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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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user_90 paranoid/feeling annoyed?
  • replies: 2

I'm gay and wanted to only coming out under my control. I trusted my parents to not say anything to anyone. I later found out my mum told her mum and sister because she was shocked and needed talk to someone. I am now really depressed because I didn'... View more

I'm gay and wanted to only coming out under my control. I trusted my parents to not say anything to anyone. I later found out my mum told her mum and sister because she was shocked and needed talk to someone. I am now really depressed because I didn't want anyone finding out expect my own family. Now I am paranoid and have trust issues and anxiety is over the roof. I suffer from OCD which makes the situation worse. My point is, even though they are both fine with it, it wasn't her place to tell anyone. I was not ready for anyone else to know, I wanted to be the one who was in control and tell others when I was ready or not say anything at all. Am I over reacting? Advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Sean_1994_ Conflicted and confused.
  • replies: 1

Hi guys, I need your opinion. This year hasnt gone as planned, it was meant to be a year full of wins for me, but its been nothing but mentally and emotionally draining.I put alot of pressure on myself which just makes it some much worse for myself w... View more

Hi guys, I need your opinion. This year hasnt gone as planned, it was meant to be a year full of wins for me, but its been nothing but mentally and emotionally draining.I put alot of pressure on myself which just makes it some much worse for myself when I fail, but the worst thing of all is that I know how to fix much of it but decide not to, either out of laziness and procrastination or something else. I thought I knew how to live life better than most as I am quite healthy and make many decisions to better myself in life. Im so conflicted to make the right decision at times and it beats me up so much inside that I sometimes find myself crying trying to feel sorry for myself and confused about life. Im looking for some experienced words from someone who as been through something similar, right now I feel alone and only surrounded by people my own age suffering from similar confusion.

WilliamL I'm in love with this girl at highschool but she's way out of my league and every day it just prays on my insecurities I need help because its hurting
  • replies: 2

I'm in love with this girl at highschool but she's way out of my league and every day it just prays on my insecurities I need help because its hurting. I'm good looking, I'm smart but nerdy, I love sports and I am good at sports. In the end I am in a... View more

I'm in love with this girl at highschool but she's way out of my league and every day it just prays on my insecurities I need help because its hurting. I'm good looking, I'm smart but nerdy, I love sports and I am good at sports. In the end I am in an accelerated class she is in what we call mainstream classes and that already makes me different and her better. She's very popular in mainstream and the whole school. I am only popular through the advanced class people. There's nothing special about me, but I am in love. I have never felt this way before but I feel hopeless. We talk a lot and see a fair bit of each other. But she's popular so she talks about the good looking boys and all that and it jut hurts. She doesn't know I like her and I just need help.

ejw_ Feeling triggered?
  • replies: 3

I've had my own depression and anxiety battles over the past few years and am finally in a place where I feel that I have overcome a large majority of it but still have a fair bit of work to do and am finally ready to take that last step. However, my... View more

I've had my own depression and anxiety battles over the past few years and am finally in a place where I feel that I have overcome a large majority of it but still have a fair bit of work to do and am finally ready to take that last step. However, my friend who also suffers with depression/anxiety has been coming to me a lot lately with her own struggles and I find it's almost "triggering" my own mental health issues? I do my best to help her but it's so draining/tiring/frustrating when she won't listen to anything I have to say and doesn't do anything to help herself. For example, she won't seek professional help, it's almost as if she doesn't want to get better? I feel like such an awful "friend" but I'm essentially at a loss with what to do? Do I potentially sacrifice my own journey/progress to help someone begin theirs? Any advice, recommendations or discussion regarding any previous experiences would be appreciated!

ScaredBetty Feeling Detached
  • replies: 2

I am 18 years old and have been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks since I can remember. I am on medication for it but I find when I am put out of my comfort zone, especially being away from home or being away from my mum, my anxiety becomes ou... View more

I am 18 years old and have been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks since I can remember. I am on medication for it but I find when I am put out of my comfort zone, especially being away from home or being away from my mum, my anxiety becomes out of control Recently I have been feeling very detached from reality and not with it, I feel like I dont know whats going on and I am scared that I am going to forget whats real or go crazy. I want to know if anyone else has suffered from these feelings, is this normal for me to feel like this ? My mind feels fuzzy and not right, Its really scaring me.

belledon_7 Do I have anxiety??
  • replies: 3

Hi guys, I've been dealing with something for about a year and I want to finally settle if it's anxiety or something else completely different. I've had what I believe are anxiety/panic attacks, but only twice. On both occasions I had most of the com... View more

