Young people

A space for people aged 12-25 to discuss life. If you’re over 25, please be mindful that this is a space for younger people to connect.

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romantic_thi3f 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 i... View more

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!

Sophie_M 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 mindfu... View more

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.

All discussions

77 New Here. I need some advice.
  • replies: 4

I've been Depressed since the second half of 2015. My School performance has gone off the rails. And the CBT and meds didn't work. I don't really know what to do now and I don't have much hope for the future. I'm completely unhappy with my life right... View more

I've been Depressed since the second half of 2015. My School performance has gone off the rails. And the CBT and meds didn't work. I don't really know what to do now and I don't have much hope for the future. I'm completely unhappy with my life right now and I'm powerless to change it. Ive already done the CBT and meds song and dance so is there really anything I can even do now?

crystal_wolf Hello
  • replies: 3

Hello I am new here. I will try.

Hello I am new here. I will try.

TAHNS I feel like I'm losing myself.
  • replies: 4

So, for the past year I have had these waves of sadness, a lot. I've just usually talked about them to my friend but now it's gotten worse, I blame it on being sick a lot to my dad as I can't talk to him about it. (I can't bring myself to) and I am c... View more

So, for the past year I have had these waves of sadness, a lot. I've just usually talked about them to my friend but now it's gotten worse, I blame it on being sick a lot to my dad as I can't talk to him about it. (I can't bring myself to) and I am constantly tired, I feel myself changing. I haven't been to school in two weeks and also I just don't feel right. I've cried more than I ever have these past few months, it's just getting harder and harder each day. I want to feel happy again, how do I even tell my dad this if he thinks I'm fine?

Ripley123 Numbness, lack of emotion, not depression?
  • replies: 2

Hi all, I'm a teen and new here as I've recently joined to talk about this issue that has been bothering me lately. I've found myself to be emotionally numb as I don't feel any strong emotions to anything at all. This is odd as I still show a lot of ... View more

Hi all, I'm a teen and new here as I've recently joined to talk about this issue that has been bothering me lately. I've found myself to be emotionally numb as I don't feel any strong emotions to anything at all. This is odd as I still show a lot of personality and find myself to be quite an extroverted person. I once thought that maybe I had some sort of minor bipolar mentality as I found myself quickly turning to these seemingly depressive thoughts, but I now found that maybe I only have these thoughts when I have time to myself and basically talking to myself about how I am 'feeling'. Sometimes I find myself having somewhat obsessive thoughts as I often think about certain people romantically when they have no contribution to what I'm doing. A few years ago I was obviously depressed after my friends were bullying me as well as some other complications. I cut off these friends and moved to a new school, it was hard but I was able to do it, although recently I've made friendship again with one of them and I am glad we are friends, we are now very close, although I often get scared of her hurting me like she did a while ago and sometimes find myself trying to push her away. I don't believe I've felt any strong emotion since this time. I'm fairly certain I am not depressed, it's just this numbness I feel now and how little emotion I actually have - I'm just rolling. Sometimes I think that I am happy, as I know I am in a good place at the moment - I have a lot of friends, good grades and a healthy and happy family, but I think that maybe I only acknowledge that this as a good position I am in and I'm not actually happy - I can differentiate the good and the bad and acknowledge and identify which is which, but I can't actually feel anything towards it... I think. I don't know what I'm looking for when posting this, but I would value your opinions. Thank you!

jazzyw_98 Uni Student with Anxiety
  • replies: 7

Hello, I'm new here and I thought I would share my story. I'm sure there are many of you with the same problem so I would just like you to know that you are not alone. I am a 17 y.o. uni student from Brisbane. I graduated from high school last year a... View more

Hello, I'm new here and I thought I would share my story. I'm sure there are many of you with the same problem so I would just like you to know that you are not alone. I am a 17 y.o. uni student from Brisbane. I graduated from high school last year and I was extremely excited to start uni and I thought this year would be great. But after I was accepted into I started getting really terrified about the idea of going to uni, the thought of it made me feel sick. I started to develop agoraphobia (fear of leaving the house alone). So I started uni but I couldn't go alone, my mum had to come with me and my friends were all at a different uni. I hated uni immediately and wanted to change to be with my friends. I skipped every tute and I wouldn't eat. I went to a psychologist for a few sessions and that helped a bit but I haven't been in a while. So now I'm at the same uni as my friends and I love it there but I'm so scared to go to class and the bad habits I developed last semester are getting worse. I've skipped a couple of tutes and I don't know how to catch up and the thought of going there being behind scares me. I'm scared to be alone. Anyway I hope this all makes sense, this is a really broken up and condensed version of my story.

