Young people

You can win one of five $100 gift cards. Complete our survey by 5pm, 27 June 2025 AEST to enter the draw. Your response will be anonymous so you can't be identified.

Take the survey

Start a discussion

Pinned discussions

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 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

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!

All discussions

Sorted by:

Start a discussion

Uni & work nothing much else

replies: 1

Hey there new to this.. so I moved away from family and friends a couple of years back, was having a lot of fun at first. Made new friends had a fun job, and met my partner. However I started a new job last year and started studying at uni in the field related to my new job. Pay is terrible, so I had to move away from my new friends to be closer to work so I can afford to live. All I do now is work, study and see my partner, I can't afford to drive to see my friends and they don't every want to come see me because I live in a small boring old town where there isn't anything to do. I feel so lonely and have slipped back into depression and all I want to do is quit my job and move back to where I was living a before I started this new job. However it would be a massive step back in my career. I tried medication for 4 months but I had way too many close calls with micro sleeps while driving and have had a bad performance review a work. I don't know what to try next as I can't afford to go to a phycologist/psychiatrist. Even getting to the Drs is tough to get money together. If you had a suggestion of what I can do would be appreciated

Social Anxiety HELP!!!!!ADVICE!!!!!

replies: 1

Hi, Im 16 years old and I think I suffer from social anxiety... whenever I have to go out I always feel nervous and never comfortable anywhere. I always feel like people are watching my every move and judging me. I hate living like this! I wish I could be confident and headstrong like other people and I do try really hard to "pretend" that Im a happy person but Im not. I hate going places by myself and don't really feel comfortable with anyone... I always am stressing when I have conversations with others and nervous about what people are thinking of me. I don't really fit in anywhere! Though I try really hard to be a good friend and am always ready to help someone out. I need help ASAP! I talk to my parents about it, I know they have good intentions but they don't really understand at all! They think hanging out with people regularly will fix the problem.Just like that. I go out for a night. Anxiety issue fixed. But that's not the case. These people are not my type or that friendly towards me but I still try with them and usually Im just worrying the whole night and scared! If I had real friends or people I was comfortable with I would be hanging out every day and I think they would also give me some confidence, but that's not the case! Don't they know that??? They think anyone is better than no one!!! Sometimes when someone is having a party and they know about they will force me to go even though Im in soooooo much inner turmoil about it! They think it will fix me!!!! I wish I could run away at times like that and hop on a train but I cant because Im nervous about going outside or on the train etc. Please note that a train station is 10 mins in walking distance from me. I want to put myself in a mental home because I think I'm going crazy and I really want help!!! But, how do I do that??? Will I be kept there against my will??? Do I have rights there??? Is It nice???? Will they dose me up on meds that make me fat???( I have a phobia of being fat ) I know this all sounds so stupid and silly!!! But please give me some advice!!!! I would really appreciate it!!!!! Thankyou

Defeated

replies: 6

These last weeks have been an absolute nightmare. For starters, I've been diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder, I'm not sure if you would really diagnosed but when I looked at my forms for current significant conditions..it was on there. I feel I might have lost all passion and love for the things I used to love in my life. I used to love going on long walks. Now I walk downtown constantly fearing that a cup or rock is going to hit the back of my head. I can't go out walking without panicking. I keep seeing old school people and even a few bullies who still yell at me whenever they see me. My creative arts course is a nightmare, every time I plan I project my heart races. I'm just so stressed and depressed, I'm so tired of it all. I wish I could change things drastically but I don't have the power to

Just need to get this off my chest. Trouble with uni and unsupportive parents.

