Introducing me!

[LaraW]

Hi everyone 🙂

My name is Lara, and I'm a 21 year old musician, filmmaker, performer, writer and yoga addict.

My teenage years were pretty rough, and i endured through bullying, grief and abuse at home. As a result, I'm now learning how to cope with stress, anxiety, depression and PTSD.

I'm hoping to make some new friends, have meaningful conversations, and learn some helpful tips to continue to recover from mental illness, and to stay healthy and well.

I look forward to interacting with you soon!

🙂

[Mia001]

Hi LaraW,

Welcome to the forums. Wow, that's a lot of accomplishments! You must be pretty creative. What instrument/s do you play?

If you want to make some friends, why not head over to the BB Cafe in BB Social Zone? Its a great place to start!

I'm sure some of the Community Champions will come along and say hello soon 🙂

Mia

[solabear]

Hi Lara, welcome to BB, good to have you on board.

We are all here to connect with each other and get through the difficult times with support and understanding. Feel free to talk about anything or ask questions, this is a safe and non-judgmental zone. So many lovely people on here who has the knowledge and experience to give advice or just listen.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Hugs from Sola

[White_Rose]

Hello Lara

Hello and welcome. What a fantastic set of accomplishments you have. Stress, anxiety, depression and PTSD are hard to manage. We can help and support you. I take it you have regular counselling/therapy sessions. Do you find them helpful? There are many mental health professionals out there who are caring about their patients and can offer all sorts of help.

Beyond Blue has a library of information you may wish to explore. Start at the top of the page and browse under The Facts. You can download much of this material or send for the booklets.

Love to hear more about you and how we can support you.

Mary

[geoff]

hi Lara, life's been pretty tough for you which I'm so very sorry, but it takes a great deal of strength to be doing what you are to overcome and learn the many different ways that depression can affect you, so pleased you have joined the site and welcome you to the site. Geoff.

[startingnew]

Hi Lara

welcome to the forums 🙂

i too am 20 and suffer from anxiety, depression and PTSD so i can realte to mnay things your going through.

please feel free to ask any questions you ahve and ill be happy to answer what i can for you 🙂

do you have any professional help?

[Johnno_S]

Hi Lara

You are definitely in the right place to connect with other people willing to share their personal stories without fear of judgement.

Being bullied is horrible (I know) and learning to overcome mental illness is not easy. However, like you, I am a musician and find incredible satisfaction from writing and playing music. Music keeps me alive and in touch with my soul and helps me with my mindfulness which I find important.

I am wishing you all my best wishes for your journey ahead and I am sure you will meet lots of genuine people on BB willing to help you and be your friend.

Johnno

[LaraW]

Hi Mia! 🙂 Thank you so much! In the past I've played guitar, piano, violin, flute, vocals and drums- Currently I focus on guitar 🙂 Music has definitely helped me keep going, through the rough times! I will head over to the BB Cafe now 🙂

[LaraW]

Hi Sola, hugs back!! It's great to be part of a community of people willing to listen and connect through difficult times. In the past, I grew up in a small rural town which was great, but also very isolating and access to mental health services wasn't so great. It's awesome to be part of this online community and find support in the every day life, in combination with regularly seeing a counsellor face to face. Over the past year, I've really struggled with the pressure and stress associated with uni, and I'm only now on the recovery path and learning some great coping strategies. I'm learning proper breathing as well as mindfulness techniques, to aknowledge the negative thoughts, assess them in line with the truth, and to replace them with more positive thoughts and be present in every day which is such a struggle. I'm fighting hard and hopeful that each day will gradually get easier as I learn to stay mentally well. Looking forward to engaging in an awesome community of thoughtful and empathetic peoples 🙂

[LaraW]

Hi Mary 🙂 Thank you so much! Yes, I have regular counselling sessions, which has been really great and really helpful so far, in learning effective breathing and mindfulness techniques, particularly in the CBT style. As you stated though, it can be very difficult to manage these illnesses in the every day life and stay mentally well when things get really overwhelming, which is why I've chosen to join the online forums and seek out online support 🙂