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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I feel like my parents don’t understand

replies: 8

This is just a bit of a rant. I came out of my room to see my mum and watch some tv with her. Almost instantly she tells me I need to shower. I’m aware of that. I haven’t showered in ages, I physically cannot. Then I ask if there’s any popcorn left. She tells me I need to eat something healthy because I had cereal for dinner. It was nutrograin (idk how to spell it.) no, it’s not particularly healthy but it’s not as bad as coco puffs or something like that. I really struggle with eating due to PDA, and she know that when I can eat, I do. When I can eat, I eat a safe food. But when I can eat, she tells me to eat healthier. I know I don’t eat healthy. I know I don’t eat often and I know she’s trying to help but whenever I tell her that it makes it worse, she gets mad at me. When I walked back to my room tonight, she said angrily, “great, just great.” My dad is similar. He says things like “you need to cut down on junk food,” when I’m having a small bowl of ice cream. He eats SO much junk food. Every night. We bought a box of ice creams (on sticks) the other day. They come in 6 packs. The next night I went to get one and there were none left. My mum and sister only had one each. That means he had four, in one night. I’m so sick and tired of them telling me not to do things that 1, I’m not doing and 2, they do. Thanks for reading and sorry for the long post Bee

I feel so numb

replies: 3

One of my very good friends just said he liked me and really wanted to let me know so that the friendship doesn't whittle down for any unexplained reasons. I'm very happy that he's said this because he's still choosing to be my friend and i expressed that I am so thankful for that and that's what he wants too. I am actually so happy to have him in my life and im so happy that we can talk everyday and just maintain the level of pleasure we have when we're around each other. However it was very hard to turn him down after reading that. I have a crush on him too but decided not to date him because he's my brother's friend. I was asking on advice before all this happened on whether or not I pursue him but my Dad advised that I don't because of the weird tie. My mum found it normal and that I can date him if I wanted to. I initially thought not because I thought it was weird at first...but then my feelings became stronger. After he expressed how he felt and how I felt, I feel so numb. But I guess I know this is a good decision (I think) even though when I'm high on my feelings, I want to date him so bad. But when I'm not high on feelings, I still tell myself to turn him down. I just hope we can still be exactly how we are after this. I really like being around him so much and he's helped me so much. We've been friends for 2 years but he's known me since I was little. I just feel so hurt that I had to do that.

Difficulty coping

replies: 7

Hey, I’m Ly. I’m in year eleven, and am currently struggling to manage a depressive episode. My doctor has upped my prescription, but until it kicks in, I need to figure out a way to cope. The fatigue and exhaustion is so prevalent that it’s sometimes hard to move my body. I feel sluggish and slow, and the brain fog makes it difficult to do school work. I have assignments coming up and I struggle even starting them. When I’m mentally well I excel academically, but right now things are hard. My hygiene’s been slipping too. I often find it difficult to shower or wash my hair. Any advice?

I’ve lost all motivation in my final year of school

replies: 4

Hi, I’m a bit new here so please bear with me in this. I am in my final year of high school and i’ve been suffering with a loss of motivation. i’ve been heavily debating by what to do with it and i decided to try reach out for some help/advice on what to do. i have tried to reach out a few times for help from the school councillor but i’ve really struggled, few reasons being that i have trouble expressing myself in how i feel, i tend to be someone who tries to rationalise my emotions and my i tend to struggle with recollecting my emotions and experiences. it’s also quite hard for me to open up with my emotions at home with my fears of it being used against me or causing a fight. what’s one of the worst things for me is the fact that i go to an academic school and a whole lot of people have high expectations of me but i think i’m struggling so much that i’ll disappoint everyone and humiliate myself. i’m no longer good at what i once thought i was good and am have come to realise that i’ve never really been talented but just either extremely lucky in some circumstances, or in other times just motivated by fear or other external factors. i feel so burnt out but guilty for feeling this way, but at the end of the day i still end up doing nothing but doing useless things to avoid my duties. then at the end of the day i either go to sleep crying or intentionally going on my phone to forget this anxiousness then this cycle of guilt and being lazy just persists. ill be honest i don’t really know what i wanted from saying this, but i guess i just wanted to let out how i feel in a way that would be easier for me than physically consulting someone without feeling as embarrassed or like a fool/attention seeker as i would if i expressed this out loud to someone. would there be a way for me to cope with these feelings? what should i do? i feel like i’m struggling to validate how i’m truly feeling because i feel like im not actually struggling with motivation but intentionally being lazy just to feel like some sort of a victim. i apologise if this is really hard to understand and just feels like a rant. it’s my first time on this site so i’m not too sure if i’ve done this right or whether this is something i’m allowed to post and please feel free to give me any opinions (even if it’s blunt) or judgement for anything i’ve said. thanks.

