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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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gemmadavidson92 Body Dysmorphia
  • replies: 1

I developed anorexia when I was 14, up until I was 17. My parents never noticed, or always turned a blind eye to it. I used to over exercise, and would only drink coffee during the day. I’m now 24, and It wasn’t until I started seeing a therapist thi... View more

I developed anorexia when I was 14, up until I was 17. My parents never noticed, or always turned a blind eye to it. I used to over exercise, and would only drink coffee during the day. I’m now 24, and It wasn’t until I started seeing a therapist this year that I realised how bad it really was. I never got any treatment for ED when I was a teen, I was just told to eat more. It made me real sick, to the point that my body rejected any food I ate. I recovered on my own when I graduated school, and never told anyone. But I still go through periods where I will have real bad body image, and eat as little as possible for days/weeks. I weight myself everyday to ensure I haven’t gained weight. But sometimes I’ll be really good and eat “normal”. I feel like I’ve been stuck in a loop for a very long time, and although I haven’t relapsed with anorexia, I feel like there’s always a voice in my head saying that I’m too fat. That everything that happens relates to my weight. Sometimes it’s all I can think about, even at work. When I see a photo of myself, I will zoom in and make sure I don’t look big, or too fat compared to everyone else. It’s all very exhausting. I can’t help but hate myself for feeling like this all the time. I’ve been very open about this with a therapist, but because I don’t have an eating disorder anymore, they focus on other things such as anxiety and depression.

Guest_45427330 Feeling lost about my career path
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone,I'm feeling quite stuck on what to do with my career.I have been working in the childcare industry for the past 4-5 years, i am a team leader currently but i love the children but i really just don't love the job anymore. I do not want to... View more

Hi everyone,I'm feeling quite stuck on what to do with my career.I have been working in the childcare industry for the past 4-5 years, i am a team leader currently but i love the children but i really just don't love the job anymore. I do not want to work weekends but want a full time Monday to Friday job. I'm not sure what to do, i am only 25 but just feel stuck and need some help figuring out what to do... any help would be great. Obviously i need to be earning enough money still to live off but please help me figure out what to do as i have barely any experience with anything else

Guest_67029864 Hi
  • replies: 1

Hey, I’m a teen who is struggling because I think a guy at my school is overly obsessed with me to the near point stalking. He’s constantly talking to me in areas I don’t feel safe in (up against a locker, in a corner etc.) and asking me if I want th... View more

Hey, I’m a teen who is struggling because I think a guy at my school is overly obsessed with me to the near point stalking. He’s constantly talking to me in areas I don’t feel safe in (up against a locker, in a corner etc.) and asking me if I want thing such as gifts. He doesn’t have many friends so I tried to be nice and it’s gotten to the point where he thinks I’m his best friend and I’m in love with him. I don’t have a good relationship with my parents and don’t want to tell the school because of their obligation to inform them. Does anyone have any advice as to what I should do?

Lonely_fish I am a bad friend.
  • replies: 2

I recently had a rude awakening when someone I considered a close friend (dare I even say a sister) called me out for some of my toxic behaviours. For context, I had told this friend, along with a small group of people that I trusted, about various s... View more

I recently had a rude awakening when someone I considered a close friend (dare I even say a sister) called me out for some of my toxic behaviours. For context, I had told this friend, along with a small group of people that I trusted, about various situations that took place in my life over the last two years- and some of the people who were hearing me tell this story were even present during the time that some of these things were happening. According to the friend group, a lot of these stories I was telling were considered "rude" and "more like rumours" even though I had said that these renditions of the stories were what I had either experienced or heard from the people actually involved first-hand. I had tried to apologise- but (according to almost every person I had written an apology to) I had written it so poorly that they assumed I had used ChatGPT to write and didn't actually mean anything, and then when I tried to have a one-on-one discussion with the close friend, they ignored my messages. I then began to notice that they had begun to remove me from some of the platforms and spaces that we were using to communicate. I had then decided that they probably wanted me to leave, so I left the platform. They then made multiple social media posts using screenshots from our chats (which I wrote and told them because I trusted them enough to say it and vice versa) basically painting me as the bad guy. My final straw was when they contacted my parents and basically sent them all the stuff I told them in confidence and tried to make it seem like I was just some evil person. I probably could've made my apology better, but I've never been good with words, and so when I was trying to fix things, I was more taking actions and steps to actually stop the toxic behaviours that they called me out for. I lost a whole friend group from that. But I understand that it was my fault, I'm just really upset that my attempt at trying to save those friendships went terribly.

