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

Emily_Anne Feeling depressed, anxious and a little "crazy?"
  • replies: 2

Hello So for the last few months I have started feeling a little more down than usual. I had become more tired and I started completely isolating myself from people. In the last 4-6 months, I've started feeling really anxious about things. Especially... View more

Hello So for the last few months I have started feeling a little more down than usual. I had become more tired and I started completely isolating myself from people. In the last 4-6 months, I've started feeling really anxious about things. Especially school. I used to be fine with standing in front of the class and speaking but now I absolutely loathe it. I'm starting to get a lot more panic attacks lately. They usually consist of me crying, feeling a little ill, shaking and rapid breathing. Most days I can't even get out of bed and my friends don't really understand my situation. Therefore resulting in me losing my friends. I absolutely hate the thought of being alone in public or even starting a conversation myself. I've found myself to be a little more anti-social lately and I would choose to be alone in my room doing whatever than going out with a friend and being social. I've also been notified that I am changing schools and I really don't want to go due to the fact that that means I have to make friends on my own. Lately I've found that I lose all interest or motivation to do absolutely anything and it's now gotten to the point where I am failing my classes at school because I don't do my work or hand in my assignments on time. I've talked to my school counsellor about it and she suggested maybe it was because I was stressed or overwhelmed. But this wasn't just at exam/assignment time, it was happening a lot and not only over school. The bare thought of seeing my Grandma or going to the beach to see family stresses me out and I don't know what to do. My family thinks I'm a crybaby or "fragile" because I'm always on the brink of tears. But only because I always have my guard up, scared something is going to happen. And I always overthink things and think of the worst outcome from the smallest thing. I feel very tired if I am at school all day or being social all day to the point where I will sleep from the moment I get home to the morning. My family don't believe me or take me seriously and I don't know what to do. They think I'm being the typical teenager who is always on their phone 24/7. I don't really know what to do and I feel a little crazy (I don't know if that's the correct usage or word). I feel like I just want to stay at home all day, blast music and just sit there and just try not to think. I have very few days when I feel really confident or happy with myself but I can't remember the last time that happened. Thank you in advance.

Pleb 17year old uni student dealing with recent breakup
  • replies: 8

Hi my name's B (Not my real name obviously), Anyway I've been seeing this great girl for a month and somewhere out of the blue she decided it would be best for us to stop seeing one another. After asking her why these were her reasons: - Personal stu... View more

Hi my name's B (Not my real name obviously), Anyway I've been seeing this great girl for a month and somewhere out of the blue she decided it would be best for us to stop seeing one another. After asking her why these were her reasons: - Personal stuff she needs to work through (Ex-boyfriend cheating on her). - Not wanting to lose friends by being romantically involved with someone. - Leading me on and hurting my feelings. - Finishing High School (We're the same age and went to the same school, just I got bumped up a grade). Although I respect her decision and am fine with it I still feel hurt because I want to be friends with her still but she isn't giving me the time of day to chat. Part of me wants to hold on because I care about her heaps and wants to support her but the other part wants to cut her loose for my sake as I haven't slept properly without thinking about this whole situation for the last 3 days. I'm at a loss in this situation as even all the people I talked to about this (good mates, family etc.) don't know either. Please help me:/

Ava1 Feeling lonely
  • replies: 11

Hi. I just joined so don't really know how this works... But I joined this because I need to tell someone about how I feel and thought this could be a good way.. Ok here we go: I moved to Australia about one year ago with my cousin and my friend( Jen... View more

