Young people

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Eeep! When study is overwhelming! - Tips, ideas and coping strategies

replies: 51

Hi! Just thought I’d make a post with some tips for study. I know this is something we can all struggle with. These are all suggestions so feel free to take them or leave them! Hope they help! If you only remember one thing, let it be this: You are important. Your grades don’t define you. (support) Studying can feel isolating but know you’re not alone! Reach out – and find or make friends that can support you along the way. If you’re having trouble finding some friends, join some local communities or clubs! They have lots at Uni’s and even stuff like open days are great ways to meet new people and find out what’s happening. Study groups can also be a great way to meet people and stay motivated. Also remind yourself why you’re doing this; inspirational wallpapers or quotes can be super inspiring. Remember the saying about the oxygen mask? If you can’t take care of yourself first studying will be harder. You are important. You know the drill - water, food, exercise, sleep. Try to stay calm. Stuff that might be able to help include mindfulness, breathing exercises, colouring in, going for walks, journaling, listening to music… If you’re struggling – reach out. See a therapist. Talk to your student counsellor. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Also lots of Universities and TAFE offer disability services – which includes conditions like Depression and Anxiety. (study) Find the right study space for you. Maybe that’s in your room, or a coffee shop, or the library. Some people find that noise helps; other people not so much. If you like particular kinds of noise, you can find ‘coffee shop’ noise or ‘rain sounds’ to help concentrate. Make a plan. It helps to do it often so it becomes a habit. Anytime you get a due date, write it down. Maybe you could use a diary, planner, bullet journal or an app. I find the 30/30 App helpful - study for a bit and then break for a bit. You can also get add-on’s for your computer to block sites like Facebook if you find them too distracting. Find out what study technique works for you. Do you like cue cards? Mind maps? Colour coding? Does highlighting stuff help you remember? Charts, maps, diagrams? Recorded lectures? Goals! These are so important – not just writing down deadlines but rewarding yourself for meeting them. Even making smaller goals like ‘read two pages from a textbook’ can help. Break it down into bite size pieces, and don’t forget to reward yourself after!

NEW TO THIS FORUM? Please read this first

replies: 0

The Young People space is a sub-forum within the wider Beyond Blue forum community. 1. Its purpose is to provide members aged 25 and under a space to discuss anxiety, depression and other related life issues. If you are aged over 25, please be mindful that this forum is a space for younger people to connect and provide peer support for each other. 2. Content from this sub-forum is displayed on both the beyondblue and youthbeyondblue websites. 3. Please bear in mind that some members find content relating to suicide and/or self-harm distressing or triggering. If you would like to post on these topics, please do so in our Suicidal Thoughts and Self Harm section. Please see also our guidelines for making posts on this topic. Posts made here in the Young People sub-forum containing content relating to suicide and/or self-harm will be moved. 4. These forums are moderated, so your posts may not appear straightaway. Information on how our system works can be found here. Being familiar with our community rules can help ensure that your posts appear online as quickly as possible. 5. This is a peer support community, and to get the best out of being here we recommend that you 'give support to receive support'. More on how that works here.

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am i too paranoid?

replies: 1

i'm not sure if paranoia is the right term to describe it, but in the past few months i've been starting to become overly suspicious of things as i go about my day. for example, if a plane is flying by and it seems lower than usual i get panicked that maybe someone is using a camera from it to spy on me. when i'm on the train i notice people looking at me and occasionally think they might be undercover police following me, and that they might be able to read my thoughts so i often switch carriages or get off the train and wait for the next one. i know that technically it's illogical (there's no reason for police or anything to be after me) but once i get it in my head i can't stop thinking 'but what if they ARE'. i do the same with people going the same way as my (i get convinced theyre following me) and the thought that my dad searches my room every time i leave the house is giving me anxiety to the point where i set things up by the door so if he goes in they'll spill and i'll know, and i searched my room for cameras once. i know its illogical and it frustrates me but i can't get the ideas from my head and they stress me out and are starting to really affect the way i go about my day (i go out a LOT less and when i do i spend a lot of time watching my own back and i viciously mistrust my closest friends) even now im writing this im second guessing myself because what if it's all real concerns of mine. am i overreacting? is this a normal level of awareness for a person or am i being too paranoid, and is there any way i can stop or lessen it so it stops controlling my life so much?

