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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So Im just lonely basically.

replies: 7

I joined becouse of a lot of things, my mentally and physically manipulative father, by best friend with blood cancer, my alcoholic mother, my worsening school grades, and all the abouves love child... my worsening mental health. The worst things are the panick attacks. I don't know how if it's the same as others, mine come when I'm stressed or sad, it's suffocating in the way no matter how much air I try to breath, my lungs just push it all out of my body, my limbs feel painful and like they are on fire. I usually start kicking and trying to rip things apart, rip my hair our maby, I cry a lot and I just feel like my mids been put in a slowly shrinking box and every time I thing I'm calmed down, it starts shrinking again. I posted becouse as I said before, I just lonely basicly, so... Hi.

Health anxiety

replies: 3

Hey guys, so I am now a major sufferer of health anxiety after suffering from regular anxiety. It all started when I got my blood pressure taken and got 160 and thanks to dr Google I am freaking out that I have so sort of undiagnosed heart condition or illness which causes death instantly and without symptoms and for me being 18 and a lot of these stories about people my age dying in there sleep or just out of the blue drop dead. This has seriously freaked me out and consumes my every thought and is always at the back of my mind. My families history with any major health problems are pretty much non existent especially with heart conditions. I'm seeing a doctor tomorrow to make sure everything's all good. Anybody experienced a similar thing and how they got over it or in the process of getting control of it.

Debilitating Anxiety

replies: 4

I'm 17 years old, and have had anxiety and panic attacks since I was about 12. My Mum has anxiety as well so she has been able to help me understand it and how to try cope with the attacks. For me, school is the most stressful thing in the word. I feel like I can't even enjoy the weekends because all I can think about is the stress that starts every Monday. It feels as though it's a never-ending cycle. I cancel plans with friends frequently, I really don't care whether I see them or not most of the time. Sometimes I don't go on my phone for weeks at a time because it makes me anxious. My heart drops every time the phone rings. I neglect my homework profusely. You could call it extreme procrastination but I've been thinking I may have an actual fear of doing homework - as ridiculous as that sounds. Last school-holidays, my English teacher set a book for us to read over the break. I was excited because I LOVE reading. For some reason, I kept putting it off. Eventually, school was back and I had to tell my teacher I hadn't read it. I was so mad at myself. English is my favourite subject too. I'm so used to that look of disappointment that my teachers give me, yet it never hurts less.The most frustrating part of all this is that I know I'm not stupid. I love learning. I know that I have the ability to focus and do well in school, but my mind tells me otherwise. As i write this I am at home. I didn't go to school today - this happens a lot. There was a period of time where I didn't step a foot outside the house for over two weeks. My anxiety is really debilitating. It feels like everyone else is floating while I'm drowning - and no one notices. I'm unsure of where I should go from here, does anyone have any advice? Thank's.

How to cure my anxiety

replies: 1

Hi my name is Ruby and I'm a 15-year-old high school student and I have social anxiety. My high school life is really good at the moment, I like my teachers, my friends and everything's fine but it just bugs me so much when I have to do a presentation, participate in sport, play drama games or just participate in class because i do not have the confidence whatsoever. I feel so helpless as everyone else seems to be so confident in themselves all the time and i don't. It's really affecting my life and my behaviour and it makes me feel as if my anxiety is slowly eating me alive day by day. I've had anxiety a couple of years now and all this time i've just been running away from my problems and wishing for it to go away because i really don't know how to deal with it. I would really appreciate any advice given on my issue. Thankyou

im scared of this new lifestyle

replies: 2

Recently, i have started being in a relationship with a boy. We were friends at first, then we started developing feelings for each other. Eventually, we started going out. This is my first boyfriend, and ever since then, we have been hitting it off well, but lately i have been really worried and scared of this new life. i have always been afraid of a breakup or hating each other in the end. i know this is a bad thing, but i cant help it. i havent told anyone, nor do i want to. im sure its because i have been single for so long that being in a relationship is new to me, so it might just be me being unfamiliar with this, therefore making me afraid. i am inexperienced and would appreciate some advice or anything to help me get some sense.

Travelling and anxiety (advice needed)

