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

Redrose94 Lost and unhappy
  • replies: 5

In the past 2 weeks I have dealt with too much rejection that it has literally taken a toll on my emotional well being, ive never felt so alone. im 21, currently in my last year at Uni. I'm unemployed and come from a family who is happy in many ways,... View more

In the past 2 weeks I have dealt with too much rejection that it has literally taken a toll on my emotional well being, ive never felt so alone. im 21, currently in my last year at Uni. I'm unemployed and come from a family who is happy in many ways, but dysfunctional in many others. in the past two weeks, I had a job interview that I knew I did well in, but was rejected because I couldn't fulfill the reference checks. A day later, a guy I was seeing for a few weeks, told me he wasn't interested in pursuing me, because he 'didn't know what he wanted from me'. I accepted his opinion and was grateful that he acted maturely about it. then just today, my friend whom I had an extremely close bond with, just decided to stop being friends with me, without even an explanation. i feel so alone and lost, I feel like my friends don't understand me and I'm becoming more emotionally deattahed from people due to my fear of intimacy and trusting people. The thought of meeting new people scares me to death and I just don't think it's worth the time anymore. im trying to be productive in my life, like maintaining my garden, desperately job hunting and trying to talk to a few close friends. this rejection is just too much, and it's triggered off so many deeper feelings and making me overthink to a point that is starting to poison my mind and fill it with negative thought patterns, I can't seem to shake them off, and bottling my emotions does nothing at all my heart is just broken, it's just broken. Really appreciate any kind of advice. Thank you xx

rose everyone is fighting at school
  • replies: 1

hey there a lot of fighting going on at school. I'm in the middle of it all. I don't know what I should or shouldn't do

hey there a lot of fighting going on at school. I'm in the middle of it all. I don't know what I should or shouldn't do

Daniel1 cant get over it..
  • replies: 2

a couple of months back my best friend decided he had had enough of me and told me we're not friends anymore. well that hit me hard and i went into a depression for about 2 months. my friends are the only ppl that hold me together anymore, they help ... View more

a couple of months back my best friend decided he had had enough of me and told me we're not friends anymore. well that hit me hard and i went into a depression for about 2 months. my friends are the only ppl that hold me together anymore, they help me forget about all the miserable shit in my life. but i was more depressed about the fact that my best friend was ready to leave me behind. anyway after that 2 month depression i went into this really weird feeling for about 3 weeks of complete happiness, hype, over activity and just genuinely being happy about everything. then it dropped again and i was miserable. what pisses me off is that i want to hate this person for leaving me like he did, but i just cant. i cant get over this break up!!! please someone help me get over him so i can try and live a normal life.

meowcat having no one
  • replies: 2

i feel like this is such a dumb cliche as it's a sentiment expressed by well, everyone, but i genuinely have no one. i don't have any friends, not in the "im not super close to anyone sort of way" but in the "the only contact on my phone is my mother... View more

i feel like this is such a dumb cliche as it's a sentiment expressed by well, everyone, but i genuinely have no one. i don't have any friends, not in the "im not super close to anyone sort of way" but in the "the only contact on my phone is my mother and we hate each other" sort of way. My parents are the only family i have but were not close & they're making me move out because i dropped out of uni (who even fails first year arts the easiest course in the world? me...) im not sure how to cope anymore. its been about 8 months now since ive talked to anyone other than my mother. how pathetic am i? i dont want to invalidate how other people are feeling, but at the same time, there's a part of me that gets really mad to see people talk about being alone when their profile picture is them & their friend... even so, i know everyone can feel lonely but every bit of advice is always like "talk to your friends" "surround yourself with family" well what if i dont have any of that? what the hell am i meant to do?

Graceeeeee Battling OCD and Intrusive Thoughts--My anxiety
  • replies: 29

Hi everyone! Anyone's who's reading this is welcomed to join the conversation. This is about my OCD and anxiety issues, which I've had for a few years now. So I'm still in high school, and I've started having compulsions a few years back, it actually... View more

Hi everyone! Anyone's who's reading this is welcomed to join the conversation. This is about my OCD and anxiety issues, which I've had for a few years now. So I'm still in high school, and I've started having compulsions a few years back, it actually all started when I was in year 8 after an incident happened on a school trip, and I didn't realise all this until last year and the beginning of this year. My OCD is probably hereditary from my grandfather and my father. The problem for me is when I have intrusive thoughts that are bad (usually mean spirited or something hurtful towards others) I immediately get alerted and anxious, I'd usually try to justify them and if I can't convince myself that I don't actually mean them, I get nervous and anxious and sometimes I recover after a while. I have a strong sense of self control and I can calm myself down sometimes, but I realise that it's affecting me socially, when the anxiety affects me when I talk to people.I realised writing this down and talking to other about my problem might make it easier, and everyone here is very very welcomed to discuss your problems with me too. I will talk more about this later.Thanks for listening to me! Sending you all some love in case you need some Grace xx

Ally_1996 My constant battle of Depression & Anxiety
  • replies: 6

I was diagnosed with depression in 2012 at 16 years of age. I'm now 19, and I still suffer from symptoms of severe depression and anxiety today. I exercise daily, I meditate, have undertaken behavioural therapy and similar things, yet nothing has sto... View more

I was diagnosed with depression in 2012 at 16 years of age. I'm now 19, and I still suffer from symptoms of severe depression and anxiety today. I exercise daily, I meditate, have undertaken behavioural therapy and similar things, yet nothing has stopped my thoughts of depression, constant worry and anxiety. Being out and around people in public; going to work or socialising makes me nervous to the point where I almost always have a panic attack. For a year now I've wondered if I've been misdiagnosed? This is only due to the fact I my moods are either a severe depressive state, or a high/energetic happy state. But when I'm in that high/energetic state I almost feel crazy, and slightly impulsive when it comes to making decisions. Another thing is, in between these moods. I can never relax. Ever. No matter how hard I try, I just can't. It's really hard to explain, but I experience more severe lows then any other feeling. Is there anyone who can identify with these feelings? If so, what were you diagnosed with?