Advice for Anxiety and Panic Attacks?

replies: 2

Hi everyone. For the past year I have struggled with anxiety, but recently it has reached such a high level that I'm unable to go about my daily life. I've been having panic attacks each morning and night, which is more than a little exhausting, and is dragging my school attendance record through the mud. It seems that I am stuck in a constant loop of panic attack, exhaustion, rising anxiety, and then another panic attack. I've tried meditation, grounding techniques, muscle relaxation, and positive thinking (though I have a rather low opinion of myself, and so tend not to believe in 90% of what I think), but it's slow going and my anxiety only appears to be getting worse. My GP has prescribed me medication, and recommends that I take it for 6 - 12 months., but I am hesitant to take a drug that requires such a high level of commitment. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me, or would like to share their experiences with anxiety and panic attacks. It would be great if I could get some help on how decrease the number of panic attacks I'm having, or even just reduce the time span (the longest one went for 40 - 50 minutes - suffice to say it was not a good day). Thanks so much for your time, and let's hope that we all experience a better tomorrow. -Ink

Deep breaths

replies: 10

Hi all, firstly, may I just marvel at the beauty of this online forum. I have always wanted to create an online forum for people suffering from similar problems to myself, but to see that an amazing network has already been set up has completely blew me away. never had I imagined such a supportive community was so reachable. i am 19 years old and I have suffered with mental health for about 5 years, but it has only begun to impact my life hugely since 2015. when I graduated from school, I began to feel socially anxious in situations that would normally not evoke such feelings. such situations include seeing my extended family, my close friends, my boyfriend's at the time) family, people at work, people at the gym...almost anyone besides my boyfriend, my mum, dad and sister. even with my closest friends, I felt uncomfortable. I stopped making phone calls to everyone besides my boyfriend about midway through the year, and left my job as a checkout chick two months later. I spent all week at home, occasionally going to uni, but with headphones in my ears so nobody would talk to me. when I become anxious, I stutter and this has caused unbelievable damage to me. my only refuge was alcohol, and for months I drank to avoid situations I couldn't handle. a cycle of anxiety, drunkedness and depression was my life for a year. I lost the love of my life, and started a new job working only 4 hours a week. I had completely lost my independence by the start of 2016, and I was as miserable as ever. In March however, I was lucky enough to meet the most amazing man in my life and his family, who introduced me to the idea of medication. I always thought I was too 'strong' to take medication and did not want to rely on anyone but myself, but I realised I needed it to reach my potential. I wanted to feel alive again. I trialled medication in May, but finally found a match in July. By August, I begun working 15 hours and exercising more frequently, whilst maintaining full time study. does not sound like much but this is a significant improvement which makes me so proud.. I now realise that recovery is not linear - no one recovers and NEVER relapses. Relapses are what make us who we are, for if we never relapsed, we would never grow. if you have read this far, I thank you from the bottom of my beaming heart. xxxx

Feeling disconnected from reality

replies: 2

To whoever reads, I honestly don't know what's going on anymore. It feels like my emotions aren't reaching me anymore, I can only feel them on a surface level and below that is just empty. I have weird compulsive behaviours like pulling out my eyelashes, I'm always paranoid and sometimes [mainly at night] I see and hear things. I just don't know how to function anymore. Thanks to anyone who can offer any kind of advise or support.

I just feel down and alone.

replies: 4

I have kind of resented these kind of sites, but i have no one else i can talk to. Im 15. I feel like i am completely alone, i thought i had so many friends, friends i thought i could count on. But suddenly they have all kind of drifted away from me and i can't figure out why. Sure, i have laughs in class with a few of my mates but i wouldn't consider them someone i would want to see outside of school. These friends i once had, i trusted them with my life, i told them all my secretes... now poof they're gone. To make matters worse some of them have told some of my deepest secretes to other people in my year and now if i attempt to make conversation with someone i don't really know, i get a weird look and they just walk away so I've kind of given up on talking to anyone new. I have a group of about 10 mates who do make my school life bearable but as i said none of these guys would be like my old mates, I couldnt trust them, maybe thats because my trust was so badly broken before? On the weekends i used to go out with my mates, now i sit in my room and feel down because i have no one who wants to go out with me. As far as I can see i haven't changed since I was friends with them all, so I really struggle to see what i did wrong. I get jokes made about my weight, i act like i don't care and its funny, but i do- it really hurts. Today has got me feeling extra sad, all my year level (120+ kids) are doing something fun for halloween, they all do it in their friendship groups, trick or treating or partying and i wasn't invited to a single one of those gatherings, i mean even the 'losers and nerds' at my school are doing something and heres me, halloween night typing out my feelings to whoever will listen. At school I act like the class clown or the joker because i guess, if i can't be happy, putting a smile on someone else face is just about the closest thing ill ever get. I guess you could say I exaggerate the parts of me I like to try and stop the sad parts of me from coming out, I've put on a smile and act like a clown so much I don't even really know when I'm sad anymore. Ive had two of my immediate family pass away this year, i really needed someone, a friend, someone who i could count on to cheer me up. But there was no one. I just want to turn back time, about 4 months, when i had what i thought were really good friendships. Now i question myself, were all these friendships just lies? I just feel alone, sad and friendless. Thanks for listening.

