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.

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

Pinned discussions

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

All discussions

Mr__kipper My parents refuse to believe in anxiety
  • replies: 8

Hi? i am 13 years old and have been diagnosed with anxiety for two years but for some reason my parents haven't done anything about it which is pretty unnerving they have been making me do stuff like talk to people I don't know to "break my habits" w... View more

Hi? i am 13 years old and have been diagnosed with anxiety for two years but for some reason my parents haven't done anything about it which is pretty unnerving they have been making me do stuff like talk to people I don't know to "break my habits" which inevitably makes me cry and wonder what the hell is wrong with me while they get angry and blame screen time almost entirely taking away BB which has started to become a coping mechanism (crying rn) im sorry if I have been posting too much and for my total fail at punctuation. mr. Kip

Wolf142 Early stage substance abuse for anxiety/depression
  • replies: 3

Hi there, I'm new to this website because I feel I don't have many other places to turn. I'm an 19 year old male who has suffered with anxiety for 6 years. My problems however became virtually non existent throughout the final years of high school. h... View more

Hi there, I'm new to this website because I feel I don't have many other places to turn. I'm an 19 year old male who has suffered with anxiety for 6 years. My problems however became virtually non existent throughout the final years of high school. however since leave school and taking a gap year to work, i have began to take a turn for the worse and my anxiety/mild depression is at an all time high. I had no idea what I was doing with myself in 2016, working a few different jobs that I couldn't hold or sometimes didn't go to shifts because of my overwhelming feeling of stress. Since October 2016, I broke up with my first serious girlfriend who I loved very much and still do to this day. There's not a day that goes by where I'm not wondering what she's doing or thinking of her. The breakup has virtually pushed me over the edge (anxiety-wise). I have not been working as I'm too worried about the endless feeling of worry and anxiousness in day to day life. I have began smoking weed virtually every day for the past couple of months and my alcohol intake is increasing as well. I hate using these substances to make myself feel good but it's the only thing that can take my mind off things and make me feel that glimpse of happiness I once had. I hate myself and I'm not sure where to turn. Any responses would be helpful...

Im123 GAD and SAD
  • replies: 2

Hi, I was wondering if you can have both GAD and SAD. Thanks so much

Hi, I was wondering if you can have both GAD and SAD. Thanks so much

Im123 QUESTION
  • replies: 3

Hi there, Is it possible to have have multiple anxiety disorders? For example GAD and social anxiety? thanks for reading

Hi there, Is it possible to have have multiple anxiety disorders? For example GAD and social anxiety? thanks for reading

h12 It's now or never: social anxiety and jealousy
  • replies: 7

Hey all, any thoughts and/or advice more than welcome. I'll try to be concise: I'm a 22 year old guy. Unemployed, not studying. Never been social, always too held back by anxiety etc - so I've only ever had a small group of friends in school, and sin... View more

Hey all, any thoughts and/or advice more than welcome. I'll try to be concise: I'm a 22 year old guy. Unemployed, not studying. Never been social, always too held back by anxiety etc - so I've only ever had a small group of friends in school, and since the end of that they have gradually diminished to the point of there now being only a couple of friends who I rarely talk to. I've only ever been to a couple of parties and didn't speak to a girl outside my family until I was 20. I've been living with my parents, severely depressed for years and with terrible anxiety and OCD. Before a couple of years ago, I only thought occasionally about the fact that I'd like more social contact, didn't feel overly jealous of people I knew of who had insane amounts of social opportunities and had somehow resigned myself to the fact I just wasn't someone who would know girls or ever be intimate/in a relationship. Now it's all different: that stuff is all I can think about and feeds into a constant, gut wrenching jealously and longing to be close to other young people. I decided to do something about it. I've arranged to try and join a local club for young people which has a focus on outdoor activities, which is an interest for me. The first meeting is this Sunday night. Obviously I've got lots of concerns so I'll list a few and maybe someone could respond to some: - I'm very concerned about my intense social anxiety making me freeze up and get into panic attacks. General tips on how to overcome this? - Obviously introducing myself to girls and talking to them makes me very nervous - I can't shake persistent thoughts about them being potential people to be in relationships with, and can't stop thinking about them judging my physical appearance (yeah my self esteem is non-existent). General advice for this in the context of people my age? - I'm concerned about being jealous of the people who are already there - this comes from imagining what great social lives they've already had, how much sexual contact they've had etc. - I'm concerned about just not fitting in with their personality types - and perhaps my worst fear is the whole thing being a disaster and setting off a major relapse in my depression. I feel like this situation presents a 'now or never' moment for me - either it works or I get sent back home to suffer a lot more. And it's been a crushing, brutal uphill climb to get to this point.

