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

Blueblubber35 My mum is not understanding and school is terrifying
  • replies: 9

My mum knows that I experience depression and anxiety, yet she is not understanding. When I told her I broke down, she said to not let it affect your grades,and think positively. It's actually quite demeaning and the opposite of being helpful. I don'... View more

My mum knows that I experience depression and anxiety, yet she is not understanding. When I told her I broke down, she said to not let it affect your grades,and think positively. It's actually quite demeaning and the opposite of being helpful. I don't feel comfortable talking to my mum when I am at my worst. School does have its positives, but when i get lots of questions wrong, I feel a lump in my throat, like I'm about to cry, but what usually happens is that it stays there for a while, and makes feel short of breath. Does anyone else experience this?

YellowBanana7 Hi, new here
  • replies: 3

Hello everyone! I joined Beyond Blue today hopefully to seek some support in my recovery and maybe just some guidance/advice in my everyday life aswell. I am 17 and suffering from depression and social anxiety for 3 years now. I have been in and out ... View more

Hello everyone! I joined Beyond Blue today hopefully to seek some support in my recovery and maybe just some guidance/advice in my everyday life aswell. I am 17 and suffering from depression and social anxiety for 3 years now. I have been in and out of school ever since due to the mental illness and social problems aswell. However it wasn't until recently I got into a nice school where I felt comfortable enough to be in and to continue my study. I'm trying to focus on my recovery by going through a treatment plan and also with the support of my school counsellor. I'm also trying to focus and improve on my studying, social life and my wellbeing in general. The school is great, the students are decent, mature and accepting and things were okay until recently. The last month has been unstable, frustrating and confusing. The recovery is tough and mentally draining. I've been going through some social problems and I'm so confused about what I'm feeling and why I'm feeling it. I'm struggling with school work because I have been procrastinating a lot and it is just so tiring when I do it. I also have been questioning a lot about myself such as who am I and what do I want out of life. I understand that these things are normal for my age but I just don't know what to do. I feel like I can't talk about this with anyone because they will either not understand or the fact that I don't trust them in general.

Natalia124 Scared to go to class :(
  • replies: 3

Yesterday my teacher embarrassed me in front of everyone only because I put rubbish in the bin and he yelled at me and the student laughed and my social anxiety levels were high and almost cried and I was so shaky and now I don't think I could go to ... View more

Yesterday my teacher embarrassed me in front of everyone only because I put rubbish in the bin and he yelled at me and the student laughed and my social anxiety levels were high and almost cried and I was so shaky and now I don't think I could go to his again because he might embarrass me again I don't know what to do help?!

Amelie1234 New here, feel like I'm trapped in my head
  • replies: 5

Hi everyone I'm new here, I am 13 years old and I suffer from Anxiety, and more recently feelings of depression. I have had anxiety ever since I can remember. I struggled to go to school, socialise with other kids, and I had a huge fear of technology... View more

Hi everyone I'm new here, I am 13 years old and I suffer from Anxiety, and more recently feelings of depression. I have had anxiety ever since I can remember. I struggled to go to school, socialise with other kids, and I had a huge fear of technology.(makeing this pretty hard) I have always felt stuck and imprisoned in my head and like there's no escape. I have been to see a number of different people to get help for my anxiety with limited success. I don't understand why I get anxious. I live in a stable and loving home, have an amazing family and go to a great school. i have always felt different and separated from everyone around me. I feel older then all my school friends and feel that I belong in another time period because I am different from people my age. For example I really don't like social media. Resently my anxiety has been worse. I feel anxious almost all the time, sometimes I don't even have a thought or know why I'm anxious I just have this anxious feeling. Does anyone else get this? Since discovering beyond blue, I have realised that there are so many others out there that feel like me. I hope thought this forum I learn some new ways to manage my anxiety and that there is a solution for anxiety. Thank you. Any advise or tips would be appreciated

victoria97 Overwhelming feeling
  • replies: 2

I've struggled with depression and anxiety since I was 14 (I'm 18 now) and for the most part I've coped on my own however lately my mild depression and mild anxiety has turned into a crippling suicidal depression and severe social anxiety which has l... View more

I've struggled with depression and anxiety since I was 14 (I'm 18 now) and for the most part I've coped on my own however lately my mild depression and mild anxiety has turned into a crippling suicidal depression and severe social anxiety which has led me to social isolation, severe panic attacks daily and stress which is making me physically ill and i don't know how to deal with it. I want to go to the doctor and have the pain go away, I don't want to feel like dying every second of every day or fighting off the panic attacks so noone in my family figures out something is wrong and ridicules me like they used to about my depression, but I can't seem to find the strength to go and talk to the doctor. I feel deep down within myself that noone understands me and noone could ever understand how I'm feeling and maybe that stems from the fact that I've never really had friends and people I can talk too. I just want to know if this is going to happen forever, will I just be in a cycle like this, how can i make myself go get help, how can I overcome the suicidal thoughts... I know deep down I don't wan't to die and I want to be okay and healthy and happy but I don't see it happening and I just get overwhelemed and can't handle it. Has anyone else experienced this or am I alone as I'm feeling ?

