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

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

All discussions

thebatman I feel ugly
  • replies: 2

I'm 22 years old and rarely leave my house because of the way I look. I feel that I don't look as nice as other people, and I'm very aware of my flaws. When I do go out, I spend hours trying to contour my face in an attempt to make it look thinner, a... View more

I'm 22 years old and rarely leave my house because of the way I look. I feel that I don't look as nice as other people, and I'm very aware of my flaws. When I do go out, I spend hours trying to contour my face in an attempt to make it look thinner, and I avoid letting anyone take a photo of me at all costs. I've even gone to the extent of restricting my food intake in an attempt to lose weight on my face, though it seems no matter how thin I get, my face still looks fat. My reason for posting this is because I'm having a hard time seeing anything other than this flaw, and my obsession with it is making me feel awful. I just want to stop thinking about it. I'm wondering if anyone else feels like this?

Tay_Blue Depression story
  • replies: 6

So basically I think I have had depression for a long time now, but I am currently in year 12 and everything has just been intensified. Every day I feel so overwhelmed and sad and anxious with my life (nothing can make me happy), it physically feels ... View more

So basically I think I have had depression for a long time now, but I am currently in year 12 and everything has just been intensified. Every day I feel so overwhelmed and sad and anxious with my life (nothing can make me happy), it physically feels like there is a heavy weight permanently in my chest.... I am constantly weak and tired. What's even worse is that all my friends at school who I love sooooo much don't care about me at all! I normally try my hardest to act really happy but when I hit my low moods of being in a blackhole they just ignore me! They continue on talking like I am invisible which makes me feel even worse. I have lost my true self which has lead to self hate, I know that I could be someone people like but at the moment there is nothing good about me, on top of that I just feel so empty and dull and just miserable with everything! I don't even know what to do anymore, physically my body won't let me tell anyone, and I am just so SICK of being this person with little worth or value, at school people don't talk to me in class, I only have my girls at lunch time but they don't seem to like me anymore, for some reason I am not worth their time? Everything about me feels so wrong and dark, it is very very hard for me at the moment- not to mention the constant anxiety every day about going to school.

shaun2724 Need help
  • replies: 1

I think I'm relapsing how do I stop it from happening??

I think I'm relapsing how do I stop it from happening??

iusedtobefamous Not coping and terrified
  • replies: 1

So, bit of background first, I've been dealing with depression and anxiety since I was 12, I'm now 23. I've been seeing a psychologist on and off throughout all this, and I'm still seeing one at the moment. I've been really proud of my progress - whe... View more

So, bit of background first, I've been dealing with depression and anxiety since I was 12, I'm now 23. I've been seeing a psychologist on and off throughout all this, and I'm still seeing one at the moment. I've been really proud of my progress - when I was 19, I got really bad, I couldn't leave the house at all for months, I wouldn't speak to anyone, my mum had to come with me for every thing - shopping, appointments, everything. Fast forward a few years, I'm now working full time, I'm in the healthiest relationship of my life... And I'm really struggling. My boss keeps asking me what's wrong, and I hate telling her - I get that she needs a breif idea of what's going on because it's affecting my performance at work, but I feel like she's judging me, I feel really paranoid about almost everything at the moment, I feel like the people at work have been talking about me because she said the other day that their "all really worried about me", which should be a nice thing for her to say, and I should be all "awwww, they care", but instead I just want to withdraw further because (in my head) obviously that means they've been talking about me and I hate that. I never used to be this paranoid, or suspicious. I used to go out to lunch every day with the girls from work, I don't remember the last time I did because I find it exhausting. I come home at lunch instead and just sit in my room for an hour while I eat and try to psych myself up for the rest of the afternoon. I don't know how to deal with work - I'm exhausted, and I'm trying so hard to keep up appearances, but I don't know how long I can do it for, and the idea that I have to work for the rest of my life to support myself makes me want to curl up into a little ball and cry.

black_butterfly what should i do next?
  • replies: 4

I have been dealing with forms of Anxiety for as long as i can remember.. but as i have hit high school age i find it has gotten a lot worse. I get nervous about the smallest things- eg going to school. I get physically sick in more ways then one.. i... View more

I have been dealing with forms of Anxiety for as long as i can remember.. but as i have hit high school age i find it has gotten a lot worse. I get nervous about the smallest things- eg going to school. I get physically sick in more ways then one.. i find that one lesson i really struggle with is PE i have had a few panic attacks during this lesson which is making me unable to participate and making me get a low grade. I haven't spoken to anyone at school about it but I am really wanted to but don't have the courage to go and see them.. I have days that i think to myself that i am really bad and should see someone but on others i think that im not bad enough or that other people have bigger problems and that i don't need to see anyone. Ive told a few of my close friends and they all agree that i should go but i honestly don't know..

DisneyFan101 New to BeyondBlue and could use some advice/support
  • replies: 15

Hey everyone, I'm only fairly young and I worried i may be ridiculed for being so young and having "problems" that i need help with such as boyfriend problems and issues with my father which ill address on another day. I'm 18 in a few months and any ... View more