1PartHuman1PartAnxiety In the end it will be ok. If it's not ok, it's not the end
  • replies: 31

Over the past 3 months I have been in an out of hospital. Yes being in hospital does not seem the greatest. However that was what I needed. It has helped me greatly. I am still in hospital. Only for a dozen more days. The home stretch. I was diagnose... View more

Over the past 3 months I have been in an out of hospital. Yes being in hospital does not seem the greatest. However that was what I needed. It has helped me greatly. I am still in hospital. Only for a dozen more days. The home stretch. I was diagnosed with Social Anxiety and General Anxiety in 2014, during my final year of highschool. I had an attendance of less than 60%. That was the start of my journey of getting help. No one has to go through life alone. I've been going to a psychologist since 2014. It was really good. It helped. Except I wasn't exactly truthful to the people around me. My psych included. Now some of you may ask 'why I am in Hospital?' Well that's another story for another day. I started studying last year an Online course to become a Pre-School educator. I loved it. Shortly after starting I slacking off. I started doing less and less until it got to the point were I stopped completely. Now if someone gave me the option to go back in time and change anything in my life, I would turn them down. Because my past, no matter how good, no matter how bad, it has shaped me to who I am today. ME. At the end of last year after disengaging more and more from activities it got to the point where I was doing nothing apart from eating, sleeping, going on the computer, and going to the bathroom. I started to realise what was going on. I decided on one thing. I don't know what made me to make that decision but the decision was to stop lying to myself and the people around me. I stopped lying to my psych. She hit the panic button and sent me to hospital. That was in November last year. I've been in and out since then. It's been a hard journey. But it has been worth it. I'm getting help. The psych I am seeing now at the current hospital thinks I have depression and says that there are traits of a personality disorder or two. She is currently thinking Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (Borderline Personality Disorder) and won't diagnose me yet. Right now I am not sure why I am righting this. I guess it's to tell you guys that it will be ok. One really close and amazing friend told me this. And now I am telling you: 'In the end it will be ok. If its not ok, it's not the end' And hey, life has its ups and downs. That's ok. It's ok to feel sad sometimes. It's ok. You'll be ok. Anyway that's it for now. I might update you all later with everything. Take care

JMR0102 Centrelink for 16yo/s?
  • replies: 1

Hey guys! Hopefully I've posted this in the right spot. So, in around 2 weeks I'll finally be turning 16 and I'm going to be needing more than my $10 a week that I get for a bit of pocket money. Unfortunately I can't get a job because I'm being homes... View more

Hey guys! Hopefully I've posted this in the right spot. So, in around 2 weeks I'll finally be turning 16 and I'm going to be needing more than my $10 a week that I get for a bit of pocket money. Unfortunately I can't get a job because I'm being homeschooled and on weekends I go to a family farm to learn more hands-on work and so I can learn to drive so obviously I won't have much time left in my busy schedule. Could I get money from Centrelink? I must admit it's not exactly what I want to do but I'd rather have more of an education than a job at the moment and I need the money. My mum has said that there's something called youth allowance that I should be able to get but can't for reasons that I've forgotten. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

ReticentSky I started noticing myself worrying a bit more, and was wondering what can i do to prepare for the on coming storm??
  • replies: 1