Orla why can't i be happy?
  • replies: 3

i want to be happy I'm so sick of feeling sad all the time

i want to be happy I'm so sick of feeling sad all the time

Marilyn-Monroe Ocd thoughts and obsessions as a child
  • replies: 1

Hi, I'm new here, I'm 17, female, and have general anxiety, OCD and Depression. My OCD has been really bad lately. I mostly suffer from obsessions and intrusive thoughts. The thoughts have caused a LOT of anxiety as they are violent or sexual and abo... View more

Hi, I'm new here, I'm 17, female, and have general anxiety, OCD and Depression. My OCD has been really bad lately. I mostly suffer from obsessions and intrusive thoughts. The thoughts have caused a LOT of anxiety as they are violent or sexual and about my pets and young family members. It really hurts me because i absolutely adore animals and children, especially those in my family. My main concern though is some things in my childhood that i don't know how to figure out. From when i was about 9 to about 14 was a highly disturbed time for me, i don't like to think about it let alone tali about it. From the age of 9 to about 12 i used to have disturbing thoughts in my head and i don't think they were necessarily intrusive. I made up certain violent scenarios and played them in my head and drew them. I knew they were wrong and certainly didn't want them to happen in real life but i don't know what else i was thinking? My parents let me watch horror movies when i was young, and I'd had a pretty unsettled time but i don't know? Also I've been very paranoid since my counselor mentioned psychosis to me after i told him about my intrusive thoughts, which are really textbook ocd, but i still can't stop thinking about it. My speech patterns have changed over this year (which is a symptom) and i do get paranoid about people talking about me, i have developed bad memory and attention span. Sometimes i even get distracted in the middle of a sentence like i was talking to my friend and then i saw a book about James Dean, i was like "oh yeah and the homework was - oh my god its James Dean i love James Dean" i know that's not a good example but I've done it other times and it's making me paranoid. Can anyone help or relate?

loouuiiee new member ?
  • replies: 25

Hi there im unsure if I'd class myself as a 'new' member but I'm defiantly inexperienced.. I've visited the site a few times, I read quite a few threads, but I'm a little shy so quite often I don't post. I'm a 23year old female with anxiety & depress... View more

Hi there im unsure if I'd class myself as a 'new' member but I'm defiantly inexperienced.. I've visited the site a few times, I read quite a few threads, but I'm a little shy so quite often I don't post. I'm a 23year old female with anxiety & depression. my psychologist believes I also have borderline personality disorder & is planning on testing me for this. Despite being only young I have had my fair share of tough experiences & been in many harmful situations and relationships. I live alone & have been feeling really down because I get so lonely & just want kind, honest people to talk to & to offer me their advice. i have never had a problem with making friends but because I've had such an unstable past I have so much trouble keeping friends. im a very generous, sweet natured person. i work with kids and I love my job. I also love animals & being outdoors. Anyone who has similar interests or experiences to myself I would love to hear from you please Thankyou xx

Emshygurl Out of ideas
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone, im 25, married and live in my mother in laws house, with my sister in law, her boyfriend and their grandmother. I dont really get along with my sister in law that much so i tend to just keep to myself with my husband in our room. At the ... View more

Hi everyone, im 25, married and live in my mother in laws house, with my sister in law, her boyfriend and their grandmother. I dont really get along with my sister in law that much so i tend to just keep to myself with my husband in our room. At the moment i work 7 days a week. Mon-fri at childcare centre and sat/sun at a supermarket. I want a better job but my depression and anxiety get the better of me and i have no idea what i want to do. I work two jobs as i need to pay off my 20k debt that i borrowed for my wedding and my husband is an apprentice plumber who works for his dad who pays him under minimum wage. Ive told my husband to find another company to work for but he wont. So ive got to pay for this debt alone as he has other bills that he needs to pay. I dont think i want to pursue either of these jobs I only do them to earn money. Id love to quit one to go and study but ive tried studying twice before and both times ive suffered from my anxiety and Depression telling me i can't do this and then running away. I dont know what to do. Earn less money working one job and try study again or keep working both jobs to earn money. But working 2 jobs is really taking its toll on me as i never have much time to myself to just relax.

meowcat self medicating
  • replies: 1

i googled what chemicals and medicine did what and i bought some pills (that usually require prescription) online (i think i read somewhere were not allowed to say what, so i wont). it was a lot easier then i thought it would be. im kind of scared to... View more

i googled what chemicals and medicine did what and i bought some pills (that usually require prescription) online (i think i read somewhere were not allowed to say what, so i wont). it was a lot easier then i thought it would be. im kind of scared to take them, which feels a bit pathetic, but to be honest i dont really care what happens i just want to stop feeling things. that sounds so cliched. i just want to not feel scared or sad or anything, just being completely numb would be nice, alcohol didnt really do that. anyway i have no one else to talk to and im not really sure if were supposed to pose these as questions, or if rantings ok but i just want to know if anyone else has done the same or is thinking about it