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Sophie_M How are you feeling about the social media restrictions in Australia for under 16s?
  • replies: 14

Hey everyone With the upcoming Australian social media restriction for under 16-year-olds coming up we want to know what this means for you and maybe even the young people in your life. This conversation is a place for all of us to share how we are f... View more

Hey everyone With the upcoming Australian social media restriction for under 16-year-olds coming up we want to know what this means for you and maybe even the young people in your life. This conversation is a place for all of us to share how we are feeling and what we think the challenges and benefits might be for you or the wonderful young people in our community. Have you thought about how to stay connected with friends you’ve met online? Are you focused mostly on the positives, or the negatives? What do your parents think, and what could they do to support you? Importantly the Beyond Blue Forums are not impacted by these restrictions, we're here for anyone under 16. In short, from December 10 Social Media companies will need to ensure that only people over 16 actively engage with their platforms. There is a lot of information out there which can make it tricky to know what to expect on when it comes into effect. To learn more we think these are a helpful place to start eSafety commissioner + Headspace FAQs. We know this change will impact some more than others, QLife provide anonymous and free LGBTIQ+ support and 13YARN are here for all Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people. We want to hear your thoughts on how this might impact the mental health of under 16s in both a positive and negative way. The Beyond Blue Forums are a place for constructive and helpful conversation and the regular moderation rules apply which means we look forward to a kind and understanding discussion. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings Sophie M

BeyondBlue New to this Forum? Please read this first!
  • replies: 0

Hey there! Welcome to the Young People section of the Beyond Blue Forums. The purpose of this section is to provide members aged 25 and under a space to discuss life issues, tricky situations and the difficult emotions and feelings that come with tho... View more

Hey there! Welcome to the Young People section of the Beyond Blue Forums. The purpose of this section is to provide members aged 25 and under a space to discuss life issues, tricky situations and the difficult emotions and feelings that come with those. If you are aged over 25, please be mindful that this is a space for younger people to connect and provide support for each other. These forums are moderated, so your posts may not appear straight away. Information on moderation on the Forums can be found here. Being familiar with our Community Guidelines can help ensure that your posts appear online as quickly as possible. If we have concerns about your wellbeing, one of our friendly moderators will check in with you privately to make sure you get the support you need. If you need more immediate support, we recommend reaching out to the following: Beyond Blue Support Service – any time, chat online to a counsellor or call 1300 22 4636 Headspace – between 9am and 1am (AEST), chat online to a mental health clinician or call 1800 650 890 Kids Helpline – any time, chat online to a counsellor or call 1800 55 1800 Thank you for being here. We’re glad you’ve found us here and hope this can be a supportive space for you Beyond Blue

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hestias I feel like I've hit rock bottom
  • replies: 8

Hello everyone This is my first time posting, I've read the forums and found everyone really encouraging so hopefully this goes well. Basically, I'm in the third year of my psychology degree and am hoping to go on to do honours and eventually become ... View more

Hello everyone This is my first time posting, I've read the forums and found everyone really encouraging so hopefully this goes well. Basically, I'm in the third year of my psychology degree and am hoping to go on to do honours and eventually become registered as a psychologist. Unfortunately, I've failed two courses in my 2nd sem last year, did two to make up in the summer and failed them as well, and now I'm struggling this semester. I got great marks in my first year of uni, and the first semester my second year, but after that everything went downhill. I've realized the problem is myself. I've always had a bad problem with procrastination since high school, but I always managed to get things done. But ever since the middle of last year, I'm unable to make myself to work and study, even when I know I have deadlines. I procrastinate, get unbearably anxious and guilty because of deadlines, procrastinate to take my mind off the guilt, and just not do it, even when I want to. I don't know what's wrong with me, whether I'm just super lazy, or have a procrastination problem. Not only that, I've lost all motivation for everything I enjoyed. I have brain fog all the time, no imagination, I've used to love writing poems and stories but now I have no creativity, feel disconnected from everything and just feel emotionally numb. Sometimes I just feel like lying in bed all day, and I only get up because my mum tells me to. It's been like this since my first year of uni, but I tried to force those feelings away and just do good in my studies, which I'm failing now. I barely see my friends because I can't make myself leave the house, and I feel lonely even when I'm with a group of friends or just people. I feel really pathetic and worthless, and like a burden, my grades are everything to me, and I hate that I won't be able to get into honors and have basically ruined my life. My parents are super proud of me in my degree (I haven't told them about my failed classes) and I get so anxious when I think about telling them, especially cause I'll have to retake the classes I failed next year. I've broken down crying because of how anxious and horrible I feel, and sometimes I just want it all to stop. I'm so sorry for writing so much, this is actually the first time I've ever put all that I'm feeling into words. I just don't know where to go from here.

