Immediate support
Immediate support

Welcome and orientation

Welcome! If you’re not sure where to start, that’s OK. We’re keen to know more about you and what you’re looking for on our Forums.

Start a discussion

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Jump to
Start a discussion

Pinned discussions

Sophie_M 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 Be... View more

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.

Aaronsis 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 th... View more

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

All discussions

Start a discussion

dinosaur4575 Depression and anxiety 35 years
  • replies: 3

I have had severe depression and anxiety for many years. Meds have worked in tha past but no longer do. Seen many psycologists and psychiatrists without improvement. Have not been able to get out of this rut. Lost marriage 25 years house and had pros... View more

I have had severe depression and anxiety for many years. Meds have worked in tha past but no longer do. Seen many psycologists and psychiatrists without improvement. Have not been able to get out of this rut. Lost marriage 25 years house and had prostate remove. Had a toxic relationship which ended suddenly. Now home living with my Mum who is great but l worry about her coping witb my health. l am almost 63 yrs old. Trying to get back into work. Anxiety stopping me. Lost my self worth. want to do things but also dont. Contradiction l know. Been totally out of it for 18months without any improvement. Any help? Ideas? suggestions

meercat meercat
  • replies: 10

Hi. I have lived with bipolar for 43 years. Has anyone else had it for a long time.

Hi. I have lived with bipolar for 43 years. Has anyone else had it for a long time.

Guest_125 Hi - suffering depression
  • replies: 3

Hi, I am 30 years old and 4 sessions into seeing a psychologist for depression. He is using CBT, which I have mixed feelings about at this point. I've started to work through some of my unhelpful thoughts, but still struggling to see any light at the... View more

Hi, I am 30 years old and 4 sessions into seeing a psychologist for depression. He is using CBT, which I have mixed feelings about at this point. I've started to work through some of my unhelpful thoughts, but still struggling to see any light at the end of the tunnel. I am hoping that reading about other people's experiences and talking to other people will be helpful too.

sunrise1903 Facebook addict, help required
  • replies: 4

Hi, Im sunshine1903, a 31 year old from Western Australia and I've never reached out online before. In real life I present my self as a happy and bubbly person , never admitting to anyone when I'm angry, sad or upset. I don't even think I could pick ... View more

Hi, Im sunshine1903, a 31 year old from Western Australia and I've never reached out online before. In real life I present my self as a happy and bubbly person , never admitting to anyone when I'm angry, sad or upset. I don't even think I could pick up the phone and genuinely admit to anyone that I could call my friends how I am feeling. This lead me here. i am currently caring for my mother who has cancer, she is living with me and my husband and almost two year old. It has been tough. My mother is in out hospital every couple or so weeks. I have a demanding toddler who still doesn't sleep and I feel like I actually don't love my husband anymore. I'm stuck and stranded in a life that no one else would want, including me. im not actually sure what I want out of this forum, replies would be great. I just find myself playing on my phone all night avoiding talking to my husband so instead of refreshing my Insta and Facebook a million times (because I like looking at everyone else's life) I'll do my best to contribute here. This is really the tip of the ice bergs and I don't know what else to do.

Geordie_Girl Hi from beyond the "black Stump'
  • replies: 2

Hi to everyone, I have just joined the forum, this is the first forum I have ever been part of so not quite sure how it works. I live in a remote area of Australia and the people here have one mental health professional they can see. I was on a plan ... View more

Hi to everyone, I have just joined the forum, this is the first forum I have ever been part of so not quite sure how it works. I live in a remote area of Australia and the people here have one mental health professional they can see. I was on a plan and had several visits with this person but found it wasn't helping me at all and it was very expensive ,more than we could afford. I have been struggling with severe depression for about 14yrs now, the crucial point that sent me spirally downwards was the death of my son in 2004 but I had the depression before this but not so bad. I have just come to the end of the road, I feel I have tried every option you could possibly think of, Medication, CBT, TLC, with books and online courses ect ect, and nothing has worked, everytime I try something new I seem to get some hope, but then when it doesnt work I go even further back. I know that everyone say to talk to someone but what do you do when you have done all this again and again and nothing has worked. I wonder if anyone else has come to the end of the road with what to try next?

Girl_alone Hello!
  • replies: 6

Introducing myself to everyone after a morning spent trawling over the site. I find my self here as I have a husband suffering depression and I just don't know if I want to stick around any longer. He is finally on medication after a break down last ... View more

Introducing myself to everyone after a morning spent trawling over the site. I find my self here as I have a husband suffering depression and I just don't know if I want to stick around any longer. He is finally on medication after a break down last year made him admit he actually had a problem. Before that, he was intolerable to live with. I just know if I'm still in love with him after all I have endured. I want a level of happiness and a partner in life who is truly there to listen and talk to. Mine still lives in his head most of the time and I feel lonely in the relationship. I just don't know where to go from here and what advice I should be considering. thanks for listening.