Guest_322 Getting help
  • replies: 10

Hi again, It's now kind of late (and I should probably be in bed as I've a morning lecture tomorrow yet I'm still wide awake). I've just been thinking. As much as I hate to admit it- call it pride or stubbornness or whatever- I think that I probably ... View more

Hi again, It's now kind of late (and I should probably be in bed as I've a morning lecture tomorrow yet I'm still wide awake). I've just been thinking. As much as I hate to admit it- call it pride or stubbornness or whatever- I think that I probably need to go see my GP (cue inward groan). The sadness isn't going away. The morning struggle to get out of bed isn't going away. The not wanting to face the day isn't going away. The wanting to cry isn't going away. I haven't seen my psychologist in a while (& by a while, I mean I haven't seen her since last year) because I was doing okay- even well- the 1st half of last year. But it's like something snapped towards the end of last year/this year. I'm not even sure what the point of this thread is...maybe it's just to feel a little less lonely. I don't know. Anyway, thanks for reading and let's hope things improve. You guys are the best! Dottie

teenytiny Hi, I'm new here
  • replies: 11

Hey guys, I know you don't know me but, I am really hoping to benefit from talking about how I feel to a supportive community. So, lately I have been feeling really down and angry about various things going on in my life at the moment. I didn't reall... View more

Hey guys, I know you don't know me but, I am really hoping to benefit from talking about how I feel to a supportive community. So, lately I have been feeling really down and angry about various things going on in my life at the moment. I didn't really realise anything was severely wrong until one of my teachers called me to her office after class the other day. She was asking me what was going on and I started crying, I thought I was going crazy. I've spoken to her before about my struggles but, this time I couldn't let the words come out of my mouth. She told me if I didn't talk to someone about it by the following Wednesday she'd talk to me. Wednesday came and she said it was optional because I was so determined not to spill the beans. Thursday branded a new day and I couldn't cope, I knew I couldn't do it on my own so I gave her an overview what was happening before school started. We didn't really get too much into it because we only had a few minutes but, I don't really enjoy sharing my feelings. I feel they are personal, like intimate, one on one. I do believe I need some support and I am hoping to find it here. This past week has really harboured more anger and hopelessness inside of me, with stress from both school and home taking it's toll. I have friends at school who love me and support me but, I am unable to confide in them. I have trouble trusting people. When you've been hurt too many times, it's difficult you know. Anyways, thanks for reading and by the way I am only 15.

Anne93 Birthday blues
  • replies: 2

My birthday is coming up tomorrow and all of a sudden it's hit me that it's another year I will celebrate only with family. I love my family but seeing old friends from high school/Uni, colleagues and family posting photos of their celebrations just ... View more

My birthday is coming up tomorrow and all of a sudden it's hit me that it's another year I will celebrate only with family. I love my family but seeing old friends from high school/Uni, colleagues and family posting photos of their celebrations just drains me. I had a big falling out with my friends from high school in year 12 which led to me putting everything into a close friendship at uni that turned out to be toxic. Now, almost two years out of uni I still find myself lonely. I've done the Internet searches that tell me to join groups but I've been in community groups and found everyone already in cliques. There is a lovely group of girls I work with who I'd love to socialise with but they just seem happy to be in their own bubble outside of work and any hints I have dropped just get ignored (I can't be upfront because my anxiety makes me terrified of rejection). I've found myself not wanting to tune out of work mode because my work relationships are my only relationships. I don't want to have a birthday because I don't want the world to see how pathetic my lack of celebration will be. I've been lying around in tears because I can't stop tomorrow from happening.

noname97 Feeling very lonely at college
  • replies: 2

Hi so I'm a 19 year old university student and I'm in my first year but I've honestly made no friends at all.I've just found it so difficult, I find myself having days where I do not speak to anyone besides my family all day. In my classes there is e... View more

Hi so I'm a 19 year old university student and I'm in my first year but I've honestly made no friends at all.I've just found it so difficult, I find myself having days where I do not speak to anyone besides my family all day. In my classes there is either no discussion at all and the room is dead quiet, or I find myself in a class where lots of people know each other and are friends and make no effort to reach out to me. I don't consider myself to be unfriendly or socially inappropriate by any means but whenever I try to make conversation with someone, they just seem very uninterested and cold. I have friends from high school but they are all at completely different universities to me and they have all made lots of friends, which is very hard to sit and watch. I know lots of people suggest joining societies and groups, but my experience with them is that they are very judgemental, cliquey and hard to break into unless you have a large group of friends with you, or they are made up of people that are (not trying to be rude!) a bit socially inappropriate. I've been here for over a year but I have not made a single friend. It's very hard for me because I am quite a social person who enjoys going out and partying, but there are just no opportunities to do so! I just feel so lonely and isolated and I can't remember the last time I have actually properly interacted with someone my age...

healy94 Recently dropped out of university, and depression has exploded
  • replies: 2

Hi guys, I'm very new to beyondblue so this is the first time I've posted in here. I've always struggled with anxiety, health anxiety, general anxiety etc. Recently I dropped out of university because as I began it just exploded into I don't want to ... View more

Hi guys, I'm very new to beyondblue so this is the first time I've posted in here. I've always struggled with anxiety, health anxiety, general anxiety etc. Recently I dropped out of university because as I began it just exploded into I don't want to do this anymore. I dropped out and now just have too much time on my hands. I see a psychologist, I have a loving home, I have a beautiful girlfriend. The tough thing is all this extra time has made me depressed like I feel nervous and sad a lot. I do the mindfullness, exercise, sleep, and eat routine but I'm still not making much progress. I'm scared I won't come out of this funk because if I've ever been in a funk I could escape it. Such as; I lived in Japan after highschool it got to much so I left, I went on a holiday in Europe with mates last year it go to much and I left. This time I've quit uni but these feelings and sadness haven't gone away and I don't know how to get rid of them. I don't really have any hobbies I suppose? I don't know what to do and I'm scared. I just want someone to let me know that I'm going to make it out of this and SOON!