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.

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

Pinned discussions

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

Err I am scared that I won't be able to deal with life much longer
  • replies: 3

I'm in year 9 and just started my first job at McDonald's. It is an intensely stressful job that I'm scared I'll screw up in or won't be smart enough or resilient enough to keep working there. But recently that got me wondering if I'll ever be able t... View more

I'm in year 9 and just started my first job at McDonald's. It is an intensely stressful job that I'm scared I'll screw up in or won't be smart enough or resilient enough to keep working there. But recently that got me wondering if I'll ever be able to cope with having a new job at all. I've always had very severe anxiety though recently it has been getting worse. No future careers or jobs appeal to me so I have no idea what I want to do after school. I'm so lost and scared and I recently lost all of my friends. I can't deal with any of it.

Guest_53949320 ADHD and Losing Things
  • replies: 3

I'm mid 40s and have been diagnosed ADHD, though still sceptical. However one symptom is I constantly lose things. The other day my expensive earbuds, and today realising that I can't find my laptop, which has a lot of info on the hard drive that I h... View more

I'm mid 40s and have been diagnosed ADHD, though still sceptical. However one symptom is I constantly lose things. The other day my expensive earbuds, and today realising that I can't find my laptop, which has a lot of info on the hard drive that I haven't backed up. I forget things on a daily basis but I'm really starting to get concerned that something else is going on. Medication just isn't helping. My life is very disorganised and I take ages to complete tasks if at all.

Aubergine It’s becoming so much and I find myself not feeling real
  • replies: 4

I don’t have a support system or yk any of that, no one to talk to I mean if I have my friends but I don’t wanna burden them with stuff. This always happens I just don’t know how to deal with stress and I end up breaking down in classes due to misund... View more

I don’t have a support system or yk any of that, no one to talk to I mean if I have my friends but I don’t wanna burden them with stuff. This always happens I just don’t know how to deal with stress and I end up breaking down in classes due to misunderstanding and feeling dumb. All of my friends are smarter and doing stuff but I can’t I just have this mental block I can’t do I it I just can’t. I’ve been thinking about ending it all but I’m I wouldn’t be able to do that I just think about it. I look in the mirror and don’t see myself but see this creepy imitation of what’s supposed to be me. I’m so scared for the future, I’m scared of failure. I just can’t do it anymore.

Guest_42570635 Just wanna chat
  • replies: 3

Find that I'm lonely and wanting someone to chat to

Find that I'm lonely and wanting someone to chat to

meeeeeeee sick, tired, overwhelmed and cant stop crying
  • replies: 2

omg im so stressed!! and im tired cause last night i was up till 10pm dancing non stop from 12pm and ive got so much school work due tomorrow and i just cant stop crying, help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

omg im so stressed!! and im tired cause last night i was up till 10pm dancing non stop from 12pm and ive got so much school work due tomorrow and i just cant stop crying, help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guest_55730222 I moved to a new school and nobody likes me
  • replies: 2

hi guys. I just need someone to talk to. At the start of this year I moved to a new school, not knowing anyone. Things were going well, except everyone already knew each other very well, so it was hard for me to fit in. I had found a friend group qui... View more

hi guys. I just need someone to talk to. At the start of this year I moved to a new school, not knowing anyone. Things were going well, except everyone already knew each other very well, so it was hard for me to fit in. I had found a friend group quite quickly, the ‘popular group’, but I never really talked because everyone I would talk, everyone would kind of go silent, or it would be ignored. It wasn’t too bad until about 1 or 2 weeks ago, when all my friends stopped talking to me. I would stand next to a few girls in the morning before class (my friend group) and they would ignore me every time I said something or answer it but not really pay attention to me. I try to make conversation but lots of them just ignore me. Then one of my actual friends from that school who left last term ( just my luck), showed me messages between one of the girls in my friend group I was quite close with today. The girl in my friend group said that I am being annoying, and that our group no longer likes me. She said that I don’t talk and just sit there (which I do I’ll be honest but only because no body listens to me), and that I make no effort to initiate conversation ( which is not true). I once tried to initiate convo with that girl and she ignored me so like yk. Anyway lately all the girls in my group have been ignoring me, taking photos infront of me, it’s so bad and it’s made me full on depressed and had self harm thoughts. Please does anyone have any tips or something I am desperate.

cantdothis Why am I so bad at keeping friends?
  • replies: 2

I just graduated school, and I'm realising I never formed any close friendships. I have one best friend and one close friend that I will try to maintain contact with after school. I don't know why I am so bad at becoming close friends with people bec... View more