Flick_SnotGrass "Hello" my name is Flick SnotGrass
  • replies: 15

It is a pleasure to meet you all, my name is Flick SnotGrass I'm a newbie here on BB. Now before I start pontificating I should warn the moderators and post adjudicators that I am cursed with a Cockney sense of humo(u)r so you must gently guide me as... View more

It is a pleasure to meet you all, my name is Flick SnotGrass I'm a newbie here on BB. Now before I start pontificating I should warn the moderators and post adjudicators that I am cursed with a Cockney sense of humo(u)r so you must gently guide me as my mother has done throughout my life: "Not everythink you think is funny, Flick, is actually funny, dear." 'Yes Mum I shall strive to remember that. No really.' Personally I think a well developed sense of humour or humor adds important seasoning and perspective to this amazingly amazing and jolly frustrating experience we call 'Life' and 'Living'. N'est pas? Let's face it a really good laugh, especially one of those uncontrollable belly aching belly laughs, is a handy antidote to a bout of misery. Laughter encourages our brains to secrete feel good endorphins and neurotransmitters. The trick is knowing how to provoke it in ourselves, especially when we don't feel like it very much. Wouldn't you agree? There. I've done it. This has been my maiden BB post, please , , or .

Surprise yourself with a significantly above average day,

Flick SnotGrass

Ceedotti Hi!
  • replies: 2

Hello, I'm new to beyond blues online community. I hope to get the support i need here online and to also provide support to others. Maybe even make some friends along the way! ☺

Hello, I'm new to beyond blues online community. I hope to get the support i need here online and to also provide support to others. Maybe even make some friends along the way! ☺

Bonbons Hi
  • replies: 1

I'm a 24 male who's has been trying to get out of the 'deep-end' for a few years. At my lowest point, I went to a Headspace center to be diagnosed with depression/anxiety and be prescribed pills I was supposed to take. I didn't buy the pills, and the... View more

I'm a 24 male who's has been trying to get out of the 'deep-end' for a few years. At my lowest point, I went to a Headspace center to be diagnosed with depression/anxiety and be prescribed pills I was supposed to take. I didn't buy the pills, and then ghosted the remainder of the scheduled appointments. Thus followed a few more years where my mental state rode a sine graph, where I struggled to breach the median and spent increasingly more time in the negative after each cycle. If you were to ask me what I was doing this time last year, I could not tell you within any reasonable accuracy. I have been the typical Japanese Hikikomori or shut-in, waking at 5pm and sitting at the computer for 12+ hours on repeat, eating a loafs of bread and water. Occasionally, I would get short-lived outbursts to want to try and re-integrate into society, but the last depressive bout was my longest and least productive. The past few months I've been fixing my lifestyle, my outlook and self-grooming. I've done a 180 with the help of my adopted puppy, talking to strangers and taking part in every facebook/public event possible, nothing I could have done a couple years ago. I picked up a gym membership and thankfully my body still remembered how to move and I've managed to get to some semblance of fitness. This is the furthest out of my comfort box I've tried to go, even setting goals for several months in advance. However, the previous couple of weeks, I've been feeling more exhausted than I thought possible. I'm scared of dipping back into my previous habits. I've spent a sleepless week being introspective, realising I work a dead-end job, with a dog that anchors me here, with a list of facebook friends I have vapid conversations with, across various dumb apps and having no qualifications to open career paths. All because I met the most beautiful girl I've seen. I know I'm not worth her time, but I so want to be. I hate that I've met someone who I want to be with, but am not ready for. All my stupid nervous ticks, and depressive thoughts won't leave me alone now, and I sleep in the foetal position cringing about dumb shit from the past. So now I feel like I'm slipping, eating chocolate at 3am and doing increasingly sedentary stuff. How do you keep your motivation in check, or keep your head above water when it feels like you tied bricks to your own feet?

Lascrea Hello, introduction, and rant from a kid in an adult world
  • replies: 12

Hi everyone, I'm a 16 y/o university student with severe stress and anxiety and mild depression, feeling lonely. I'm not very interesting so anyone reading this can stop here and I wouldn't blame you. So much has happened this year and it's been terr... View more

Hi everyone, I'm a 16 y/o university student with severe stress and anxiety and mild depression, feeling lonely. I'm not very interesting so anyone reading this can stop here and I wouldn't blame you. So much has happened this year and it's been terrifying, to say the least. Last year, when I cried over getting a 94% because it was under 95% which was not good enough, I thought the self-hate was justified and normal, and as for getting stressed before social occasions, I thought I was just shy. But before starting uni this year, I had a panic attack and saw a psychologist who told me I had social anxiety (least of my worries now). Tbh, I thought it was pathetic and laughed at myself for it. I thought I was a strong person and I couldn't believe how ridiculous I was (I do not mean to offend anyone with a mental illness, I just tend to find ways to beat myself down, I'm now also more educated on the matter). Semester one came and went, then semester two, the real nightmare, started. From group projects with people who made me feel like the only ppl in the group were Me, Myself, and I, to 'friends' who continuously disappointed me again and again, this semester has been the worst time of my life so far. I've come to realise that I've been very naive my whole life and that the world is much much worse than I used to think. I have so many things to achieve in life and that keeps me moving, but I hate how my life is atm. I don't have enough space to pour out everything, but I'll mention some things that really hit home. a month ago, I accidentally left a jacket in the library. When I went back for it a mere hour later, it was gone. All I thought of was whether the person who found it gave it to the library lost and found or gave it the university security. It didn't even occur to me that they might've taken it. But they did. As mentioned in my first post, I'm struggling with my friendships. The only three 'close' friends I have are (1) my best friend whom I'm starting to hate (2) uni friend who makes me uncomfortable (3) a friend from high school who only replies to texts when she is bored or needs something from me. #3 fits the description of almost everyone I know: they use me for help with assignments bc they know I get good grades and the only real relationships I have are with my family and my dogs The point of this post was originally to just say hi, got carried away haha! Hi everyone, I hope to meet some genuine ppl here, even if it's not in person.