Welcome and Orientation

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Meet your community champions!

replies: 12

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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Looking to find people to talk to

replies: 2

Hi I am a 40 year old male that has had depression and anxiety since my teens. I have for a long time tried to hide my mental illness from employers and others fearing they will not understand, at a point now I need to accept it and just need to find... View more

Saying Hello

replies: 3

Greetings everyone i have recently been diagnosed with major depression late in my life. It seems this happened to me after a traumatic event in my life. After much trial and error I am now on what appears to be the best medication for me. I see a great Phycologist regularly. I have my days when I can’t get out of bed. It’s hard work trying to put in place all the strategies that I get from my Phycologist! I hope I am able to contribute successfully to these forums

Hello to all :)

replies: 2

Hello,New to this site and hoping to find guidance on how to handle some of the things I daily find challenging. Peace to everyone.

Hi there! - Nova

replies: 14

Hi, I'll try this again. My original post in intros was, appropriately, moved to PTSD and Trauma, rightly so ... I can be intense lol. I will try and be less drama & more "Hi There!" I am a long time mental health consumer in my 50's. I have lived through childhood trauma & an emotionally abusive marriage. I have three children. I left my marital home in 2009 & I moved to a coastal idyll in 2012 which was most recently devastated by bush fires. I care for my family of 3 full time. In my household there is autism, uncontrolled epilepsy, rapid cycling bi-polar, Major Depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, anxiety, 2 forms of chronic insomnia, sleep apnoea, oppositional defiance disorder, diabetes, c-PTSD, chronic pain disorder, intellectual disability, expressive language disorder ... to name a few. The MDD, GAD and c-PTSD are mine ... lucky me? I have managed to get 2 of my family on to NDIS, which if any of you know, is a whole new set of horrors and abusive processes. I tried to get it for myself, but when I was rejected & told I would have to PROVE why I have PTSD, I walked away from it ... no thanks. My passions follow several routes: 1. Macro photography. I chase bees and other small creatures, I love close ups of flowers and I love playing with light. I find when I am focusing on tiny moments in the lens I have trouble focusing on my chaos. A therapeutic past time I highly recommend. 2. I am a bit of a foraging, growing, cooking from scratch, locavore hippy. I love to cook by the seat of my pants. One of my household is a qualified French Chef, retired, he never complains, so that's a win! It also keeps the budget manageable, another win. 3. Dungeons and Dragons! Yes that qualifies me as a Geek. As a family, with 2 friends equally geeky added in, we play DnD. My eldest is working on DnD therapy for youth with special social needs. We started playing to help my youngest with autism & expressive language disorder. Engaging in interactive story telling is helping all of us in so many ways. 4. I read a lot, mostly science fantasy these days, but I cut my teeth on pure Scifi. I will also indulge in classics, especially regency romance. 5. Gaming & social media are also up there, but not at all a priority, just something to do whilst in between my caring duties, cooking & bee worrying ... I also have a pet duck, Daisy, who is lame & geriatric, & two hens past their prime, but indulged,spoilt & fat. Well, that's me ... "hi there!"

Anxiety and BDD

replies: 1

Hi, I was diagnosed many years ago with Depression, Anxiety, OCD and BDD. Have been on and off medication and in and out of therapy since 2010. Last year the Anxiety got so bad my GP medicated me again and has suggested I stay on it for life. I have Generalised Anxiety Disorder. The last two weeks have been hard, I think I need to up my meds but don't know if I want to. Funny thing is out of all my disorders the one that annoys me the most is the BDD. I am sick and tired of waking up everyday hating myself. Looking in the mirror and seeing an ugly, fat person. Worrying about what other people are thinking about Me. Worrying about what the scale tells me. I just want to spend one day not hating what I see in the mirror. How can I fix this. As silly as it is, I can live with the Anxiety and OCD (even though I drive everyone around me crazy) but I am sick and tired of worrying about the way I look.

A good morning

replies: 1

I’m writing this from my neighbourhood cafe after almost 2 hours of struggling to leave the warmth and comfort and my destination no matter what my mood is : my bed. To let you know a bit about myself , I’m someone who barely reaches out of my comfort zone, I’m also quite good with people, I go to the gym 6-7 times a week, I don’t always eat healthy but I like enjoying food and try not to feel guilty about it. But I’m struggling from a very deep level. I grew up in a wealthy family , I had all my needs met, never had to work a day as a teenager , I was baby’ed... a lot, and now at 28 I’m still struggling to understand responsibilities as an adult. I have always had a strained relationship with my family , I still do . I rarely finish anything I start. And I have a massive sense of insignificance and worthlessness that follows me around like a shadow. Every single day , I try to adopt some practice that has been prescribed by “successfull” people and I fail miserably. i don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, or have mindless sex with random people and only rarely drink, I don’t put the effort into most relationships, I don’t have any skill, I am constantly comparing myself to literally everyone around me, I can feel such miserable loneliness in a room full of people and laughter, the voices in my head that keep screaming that I’ll never amount to anything is so painful that I constantly think of disappearing. I also feel ashamed to even talk to my family because I feel I’m an embarrassment to them (they have always expected me to achieve great things academically as a child and I was compared to every other child who did better than me, at a point I was almost voluntarily underachieving as I was sick of the pressure that was put upon me by my culture). i have an engineering and a business degree , haven’t used either in a career, I don’t even have a career. I even refused to go to my graduation as I felt it was all a joke. Anyway I’m now in Australia, I have grown so much emotionally during my time away from my family. But every single day I feel there is this suffocating weight that’s on my chest, it’s almost impossible for me to even stick a toe out of my comfort line . I don’t even think my kind of life is worth living

