Welcome and Orientation

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Meet your community champions!

replies: 10

Hi everyone, We wanted to share with you the way that our wonderful Community Champions are here to support you. You may have noticed that a few of our Forums members are labelled ‘Community Champion’. Community Champions are volunteers within the Beyond Blue Forums who: have the time, skills and empathy to support other members regularly; help to welcome new members; are actively engaged members that help set the tone of our community. Our Community Champions are regular contributors to many conversations across the forums. They are a consistent and friendly voice that have committed to sharing their experience and expertise with this community. They are not health care professionals or clinicians. Like you, they have an experience with a mental health challenge or diagnosis – either for themselves or someone they care for. This forum is for people who understand what it feels like and have a lived and living experience of mental health challenges. Our Community Champions help everyone feel comfortable and confident by demonstrating what excellent peer support is all about. Click here to find out more about how you can become a Community Champion! This incredible team are excited to introduce themselves below, and we are sure you’ll see them around the forums in conversations important to you.

HELP..Am I posting in the right section?

replies: 10

Welcome to those who are considering posting for the very first time, welcome. Thought I would repost part of the words that Chris B posted awhile ago, (2014) as I can hear that people are unsure if they are posting in the right section or worried that they are posting "the wrong thing". 1.A good title makes the difference Just like a headline in a newspaper, when scanning the dozens of threads to click into, it’s only natural that people will choose the ones that resonate with them most. A title that entices the reader, or asks a question, is likely to get a better result than something non-descriptive like “Depression” or “I don't know what to do”. If you think you’re not good at choosing titles, leave it till last. Spend time writing your post, then perhaps choose a sentence from what you’ve written as the title. 2.Join in threads that have already been posted We all have our own unique stories, but part of the reason for joining a forum like this one is because you know that you will have a lot in common with others who are posting. Before starting a new thread, have a look through the current topics being discussed and see if there’s a conversation you can join in with. It can be quite common to have a handful of very similar threads happening at any one time, with members seemingly unaware that there are others right there who are going through the same thing. Talking to other members on their threads is a great way of getting yourself known so that when you post a thread of your own, people may respond quicker because they recognize your name. 3.Choose the most appropriate section for your post Many people browse the forums looking for stories specifically to do with pregnancy and parenting, employment, grief, loss, separation etc. Going straight for the “Depression” section may seem like the easiest option, but this section is often the busiest, so your post is more likely to get lost among the threads. Making good use of the different forum sections not only helps keep the forum relevant, but you’re more likely to find others who are going through the same experiences as you. Also, if you're wanting to discuss issues of trauma, abuse, suicidal thoughts or self-harm, it's really important you post in the designated section to avoid triggering others who may not wish to read about these topics. Mostly..just come and chat, we are here for you. Our amazing wizards in the background will see your message ends up in the right spot. Sarah

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Hello

replies: 1

Recently joined the forum, just saying hello for now. I'm a well-aged forty-four summers guy. I live with major depression, and have minor manic tendencies. I try manage my moods best I can, but sometimes they overwhelm me. I'm sure most everybody reading this understands how that feels. I hope to connect with real people, to have interactions that mean more than the sundry surface-only ones when I occasionally venture to the grocery, maybe even make a friend ... guy can dream So, "Hello!"

First post, increased worry and helplessness

replies: 0

Hello this is my first post and I'm not really sure what I'm doing but thought writing might help. I'm 47, married with 2 adult children who have both moved back home in the last 12 months due to relationship breakdowns. They both suffer mental illness, both smoke cannabis and drink, and neither work. I worry so much about them as well as my elderly mum, for whom I am carer. I find myself laying awake, listening through the night for crying or other sounds of distress. When I first wake up my heart starts racing and again, I listen to who's up and what mood they're in. I take on their problems and feelings like they're my own, crying when I'm alone but smiling when they're around so they don't know and to keep their moods high. I'm exhausted. My husband worries for me, and tells me if I don't stop I'll die from worry. I find myself dreading going home, dreading going to my mum's (she lives in a retirement village) and without any real place of rest and solitude. I love them all so much and can't bear the thought of any one in distress and want to make everything ok for them. I worry if I don't they will think I don't care. That they'll then harm themselves or something. It's unbearable. I want to know how to switch off from it all. I suffer terrible stomach pains, shoulder and neck pain and have chronic health conditions myself that I am neglecting. I often make Drs appointments for myself that I end up cancelling because someone else's problems become more important, or in the kids cases I give them my appointment because our family Dr is hard to get into spontaneously. I'm so tired.

