Young people

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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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solaris i have a bf but i also like this other guy
  • replies: 3

so i have a boyfriend and we've only been dating for 9 weeks or so and over the past week I've realised i like this other guy and I'm stressing out cause i don't know what to do. i think i wanna break up with my boyfriend but i don't know how to. als... View more

so i have a boyfriend and we've only been dating for 9 weeks or so and over the past week I've realised i like this other guy and I'm stressing out cause i don't know what to do. i think i wanna break up with my boyfriend but i don't know how to. also I'm new to this and i would really just like some help

wilfredpickles I can't decide whether travelling is going to be good for me
  • replies: 4

Last year during my worst period of depression and anxiety a new acquaintance invited me to travel with him and a mutual friend, and now our departure date is weeks away. I said yes, but the thought of the trip never really excited me; I'd been to al... View more

Last year during my worst period of depression and anxiety a new acquaintance invited me to travel with him and a mutual friend, and now our departure date is weeks away. I said yes, but the thought of the trip never really excited me; I'd been to all of the destinations before. I sat through the planning stage and was always the last to contribute ideas, or pay deposits, figuring my enthusiasm would come later. But it didn't. If I'm honest, I said yes not to have something to look forward to, but something that I had to keep being alive to do; an obligation. Later on, the mutual friend's father became sick. It looked like he might not go and I felt trapped. If i cancelled now, the acquaintance would be stuck unable to go at all (the friend has since decided to go). And so I've suffered in silence until recently, when I began to explore the option of cancelling. If I were to cancel, I'd get about half of the money I've spent back, which is a little over a third of what the trip would cost if i were to go. The costs for the other two people wouldn't change. My biggest problems are that if I go, I'm not sure that anyone will enjoy themselves as much given that everyone is now aware of how I feel. My friends have said that they only want me there if I want to be there. At the same time, if I cancel I'm worried about the embarrassment I'll feel when explaining to people why I cancelled (my family, for eg, stigmatise mental illness a lot). I've always felt that I didn't want to go on this trip, and the thought of doing so has caused my mental health to take a turn for the worse again. Cancelling has become unexpectedly possible, and I'm relieved about it, but part of me is still reluctant to do so for some reason. I'm fine with the amount of money I'd lose by cancelling, but the thought of spending even more on this trip bothers me when I'm not passionate about it and I don't want to lose all of my savings. I just feel like I'm going to face pressure either way and can't decide what to do.

bornto_ I have depression, avoidant personality disorder, selective mutism and i need help
  • replies: 3

Hello, here is a backstory so readers have some understanding of my situation. When i started high school my 2 best friends left me and this put me into a deep hole of depression. In year 5 i was terrified of going to high school, i broke down in tea... View more

Hello, here is a backstory so readers have some understanding of my situation. When i started high school my 2 best friends left me and this put me into a deep hole of depression. In year 5 i was terrified of going to high school, i broke down in tears thinking about moving to high school. I had 2 best friends that were coming with me to the same high school so i was reasurred that i would have them. The first day of high school was good, my freinds were there for me and everything was normal but over the next 2 days things started to get bad. They started to ignore me and leave me out of stuff and the next day one of them outright told me to go away. This started my depression, avoidant personality disorder and selective mutism. After that happened i would sit by myself away from people in recess and lunch. I began being silent, i wouldnt speak to anyone especially the students, if i had to i would speak to the teacher. People ignored me, even the teachers, i feel invisible, non-existent and nobody cares about me. I am currently in year 10 and nothing has changed. I have not left my house for 2 years except to go to school. I take days off school because of how depessed i feel, i hate going to school just to be ignored. I have no one to talk to except my family and i havent told them about my depression and other issues becasue im scared it will ruin our relationship, but im sure that my close family members can tell because i dont leave the house except to go to school. One person did often come sit next to me in recess and lunch over 5 months and i built some what of a relationship with them. I trusted this person enough to send them a message opening up about everything and they never talked or messaged me for 3 weeks after that, all it would have took was for them to ask me if i was ok or to show that they cared. I dont know what to do anymore, i need help but i dont know where to get it. I dont want to speak to a school councellor because being at school gives me anxiety and i cant open up at school. I just want to be confident again and be able to do whatever without feeling judged for everything i do, because its having an impact on my education. I dont want to care about what other people think of me, and i want to live my life to the fullest but theses issues are restricting me so much and its impossible to change anything by myself.

bellaxj Hiya
  • replies: 3

Hi, I'm new here xD

Hi, I'm new here xD

eth93 Choosing between what you love and who you love..
  • replies: 5

I feel a tad bad for posting this on here as it is probably kind of trivial. It’s just something that has been on my mind for quite some time now. I’m having trouble choosing where I am going in life career wise. I was always brought up to chase your... View more

I feel a tad bad for posting this on here as it is probably kind of trivial. It’s just something that has been on my mind for quite some time now. I’m having trouble choosing where I am going in life career wise. I was always brought up to chase your passions and not money. And that its much better to live a poor life doing something you love, then to live a rich life doing something you hate. But.. Incomes my mother. She raised us five children as a single parent. Working crappy odd jobs to put food on our table and a roof over our head. This means that we never really had much money, and still to this day she lives pay check to pay check. I’m the middle child, but for whatever reason I have taken on the role of the protector. I feel it is up to me to protect and support her. Not so much nowadays but in ten or so years when she is just to old to continue working. I know for a fact that I currently have more money sitting in my super account then she does. And I am forever hearing just how hard it is to survive on the old age pension, especially when you don’t own your own home. So here I am. Stuck between doing something I love, or chasing the money. I know exactly what my mum would say. But I can’t help but think that it is my duty to look after her and to give her the life that she really deserves.