newbie in the middle of an anxiety attack looking for some comfort/help

replies: 8

Hi everyone, I'm new to the BB forum...I have been diagnosed with Anxiety and stress for probably a year now. Had a really good psychologist for the first few months until she moved to the city and it was getting too hard for me to drive an hour or more for a session. For the past 2 weeks my anxiety has been really bad. Last Friday/ Saturday I had to go to the hospital for chest pain (we have a family history of hear issues) so I thought it's better to get it checked (also my mum had a heart attack 2 months ago, but is all okay now). I thought maybe this heart attack triggered me and has been building up to a high and is coming to an eruption now (don't know what my triggers are)? Anyhow, the hospital said it's all okay after testing, so they released me. This week I had several attacks (feeling anxious, heart racing, nausea, dizziness, pressure in chest, occasional sting in heart area, feeling hot and then cold and getting shaky) some of them only last for like 45 mins and other times it comes in waves the longest being over 3 hours. The attacks seem to happen mostly in the evening, worst when it's bed time and I just can't stay calm and have to either turn on the telly, my calm app to be able to distract me of some sort. It's really frustrating and scary because it seems like it will never end and it's just getting worse and the only thing I want to do is relax and finally get some much needed sleep and be able to stay in bed with my partner. He is very supportive and tries to help wherever he can and is getting worried now because I have only slept once in our bed this week. But at the same time when I can feel my anxiety coming, his calm talking to me just doesn't help and I find I need to be alone and yet I don't want to be alone. I should probably mention that I have an appointment with a new psychologist end of January. It seems like ages away and I'm not sure if I can wait this long, right now I just feel hopeless and think it will stay like this forever. I hope this all makes sense and I'm not rambling too much as I'm typing this in the middle of my anxiety attack. I guess I'm just looking for some sort of comfort...

New and needing help

replies: 12

Hey guys! firstly I’m a 15 year old female from Tasmania. I have depression, anxiety, ocd, ptsd and a possible eating disorder. sorry I’m new to this and don’t really know my way around or how to find things on these forums. I was just wondering if s... View more

My Introduction

replies: 4

Gday all, my name is Michael, I'm 28 years old and living in Victoria. I felt that this was a good way of noting my thoughts and perhaps seek some advice from people with similar experiences. As long as I can remember, I've always been an introvert and a bit of a social pariah. I had a reasonable childhood but had one parent who was not physically but mentally neglectful, by way of being over critical and lacking moral support during my upbringing. I was constantly reminded of how useless and hopeless I was, and that I would never amount to anything or achieve anything positive in my life. I guess this view of myself had been imprinted from an early age and as a result I've never had a large amount of friends and as of today I have still never had an intimate relationship. I have traveled through my teens/twenties feeling like I am completely useless at everything I try and that I deserve to be alone and isolated from the world. Something I still struggle with today, however it is now worse as now I am a bit older I can reflect on my early life and realise the opportunities and experiences I have missed out on due to my mental state. Despite these struggles I have shown to be aspirational and I did manage to achieve my dream job back in 2016, something that brings me great joy and happiness. I have had great experiences and met some amazing people. However it is only one aspect of my life I am proud of and I feel I have failed in other aspects of my life - I am single, struggling to buy a house and I spend a lot of time alone. I guess that I am beginning to question why I have turned out the way I have - it can't be just because of my father's behaviour. I question why others have been able to create success whilst everything I try turns into a struggle or a fail. I often wonder if it's because I am a bad person? But there is still a small part of me that believes I am a good person - I am kind to everyone I meet, I treat everyone with respect and I care about those that matter to me. I feel I am a good friend to others and I think that they see my friendship as valuable. It seems though that this is not enough to be content with life - I still have so many aspirations and a younger me would have expected much better that what I am doing now. Apologies for the long post but I hope it gives some insight into my story and what I've been dealing with. Thanks for your attention, it is much appreciated!

Newbie searching for support

replies: 2

Hello everyone. As the title suggests I'm new here. I'm 39 and a mum of 4. My partner of 6 years has multiple mental health issues which are getting worse, not better despite all the support he receives. I'm struggling in our relationship and looking for anything that will help me (because helping him seems futile at this point). I'll post the full story under the appropriate thread, just wanted to say hi here and that I look forward to being part of this community. From the few posts I've read so far the support seems very helpful.

Meet your community champions! replies: 12

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

Looking to find people to talk to replies: 2

Saying Hello replies: 3

Hello to all :) replies: 2

Hi there! - Nova replies: 14

Anxiety and BDD replies: 1

A good morning replies: 1

newbie in the middle of an anxiety attack looking for some comfort/help replies: 8

New and needing help replies: 12

My Introduction replies: 4

Newbie searching for support replies: 2