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Sophie_M How are you feeling about the social media restrictions in Australia for under 16s?
  • replies: 14

Hey everyone With the upcoming Australian social media restriction for under 16-year-olds coming up we want to know what this means for you and maybe even the young people in your life. This conversation is a place for all of us to share how we are f... View more

Hey everyone With the upcoming Australian social media restriction for under 16-year-olds coming up we want to know what this means for you and maybe even the young people in your life. This conversation is a place for all of us to share how we are feeling and what we think the challenges and benefits might be for you or the wonderful young people in our community. Have you thought about how to stay connected with friends you’ve met online? Are you focused mostly on the positives, or the negatives? What do your parents think, and what could they do to support you? Importantly the Beyond Blue Forums are not impacted by these restrictions, we're here for anyone under 16. In short, from December 10 Social Media companies will need to ensure that only people over 16 actively engage with their platforms. There is a lot of information out there which can make it tricky to know what to expect on when it comes into effect. To learn more we think these are a helpful place to start eSafety commissioner + Headspace FAQs. We know this change will impact some more than others, QLife provide anonymous and free LGBTIQ+ support and 13YARN are here for all Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people. We want to hear your thoughts on how this might impact the mental health of under 16s in both a positive and negative way. The Beyond Blue Forums are a place for constructive and helpful conversation and the regular moderation rules apply which means we look forward to a kind and understanding discussion. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings Sophie M

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

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Savi I'm depressed: it's an on and off thing
  • replies: 4

Hi, my username is Savi. (I don't want to put my real name on) Lately I've been feeling really depressed, lonely and I hate myself a lot. I think it's because I'm not the person I want to be, I just think that I mean nothing to anyone and I feel wort... View more

Hi, my username is Savi. (I don't want to put my real name on) Lately I've been feeling really depressed, lonely and I hate myself a lot. I think it's because I'm not the person I want to be, I just think that I mean nothing to anyone and I feel worthless. I haven't told anyone except my friend who can't really help me, so I've been bottling up my feelings. I'm pretty young and I can't do anything about this. I think it has gotten to the point where I don't want to feel happy and loved at all. It's been a battle ground in my head and I don't know who can help me; so far I don't want anyone to know because I don't want their image of me ruined. Can someone please help me? Thanks a lot

keith1234 Depression or Laziness?
  • replies: 7

Hello people of Australia, I'm in my final year of HS but as of recently I have been feeling depressed, or at least what I believe it feels like. It's been going on for roughly 2 years (Not sure when or why), but it's only now that it's escalating. I... View more

Hello people of Australia, I'm in my final year of HS but as of recently I have been feeling depressed, or at least what I believe it feels like. It's been going on for roughly 2 years (Not sure when or why), but it's only now that it's escalating. I'm not particularly stressed by assignments or anything, yet I feel extremely anxious numerous times throughout the day. I have, in the past, done things to gain attention (I'm a middle child, who can blame me?) and pity from others. However, I'm not sure whether I am creating these feelings for myself. I have done self-checklists, scoring 28, although that's only moderate. I've never really had good self-esteem in the first place anyway. I'm able to enjoy socialising with friends, often leading the conversations myself. It's only when I'm not there and my mind isn't occupied with schoolwork that I begin to feel a pain in my chest. It's like falling, but it lingers until I find something engaging to do. Even then, it's hard for me to focus on objectives now but that can be attributed to my lazy tendencies to simply not do work and cruise through things. I've been asked recently by family members if I was depressed but I wasn't sure so I told them I was fine. Motivating myself to both sleep and get out of bed is a struggle, and I've been missing out on crucial sleep as a result. Others that know me have also reported that I'm more irritable and much more gloomy, both of which are strongly out of character for me. Whilst I feel nothing but dread and hopelessness about the future, is it possible that I'm simply doing this to gain attention? My mind and emotions are conflicting and it's much too confusing for me to judge on my own whether I'm depressed and need help or not. I don't need anybody to dress up their answers because honesty is probably the best thing I need now, from myself and others. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I've got time to kill. Thanks for any and all responses (especially you, dude).

court12310 Anxiety help
  • replies: 3

Hello, I'm wanting to know, how do you let someone know that you suffer from anxiety but your scared to tell this someone face to face. But when you try to talk to them in person you just freeze while trying to bring up the fact you have anxiety. Tha... View more

Hello, I'm wanting to know, how do you let someone know that you suffer from anxiety but your scared to tell this someone face to face. But when you try to talk to them in person you just freeze while trying to bring up the fact you have anxiety. Thank you.

georgias please give me advice i dont know whats wrong with me
  • replies: 5

hey, so im 16 and only joined BB just now because i realised i needed some serious advice and i have nobody to talk to. for months and months now ive been feeling sad constantly, like one little comment from a family member or the lack of a comment i... View more

hey, so im 16 and only joined BB just now because i realised i needed some serious advice and i have nobody to talk to. for months and months now ive been feeling sad constantly, like one little comment from a family member or the lack of a comment in some situations, can make me sad for the whole day. sometimes i just wake up and i just feel down and i dont even know why. my parents recently split up, although it wasnt a surprise as their marriage was unhappy ever since i was born basically - ive never seen them happy together and as i was growing up they were constantly fighting and my mum actually left my dad 2 times before she finally left for good about a year ago. I hate my dad, 99% of the time because he is extrmely strict, snaps at the tiniest things and is super mentally abusive (constantly telling me how much of a brat i am and ungrateful and i dont care about anyone but myself etc). but then he also recently guilt tripped me so much so now whenever i feel like i hate him i feel guilty and it stuffs me up. but mainly whenever i see him i end up being sad for the entire time i am with him and even thinking about having to deal with him on the weekend is making me want to cry now. ive also been having a lot of friend problems that have made me extremely sad all the time as i am questioning constantly whether any of my friends actually like me and am constantly being set off by comments my friends make which are insulting, rude or just make me sad for some reason. im in grade 11 so school is pretty stressful and i also feel like i get excessively overwhelmed with all my school work. like it is day 2 of term 3 now and i already feel so overwhelmed that i want to cry all the time with the amount of work we have and there is so much stress it just makes me sadder and more withdrawn. i hate being sad but i literally am all the timee and i dont know what to do - especially becausse i dont feel like i can talk to any of my friends about hwo i feel so its all just bottling up inside of me all the time and i hate it so much. SOS pls help me

PrincessJ anxiety about dying
  • replies: 4

Hello, Over the past few months i've had really bad anxiety about how life feels 'fake and unreal' and the fear of dying. Whenever i get anxiety, i get all the symptoms and feel worthless. I really need some tips that could possibly help me. Thankyou View more

Hello, Over the past few months i've had really bad anxiety about how life feels 'fake and unreal' and the fear of dying. Whenever i get anxiety, i get all the symptoms and feel worthless. I really need some tips that could possibly help me. Thankyou

Elizabeth24 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... View more

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.

Broncies_18 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 ... View more

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.

Yuki- 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 fe... View more

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.

Ruby234 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 presentatio... View more

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

Blueblubber35 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 ... View more

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.