Hi. I just joined so don't really know how this works... But I joined this because I need to tell someone about how I feel and thought this could be a good way.. Ok here we go: I moved to Australia about one year ago with my cousin and my friend( Jenny) to study. During this year I noticed there is alot of things I don't like about Jenny. Her personality changed when I lived with here. She is very negative and acting really spoiled. Therfore I avoid hanging out with here as much as I can. 1 month ago my cousin moved back home since she was done with her studies. Now I live with my boyfriend (who I met when I moved here) and Jenny. I love my boyfriend and love spending time with him, but most of my day I spend at uni with Jenny and it takes alot of energy from me. I also have trouble getting new friends which is a big problem for me. After my cousin (and best friend) moved back home I've been feeling very lonely. Most of my dayes I spend in my own little bubble of thoughts. Lately I've been building up some anger during the day for no reason at all and I take it out on my boyfriend when I get home. Nothing bad but I'm just being in a really bad mood and don't want to talk to him. And he don't know why I'm so angry and I can't explain why I am because I don't know. Then I feel really guilty and sad and end up silently crying myself to sleep. I know I should get out there and make an effort to find new people to become friends with but I just don't feel like going out trying. I just want to stay at home and watch TV shows and spend time with my boyfriend. So basically I'm feeling very sad and lonely at the moment and get angry for no reason at all. I felt the same thing back in 2012 and I don't want to fall back to where I was then... Sorry for this long post.. I just needed to get it out somewhere and I'm not quit ready to talk about this to anyone I know. Ava

NickiAlli i don't know what to do with my life anymore
  • replies: 3

I don't know what i want to do any more, i am in the second year of my full time course, i get good grades and have made some good friends. But i am not enjoying myself anymore, every morning seems like a struggle to get up, sometimes i don't even go... View more

I don't know what i want to do any more, i am in the second year of my full time course, i get good grades and have made some good friends. But i am not enjoying myself anymore, every morning seems like a struggle to get up, sometimes i don't even go i just come up with a lame excuse and email it to my teachers, then lie to my mother and step dad (i live at home) and say i did go to school. I also work part time so it is like i get no days off if i'm not at school then i am at work. It seems like i'm working so hard for literally nothing. i never get to see my friends because we moved about an hour away when my mum thought it was time to move in with her boyfriend my now step dad, which by the way they have only know each other for two years and my mum and dad only got separated 2 and a half years ago. My friends are always off having fun without me because they just work and don't do both they never invite me to anything because i am either at school or work plus the fact that i live almost and hour away now, it seems so stupid but i get so jealous when they are out and i'm stuck at home studying or doing nothing because i have to work. they have even stopped inviting me to things because they already know the answer. i am being treated for depression but things still seem really crappy and i just don't know what i want to do with my life anymore. i have no one to talk to, i'm the first in the family to go to university and i don't want to disappoint anyone. so this probably sounds like a stupid massive irrelevant rant but i am just so confused i don't want to feel like this anymore, i don't know what to do.

Acesb Anxiety is overwhelming!
  • replies: 2

Hi, I've been recently feeling very overwhelmed because of tasks that I need to get completed at school and the fact that I have to go do work experience for one week which makes me very nervous. What are ways to reduce the anxiety I am feeling?

Hi, I've been recently feeling very overwhelmed because of tasks that I need to get completed at school and the fact that I have to go do work experience for one week which makes me very nervous. What are ways to reduce the anxiety I am feeling?

Bloom94 Feel a bit lost, hey
  • replies: 3

Hey everyone, This is my first time on here, I literally just signed up haha. Come to think of it, I think this is my first thread I've ever made online so here goes. I'm 21, male, study design at university, work as a barista, drive a Mazda3 - I'm p... View more

