing a Natural Disaster
  • replies: 0

Hello Everyone, I'm sending out a message of care to all who are experiencing some kind of natural disaster as the title states. There may be people enduring hardship due to draught, lack of feed for stock, no water for crops and no income opportunit... View more

Hello Everyone, I'm sending out a message of care to all who are experiencing some kind of natural disaster as the title states. There may be people enduring hardship due to draught, lack of feed for stock, no water for crops and no income opportunities. Some people are experiencing the threat of bushfires and all that entails, maybe some of yo have needed to evacuate or fear for what may come with another day of fires in your region. I'm not sure if there are any floods in our land at present, our dam hasn't seen water for over a year. In some areas there have been storms, many places have experienced severe heat and in some cases power failures. Nature can throw some very harsh conditions our way. To all of you who are suffering in some way, I want to offer you this place to share your stories if you would like to. We can not always control nature nor what happens when it goes crazy or haywire. It can throw conditions at us that would try the strength of any person. Depression, stress and anxiety can so easily be triggered. For all of you who are suffering in some way, my thoughts are with you. Wishing you all some hope. From Dools

Emm78 Day 5 of dry January-quitting marijuana & alcohol
  • replies: 37

Hi, I’m on day 5 of my new life! Been struggling heaps with the emotional tears, insomnia, headaches, nausea, restlessness & frustration of resisting the temptation (as my husband is still smoking, but not in my presence & friends still drinking in f... View more

Hi, I’m on day 5 of my new life! Been struggling heaps with the emotional tears, insomnia, headaches, nausea, restlessness & frustration of resisting the temptation (as my husband is still smoking, but not in my presence & friends still drinking in front of me). atm I am unemployed after 2sacking, (1 not my fault)for last 13wks. With no govt help it’s becoming very hard to survive financially & then I have been rejected for every job applied for, I’m struggling to accept my medically 🤬 up body & brain & because I’m trying to be a better human decided to go cold 🦃! I found night times are the worst as for the past 5yrs my routine was to have a drink and a bong from apx 6pm. Longest I’ve gone is 8 days without a drink and about 2 without dope. Found marijuana.org had some good info & then remembered my friend recommended BB. The forum helped me survive another night I’m now in bed with a having cuddles from the Have counselling on Tuesday, so I’ll probably be back on here tomz. Thanks for the vent. Here’s to clean living!!!! Once all the yukkyness has gone 🥵🤯🤮

B_B_L_S 37 year old female - just realised she has a drinking problem
  • replies: 2

Hi All, Thanks for taking the time to read this. I’m a 37 year old single mum to one sweet 4 yo old girl. Left an abusive marriage 3 Years ago , and during the domestic abuse ( which lasted over 10 years) I used alcohol as a coping mechanism . Making... View more

Hi All, Thanks for taking the time to read this. I’m a 37 year old single mum to one sweet 4 yo old girl. Left an abusive marriage 3 Years ago , and during the domestic abuse ( which lasted over 10 years) I used alcohol as a coping mechanism . Making the decision to leave my husband wasn’t easy especially with a child, however I left because I didn’t want my daughter seeing or receiving the abuse. I have been to psychologists , other forms of natural therapy and I’m feeling much better however I am still using alcohol to get me through the week. At least 4 times a week . I would consider myself high functioning as no one really knows I have an issue. My current partner was the one who alerted me to the fact I hide vodka in my cupboard and secretly drink which is not ideal. I have an appt with GP next week and I really want to get better. I do think my drinking is caused by underlying depression or maybe even something else to do with the abuse I suffered for so long. Thank you

white knight Your priceless gift
  • replies: 1

One of the wisest people of the modern world shows you how valuable you are. Use google- Youtube take advantage Prem Rawat Maharaji

One of the wisest people of the modern world shows you how valuable you are. Use google- Youtube take advantage Prem Rawat Maharaji

white knight Your comfort zone
  • replies: 3

Were you popular in school? Were you the one in the middle of the pack that all had eyes on? Nope didn't think so. If you were like me you were on the outer, a few steps back from the clan as we walked from school. This outer fringe existence could n... View more

