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.

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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

PetaRina Treatments for depression & Anxiety?
  • replies: 2

I feel like this is something i could just google, but i'm looking for a more specified response, particularly from people around my age or regarding people my age. What treatments are there for depression or anxiety? If you 'qualify', are you just g... View more

I feel like this is something i could just google, but i'm looking for a more specified response, particularly from people around my age or regarding people my age. What treatments are there for depression or anxiety? If you 'qualify', are you just given medication or anti- depressants? Do you just get counselling until you get better, or to a point where it's manageable? I don't know if i'm even depressed or have anxiety, but i'm hesitant to go and speak to a GP or anything because if it turns out i did have something wrong, i don't want to be drugged for the rest of my life as a solution, and counselling just seems like too much of an idealistic solution, something that doesn't really work in practice. Coming from a position of naivety, I've never been to a counselor so i don't know how it works, but i don't know how talking about it can make it go away. I've read over this post and it comes across as really ignorant, i don't mean it like that, i'm just not good at wording my questions. i'm trying to ask if treatments for anxiety or depression actually help you overcome it, or it's more about just teaching you to live with it., and thus is it worth the money to try and look into it. Also, i'm 18, so if i was diagnosed as having a mental illness, does the severity impact whether i'd be medicated or not or whether I'd be referred to counselling & has anyone had success with counselling or did it just teach them to accept what's wrong with them?

Poppy Anxiety is tough for boyfriend
  • replies: 4

I often worry that my beautiful boyfriend who I've been with for over a year who does so much for me will one day stop because dealing with someone with anxiety isn't easy ; I get scared he could have it so much easier even though he adores me. I wor... View more

I often worry that my beautiful boyfriend who I've been with for over a year who does so much for me will one day stop because dealing with someone with anxiety isn't easy ; I get scared he could have it so much easier even though he adores me. I worry it's unfair on him but he says if you love someone you love every bit of them even the bad bits. I have a dad with bipolar so I know how tough it can be living with a person with a mental health issue. What are other people's partners like with their anxiety ?

Lara1 Anxiety in a serious relationship
  • replies: 1

Ive suffered from severe anxiety for the past 3 years and my boyfriend has been there through it with me the whole time. My anxiety first triggered when i found out my mother was diagnosed with cancer and ever since then its been extremely overwhelmi... View more

Ive suffered from severe anxiety for the past 3 years and my boyfriend has been there through it with me the whole time. My anxiety first triggered when i found out my mother was diagnosed with cancer and ever since then its been extremely overwhelming, but he always stayed by my side. Now lately I'm in a really stressful period of my life and all the negative thoughts are snowballing in my head and i feel my emotional state is really impacting on our relationship so i can't stop worrying that i'm going to lose him. I don't know what to do anymore - i love him very much, to me is my everything however since i've been in this really stressful period our relationship keeps making me upset. I don't know what to do, i've tried to explain to him how i'm feeling but he can't really understand. I try to challenge the negative thoughts but I'm in such a dark place right now its really hard. Any advice on what i should do?

J96 How it all began
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, My name is Jess and it is my first time posting on these forums. The thought occurred to me today to check out the BeyondBlue website, I didn't realise there was a forum but I wanted to give it a go, maybe others here feel the same way t... View more

Hi everyone, My name is Jess and it is my first time posting on these forums. The thought occurred to me today to check out the BeyondBlue website, I didn't realise there was a forum but I wanted to give it a go, maybe others here feel the same way that I do. Here goes then... The day of my first year 12 exam in year 11 is when everything came to a head. I woke up feeling a little nervous but nothing out of the ordinary. Then I just remember feeling sick and like I couldn't do the exam. I was crying and I couldn't eat and quite frankly, freaking out! This more or less came out of nowhere to me. I'd done exams before, I'd performed well in the subject through out the year and while feeling nervous I didn't think it was anything unusual. Well, I managed to get through the exam. But everything just went down hill from there. For the next few months I could barely eat. I was constantly hungry all day every day but I just didn't feel like eating (I know that probably doesn't make much sense but it's hard to describe). I didn't have the energy to do anything and quite often I could barely even stomach trying to eat anything before 12 midday. Even then it was a struggle. I had been to the doctor multiple times and the hospital a few times also. At first everyone thought it was just a virus and it would go away after a few days. My GP thought it might be depression or stress. No one could really tell me what was going on. It was hell for me. I ended up on anti depressants as well as some things a naturopath gave me. It seemed to help. My eating increased to almost back to what it was and things were travelling okay. But it was never the same as how it was before it all started. I came off the anti depressants at the end of the year. I was okay for a little while but my eating was constantly going up and down again. I'd feel okay for a few weeks then crap for the next weeks. I ended up going back on the medication. Even now while I feel better it's just not quite the same. I still feel quite unwell frequently. It's hard to put into words. It sort of feels like no one really understands what it's like to feel like this, well maybe just no one around me. It makes me feel quite isolated. I've never dealt with anything like this before. I try to get on with my day and do what I have to but it can be quite the struggle at times. Especially when feeling sick, it can make it really hard to get things done. Thanks for reading.