Hi guys, I've been dealing with something for about a year and I want to finally settle if it's anxiety or something else completely different. I've had what I believe are anxiety/panic attacks, but only twice. On both occasions I had most of the common symptoms, but I haven't had an attack in about 6 months. However, I have had what I call 'anxiety' but I think it's more of a chronic stress thing - I always feel so out of breath and find it difficult to breathe and I feel really angry in myself, especially when I'm doing something small like writing, I have to take these massive gulps of air and I feel super frustrated because I can't write and I can't get enough air! I don't know if this is anxiety or if anyone else has experienced this - please reply!!

Daniel156 Trust issues
  • replies: 1

I had a girlfriend for almost a year who cheated and lyed about pretty much everything throughout our relationship. From excuses of working while she was actually seeing her exs, to having an affair and leaving me for for one of them. And obcourse ev... View more

I had a girlfriend for almost a year who cheated and lyed about pretty much everything throughout our relationship. From excuses of working while she was actually seeing her exs, to having an affair and leaving me for for one of them. And obcourse everything in between. Which shattered me to say the least. Now things have moved on and i have a new partner whos is really trust worthy and wouldn't do a thing to hurt anyone let alone me. But my mind goes crazy and worrys heaps still which the results of that is ruining our relationship . I have panic attacks regularly. I get really scared because theres so many different social media sites that she could do anything on at any time. When i freakout ill message her accusing her of stuff even though i know she would never do it. And that just makes me angry at myself. I just can't seem to take my boundaries down. Even when its ruining a good thing in my life

TheBigSpecialPig My parents don't believe in anxiety
  • replies: 2

Hi I'm 13 and i have been visiting a counsellor recently after a few years for GAD but my parents in a way have been dragging me down in a sense that if I get anxious about something or have a panic attack they will say that I'm "having a tantrum" an... View more

Hi I'm 13 and i have been visiting a counsellor recently after a few years for GAD but my parents in a way have been dragging me down in a sense that if I get anxious about something or have a panic attack they will say that I'm "having a tantrum" and "attention seeking" even after my school had a meeting with them and my counsellor has been email them please WHAT DO I DO

Bec_98 Worried about the future, war, climate change, health etc...
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone. I made a post a little while ago but thought I'd make another one in this section with some updates. Lately I've been experiencing anxiety, depression and general fear related to the future/my life. I'm almost constantly overthinking and... View more

Hi everyone. I made a post a little while ago but thought I'd make another one in this section with some updates. Lately I've been experiencing anxiety, depression and general fear related to the future/my life. I'm almost constantly overthinking and coming up with new 'what-ifs' and it leaves me anxious, depressed and exhausted. I'm on a new medication which has helped with the symptoms and I have been able to function more, but it hasn't helped with the thoughts. I do see a psychologist. I'd like to write a list of some of the things worrying me and, if I may, keep a bit of a diary here of my thoughts and feelings. Maybe some of you can offer some consolation on the subjects. Here goes... -War/Nuke war/WWIII/myself and/or my boyfriend being drafted. This all started with the North Korea tensions when I started reading more into the subjects and obsessing over news articles and the like. This used to be the main issue, but then it grew and grew and spread to more worries and fears, before that I've never really worried about big world events like these... -Apocalypse, of some description. End of the world. A deadly virus/plague. The Sun dying or burning us all. Zombies. Anything. -Climate change/global warming, rising seas, flooding, natural disasters, drought, suffocation from dust or co2, an ice age? Anything related to climate change is one of my biggest worries at the moment. I read that Stephan Hawking says humans only have 100 years left on earth. I won't be here by then, but does that mean the last years/decades of my life will be horrible? -My health, getting cancer etc. I'm scared that I'll get some disease, cancer etc and die young and/or die and leave my family behind. I've stopped eating red meat and have been thinking about going vegetarian/vegan because of the health risks that come from meat etc. to help my anxiety a bit.. -Running out of oil/coal etc... -Dying, in general. The afterlife, or lack thereof. What happens when we die? Will I be able to see my family again? Does heaven exist? All these questions really worry me. I don't have a religion or really believe in God as such, but I like to think there is some sort of afterlife where we all live peacefully in some other dimension. But I fear it will just be nothingness. I think that's all the main things that I've been dwelling on lately... I look forward to any and all replies. Even writing this post has made me feel that little bit better tonight. Thanks -Bec