Headhurt Anxiety focusing on my relationship
  • replies: 3

Hi, I'm new to this I have read these forums before but have been to worried to post my own story. So I met my girlfriend 4months ago after talking for about 6 months, the night I met her standing there waiting for me to pick her up something clicked... View more

Hi, I'm new to this I have read these forums before but have been to worried to post my own story. So I met my girlfriend 4months ago after talking for about 6 months, the night I met her standing there waiting for me to pick her up something clicked and i fell for her straight away and she did to I found out later on. My anxiety hit me hard that night and has been getting worse everyday, I will have times were I'm okay then something comes back in my mind and won't stop. I became so depressed and anxious that something would happen and she would leave that I stopped doing everything and just hid in bed for weeks, she is the most amazing person I have ever met and has stood by me the whole time while I cry get moody ect. The problem is as soon as I wake up it starts and my mind tries to convince me to leave so I don't get hurt, by the end of the day I'm that wound up and moody I get upset over the smallest thing. I know this all comes from watching my parents break up and all my failed relationships so I just think that they never work and il get hurt and lose the girl I want to spend my life with. It's at the point I'm to scared to go to work, see mates go to gym or anything thinking she will break up with me even though deep down I know that's ridiculous and wouldn't ever happen. My mind constantly tries to convince me I don't love her, to run away, that she's not beautiful (which is insane because she's the most beautiful girl ive ever seen) and so on. I need help so any advice would be great

LibbyB Self help books for young adults?
  • replies: 1

Hi everybody, I'm new here & this is my first post so I'm a little nervous but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for self help books? Specifically ones that might be more relevant for a young adult - I'm 19. I've looked at self help b... View more

Hi everybody, I'm new here & this is my first post so I'm a little nervous but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for self help books? Specifically ones that might be more relevant for a young adult - I'm 19. I've looked at self help books & listened to tapes in the past however they seem to be more targeted to an older audience who might be dealing with marriage or career stressors. Even if you can recommend any non self help books such as a novel that maybe helped you through a tough period, that would be greatly appreciated. To give you some context I'm struggling pretty bad right now with loneliness and my depression (My only close friend is studying overseas - if anyone has any advice on how to make friends after high school that is more than welcome too!). I've been taking antidepressants for a few months now but I'm not sure how well it's working. I'd love something that inspires me to be a better me. Something that gives me the motivation to get myself up in the morning and regularly attending uni - maybe even attending the gym every once in a while! I feel like this post was quite rambling... hopefully you can make some sense of it and we can have a chat Thanks in advance.

hb3003 Depression - Am I living with it?
  • replies: 1

I really do not know what has lead to this post, but I feel as though I need to get my feelings off my chest without affecting the ones that I love and care about. Half a year ago I lost my father, he had been ill for a very long and he finally lost ... View more

I really do not know what has lead to this post, but I feel as though I need to get my feelings off my chest without affecting the ones that I love and care about. Half a year ago I lost my father, he had been ill for a very long and he finally lost his battle. Although we argued a lot towards the latter part of his life, he was my best friend. I was all that he had and the fact that we argued so much tears me apart every time I think about it. The events which have stemmed from my father's death have been my downfall. I have become withdrawn from my friends, my family have been avoiding regular contact, I have questioned who I am as a person which has affected my relationship with my long term boyfriend. My motivation levels regarding Uni and work have also decreased dramatically. My behaviour has become more impulsive and I have no idea who I am anymore. I have not gone to the doctor for a diagnosis yet. My emotions are eating me alive.

bc999 do I have depression?
  • replies: 6

hi, I am a 16 (nearly 17) year old in year 12 at school. I haven't been diagnosed with anything. I haven't visited a doctor about it because I'm not really sure if I have any condition or if I'm just being too sensitive or something. I have googled s... View more

hi, I am a 16 (nearly 17) year old in year 12 at school. I haven't been diagnosed with anything. I haven't visited a doctor about it because I'm not really sure if I have any condition or if I'm just being too sensitive or something. I have googled some of my 'symptoms' but again I don't really know for sure if I have them or if I'm being too sensitive. As you can tell I am pretty indecisive. The main thing is I just don't really enjoy much anymore. I play sport and train for it at school which I don't like but I do it to stay fit/I kinda feel like I have to. I hate school. I have been thinking about subjects and university and careers and nothing appeals to me. I guess I'm just trying to say I don't really like many things in life, I can't remember if I ever did. I seem to get butterflies in my stomach for no reason all the time. It's like I'm nervous for something upcoming but I have nothing I should be nervous for? Maybe it's because I regularly have tests for school so I'm just constantly on edge, I dunno. I am often fearful of meeting with friends, going to parties or whatever. I often have a feeling that whoever I am meeting with won't turn up, is that normal? I understand this post may seem a little all over the place, which I apologise for. I guess I'm just looking for some clarity. Thank you for reading this