Bodey294 don't know how to cope - need help
  • replies: 1

i have fluctuated out from a fairly long-term depression and have just given myself some breathing space from all the no-helpful coping ways that surrounded this state such as excessive TV, movies, video games... just anything that is entertaining bu... View more

i have fluctuated out from a fairly long-term depression and have just given myself some breathing space from all the no-helpful coping ways that surrounded this state such as excessive TV, movies, video games... just anything that is entertaining but non-intellectually stimulating (just melting and dulling my brain). right now i am focusing on music and discovering lots which is helping me a lot throughout these past weeks. at the same time i am fairly anti-social. its not that i don't feel confident but have no idea what i would talk to people about. this has left me with feeling anxious just thinking this way and unauthentic when around and towards people. i can be authentic in myself (which i haven't been able to in a long while) when i am listening to music and reading (interesting online articles and newspapers) but having literally an almost - non existent social life is making me feel lonely. music and reading is not enough... and i'm getting sick of being on my own all the time. everything is internalised and i'm starting to talk to myself a little bit (is that healthy?).all of this making me sad and i'm worried ill spiral back into depression. please help

Joe1234 New friends
  • replies: 2

I need some new friends.my old ones have forgotten how I used to have their back through everything and now cause life is working out for them they can forget about me. sooo if your looking for an honest,reliable and trustworthy friend to enjoy life ... View more

I need some new friends.my old ones have forgotten how I used to have their back through everything and now cause life is working out for them they can forget about me. sooo if your looking for an honest,reliable and trustworthy friend to enjoy life with then hit me up!

tiggerlady Boyfriend is depressed and broke up with me
  • replies: 2

Hi Everyone So I have been seeing this guy for a few months and he came down with depression and I was being really supportive, trying to give him time but I think I was too pushy and he ended up calling it off as he didn't have the energy to deal wi... View more

Hi Everyone So I have been seeing this guy for a few months and he came down with depression and I was being really supportive, trying to give him time but I think I was too pushy and he ended up calling it off as he didn't have the energy to deal with me or 'us'. But before he came down with the depression we were really good and we are really good for each other. We both know that and he has acknowledged that the him feeling off that last month is why we were fighting. Is there anything I can do, its been a couple of weeks and I really want him back even if its going to take him a while until he is over this. He hurt his back and was off work for a bit and has just gone back so I am hoping things would get better, but he also got made redundant a few months back and is working in a job he doesn't like that he is overqualified for. Any help would be really appreciated I just don't want to message him if it is going to annoy him but I am desperate to hear how he is going. Thankyou

teacla I don't know how I feel
  • replies: 1

I am struggling to write this because I don't even know how I am feeling. It's a feeling that I can barely explain, which makes it all the more frustrating. This year I started Grade 10, and to be honest, it has been my most favorite school year. I h... View more

I am struggling to write this because I don't even know how I am feeling. It's a feeling that I can barely explain, which makes it all the more frustrating. This year I started Grade 10, and to be honest, it has been my most favorite school year. I have some great teachers, I enjoy most of my subjects and I am a straight A student. However, it has also been my worst year. I know, confusing right? I think I have come to the conclusion that most of my problems stem from school, along with some other things like the way I look and family issues, that I have never discussed with anybody. As I have said previously, I am a straight A student and that makes me incredibly happy. Other classmates think I'm smart, teachers like me and congratulate me on my achievements. With the straight A's, however, comes a lot of studying and stress and anxiety. During the middle of this year I had my first panic attack and have had a few since then. When I get them, which is mostly during class, I have to focus all my energy into not crying in front of everyone and I act very isolated. As soon as I leave the class room the panic attack begins fully. Another thing is that I feel so pressured to continue to get excellent grades. Teachers expect me to get A's and my friends all call me a nerd or geek. I feel if I don't get an A, I won't be smart. Also, on the outside I look like I have a pretty good life. I have a group of friends, excellent grades an amazing mother. On the inside, I am a mess. Barely making it through the school day without having a break down and crying myself to sleep some nights. I've always had this plan to finish school with an OP1 which is the highest grade you can get, and then going to Uni to study a Bachelor of Advanced Science, but then it just all overwhelms me and I tell myself that I'm going to be a failure no matter what. I don't know what to do anymore or how to deal with how I'm feeling. I don't even know how I'm feeling! I truly don't know what I want to get out of writing this but I just need to express how I'm feeling to at least someone.

Babytrousers Am I going crazy?
  • replies: 2

I have always suffered from anxiety - since I was 15 but in the last 2 weeks it has become so intense I am afraid to leave the house or be alone. I feel like this feeling of constant anxiety is never going to end and my brain/head physically feel lik... View more

I have always suffered from anxiety - since I was 15 but in the last 2 weeks it has become so intense I am afraid to leave the house or be alone. I feel like this feeling of constant anxiety is never going to end and my brain/head physically feel like they are going to explode or something.. I feel like I'm going crazy from it! Throughout the day I get these really intense dark thoughts that make me feel so empty. I was prescribed antidepressants - but I am scared to take them because I've never taken antidepressants before. My anxiety doesn't always reach to a point where I have a panic attack it's more of a constant feeling of anxiety and it's really exhausting. My symptoms are feeling like I need to get out of my own body, nausea, heart racing, dizziness, loss of concentration, can't breath etc, I really need some help