Were you popular in school? Were you the one in the middle of the pack that all had eyes on? Nope didn't think so. If you were like me you were on the outer, a few steps back from the clan as we walked from school. This outer fringe existence could never be shrugged off. It seemed to send me into depression as I wanted so much to be the popular one or the approved one...anything but the ignored one. I look back on those school days 50 years or more ago and now, the popular guy has passed away. A few of his childhood disciples are either physically ill or a shadow of what I remember. Seems history has a way of equaling things. But what I've learned is that being on the fringe and due to mental illness is responsible for who I was and am. It is part of my DNA in a way. Stephen FRY quote- "If I died and I could come back, I would still want my bipolar as it is part of me" paraphrasing So it is far better for our well being to accept our illness than fight it, ignore it or let it take hold. That means it is part of our nature and if we get to that point we will treat it like the colour of our hair or the length of our fingers and not worry so much Google- Beyondblue topic the frog and the scorpion So how do we accept our illness as a part of ourselves? Well, if you feel safer and more at ease away from people in your own little world why not accept that? It is only a concern if, due to any action like that you become a danger to yourself or others. I think the world has enough suicides every day to now make way for people like you and I to gravitate towards where we are more comfortable, where we've been all our lives- on the fringe of society. This means that we should not endeavor to live up to society's expectations of who we should be and should not be. Damn them I say- the fighter develops over decades to defend our nature, the skin by which we are within. And what of these "normal people"? A chance they have an undiagnosed illness themselves but are unaware or in denial. Google- Beyondblue topic so what are their mental illnesses? We have a trolley collector at our local supermarket. He has a few issues like Aspergers and depression. He is intelligent with a previous history of retail work. Yet he chooses to collect his trolleys. " People leave me alone in this job, I like helping people with their shopping and nothing more is expected of me. People like me". For this man he has found his comfort zone. Have you found your comfort zone? TonyWK

AGrace Managing Borderline Personality Disorder
  • replies: 98

Hi, I was looking through some of the posts and couldnt find any related to Borderline Personality Disorder. I was diagnosed at the end of the year along with Anxiety and Depression. I was hoping to reach out to anyone in a similar situation to get s... View more

Hi, I was looking through some of the posts and couldnt find any related to Borderline Personality Disorder. I was diagnosed at the end of the year along with Anxiety and Depression. I was hoping to reach out to anyone in a similar situation to get some advice on how to deal with living with this condition. I left my employment last year so I could focus on my health which has been useful but now I feel anxious about ever being able to go back to work full time, having children, and doing day to day things whilst managing my illness. To add to this, not doing those things leaves me feeling a little useless. Does anyone have some advice, or personal experience with this? Thanks.

Rose_3 A Place for Me to Be Exactly Who I Need to Be
  • replies: 28

Warm greetings! First of all, I was in a very dark place and now I feel like I am standing in the sunshine again. But there is still a long way for me to go and so much more for me to do. For my recovery (and on going quality of life) I have been pra... View more

Warm greetings! First of all, I was in a very dark place and now I feel like I am standing in the sunshine again. But there is still a long way for me to go and so much more for me to do. For my recovery (and on going quality of life) I have been practising self-love, forgiveness and positivity. And it has helped me so much! I am discovering I have a lot of love in my heart but there are still a lot of dark clouds behind me. So I will be posting whatever I feel is right for me. And I made a promise to myself to be honest, unashamed and kind (to myself and others). My posts will vary and may sometimes seem strange. But our minds are so beautiful and complex and think in many forms and I intend to share all those forms with you. And I encourage others to share too. If you want to vent with me, vent with me. If you want to forgive with me, forgive with me. We can all learn from each other and the different ways we handle situations and think. And I offer unconditional support and love. So I will begin with blessing this site with love. I bless the other users with love I bless my internet connection with love for allowing me to reach these amazing forums I bless my phone with love for being able to post here And I bless mind with love for letting me feel and think and breathe in the first place. All the best, Rose (Now I am going to post this before I chicken out!)