Owed to Solitude

replies: 330

I owe a lot to my current situation in life. In fact, it's probably as close to heaven on earth that I will ever get. I've served my apprenticeship in the School of Hard Knocks. It was actually a life sentence with no time off for good behaviour. I think it was Mr. W. Shakespeare who said "All the world's a stage". And that is precisely what we are - actors on a stage. Some of us play our parts really well and fool the audience into actually believing what we say we are. Then there are those who find it impossible to be anything other than what they are. Not good actors at all. That's where I make my entrance. But I don't play to the audience any more because it is a complete and utter waste of time and effort. Now that I have settled into retirement, I can stop the acting and the pretence and be whatever I choose to be. It's a great pity that we have to spend the greater part of our lives playing to an audience. Some people get away with turning their backs on the bright lights and sink into blissful anonymity. This is what I am trying to do now so that I can gather a little happiness around me before I drop off the perch. When I think back, I seem to have spent so much time trying to keep everyone else happy and giving in to do things when I don't want to. I never had the nerve to say no so I guess I was a real pushover. I think it's time to turn the page on the script and write my own dialogue for a change. Or is that asking too much? I'm not really sure myself. Maybe I am expecting too much. Shame on me eh? But there will come a time when I run out of choices and that will be the end of it. The curtain comes down on another production. I only hope it doesn't come too soon. If we do what we want to when we want to do it, we are called selfish. I have nothing left to give. It's all gone. The audience have gone home and the stage is a dusty platform waiting for the next deception. Sorry, production.

New here

replies: 14

Hii am new to the forums. I have had depression for 8 years and still struggling everyday.

Feeling Lost

replies: 1

Hi. I’m new here and feeling lost at the moment. Last week I got terminated from my job of 7 years without warning and not sure what to do next. Just feel so overwhelmed thinking about having to restart my life in my 40s. Over the last couple of years work has been very stressful, especially coming out of the Pandemic. This resulted in me suffering from burnout and eventual depression as work didn’t seem to care about my situation and let things go even after I made them aware of my struggles. I eventually had a period off work, sought help and was diagnosed with depression and have been working with a therapist and on medication ever since. Start of August I had another depressive episode that lasted about 2 weeks and when I got back to work I got terminated a week later due to my time off. Due to the amount of time off over the last year, I used up all my sick and annual leave and most of it was time without pay. I used up a lot of my savings which also added a financial burned and more stress to the situation. To top it off, they used a clause in my termination so I didn’t get a separation payment. I’m at a complete lost and don’t know if I have the energy to start over.

Hello i guess

replies: 1

Hello. It's been really hard for me the past months and kind of year. I find it fascinating when I realise when I had been 'normal', time flies outta nowhere and now when its getting hard, I struggle every single damn day. I've been dealing with existential thoughts and depression, because I hadn't realised that I was 'existing without a care'. Im trying to heal, I really am. Anyway this is probably too long lol. God bless.

First steps

replies: 2

I am nearing retirement and have in the past few months found myself at the beginning of yet another cycle of depression/anxiety. Harder to deal with this time because it doesn't only involve the initial trigger but also a couple of extra curve balls to do with relationships and self-perception. I am trying this as a bit of a last-ditch effort -- I feel exhausted all the time -- years (50 actually) of acting have caught up with me and I am feeling like there is not really much point in even trying. It is soul-destroying after spending quite a few years of intense counselling and thinking that I had made great strides in progress/received many tools to help me to deal with things as they crop up to find myself back in the cycle and with less strength to deal with it. I am looking for genuine support and encouragement and think that I may also be of some help to others also. Thanks.

Holding tight

replies: 4

Hello. I’m new here and unsure where to start. I’m a senior and struggling with it. I don’t feel like a senior sometimes 若

Hello. I’m new here and unsure where to start. I’m a senior and struggling with it. I don’t feel like a senior sometimes 🥴

New to the forum

replies: 4

Hi, I don't feel like saying much, but I've joined so I'll start by saying hello. I have depression and its really bad at the moment.

Hi everyone, new member here who has severe depression and social anxiety

replies: 2

Suffered from depression and anxiety for 8 years, and still do to this day. Hoping to be able to connect with others and find help and support

Meet your community champions! replies: 10

HELP..Am I posting in the right section? replies: 10

Hello replies: 1

First post, increased worry and helplessness replies: 0

Owed to Solitude replies: 330

New here replies: 14

Feeling Lost replies: 1

Hello i guess replies: 1

First steps replies: 2

Holding tight replies: 4

New to the forum replies: 4

Hi everyone, new member here who has severe depression and social anxiety replies: 2