Hey everyone, This is my first time on here, I literally just signed up haha. Come to think of it, I think this is my first thread I've ever made online so here goes. I'm 21, male, study design at university, work as a barista, drive a Mazda3 - I'm pretty much a cliché - laugh it up. I reckon I'm a pretty upbeat kind of person, love my mates to death, love being around people and making them laugh. I'm an idiot pretty much - but I think that's why people like me. I've always been a little anxious like I suppose everyone is, I've been through some rough times but I've always come out on the other side. I've gone out into the world trying to make something of myself, trying to discipline myself towards achieving goals in order to become the person I always wanted to be - I was doing a pretty good job of that until maybe sometime this year, I'd say around January/feburary. I still kept at doing the same thing. Going to uni, going to work, going out with my mates, designing things and laughing it up along the way. But I think something crept up on me without me even noticing. I'm not sure what it is. It could be my underlying anxiety or maybe something more - I havnt gone to see anyone since I find that after been in a rut and fixing any issues, I seem fine and back to normal. but this year, I've noticed I'm less motivated. I stopped going to classes as much, I started drinking more, and even more on my own. I started doing other things to shut up my brain. I guess I first noticed something wasn't quite right when I counted the empty bottles of veno in my bedroom. That was a bit of an eye opener. It's embarrassing, but I'm being honest. Lately it's been worse. I feel anxious, crave the feeling of not being in control, I feel lonely when in reality I'm not and I miss my family. I quit my other job because it was making me unhappy and I felt better after that. But it's not money I can see now that makes me anxious, it's got to be something else, I just can't figure it out. Main point being, I've lost my mojo. I'm dissapointed in myself. I still have passion but it kinda feels like a dying flame. That's super emotive I know, but I guess it's a good analogy for my situation. I get real high and then I get really low, I get angry and frustrated which is unusual for my personality. I never take it out on others, I just keep it to myself. I don't wanna be that guy because I'm not. Anyway, I hope this makes some sense. Cheers for your input

Harley1 Is something seriously wrong with me?
  • replies: 2

I'm 16 years old and pretty scared. I have this issue where I obsess over things, people or periods of time. Like for example I will obsess over modelling and models and I will google and save photos and I will pretend to be them (this is so embarras... View more

I'm 16 years old and pretty scared. I have this issue where I obsess over things, people or periods of time. Like for example I will obsess over modelling and models and I will google and save photos and I will pretend to be them (this is so embarrassing to say), or I will obsess over a period of time and pretend as if I'm living in that time period, but after some time I will move on to something else. I don't have any passions, well I have them but they ALWAYS change. It is never consistent and I HATE it. I don't know what I want to do in the future, I love science but I also love arts and acting and I'm worried that if I do one, I will regret not doing the other. This constant change of thoughts and passions and ideas is hard, I'm confused, I don't know who I am. Some may say I am trying to "find myself" but I think I have gotten too deeply into this for it to just be that. Even with music or clothing choices, I feel as if I have 100 different personalities. I hate this feeling of constantly feeling so confused and not driven towards ONE specific thing, but rather I'm constantly drawn to multiple different things. Please help, I don't really know what is wrong with me can anyone tell me?

Im123 New to beyond blue
  • replies: 6

Hi everyone, I am new to BB and I am not sure what to say but my name is Imogen and I have depression, I am pretty nervous about posting but I hope to meet new people

Hi everyone, I am new to BB and I am not sure what to say but my name is Imogen and I have depression, I am pretty nervous about posting but I hope to meet new people

Gord_103 Can somebody help me with dealing with my anxiety. Please
  • replies: 5

Hi I'm a 14 year old girl.( I wanna keep my name private considering it's not my username) I had a very bad thing happen to my family and I last year involving drugs and very horrible people. Ever since then I have been experiencing chronic Anxiety. ... View more

Hi I'm a 14 year old girl.( I wanna keep my name private considering it's not my username) I had a very bad thing happen to my family and I last year involving drugs and very horrible people. Ever since then I have been experiencing chronic Anxiety. It's stopping me from going to school ,seeing friends and not doing the thing I love. I have also had a troubled life. When I was younger some not so nice things happend to me. I really need some help dealing with it or even pointer tips. Just please.

Jess_164 Tips for bridge phobia?
  • replies: 5

Hi everyone, i was wondering if you could give me some advice on gephyrophobia (fear of bridges) and how to manage it it has been there ever since I Can remember, when I am even told I am going to drive over a bridge my hands get all cold yet sweaty,... View more

Hi everyone, i was wondering if you could give me some advice on gephyrophobia (fear of bridges) and how to manage it it has been there ever since I Can remember, when I am even told I am going to drive over a bridge my hands get all cold yet sweaty, I feel shaky, I go pale and I just can't take my mind of it. I am petrified. When I actually go over it I freeze. I also have never told anyone. does anyone else experience this or have some tips? thanks