scared of not having enough fun while being a teenager

replies: 3

i see other people and i want to be like them, the people having the time of their lives. but i'm always feeling awful and it's like i'm always angry at nothing? i can't even explain it. when my friends are talking at school i don't join conversation sometimes because i feel as if everything they're saying is stupid, when it really isn't. i disagree and use a lot of sarcasm at them which has caused me to lose friends and right now if making me slowly drift apart from people. it frustrates me because i want to change so badly but i can't. i can't stop being difficult and hate my friends for the things they say. sometimes i think i need new friends but i've thought that for my whole life and that has caused me to change friend groups constantly and im still not happy. have i just not found the right friends yet or am i the difficult one? i am also very very afraid of growing old and not being a teenager anymore. im 16, almost 17 and all i want to do is have fun but im not. i feel like my teenage years are being wasted because i cant have fun all the time. i always say next year i will have fun but it never happens. the thing is though, i love life but im afraid im not spending as much time having a fun as i should be like the others... i dont know, maybe im being dramatic

Spiralling

replies: 3

Seriously feeling like my life is just spiralling out of control... Been feeling like this more the last couple of months but if I look back can see changed happening in the past 2 yearsi tend to isolate myself more, I don't feel I'm able to express emotions as I used do (don't feel sad/low), concentration and memory are crap, lack of interest, difficulty communicatingi just feel alone and hard to express myself. I have tried pushing myself to catch up with people, tired to get myself into a good routine but I get distracted so easilythings haven't been good in my personal life fathers in hospital, and work conflict (changing my role and feeling like I'm more a gofer then having a sense or purpose)just feeling at a loss not sure what to do from herehas anyone been in a similar situation what made you feel better... I've tried talking with a counsellor, tried healthy lifestyle changes, don't really feel depressed so haven't asked my GP for any antidepressants

Feeling lost

replies: 1

I'm at a loss at what to do or how to cope. I'm too ashamed to tell my friends and family how bad it's getting. And when I try they don't understand. I lose myself in music, pretending I am someone else, successful, living a completely different life where I'm happy and fulfilled. It's the only way I can escape. But the cold reality is always there waiting for me when I return. My partner doesn't understand, I tried to tell him what I was dealing with and he somehow made it about himself. I just want to feel for him again but I can't. No intimacy and we don't talk anymore. It feels like I'm being suffocated, and I'm running out of air. I just want to feel again, I'm hurting everyone around me by my mood swings but part of me doesn't care, I feel so cold inside.

Any advice for my sleep problem

replies: 2

So I'm new here and not sure how this all works so I apologise in advance. I'm 20 years old and dealing with this stuff really gets me cranky cause no one I know has delt with this problem witch makes it hard to talk about. /hints why I'm here/ i have a issue were people who were once a big part of my life who are not anymore. Old friends, family members who have passed away, ex partners it started when my high school girlfriend left me suddenly after 3 years for no reason apart from the generic "we grew apart" this sent me down a dark parth witch was embarrassing for me as hard as coping was buy far the worst was the dreams I'd have they'd either be memories of us on repeat or a horrible accident happening to them and those dreams would effect my mood all day till I slept again and I couldn't reach out to her since she moved to the city and made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with me it then progressed to old freinds and relatives who have passed away and I never spoke up to those old freinds because how do you start a conversation with I dreamed about you, how are ya? Haha these dreams had been fewer and fewer and I was happy about that but my recent loss of a freind have brought them on again and I would like any advice someone can give and to hear I'm not the only one going though this this felt good to type my story thank you for reading

Depressed or Lazy?

replies: 6

Hi everyone! Ok, where to begin? Two years ago I was diagnosed with depression and general anxiety disorder and i've been on and off anti-depressants since then as well as seeing a great psychologist - it is being managed. BUT here's the thing, I've noticed that I have no motivation to do pretty much anything that requires any slightly uncomfortable effort and I can't tell if it's because of poor mental health or if it's a personality flaw. I'm in my first year of uni, living on campus, and most of the time I have no problem hanging out with my few friends but whenever it comes to studying, shopping, cleaning or anything similar I literally just avoid doing it. This means usually napping or binge watching Netflix. And it's not like I'm feeling depressed about it, it's more a feeling of apathy. I feel like i'm the laziest person ever but I know in the back of my mind it's probably a result of me not taking enough care of my mental health. I'm just really struggling because I don't want to just blame it on my mental health issues but I just don't have the energy to change myself. So... am I actually still depressed or am I just lazy? Keen to hear your thoughts

Eeep! When study is overwhelming! - Tips, ideas and coping strategies replies: 51

NEW TO THIS FORUM? Please read this first replies: 0

am i too paranoid? replies: 1

Advice for Anxiety and Panic Attacks? replies: 2

Deep breaths replies: 10

Feeling disconnected from reality replies: 2

I just feel down and alone. replies: 4

scared of not having enough fun while being a teenager replies: 3

Spiralling replies: 3

Feeling lost replies: 1

Any advice for my sleep problem replies: 2

Depressed or Lazy? replies: 6