OceanPhoenix Food
  • replies: 1

Hi, So I have been struggling with food for a while now. Now and then I will eat a lot of food to the point that it has surpassed fullness, and I just feel sick. It has been going on and off since I was 17 (now 20) but has gotten worse in the last ye... View more

Hi, So I have been struggling with food for a while now. Now and then I will eat a lot of food to the point that it has surpassed fullness, and I just feel sick. It has been going on and off since I was 17 (now 20) but has gotten worse in the last year and a half. My main issue has been sugar and I have been using a routine where I eat sugar on two specific days each week to regulate the craving, but today I binged again. I feel immensely guilty and feel like trash after each binge and when I see the weight gain it ruins my whole day. On top of that I worry about calories whenever I go out to eat, searching for lowest calories options at any restaurant I go to, and now I cannot enjoy eating out anymore. Eating out causes me stress and often I find myself wanting to cancel plans just to avoid it. This was a recent development (last 6 months) after coming off of dieting for 6months, and I am worried I can never get over it. I am terrified that I will never not be able to stop binging and while now its far fewer and far in between, it still happens and that scares me. When I do it, I become so moody and my day becomes ruined and I cannot control it. I feel so lost. I considered therapy but I am a student and cannot afford it. Anyday advice would be greatly appreciated.

Guest_10163773 Can't wrap my head around university
  • replies: 3

Hello I am currently in my first year of my Bachelor of Education and I feel like I'm drifting. I can't finish assignments on time and leave them till the last minute, don't understand the content, mess up all my enrolment, don't go to class. I feel ... View more

Hello I am currently in my first year of my Bachelor of Education and I feel like I'm drifting. I can't finish assignments on time and leave them till the last minute, don't understand the content, mess up all my enrolment, don't go to class. I feel like a loser and a failure. I have already dropped out of uni once and even though my dream is to become a teacher, I just can't crack it. I can't focus and I just don't understand what is going on ever.I can't function as an adult and it makes me feel horrible about myself. I feel like I am constantly making the wrong decision.

Guest_89565637 Advice
  • replies: 3

Hi, I am having trouble with a situation and it has being bothering me a lot (making my emotions go up and down). So I was at uni and taking a drama storytelling class and the teacher, who is a casual made me feel uncomfortable. When my partner and I... View more

Hi, I am having trouble with a situation and it has being bothering me a lot (making my emotions go up and down). So I was at uni and taking a drama storytelling class and the teacher, who is a casual made me feel uncomfortable. When my partner and I were asked to perform to a group we were assign, she came over to ‘help’ us with the other part of the acting. I was nervous because I had never done acting, so my body was stiff. After she told my partner what to do she turned to me and said something like you have to stay in character and not act like me who is back is hunched over and she proceeded to hunch over to show me what she was saying. During the moment I kind of smiled and didn’t feel anything. I just did what she was told and acted in character. She walked away without looking at me and said “Turn to the audience”. The group who were watching us saw and another 2 groups also was in the room. After this, she continued to show my partner what to do and as I was nervous and not sure what to do I just stayed still in my character’s position and my body facing the audience (because I remembered her telling me turn to the audience) She saw this and signed, pushed my right side of my waist to make me turn to her. This was when I felt weird. She acted it out and showed my partner how to do the acting. When we sat down for the discussion, the wild negative emotions came rushing to me. I felt like I was not respected and humiliated. Writing this really brought back the bad memories. For a few days I have been thinking if I was too sensitive, taking thing too personally or I have a fragile heart/mindset. However, on the other hand it’s taking a toll on my emotions. I really need some help with this. I would really appreciate if someone could help me with changing this mindset so it doesn’t make me feel emotional.

