Welcome and Orientation

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Meet your community champions!

replies: 13

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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Newbie... University kicks my butt sometimes!

replies: 6

Hey guys, So this is my first time ever posting on a forum about my life. Umm, I guess I will start with a little bit about me. I have suffered from anxiety and depression since 15 years old. Struggling with being bullied at school, I developed an eating disorder, which led to server depression and slowly morphed into me feeling like an empty shell, an altered version of who I remember being. My early 20's saw a heavy reliance on drugs and alcohol before an inevitable break down. It was really difficult coming to terms with knowing I didn't have the answers or correct tools to help myself. At the time, I sought out a psychologist and got the help I needed. It has been nearly 7 years; I'm studying full time at uni and get so angry and frustrated with myself sometimes. I had this idea that my depression and anxiety was a phase and I'd do the hard work and then it would just go, leave my body and some how this 'normal life' would just start to happen, and I'd be living it and barely remember my past...this is obviously not reality. I'm currently struggling with uni, I best describe it as 'dragging myself through mud;' some days I am motivated, some days my chest hurts with anxiety, and some days I just cry. Guess the whole point of this post is just to say that I'm now starting to work through the next section of my life; Living with anxiety and depression. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and allowing me to lighten my load just a little. Kind regards.

How do i delete my account?

replies: 3

Hi i want to delete all my posts and remove myself completely from this website but can't seem to find an option anywhere.Could i get some help please?

Newbie

replies: 2

Hi I’m new to all this, what it’s all about?

Lonely newbie

replies: 33

Hello. This is the first time I've posted in an online forum. I'm 44 years old & embarassed to find myself with no friends. I've also been estranged from my family since the age of 15. I work full-time, have a lot of hobbies and volunteer with 2 different organisations. My life is busy and productive but the lonliness is getting hard to deal with and I'm worried I'm turning into a person that I don't want to be. I'm also worried that people are able to up on my sense of sadness and this is making it hard for me to make friends. Is there anyone experiencing a similar situation?

What is happening to me?

replies: 1

It was at the start of the year, it felt like i had been stabbed in the heart by an adrenaline needle, i was completely wired, couldn't sleep, chest tight with deep spikes of pain and panic. I'm 28, I've been prone to the fussy, overly analytical kind of anxiety in the past and i've been repairing myself from a rough childhood for years, but making progress. I had pulled my self out of depression years before, and i was doing better then ever, looking forward to the new year, to pushing further. At the start of the year my parents separated, it wasn't a dramatic situation, a bit distressing for sure but it felt normal, at the time i thought i had, and was, processing that situation proportionally. But a week later these attacks started and just ripped through me. I wouldn't be able to sleep for days, would recover a little, and another wave would hit me, i would claw at my chest to get it out. Despite the timing it didn't (and doesn't) feel like it was about anything, it was just a raw kind of hell that i could, and did, attribute everything under the sun. After about three weeks of violently coming and going the feeling plateaued into a more level discomfort, a stress and pain in my chest, an unease in my stomach. My thoughts would be anxious, circular and worried. The feeling would rise and fall a little punctuated by more sever attacks, but it would never go away completely. I became obsessed with trying to influence the feeling, diminish it through breathing, exercises, mindfulness, positive change. But nothing would work. I saw some doctors but they found nothing physical. A few times it diminished almost entirely, both times for about a week, and both times I was completely confident that i had found an answer, as if the confidence itself reduced the feeling. But each time i would be proven wrong, I would get anxious about an unrelated situation and my coping mechanisms would fail the feeling would rise and the theory would fall apart leading right to another attack. I don't know what's wrong with me, I think it is some form of extreme anxiety but i don't know why? I've been looking to go to therapy seriously but it's hard to find someone good. My last psychologist told my "it's a mystery" and recommended some breathing exercises i already knew. I want to find someone better (Schema?). Does any of this seem familiar to anyone? what do I do? I can get through the day but I am unhappy, and my work is suffering. Please help if you can.

Is this still depression?

replies: 3

Can depression be on and off? I have this feeling of being worthless and useless for about a week every month but after I 'get over it' I'm usually so positive and happy. It also confuses me that with usual cases of depression people always say they want to harm themselves, I never want to do that because I value life too much even though it's sometimes a living hell. Could this still be classed as depression or is it just me being negative and low self-esteem?