that_crazy_araneologist Newbie here, excited to make friends!
  • replies: 10

I've posted on other forums before, but I get a little anxious and tend to procrastinate going back....but this one, I'm going to try a little harder so, I should start with a few things about myself, I guess....I have anxiety and on/off depression, ... View more

I've posted on other forums before, but I get a little anxious and tend to procrastinate going back....but this one, I'm going to try a little harder so, I should start with a few things about myself, I guess....I have anxiety and on/off depression, but I'm finding new ways to manage it that suit me better than cognitive therapy or medication. Idk, I'm just like that....I learn in a very specific way, just like my dad, by pulling something apart and putting it back together piece by piece to understand it, rather than read the manual or tutorial. I think that's what I've started doing with myself, and it feels much better as you may have guessed by my user, I am an avid lover of all things spider related! I really enjoy studying spiders and watching them (I considered capturing a few, but then I realised the information I am looking for won't come from a synthetic environment, so I just quietly watch them outside now, sometimes for hours XD but that's okay, I love to be outdoors) I used to be a literal arachnophobe, but I am not one to view people or things from only one perspective, so i applied that to my phobia and started catching glimpses of a world that I never saw before....and I was hooked from there I think I have discovered a lot about spirituality and the effect of thoughts which you project in my studies as well, something I never imagined I would say. I try to explain to my terrified mother my exciting discovery, but she doesn't want to hear XD fair enough, I've been her before hahaha. I wish I could share with more frightened people the things I have found....I won't go into it too much here, because well, I will go over the word limit hehehe....but I will say, I trust this ideology so much so, that I will let white-tailed spiders crawl on me everyone is calling me nuts, but they don't see, not like I do. Or feel I guess I should say ANYWAY. I am really really looking for new friends which I can relate to. I'm extremely introverted, I almost prefer silence than talking, and I spend a lot of time in my head....not ofteh overthinking, more doing a heck of a lot of creative thought. I also think about prehistory and connect dots a lot. But that's beside the point, i mean to say I do really want friends that don't mind the inevitable awkwardness....idk, shoot me a reply if I haven't already put you off XD

Rhicooper7 I feel like I'm boring
  • replies: 13

All the other people I know my age (I'm almost 17) are going to parties and experimenting with drugs and alcohol and I'm unpopular and ugly so I've never been to a party or been invited I feel like I'm wasting my teenage years while everyone around m... View more

All the other people I know my age (I'm almost 17) are going to parties and experimenting with drugs and alcohol and I'm unpopular and ugly so I've never been to a party or been invited I feel like I'm wasting my teenage years while everyone around me is having fun I don't want to look back and regret being a shut in because people didn't like me does anyone else feel this way and is there anyway to fix it

Xaricus Depression from loneliness
  • replies: 4

I'm 20 and in Uni. I never had friends before but I would like to have some.I have bad social anxiety and some amount of social awkwardness. I find it very, very tough to approach people. I went to my university counsellor, and it didn't help. Someti... View more

I'm 20 and in Uni. I never had friends before but I would like to have some.I have bad social anxiety and some amount of social awkwardness. I find it very, very tough to approach people. I went to my university counsellor, and it didn't help. Sometimes I post memes of my depression on 9gag for advice but people just kept on saying that it will be better. Many tell me to start exercising but I can't as I have no will whatsoever right now. I think it's effecting my studies. I have no hobbies except playing video games. I started drinking and smoking to deal with the pain but I don't do them often as cigarettes are expensive and I don't like the taste of alcohol. How do I make friends? (Be as detailed as possible)

emmabella very lonely
  • replies: 3

I haven't had a friend for 2 years. I'm still in school and I've tried so hard (but not forcefully) to connect to people, but everyone is always never interested. I guess it's okay because a lot of people don't have anyone close, but all my psychiatr... View more

I haven't had a friend for 2 years. I'm still in school and I've tried so hard (but not forcefully) to connect to people, but everyone is always never interested. I guess it's okay because a lot of people don't have anyone close, but all my psychiatrist talks about my 'loss of connection'. I'm working hard on self care, building my knowledge and I would like to say im quite optimistic and non-judgemental but I do have slip ups. I have schizophrenia, high functioning autism and ptsd, but I am very good at controlling my emotions in public. Am I doing something wrong?? I just want to be special to someone.

Rhicooper7 He used me for sex
  • replies: 9

I was friends with this guy for a while probably about a year before all this had happened we were pretty close for a while he had been dropping subtle hints at wanting more which I had kind of been playing off as I didn't feel anything like that but... View more

I was friends with this guy for a while probably about a year before all this had happened we were pretty close for a while he had been dropping subtle hints at wanting more which I had kind of been playing off as I didn't feel anything like that but he still persisted and then I started to feel the same way one night I was really sad and turned to him as a friend for comfort and things escalated into something more it's been continuing like that this whole year we had never talked about commitment or anything like that I wanted it but was too scared to bring it up because he lives a few hours from me the relationship had escalated to sending naked pictures and sexual things happening over Skype he came to visit me and we had sex and I tried to bring up the topic of "us" but he shut me down he went home and we continued as normal I haven't been speaking to any other guys beyond my friends as well as not wanting to feel like I've betrayed him other guys don't take an interest in me and never have until him which is has been really hard for me to deal with and made me very sad and self conscious which he knows he recently told me he was talking to three other girls two that are further from him than me and one that lives in the same place as him which he also had sex with he said that he also told the other girls they were all fine with it I said I was too as we had no specified commitment in reality I was and still am pretty upset and he also keeps shutting down any talk of a relationship and he said we had sex but we're not dating that's it I feel very used especially cause it was my first time what should I do