Working with worries

replies: 10

Hello, this my second post. i am currently in a math class and I can't find motivation for the life of me. I have been falling behind in most classes because of anxiety and clinical depression. what should i do to get some ideas and start catching up... View more

Depression Impacting My Life

replies: 2

Hi, Im a 17 year old in year 12 and im struggling with depression. I've been struggling with depression for about 2 years and I'm seeing a psychologist to help and I'm finding a psychiatrist to get medication to help. But recently, the depression and having to deal with (supposed) fibromyalgia at a young age has made my life really difficult and I feel really alone. I have had 23 days off school this semester so far and i have missed out on so much work I cant even begin to explain it. My biggest problem is not how much ive missed, but the fact that i cant find the motivation to do any school work whatsover and when i actually want to do work, my brain wont let me. Concentration has gone completely out of the window and sometimes i cant even speak or write sentences properly its super frustrating. It's like the parts of my brain that I need to function have been taped off with 'restricted area' tape and i cant get passed it. I feel like a pen (you know when the ink gets dry or stuck and it wont come out?) and no matter how hard i scribble or draw nothing, comes out. Ive had to apply for so many extensions on assignments i feel embarrassed and that my teachers think i am lazy. They know about my physical health issues and my mental health ones but they still ask a million questions, and give useless advice. I never hand in a completed draft for any of my assignments anymore. I find it overwhelming to respond or write emails to my teachers because i have to re-explain my mental and physical health situations over and over again because of the policies that the school has with having excuses for not doing work. Ive tried to explain to my parents how i feel and that nothing is working but they only tell me to keep going and 'just do it' but that doesn't work for me. Ive tried the 'do it for 5 mins' trick, and the reward trick, i get rid of as many distractions as i can but somehow even my own reflection distracts me. I know that lack of interest and motivation in things is a common symptom of depression but i feel like it's so severe at the moment to the point where i feel like my life is spiraling out of control and im a ghost who physically cant grasp the wheel. I recently told my parents some difficult things i have been thinking and feeling about life and we talked about maybe going to the hospital which I feel like i do need but I have no idea what it's like there, nor do i have anyone i can talk to about what its like for a young person like me there.

Weird stuff has been going on and I dont think I'm ok I need help please whats going on

replies: 4

2 weeks ago i started hearing voices in my head. Sometimes they sound different in terms of tone and pitch, sometimes they're the same or very similar to mine. I keep feeling like everything is imaginary and fake, and I'm having trouble on concentrating on lots of things. I keep zoning out way more than I usually do. I have been diagnosed with AD/HD so it feels weird, I zone out and see things happening and hear them, but it all seems unclear and far away and unimportant. The voices I keep hearing seem to come and go, but whenever I zone out, they're always there and they seem more noticeably different then than other times. I keep getting dizzy randomly, and I keep forgetting things, even if they've just happened, like I listen to somebody say something and then realise that I don't know any of what they said, or (This is something that happened to me this morning) Waking up, and immediately finding a stickynote on my bedroom door with a message on it (I don't want to say it here). The door was locked (from the inside) and It wasn't locked when I went to sleep, so I'm nervous because I don't sleepwalk or anything. At school earlier today, somebody came up to me and greeted me, saying we had talked before. I do have really bad memory, but I don't think it was memory this time because he greeted me with a different name and got confused when I said that it wasn't my name. This sort of thing has been happening to me alot for the past 2 weeks. Also, a few times I've felt like I'm moving without trying, and at those times when I do try to move voluntarily then I can't, or only very slightly, like twitching my fingers and that's it. I don't even feel like me sometimes, and when I look in the mirror I have trouble recognizing myself as myself. Does anybody know what this is?? Please Helppp