replies: 3

Hi guys I have never written on a forum before, I'm not even sure if this is the right place do say this, I just need to talk to someone, and I don't have anyone to talk with. I am currently in uni studying, I am the first in my family to get to uni, but I have always been terrible with my assignments and studying throughout my schooling. But I'll get to this later. My parents don't believe in depression, all through college I knew I wasn't going to live to see my 20th birthday. It wasn't a promise I made myself, just something that I held in the back of my mind. I had terrible self esteem, didn't look after my appearance, and I had the worst image of my self worth, always telling myself that a human like myself shouldn't even try to exist on this earth. But if I ever mentioned that wretched "D" word, it was just me making excuses to not try at school or work, that I was just giving a name to my period of sadness and to walk it, off, stop trying to get attention. Fast forward 4 years, and I was feeling bloody brilliant! much better than I did before, I had a boyfriend and an awesome job. I take so much pride in my appearance and everyone tells me how happy I always am at work. Now onto what has brought me back down. I got into my course last year. I struggled with sitting down to do assignments and even study, always have. some days I feel hopeless about my self because my grades are poor and I am struggling to reach my deadlines. I am sometimes forgetting appointments and am always late to work/meetings/sport/etc. I went to a doctor who referred me onto a counselor, who told me I may have ADHD. She gave me great advice, telling me I was smart, that my grades were just a reflection of my time management and inability to focus on one task, all of this wasn't my fault, I wasn't alone. I felt awesome again, I could actually be great at my future profession by using coping skills she taught me. Then I made the mistake of telling my parents. "don't you ever dare say you have ADHD, that's just an excuse for your procrastination. You just don't try at school." Now I'm sitting in my car crying, thinking it's all my fault and I shouldn't even be trying to do a uni course because I'm just a worthless person. Sorry for my long post. It doesn't matter if I don't get a response, in a way this was very therapeutic for me, and the weight in my chest is gone.

Introducing myself

replies: 10

Hi, My name's Jack, and I'm in year 9 at high school. I've felt kind of down for most of my life - possibly dysthymia, I'm not sure - but the past few months it just feels like I've spiralled down into depression. I have my ups and downs, certainly. It confuses me that sometimes I feel okay, and other times I feel like I'm drowning, going from what I think is just numbness to depression in what can sometimes be a few seconds. I almost feel like I'm just being melodramatic and not really depressed, but I just don't know. I feel pretty lonely, like there's no one who gets me. I've got friends, but my social life can be pretty chaotic, with a lot of arguments and stuff. Sometimes I wonder if they're really friends. There's one person I know from school who's had a rough time with life and her family. We talk online a lot, and it's nice to know there's someone I can talk to, but I thought I'd try posting here. I'm introverted, I have no social skills, and I feel so completely different to everyone else that there's no one who will ever 'get me'. People just try to annoy me because they know I will take it seriously, I will react, and that's what they get their kicks out of. Some of the stuff we've covered in school recently has been pretty heavy, like the current refugee crisis, the Nazi holocaust, etc. It's gotten to me a lot, and I feel like I'm just fed up with all the wars, fighting and suffering of humanity. I'm kind of starting to hate myself. All I do is annoy people by blurting out things I always seem to regret. Also, I have the whole first world guilt thing I mentioned. I might have the very beginnings of anorexia as well, which is sort of worrying, I guess, but I'm a bit messed up. I'm pretty worried about my friend, I guess. She thinks she has bipolar disorder after having to deal with her dad being a violent drug addict, which kind of throws everything I'm worried about into perspective, but I fold like a deck of cards when you put me under pressure. She's not exactly suicidal, but that could change quickly. Although sometimes I don't want to keep living my life too, so I get it, really. I know I should probably see someone, but I really feel like I don't want to. I'm not sure I could even feel better, I'm terrified of telling my parents, I don't want medication, and there's some part of me that just wants to be depressed for some reason. I just wanted to tell my story to someone. Sorry for the rambling on a bit. Jack

Is it anxiety?

replies: 1

Hello everyone I am new here and I have a few things to say and questions to ask. i have always struggled with nervous belly aches that obviously lead to me heading to the toilet. Three years or so ago this turned from belly aches to nausea, I was nervous over silly things and it would get to the point where I would almost be sick going places. There would be random situations or actions that a person would do that would trigger my heart rate to increase and for me to feel faint, I would also get the tightening in my chest. I always assumed that this was anxiety but I never got around to seeing someone about it much due to the fact that everyone seems to have anxiety these days and I felt like I was just self diagnosing and being silly. I would always be nervous going places and I would laugh it off like it was nothing even though a lot of situations I don't know whether I am going to end up crying or vomiting. I cry a lot more then I should but I have always blamed it on hormones and just being a teenage girl and what not but I'm 19 now and there are still nights where I cry in bed for no reason. I have a friend who was diagnosed with severe depression and social anxiety a few years back and she's still working through it and I speak to her about it and she seems to understand what I'm telling her and this makes me believe that yes I do in fact have anxiety because she goes through the same stuff but I don't want to see anyone about it. I don't know if it's because I am scared I will be diagnosed or whether I'm just being silly. most of the time I work through it by over exercising my body and working myself to the point where I almost make myself vomit. I'm comfortable at work because I work in a kitchen by myself and don't have to communicate and I distract myself by working hard. All I ever seem to want to do is distract myself from what's going on in my mind because I get upset from overthinking and honestly what I'm trying to say is I don't know whether I'm being silly and paranoid or whether I do actually have a serious condition which brings me to my final questions Do I have anxiety, should I go see someone about it and does anyone have any suggestions for me? Thank you