Guest_10281 Advice?
  • replies: 1

Hi, I’m Belle. I’m a LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent teenager. I had some rumours spread about me back when I was in year six, and people still believe a lot of those. Due to that, I don’t have many friends.I made a friend last year, but she ended up being... View more

Hi, I’m Belle. I’m a LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent teenager. I had some rumours spread about me back when I was in year six, and people still believe a lot of those. Due to that, I don’t have many friends.I made a friend last year, but she ended up being really abusive. And after having several abusive friends in the past, and going through a few situations that have led to some trauma. I’m now afraid to make new friends. Because I’m scared they will hurt me.However, I’ve had two friends throughout my school life. One of them is in my mother’s group and I met the other during class. But both of them have become obsessed with dating, and boys. The girl from my mother’s group had recently gotten more quiet, and annoyed at me. I’m not sure why. This led to her making me leave her alone, and be by myself. I ended up needing to go to a teacher, and spend lunch in my classroom.I can only be myself when she is in a good mood. And my other friend is distancing herself from me during the day.I’m in a class with zero friends, and like I said. I’m too scared to make friends. Does anyone have any ideas on what I should do? Because life is getting pretty tough, and I’m getting quite lonely.

Undergrad I have no friends, cannot make friends and am crushingly lonely. Please help.
  • replies: 7

I made this account literally just to post this, and I’m not sure if anyone will care, but if the brochures from the mental health spokespeople in school mean anything, then I suppose this is a place that can help. For the past 6 years, I have felt l... View more

I made this account literally just to post this, and I’m not sure if anyone will care, but if the brochures from the mental health spokespeople in school mean anything, then I suppose this is a place that can help. For the past 6 years, I have felt like someone who nobody wanted to be friends with. I’ve floated around different groups, only for them to treat me like shit and be rejected. I put so much time and energy into making new friends every year to replace the old ones I lose, only for them to leave me as well. I try explaining it to people, nobody and I mean nobody can help, it’s always just the same recycled responses “oh just reach out” “make new friends” “see new people” yeah, as if I haven’t tried that 100 times already. Honestly, I am always the third wheel in a friendship. Years of being people’s second or last choice or never even a choice at all has left me in a state where I am completely incapable of feeling wanted or worth anything. I tell myself that things will get better, and I tell myself that I’ll get new friends but the cycle just repeats over and over and over. I can’t tell my parents, I can’t have them worried, and they wouldn’t understand. I love them but this is something that I don’t think they can help with. I feel crushingly lonely constantly. It is truly horrible. I feel like that outside of my immediate family there is not a soul who cares about me on this planet. I need to know that my experience isn’t unique. I need someone to be able to relate with me. I need to know that I’m not just the freak show who is physically incapable of forming meaningful friendships. I don’t know if anybody is going to read this, I don’t know if anybody cares. But, if my mental breakdown 1 AM forum post graces your screen, please, tell me you relate.

Guest_47712930 Advice
  • replies: 1

Hi, I just need advice on actually getting a mental health assessment, I actually feel like I do need one at the moment because lately my mental health has just been really going down. I don't know how to bring this up to my parents, because they're ... View more

Hi, I just need advice on actually getting a mental health assessment, I actually feel like I do need one at the moment because lately my mental health has just been really going down. I don't know how to bring this up to my parents, because they're kind of the types who don't believe in mental health. But I've kind of just been downplaying my feelings at the moment, thinking that it's probably just because I'm on my period and it's kind of just maybe stress. I just have no clue what to do anymore.