Am I running out of time?

replies: 6

I’m very nearly 20 and feel as though I haven’t accomplished as much as I should. I used to be the kid that did absolutely everything and did it well. Now I sit around without friends or hobbies wondering if I’ll ever make anything of myself. My grades at uni are no longer the A’s they once were. My jobs (I have two) pay less than enough to be financially stable. I live alone and know bringing in a roommate would be more financially responsible but I’m an introvert who needs space and would panic having someone else in my home. My problem is I feel that I don’t really have much direction. I’m not extraordinary at anything and I’m just sort of decent at most things so I have no idea what to do with myself. I feel like I’ve not accomplished anything and that I’m running out of time to find a skill or passion that’s worth investing in. If you have advice or have felt like this, I’d love to listen. Sincerely, A very stuck young human.

Feeling anxious lately

replies: 5

Hi Just to be clear, I have never been diagnosed with anxiety and I don't think I have it. Recently, I have been experiencing a lot of feelings of anxiety. It happens mostly when I am going to sleep, because at this time I have nothing to occupy my mind with. I often rethink my day and obsess over little mistakes I made such as saying the wrong thing in a conversation or making a mistake in my school work or exam etc. I try to control it but it gets uncontrollable and it feels like my life is over resulting in having a lot of trouble sleeping. I have tried meditating and other techniques but it doesnt stop. I have never gotten a panic attack, but my mind starts racing and I get really emotional. Does anyone know how to help? I know it sounds small but I feel like I am being attacked for every small error I make.

How do I tell my mum I think I'm depressed?

replies: 7

Hi, I'm 13, and generally throughout life I've been just a happy average kid. There have been many things that could have made things really bad, like a mixture of always being the 'fat girl' throughout primary school and all of the boys teasing me and just being told nobody will ever like me, but it didn't really have much of an impact on me when I was younger. Since leaving primary school, I have become a lot more comfortable and confident in my body, and I think I have shed a few kilograms, and I'm proud of myself - however it's always a thought in my head "is this shirt clinging in the wrong places" "do they think I'm fat" and every time I walk past a mirror I can't stop checking to see if I'm fatter than last night and stuff. I've also been having some friendship issues. My best friend all throughout primary school goes to a different highschool because I moved, and we don't see each other as much as we used to. I miss her terribly, and sometimes I just cry thinking of all the memories we shared through about 10 years of knowing each other. I miss her so bad. My highschool friends are great, but my highschool bestfriend is weird sometimes. Sometimes, I love our friendship so much, for about a month, it'll be pure joy. It'll just be fun, and laughing and all that good stuff, but then other times, it's so dark, and depressing, and dry, and just plain sad. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep thinking about how we have never held hands or hugged or had a proper heart to heart, and I just wish we could be closer. My highschool bestfriend just doesn't open up to me. Her grandmother recently passed away, and she didn't tell me till about a week before it happened. Of course, I was heartbroken for her, but I also felt this sudden hurt, like she'd just punched me in the face. I know I have no right and it's not really my place to say this, but I was so upset she didn't tell me this. I feel like that's something I would tell her, and so I was really hurt. I also just feel so lonely sometimes. It could just be becoming a teenager and things like that, but I'm starting to wonder. Do i have depression? Do I have anxiety? It's a common thought to me, but I'm not sure how to ask my parents to see a doctor, coz they might just brush it off or think im overreacting. I just want to be happy.

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

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

I feel like my parents don’t understand replies: 8

I feel so numb replies: 3

Difficulty coping replies: 7

I’ve lost all motivation in my final year of school replies: 4

Working with worries replies: 10

Depression Impacting My Life replies: 2

Weird stuff has been going on and I dont think I'm ok I need help please whats going on replies: 4

Am I running out of time? replies: 6

Feeling anxious lately replies: 5

How do I tell my mum I think I'm depressed? replies: 7