I like to refer to myself as a person who likes to live in a comfort zone, another way to put it "I HATE CHANGE". I like having an routine, an order in which to do things and when is gets to that time of year when the summer holidays end and school i... View more

I like to refer to myself as a person who likes to live in a comfort zone, another way to put it "I HATE CHANGE". I like having an routine, an order in which to do things and when is gets to that time of year when the summer holidays end and school is just about to begin, my anxiety evolves. It takes a new form, as i start to leave my comfort zone I've grown to love over the past two months my anxiety becomes worse, and my panic attacks start again. I have to rebuild my comfort zone that was destroyed, but its not to easy on a mountain of worries. Some of my worries are about the future, what I'm doing after school become more frequent, I start to worry about if my subjects too hard or too easy?, are they right?, will i do well?, can i do well??? I hate exams eg. I started noticing myself worrying a bit more, and was wondering what can i do to prepare for the on coming storm?? I'm in my final year and I do see a school therapist but not over summer break, and I was diagnosed at the age 17 after having symptoms for about a year previous.

Green42 Growing up With Anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone, (first time posting, so I'm a lil' nervous) Does anybody have any tips for becoming an adult? I have to move out of home soon (family divorce and other complicated reasons) and I'm also starting university next month. It all feels like I... View more

Hi everyone, (first time posting, so I'm a lil' nervous) Does anybody have any tips for becoming an adult? I have to move out of home soon (family divorce and other complicated reasons) and I'm also starting university next month. It all feels like I'm growing up to fast. I only have two friends, one of which I'm going to be flatmates with, and the other friend seems to be drifting (but lets be real I'm the one who's drifting). Anyway my anxiety has gotten extremely bad, I haven't left the house in almost two weeks because work isn't giving me shifts (which is another problem I have to deal with before moving out) and anxiety is stopping every other reason to leave the house from flying. I'm really hoping that once university starts I'll make friends, but I know my social anxiety isn't going to magically cure itself. I have about a month and a bit before university starts, in that time I need to start working part time and apartment hunting, all while dealing with the stress of my parents divorce and possible selling of the house I currently live in at any moment. But I can't seem to do anything, I'm extremely stressed, but since I'm also depressed I'm just spending every day at home sleeping/stressing. So in summary; does anyone have any tips for moving out/making friends/working 25 hours in a job with people/being an adult in general- all with anxiety? Thanks! - James

Sherrie_Day Do I stay or should I go...
  • replies: 2

My boyfriend is my high school sweetheart. He knows me better & undertstands me more than my parents, (I feel). I know how much he loves me too. He's the most intimate relationship I've ever had with anyone. I plan to marry him one day. But the reaso... View more

My boyfriend is my high school sweetheart. He knows me better & undertstands me more than my parents, (I feel). I know how much he loves me too. He's the most intimate relationship I've ever had with anyone. I plan to marry him one day. But the reason I am searching for help is because I'm starting to lose track of myself and what I want that it's made my judgment so faded. I've told him about this but he says it's something I have to work on and that it's not him. I work a full time job, Mon - Fri... 9-5. My time to party is the weekend.. as I am still young! My main issue relates to this & this is where I want some help... He can not be told what to do. He can not be pressure into doing something. Even if he knows it's good for him, or not. He strikes out in rage when I tell him "You really need to renew that, because it'll expire" or "you complain you have no money, but you pay for your friends lunches". He works in the evenings and see's his friends or watches movies with his Mum during the day, when I would prefer it if he looked into studying to get a better job or be more productive with his time. In the past weeks we have been looking to move out of home. I am trying to get him to fill in his application so we can send them off to the agents. I am becoming tired and sick being the mother that I don't think he wants. If I ever mention breaking up, he goes into compete love mode and will do anything to made me hug or kiss him. As furious as I get. I know I still love him, but I want to know if I should be following the 'If you love something set it free' theory for this time in my life. If anyone has had a similar situation please respond. I would really apprechaite anyone's assistance. S - 20 years old NSW