Hello_there How to stop being selfish in a relationship
  • replies: 1

I suffer from a low self esteem (which is an easy pathway to other mental health issues) and it really does make having a relationship hard, and it's hard to accept someone else loves you when you can't accept hat yourself. My boyfriend is a friendly... View more

I suffer from a low self esteem (which is an easy pathway to other mental health issues) and it really does make having a relationship hard, and it's hard to accept someone else loves you when you can't accept hat yourself. My boyfriend is a friendly person he has friends, including ones which are girls... I can't help but mind when he's giving them attention It's not like he doesn't give me a lot of attention, were still in highschool, so I get to see him during the lunch breaks. I've tried so hard to accept it I've told him how I feel but I don't I want him to change I want.me to change Sometimes ( but less often) I feel the same even if it's a guy friend He's just such an amazing person, I don't want anyone to take him away... Please can someone help me cope with this toxic trait

spontaneous sunflower Alternative options to completing VCE?
  • replies: 3

Hello! I'm currently in year 11 at a public school.I previously attended an all-girls catholic school but moved as I didn't feel like the school suited me. I've was diagnosed with anxiety at 13, went through a depressive episode last year and I'm on ... View more

Hello! I'm currently in year 11 at a public school.I previously attended an all-girls catholic school but moved as I didn't feel like the school suited me. I've was diagnosed with anxiety at 13, went through a depressive episode last year and I'm on medication to help with my anxiety. I'm currently doing VCE and i'm on thin ice. There's a minimum 90% attendance, and in most of my subjects I've dropped below 80% attendance. I got like 5 emails today saying I'm receiving an N (non-satisfactory) outcome for Unit 1, aka I've failed basically all my classes due to attendance. My parents and year level coordinators are determined to help me finish VCE by next year, i.e. as I have a mental illness I am eligible for special consideration so I am exempt from the 90% rule. But after receiving those emails, I'm starting to doubt my ability to get through VCE, even if my poor attendance won't affect my score anymore. Since god knows when, I've been dreaming of the day i can leave high school. Literally the main reason I refuse to repeat another year of school is because I just want to get out of here as soon as I can. Last week I had exams and I flunked them so hard. My brain turned to cement and I did so poorly. I've never done so bad at a school assessment EVER. At this point I'm certain I won't get a decent ATAR without destroying my mental health and burning out. I'm now questioning why I should even put myself through that if I might not even go to uni and therefore not need an ATAR. I used to want to go to uni but now I'm finding there are more cons to going to uni than not.. e.g. costs a lot, Arts degree won't guarantee me a job, more of what I don't enjoy (sitting in classrooms, writing pages and pages, exams). I know there are other options to VCE but I'm not exactly sure what and how. I could do TAFE or whatever,I guess. I'm not really educated on the other options as I always intended to do VCE and my parents always pushed me towards VCE also. Another issue is if I decide to discontinue VCE I'm afraid my parents will be disappointed and that my friends will judge me for it (but at the same time, I doubt they would be surprised). Would really love some guidance and advice. As VCE 3/4 subject selection is next term, I'd like to figure out a sense of direction sooner rather than later.

karabat heyo
  • replies: 1

i want some advice. last year around this time of the year, my best friend of seven years broke my heart and trust and left me in the middle of a hospital room. Since that time till now, i have lost trust in everyone and have begun to resent people a... View more

i want some advice. last year around this time of the year, my best friend of seven years broke my heart and trust and left me in the middle of a hospital room. Since that time till now, i have lost trust in everyone and have begun to resent people around me. idk how i am able to not resent people and to trust again.

Hello_there Am I depressed?
  • replies: 3

I know you can't exactly tell me, especially if you aren't a profession or whatever, but I will be grateful for your opinions. It might sound cliche, but I feel sad. I feel lonely, despite being surrounded by people, sad when my life isn't anything t... View more

I know you can't exactly tell me, especially if you aren't a profession or whatever, but I will be grateful for your opinions. It might sound cliche, but I feel sad. I feel lonely, despite being surrounded by people, sad when my life isn't anything to be sad about, and I feel hopeless Hopeless with my studies, with my progress in life... I don't know what to do, I can't remember the last time my resting mood was sadness... A lingering sadness that just follows me. My self esteem isn't great, I over think things and I put myself down. I put myself down for things that are unreasonable "I only got a 74, but this person got 80" things like that Or if I do badly, I don't think "how can I improve", just that I suck. I don't have suicidal thoughts, though... But I guess I do feel like not existing sometimes Please help

safesin No motivation for life.
  • replies: 1

Hey everyone, I've been struggling with depression & anxiety for only about 5 years now, however, throughout my entire life I've always had no motivation for anything, including life and I've always given up the instant I struggle with something. Thi... View more

Hey everyone, I've been struggling with depression & anxiety for only about 5 years now, however, throughout my entire life I've always had no motivation for anything, including life and I've always given up the instant I struggle with something. This has recently become a major problem since I started studying for a diploma, no motivation is there to complete the work/assessments given to me, there's such a big load of work that it overwhelms me and my depression starts to kick in, then my anxiety joins because I fee like I have the inability to do anything and I start to freak out, but like I said.......I'm not motivated to do anything. I'm beginning to think life isn't meant for me.

