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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I have trouble liking myself

replies: 6

Hi, this is a really depressing way to introduce myself but things have been building up more lately since I graduated from year 12. I am at uni but I am not very smart. I got in with an atar of 68 and my course I am doing (Bachelor of Arts) only required 65 because I have such low expectations for myself and I did a limit of four level 3 courses because I felt like I wasn't capable enough. My Dad jokes to me that his life would have been better without my sister and I but I sometimes feel like he means it because he is always angry after he comes home from work and never wants to talk to us. My Mum has figured out that I don't enjoy being at home and she is trying her hardest to make me not want to move out, there's a part of her that believes that I am not capable to do things by myself and from other experiences in my life I feel like that might be true. I haven't gotten my drivers license yet, I am still on my L1s but I am trying my hardest to work my hours up but my Mum works full time in the art department at a private school and my Dad doesn't have his license and I don't want to pressure my Mum because she has a lot going on. I don't have a job, even though I have tried to apply for many, I have only had one interview in the 2 years I had been applying. I almost feel like I haven't grown up and I am still a kid, It's only just occurred to me now how bad it is that I don't have these things when I am 18. I'm trying to get my life back together and doing subjects like intro to Psychology and intro to Law but it's only in a Bachelor of Arts and I don't think I can get far because it's not the full degree. I'm even at a worse point because I never did them at college, I feel like I didn't even know what I wanted to do while I was there and I don't have a job now so it will be harder for me to find one after my degree. I also eat really poorly and have a fear of gaining weight or becoming overweight or obese, I feel guilty when I eat heaps of food. I even have fears of someone walking in the same direction as me because I'm worried what they might do to me after I had experienced events when I was a kid. I have noticed I have been like this since I was 6 and I haven't gotten any better and I really need to grow up. I think I have made things harder for myself and I don't know how to make things better, if anyone can suggest anything that would be really helpful

Unrequited love

replies: 5

Hi. I’ve met a lady that has turned my emotions upside down.... I’m constantly thinking of her and it’s making me so anxious. She is a divorced mother of two girls with a really chequered past Jail/drugs, everybody says run away from her. I’ve been intimate with her several times but no sex. People tell me she is just using me for her own selfish desires, perhaps they are right, whatever the reason she has triggered my anxiety to a level that is horrendous. Help

Boring husband

replies: 4

My husband is so boring I can.t stand it! Are all 63year old men like this??? My future is bleak.

Baggage Sucks, I'm new here and not in a good space today. :(

replies: 4

I'm 48yo but feel 80. I'm so very tired, literally and figuratively, over every day felling like groundhog day. Past events take there toll and some days I just wonder why I keep pushing forward. I have been my wife's full-time carer for just over 9 years now and I feel spent. I watch her sit nearly all day watching youtube, drinking coffee and smoking with such disdane some times, but I still love her. I'm estranged from my 2 siblings ( my choice/need) and have lost both parents. How is it that one can have people around you but still feel completely alone. We have 2 boys, 17 & 14, whom I feel that I'm not doing enough for regardless of how much I do. There's more but who needs war and peace to read.

Slowly

replies: 3

I am slowly trying to cope with my anxiety and depression but I think coming into beyond blue has been a good idea. Just hoping I can learn to cope with all of this

New here - never felt like this!

replies: 2

Well where do I begin? I'm a new first time mum with a husband who constantly works away, to the point he wasn't even here for the birth. I also work full time from home whilst looking after our baby and I literally do everything on my own - I haven't slept more than 2 hours a night in 10 months now. I'm distressed and drowning. Then to top it all off, I've recently found out that while he was away for work while I was giving birth to our child, he was having an affair with a coworker that I believe still would be continuing if I hadn't found out. We live in a state where I have no family or friends and I just don't know where or who to turn to. I feel myself sinking deeper and deeper, the only thing that keeps me going is my child. I just don't even know where to start, my life has completely fallen apart and I just don't have the time or energy to even sort out how I am feeling.

Depressed feeling of alone isolation misunderstood judged and Ashamed

replies: 4

Hi all, Thought id Vent here as Im sick of FB & pple fake caring Im hoping more luck here Im 32 years old & have 2 beautiful boys of mixed race 六 The reason Im here as i suffer alot of diff Chronic Pain Issues & Depression Anxiety. 1 of my boys has ... View more

Hi all, Thought id Vent here as Im sick of FB & pple fake caring Im hoping more luck here Im 32 years old & have 2 beautiful boys of mixed race 🧑🏽 The reason Im here as i suffer alot of diff Chronic Pain Issues & Depression Anxiety. 1 of my boys has Special Needs so life can be difficlt. For the past mnth Ive becme very Angry & dettached with I havent had the best childhood, Mother left wen i was 5yrs. She up & Abandoned us all then had Family with sme1 else. Even though she claimed she cldnt handle my 2 siblings & i. She hsnt made effort to contact us This is actlly wen my ability 2 not handle ppl not listening not understanding my viewsy some idiots dnt care dnt acknowledge my feelings emotions wat ever they may be. Angry at the for pushing me aside not letting me Voice & Feel. For example my son's bday was recently i invited 30+ ppl on my FB. The only thing that came of it was so called friends lying to my face abt y they cldnt come, Faking sickness. I cldnt even make a vent on my FB as ppl certain will jump dwn my throat & somehow turning it bak on me. All i wanted for my son was 4 him 2 enjoy his bday but no apparently that was 2 much to ask 4 My whole life Ive dealt with ppl putting me dwn lying 2 my face using me abusing me. Metaphorically beating the fact Im not good enough 4 any1 Im 2 weird to quiet to loud. Im to negative. The list of it just goes on & on.

Feeling more isolated than usual

replies: 5

Hi Eveyone I just need to try and connect, I'm feeling lonely at the moment I really love being around people but usually spend a lot of time on my own which is always hard to cope with I suffered from ptsd and anxiety for as long as can remember Though i am one of those people that probably seem that they're coping well from the outside inside I'm in turmoil During this time I'm feeling more lonely than usual as my routines that usual get me through the days are disrupted That's all just writing this releases the pressure of it for me

Struggling to find my new normal

replies: 8

Hi there, I know it is a really difficult time for everyone at the moment, but I am seriously struggling with the feeling of being trapped and removed from my routines. I have a job that I love and that keeps me grounded and at the moment I can't do my job. I have a young son who I adore and am now at home with full time. I know I need to be strong for him but am just feeling so anxious all the time. Today I've been in tears a lot of the day which isn't fair to him, I can't stop the anxious feeling in my gut. I guess I'm asking for help to find a new normal while I'm at home without my support network or my routines? Thanks in advance

Hi don’t know what to do

replies: 4

Hi I don’t know what to do anymore as I am over talking and getting the same stuff all the time and nothing is working. I am at that point where I don’t know what is good or bad anymore. I have really nothing happening for me anymore and I am just going day by day doing the same things and have nothing to show for it! I am losing the fight more and more everyday. It is like I don’t have the fight left I am so dead on the inside and don’t have the energy to keep playing like I do. I don’t know anymore.

Meet your community champions! replies: 10

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

I have trouble liking myself replies: 6

Unrequited love replies: 5

Boring husband replies: 4

Baggage Sucks, I'm new here and not in a good space today. :( replies: 4

Slowly replies: 3

New here - never felt like this! replies: 2

Depressed feeling of alone isolation misunderstood judged and Ashamed replies: 4

Feeling more isolated than usual replies: 5

Struggling to find my new normal replies: 8

Hi don’t know what to do replies: 4