I just graduated school, and I'm realising I never formed any close friendships. I have one best friend and one close friend that I will try to maintain contact with after school. I don't know why I am so bad at becoming close friends with people because I have acquaintances and friends but no close friends. It feels like everyone is close friends but I have no idea what I'm doing. It's worse because I feel scared that all my friends that I'm "close" to, actually don't reciprocate my feelings and think of me as a regular friend. It scares me that I'll grow old and I'll be lonely. It makes it worse that all my friends have started drinking when they're going out but I'm still too scared to get drunk and I only started trying to drink a couple of weeks ago. I feel like I'm socially stunted because I can never find the right words, or am accidentally offending people, or I'll come off as weird so recently I've realised that I'll avoid talking in group settings. I feel like I have no common sense or critical thinking skills, and I have no spacial or geographical awareness. I feel like I'm a bad friend because I always forget everyone's birthdays and don't really buy them gifts, and I am a bad listener because I always zone out. Everyone tries to baby me because I'm so socially inept. I don't know what is wrong with me. Is there anyway to learn how to act like a normal person? I just want to have close friends.

Z_BB Failing Uni
  • replies: 2

I started my dream uni course in 2023. After completing a bridging course in 2022 to gain entry into my dream course. I unfortunately failed a subject in my 1st year and had to repeat it in my 2nd year. I once again failed it in my 2nd attempt and wa... View more

I started my dream uni course in 2023. After completing a bridging course in 2022 to gain entry into my dream course. I unfortunately failed a subject in my 1st year and had to repeat it in my 2nd year. I once again failed it in my 2nd attempt and was academically excluded from the university. Ever since my mental health has been awful. I feel like such a failure and I have been lying to everyone around me because I’m too embarrassed to say I failed twice. It was my dream course and I did really enjoy the content but I just honestly couldn’t keep up with the workload and had a lot of personal issues going on that affected me mentally. I’m feeling overwhelmed with the fear of what to do next with my life. I’m not sure if I should find another course at another university and try again or if I should look at different options, but I feel like i have wasted the last 3 years of my life working towards my uni goal, just to chuck it away. All of my friends/partner have already graduated and have their life figured out. I’m getting to the point in my life where I’m 23 and I’m worried that starting a new 4-year course will set my whole life plans back and I still won’t have anything figured out by the time I’m 30. I don’t know what to do. I’d love to hear some other people’s stories about finding success and their right path! At the moment I’m feeling like such a failure and cannot see a further for myself..

Tiah_ A fear I've Never Told Anyone
  • replies: 2

I'm not really the kind to aerate my problems for the whole world to see, but I know people on here are usually quite honest. I know what I'm going to say may come across as trivial compared to so many of the stories on here (my heart goes out to you... View more

I'm not really the kind to aerate my problems for the whole world to see, but I know people on here are usually quite honest. I know what I'm going to say may come across as trivial compared to so many of the stories on here (my heart goes out to you all), but it matters a great deal to me. I think first and foremost i should make it known that I'm quite a big girl. I'm not morbidly obese to the point where I can't walk or my health is putting me at risk, but enough to have been bullied almost my whole life for it. I've done so many things to try and lose weight and it just never works, but I digress. Growing up, I saw all my thin friends get crushed on by guys, and then going into high school, boys always wanted them, but little to none ever looked my way. I've had my fair share of relationships, yes, but almost all of those were just because we were 12-13 years old and felt pressured to be in relationships. I dated a guy when I was 17-18, and as much of a shit show that was, he was my first real love. I want to be loved in the same way everyone else wants to be loved, but I fear it may not be in the stars for me. Anytime I've ever really expressed it to anyone, I'm always met with the same response: "You're young, you have your whole life to find someone", or "There's someone out there for everyone", or the infamous "Love will come when you least expect it." It's so draining. Yes, I'm 19, and I do have my whole life ahead of me, but it only makes the feeling worse. There are so many people (especially in my generation) who hate fat people just for existing.Because of my weight, I'll never get the genuine love I crave so badly. I've always been the girl who's good enough to have sex with but never appealing enough to be loved out loud. I sometimes feel like I'm just the dirty magazine a boy stuffs under his mattress so his parents don't see. Every time I see couples in real life or online, I get this feeling in my stomach. I'm happy for them, but I hate them for it. It even happens with people I know. Almost everyone I know is in love or has kids, which are the two things I want most in this world and the idea that I may never get either of them haunts every corner of my brain. I could go on for hours and hours about this, but I think it's safe to say my point has been made. Again, I'm sorry if this all sounds like one big first-world problem, but I'm so tired of being plagued with the same thoughts every single day of my life for years on end.

Jane University is so lonely
  • replies: 2

Because of my health I am isolated to protect myself from COVID. I started uni online to stay connected to other people. Unfortunately I have found university online to be more isolating as most of the university activities are not available to exter... View more

Because of my health I am isolated to protect myself from COVID. I started uni online to stay connected to other people. Unfortunately I have found university online to be more isolating as most of the university activities are not available to external students. I like my course but now I feel like I don’t belong here either. Has anyone managed to complete university online without feeling like a burden and unwanted.