There is maybe a chance that I'am clinically depressed

replies: 1

My uncle was clinically depressed and I think it may have run in the family. I'm in High school on my last year, I only find happiness through my girlfriend and when she is sad I start to feel sad. I've been sad most of my life, I remember as a child that I would always feel sad for reasons I can't remember. I'm starting to go down the path my uncle did and I don't know if I'm depressed. But online I have the some of the symptoms of clinical depression which is normal right? As I was saying earlier the only time I am happy is with my love and some of my friends. The thoughts won't escape my mind unless I'm with her. I can't afford a professional and my parents refuse to take me because if I tell them they would just laugh. Moreover, I don't know if I am depressed or not. I may be just really stupid or I refuse to be depressed because if my love new that I was clinically depressed she would be sad and I don't want her to be sad at all. I have sometimes make issues up and start to feel sad about them. Just to clarify not one of my sad thoughts are about my girlfriend. I don't know if I'm depressed or not and I refuse to think that I am. please help and thank-you.

Feeling like an Outcast

replies: 9

Hello, New to this and I'll try my best to be understandable. Ever since I've hit the age of 19, things haven't been so good mentally. I'm always feeling like an outcast and not feeling good about myself. I'm not the best in social situations, I struggle to find good friends, and even when I have social events, I can come of as awkward and weird, and I can tell most people I met see this in me by how they react when I'm around. Everyone around seems to be good at all these things, have good social skills, confident, while I just feel hopeless no matter what I do. Tbh though I've never enjoyed much of what my age group like, clubbing, drinking etc so I think that's why I not able to fit in with most people my age, I have different interests, such as, I enjoy classical music, while no one else does and people judge me for it, so I think more less of myself, hence feeling like an outcast. These are small issues but effect me greatly. I hope this all made sense and someone can give me some advice on the matter. Thank you.

Looking for advice

replies: 7

Hey everyone, This is the first time I have logged on to my account since I was 14. I'm 16 now. I want to mainly focus on how I've been feeling in the last few months. I went through this when I was 14 and it has started to come back again. I'm naturally a really happy person and I hate being sad because that isn't who I am. I'm scared that I haven't been myself for a few months and it is a lot more serious this time. im really close with my mum and I try and talk to her about it but I feel so embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I don't want her to blame me being sad on herself. She has a lot going on too and I don't want to be a burden on her and the rest of my family. Recently at school I had an anxiety attack and an ambulance was called. I was so scared. I see my school counsellor a lot but it doesn't help and I feel so helpless that nothing I try and do helps me. i can't sleep at night and struggle to concentrate at school, my grades are dropping and I've just moved to a new school. I feel like such a disappointment considering I got in for my academics. this is so much more serious than last time and I'm not sure if 'talking to my school counsellor' is going to be enough.

Having trouble sleeping because of depression and anxiety.

replies: 2

Hi, so this has only started recently and I'm not sure what I can do to help it? I have anxiety attacks every night and it will take me hours to try and get to sleep, please help.

New to this Forum? Please read this first! replies: 0

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

Uni & work nothing much else replies: 1

Social Anxiety HELP!!!!!ADVICE!!!!! replies: 1

Defeated replies: 6

Just need to get this off my chest. Trouble with uni and unsupportive parents. replies: 3

Introducing myself replies: 10

Is it anxiety? replies: 1

There is maybe a chance that I'am clinically depressed replies: 1

Feeling like an Outcast replies: 9

Looking for advice replies: 7

Having trouble sleeping because of depression and anxiety. replies: 2