replies: 9

Hi all! Before I get to the main idea of this post let me tell you a bit about myself: I am 23 and have been suffering with anxiety probably my whole life. I remember as a child I was really shy and had silly inhibitions. Anyhow at around age 12 I had a traumic experience and since then I have been suffering with intrusive thoughts, worrying, fear and general anxiety. I have never sought professional help or told many people because of the stigma but I think I would have General Anxiety/a panic disorder. I've also experienced the side effects of anxiety just as depersonalisation/de-realisation and some panic attacks. Over the years it has had an enormous impact on my life. It has made me quite introverted - I've not created strong bonds with people, generally stay home and as a result I don't have many friends (or any 'real' friends for that matter). I get scared when I am 'far' from home. Its like I start to panic for no real reason and I feel on edge. I feel like I something 'bad' will happen and then this triggers intrusive thoughts (or vice versa). This has lead to the 'fear of the fear' and is why I avoid going out to places far from home usually. Anyhow, this year I decided enough was enough and tried to learn more about anxiety and some of the symptoms I was having. I found that things like depersonalisation/de-realisation and intrusive thoughts are quite normal and it has helped me a lot. I've also began telling people about my feelings but I am yet to seek professional help. I've also been taking the exposure approach to my anxiety. I try to go out more, talk to more people and get out of my comfort zone. It has helped heaps. Anyhow after much effort, I've finally finished my degree and would like to go on holiday. I am thinking of going on Contiki to Europe alone. However I'm still quite scared of this. I am scared that my anxiety will inevitably kick in and I'll get panic attacks. I feel that a trip would be a really good way to battle my anxiety in terms of exposure. I've never travelled alone or done anything like this. For example I've never been to a nightclub because of the fear of feeling anxious and having some sought of embarrassing attack. Anyhow, I guess my question is, am I setting myself up for failure? Is this too big an effort? Should I try go into therapy and leave travel until I'm certain my anxiety has gone? I don't want this to control my life anymore and want to be able to do things without worrying!!

Really need advice

replies: 3

I'll start off by saying I'm a 17 year old female currently in Year 12 and just joined beyond blue because I feel like I really need some advice For a while now, I haven't felt like myself, and it's gotten to the point where my school friends continually ask me 'what's wrong?' which really makes me angry and upset all the time, because apparently I always have this look on my face where I shut everyone out, and I'm in my own world, thinking. It really started during the middle of this year, when I started to shut one of my closest friends out, who I used to tell everything to, and I'm not the type of person to open up to people, but she was one of my closest friends, and lately I have been shutting her out and getting angry at her all the time for no reason. I always apologise because when I'm in that mindset, I can't help what I think, and afterwards I always wonder why I was angry at her. It's been happening lately in social situations with my group of friends, whom I love, but everything is always usually fine in the beginning, and I'm really happy and sometimes it gets a bit too much for me to handle, and I always just completely shut off and am in a really bad mood. It happened a few weeks ago where we went for a BBQ and I arrived and everyone was already there, and I was just so angry for no reason at everyone and kept ignoring people's questions, that I just left and told everyone I had to go running that I could calm myself. And lately I've been shutting myself out, avoiding going out with everyone because I feel so bad, and I feel like I always ruin everything with my moods, and it makes everyone else feel weird. I've had anxiety before, but I don't feel like this has anything to do with it. I honestly don't know why I'm always so angry at my friends and in social situations , and I really don't want to feel this way, but I just can't help it. I automatically shut off after a period of happiness with my friends, and I always want to be alone afterwards to think... I don't know if I'm overreacting, but maybe it's a small problem. I don't know, but some advice would be really great

I need help telling my younger siblings!

replies: 2

Hello, I'm Crépe and I'm suffering depression. My parents know, and im thankful of all the support i have. My mum and I think it would be best if my younger siblings knew that i have depression. One is only two years younger than i am and will probably understand, however the other is 8 years old. I need help, so does anyone have advice for telling younger siblings? (I really hope im posting this correctly,this is my first time on this forum. >.< )

Channelling Anxiety into something Creative

replies: 7

Hi, I'm fourteen and have anxiety. And I've found that poetry has really helped me. I see a physiologist and that's really great too but in the times when I'm feeling way too anxious to even think about doing mindfulness or any of that I channel everything that's inside of me into poetry. I guess it is a form mindfulness. I love writing and reading, so I guess this is why I like writing poetry. I just thought if you are feeling bad channel it into something you love. If you love being creative, channel into something like poetry or maybe painting etc. I feel like poetry has also made me sort out all my tangle of feelings and not made it so confusing anymore. I guess my opinion is, when you are feeling anxious, take a few deep breaths, sit down somewhere and do something you love. So yeah. That's it. I guess. Well, if you read this, thanks. And I hope it's helped.

Help me if you can?

replies: 2

Hi, my name is Isha and I'm 12. I'm really messed up... so is my life. My parents are druggies, I have no real friends, and my whole life is just a metaphor for being trapped in a cage. What depresses me most is the fact that my idol is dead... Kurt Cobain. Ugh it's so petty, but I cry about him being gone everyday. There's something seriously wrong with me I just need somebody to talk to about my problems. Any 'friends' I have, would never even think of speaking about this stuff, when sometimes, its all I want to talk about. Ughh idk how this site works anyway, I guess I'll try again later -.-

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

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

So Im just lonely basically. replies: 7

Health anxiety replies: 3

Debilitating Anxiety replies: 4

How to cure my anxiety replies: 1

im scared of this new lifestyle replies: 2

Travelling and anxiety (advice needed) replies: 9

Really need advice replies: 3

I need help telling my younger siblings! replies: 2

Channelling Anxiety into something Creative replies: 7

Help me if you can? replies: 2