Sharing my story

replies: 1

Hi everyone! For a while now I’ve been wanting to share my story. From beginning to end, the very high highs, to the lowest of lows. Through abuse, domestic violence, drug addiction, jail, reaching goals, dealing with the birth and death of my child and so much more just to try and help youths and young adults know that they aren’t alone. And there’s people out there who’ve been through exactly what they’re going through or at least something similar. I’ve been stuck on where to go and even how to do it, so I’m really hoping by starting here I can help someone or even be shown where I can do what I am wanting to do. Because I honestly believe that my younger self could have done with someone telling me that I’m not alone. And that even though she feels like no one will ever understand that there is someone out there.

Some Days are Diamonds and Some Days are Stones

replies: 3

Hi Everyone, I am 36 years in to my struggle with depression. As a 15 year old over achiever, I had no idea of the molehills that would become mountains for me. Now I am 51 years young and today is a good day. I haven't achieved a lot today, but I am not crying, I have left my bedroom, the cat has been fed. I have reached out to a new community of like minded people to perhaps help and be helped. Today is not a Diamond Day, but it is better than a Stone Day. Yesterday was woeful and more 'stone' like. Lots of tears, phoning my husband at work and crying at him, hiding in my room, and wanting out. I get so tired of the stuggle. Feeling the dark clouds circling, then they are above me and enveloping me. As a fairly logical and analytical person most days, my bad days can be really taxing on me. The disconnect of my normal thought processes and coping techniques is considerable. Then, the clouds move on, disperse and I am left with a weird sense of deja vu. Haven't I been here before? Haven't I learned from previous episodes? That is me trying to analyse what cannot be analysed. For the young people out there beginning your struggle, I can say this much. It is worth the struggle! I have achieved in my lifetime as a sufferer of depression. I have had a short but successful career, I have 2 wonderful sons who are great young men, and I have a rather special husband. I am a good person with an illness. My friends and family understand that and are supportive. Any friends or family who do not understand, are not welcome in my life. Some days are diamonds and some days are stones. Like a rollercoaster, life has its ups and downs. Thanks for letting me introduce myself to your community. My thread would have been more negative if I had been able to post yesterday. What a difference a day makes. Mary

A Voice for Anxiety

replies: 2

Hi, After years of working on my own to overcome the voice of anxiety it feels good to sign onto a forum where I can just say what I would normally feel to embarrassed to say, or too shy to say. Its amazing how shy I am to let someone know I am feeling anxious. I get anxious about so many things, especially when I don't know how things work, I feel like a burden when I make mistakes or someone has to correct my mistakes, and this can happen at work or at home...its like mistakes are sooo BAD. I am anxious about crying, about sharing my feelings, about asking for help. I am looking forward to hearing from people on here too, and to reading your stories. Thank you.

Silent

replies: 8

Hi, I’m very new to this, talking out on a prublic forum about my problems. Anxiety and depression are such a silent illness and aren’t addressed properly and are labelled a weakness. They are both the hardest things I have ever had to hurdle. And I continue to hurdle them every day. Its hard talking about how you’re feeling when really, I don’t even know how to describe it. The things that are going around in my head are hard enough for me to understand let alone trying to explain it to someone else. Life is throwing so many curveballs at me at the moment, I’m doing okay but I’m having more bad days than good. My family knows about my depression and anxiety but not the extent of them. My husband tried to be there and understand the best he can but it’s hard for him not having been through either of them. It’s hard to open up to my family I guess? I want to. But I can’t. Some of my family have had depression, experienced anxiety but they have trouble as they compare. No one. And I mean no one, has the same problems with both of these illnesses. No one is the same. No one should be compared. And that’s what stops me. I feel silly. They’ve been through they’re anxieties and depression but mine is completely different and they don’t understand why is so hard. They never will. You can’t make people understand. It’s not easy. Every day is a battle. It’s just easier to stay silent.

Meet your community champions! replies: 13

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

Newbie... University kicks my butt sometimes! replies: 6

How do i delete my account? replies: 3

Newbie replies: 2

Lonely newbie replies: 33

What is happening to me? replies: 1

Is this still depression? replies: 3

Sharing my story replies: 1

Some Days are Diamonds and Some Days are Stones replies: 3

A Voice for Anxiety replies: 2

Silent replies: 8