Hello_there Relationship problems :(
  • replies: 1

I'm in highschool at the moment and I'm in a relationship, we've been together for a bit over 1.5 years. One thing I've noticed a difference between us is friendships. I struggle to have friends, it's a bit of a story which I've talked to with a coun... View more

I'm in highschool at the moment and I'm in a relationship, we've been together for a bit over 1.5 years. One thing I've noticed a difference between us is friendships. I struggle to have friends, it's a bit of a story which I've talked to with a counseller but basically, I don't feel comfortable in friendships and I don have any close friends. For the msot part of it that's fine. But my boyfriend, however, has friendships with other girls. He seems pretty involved into heir lives and he talks to them a lot. It bothers me... I know it's unfair of me to think those things and we have talked about it. I can't tell if they're jsut a normal friendship between a girl and a guy because I don't have experience myself. They talk a lot of days and they seem to get a long and can have kind of personal talks, it has also bothered me he's asked one for relationship advise (despite her not actually knowing me or having a good relationship herself!!) Anyways, if anyone could give me some coping strategies that would be great I can't find myself to be fine with it Thank you

dendron Loneliness and emotional energy
  • replies: 1

I don't have a lot of close friends at the moment. I lost touch or fell out with almost everyone from high school, and those I am still on friendly terms with are super busy. My partner and I are long distance (she moved interstate after graduation) ... View more

I don't have a lot of close friends at the moment. I lost touch or fell out with almost everyone from high school, and those I am still on friendly terms with are super busy. My partner and I are long distance (she moved interstate after graduation) and she's constantly working or studying. I didn't really click with anyone at uni, and the one person that I am close with from uni is someone I honestly find pretty exhausting to be around because of how fragile they always seem to be. Overall, I'm okay with not having a lot of people in my life. I've never really been a big-groups kind of person; I'm very introverted and I highly value my time to myself. I very often feel like my friends like me more than I like them, and always want to hang out more than I do, and I feel like a bad friend saying no too often even when I really don't want to see anyone. I don't really have the energy it would take to maintain any more close friendships, but I know having the company, support and even just the distraction would probably be good for me. During the uni semester I'm fine because I'm going to classes and talking to people, but during the break I can get kind of lonely. The people I actually want to see more are busy, far away, or not interested, and the people who actually want to see me, I don't really want to hang out with that often. I feel like the obvious solution would be to just get new friends that I actually mutually get along with, but I just don't really want to expend the energy doing that. I've met people that I get along with great and we have a group chat going, but I don't feel a drive to deepen any of those friendships. Maybe it's not so much loneliness that I'm getting as it is general bad feelings from not getting out of the house enough. Just wanted to put this into words and get it off my chest, but any support/advice is appreciated. Might not respond but I will be checking and reading responses.

Issy12 Lost
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone. I am in need of some help. I’m 19 years old, I suffer from depression but am being treated for it with medication. I just need some help at the moment. Five months ago I started working full time. I enjoy going to work because it gives m... View more

Hi everyone. I am in need of some help. I’m 19 years old, I suffer from depression but am being treated for it with medication. I just need some help at the moment. Five months ago I started working full time. I enjoy going to work because it gives me something to do and gives me a purpose. 4 days ago I quit my job because my boss wasn’t a nice person and was bringing me down. I wasn’t enjoying going to work and it was making me miserable. Now i I have quit, I have no job, no money coming in and I’m feeling so so down about myself and what I have done. I was doing well, until I have quit. I don’t know what to do. I’m stressed about money. I’m already going crazy with nothing to do. I’m feeling very very low at this time and need something to give me a purpose and keep me going. I have applied for more jobs. But I don’t know what to do in the meantime. All I want to do is cry, I don’t know what to do with myself and i am really struggling. Does anyone have any advice?

AC_00 I've been super stressful for the past week about exams, I can hardly sleep and can't study. Any tips on how to deal with this?
  • replies: 3

I'm nearly at the end of semester 1 at my first year of uni, for the most the most part I've handled it well, but shortly after classes ended I've been stressing heaps. At the start it was mostly just worrying about grades, but as exams came closer, ... View more

I'm nearly at the end of semester 1 at my first year of uni, for the most the most part I've handled it well, but shortly after classes ended I've been stressing heaps. At the start it was mostly just worrying about grades, but as exams came closer, I started to lose sleep, feel super tired in the morning and during the day I just get headaches and stress out more and more. I actually missed my exam the other day cos I felt really unwell, I could hardly get out of bed. Right now I'm just freaking out about whether or not my special consideration will be approved (I got a doctor's certificate), my maths exam coming up which I haven't been able to study for and been worrying heaps if I'll fail and end up getting kicked out of uni. Sorry if I'm sounding really whiny, I just feel really overburdened right now.