Hey everyone, I'm only fairly young and I worried i may be ridiculed for being so young and having "problems" that i need help with such as boyfriend problems and issues with my father which ill address on another day. I'm 18 in a few months and any support i could get would be great. I'm usually a fairly happy teenager when kept occupied, but when i'm alone or have a lot of stress on me, i begin to drift into a very dark state of mind, i have had severe anxiety and depression most of my life and i don't know how to deal with the emotions that come with being alone and having thoughts like i do, some of these thoughts consist of just ending everything, thinking that I'm worthless and everybody around me doesn't like me at all, they just pretend and i feel like when something goes wrong in many peoples lives and i cant help, it makes me feel like its my fault. I want everybody around me to be happy but at the same time I'm desperate for happiness for myself. My boyfriend of 2 years and i disagree quite often over silly little things, he went to Schoolies this time a year ago and kissed two other women and he says that's all that happened. A lot of me believes him and the left over parts are just skeptical. I found out about this via my best friend and in the beginning he denied it but eventually admitted it was the truth. i was distraught but over many many weeks i started to feel a little better, the pain is still there but not as much, i love him to bits but I'm tired of being so insecure because its causing issues between us, I'm doing year 12 at the moment and the stress is taking its toll on me, i don't mind having the occasional argument (in my opinion sometimes its healthy to vent) but not this much. Like i began to explain earlier the actual arguments a lot of the time are due to my constant stress and worry about him when he goes out the the pub with the boys. I want him to be able to have fun and go out without working myself up so much, I could really use any advice i can get on how to let go of the past or control my anxiety attacks and depression states. I'm on antidepressants and they have helped a fair bit over the past however many years but these little episodes i have just keep going. Please give some advice. I love him more than anything and i want to be with him but its not going to work whilst i hang on to the past like i do. - Thankyou

agalhel My story.
  • replies: 3

I've always wanted to have a place to share how I feel and I've turned to this website to do so, just to see if it actually hopes with my progress... I'm a 21 year old, I know to many that seems young but I just don;t feel it. I feel as if I am going... View more

I've always wanted to have a place to share how I feel and I've turned to this website to do so, just to see if it actually hopes with my progress... I'm a 21 year old, I know to many that seems young but I just don;t feel it. I feel as if I am going nowhere, have no idea what I'm doing with my life, if I could sum up my life it would just be 'nothing' Around 2 years ago I signed up to get a degree in what I thought (and still possibly may be) my dream job...becoming a fashion designer. After studying for a year and going into my second year of fashion design I noticed myself just becoming more anxious and stressed over everything. I felt like I didn't even want to do the course, so one day I just stopped going. I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed and actually pursue something that could possibly help make my dreams come true but hey none of that mattered. I dropped out and decided to try and work full time hours, keep my mind busy and stop myself feeling so sorry for myself, so I did. I went to work and my only goal was to 'get money' it seemed like a good enough goal so I just kept on working thinking it'd make me happy and keep my mind too preoccupied to be depressed, but it didn't. I searched for a new job, thinking that the current job I had was the problem...boy was I wrong. Months down the track here I am, I have a different job but I still feel as empty as I did when I decided to leave studying. I try to do stuff in the little spare time it seems I have, things that used to interest me but I can't help to do because I constantly feel tired and just cannot be bothered doing anything I actually have to do it. I have yet to see a professional about my problem cause I just keep telling myself it'll one day go away but I really doubt it will. I have a loving boyfriend but even he isn't enough to pick me up from my downward spiral. This is pretty much my situation, and this is my first time ever opening up about it, I'm sure I missed something things but that's the gist of my journey so far...

PaperWolf Struggling with University and Anxiety
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone, I'm a university student who has been struggling with anxiety since upper highschool. It affects me socially but mainly in my performance at uni. Finishing assignments feels like a nightmare as i struggle to start any work and frequently... View more

Hi everyone, I'm a university student who has been struggling with anxiety since upper highschool. It affects me socially but mainly in my performance at uni. Finishing assignments feels like a nightmare as i struggle to start any work and frequently experience exhaustion, shaking and panic attacks. I control everything including food up until my exams and arrive early to try and get a seat the furtherest away at the back. i tend to enter a cycle of pretending im okay then getting more and more behind until i start having panic attacks and missing assignment submissions whilst finding it difficult to talk to my family and friends as i feel quite a lot of guilt. I have exams and last assignments very soon and my university doesn't have any available counselling appointments which I'm finding difficult as it took quite a lot of willpower to try to seek help. i joined hoping to feel a little less alone in it all. Take care everyone Lila

Jords Anxiety and career
  • replies: 24

G'day, I was hoping to get a bit of advice. I'm currently 20, and suffer/suffered from anxiety. It started around three years ago - it didn't affect my life much, and was here and there. I went and saw my doctor, and he could tell that it was only mi... View more

G'day, I was hoping to get a bit of advice. I'm currently 20, and suffer/suffered from anxiety. It started around three years ago - it didn't affect my life much, and was here and there. I went and saw my doctor, and he could tell that it was only minor anxiety. So I went to see a psychiatrist to clear things up, and again he suggested that it's only minor anxiety and wouldn't interfere with my career. The reason I bring this up, is that I'm currently studying towards being a paramedic in NSW. My original goal was to apply for the NSW Police but their restrictions are that you need to be 2 years clear of anxiety before applying, whereas paramedic you don't need to wait a particular amount of years. So I thought I'd use the 2 year wait time to study towards a course, which takes 2 years, and once completed decide between either careers. I'm still pretty focused on becoming a police officer, but it's frustrating to think that anxiety will stop me. Both my GP and psychiatrist have said it won't affect me during the job, and would write a report that clears me from any issues. I have no ambitions in studying for any other career, other than police or paramedic. While I understand they are stressful jobs, I'd like to think that I'd do well, they are both careers that I'd definitely enjoy. I was hoping to get advice as to what I should do - should I continue studying and when I get to the point of applying, possibly be rejected because of my history in anxiety? Has anyone been in a similar scenario? Cheers!

jeanstar06 Want to help my boyfriend
  • replies: 2

2 years ago my boyfriend lost his father to cancer, he got very depressed afterwards and has been on medication for about a year now. He has been really struggling lately and I don't know how I can help him? What can I say or do that might help him w... View more

2 years ago my boyfriend lost his father to cancer, he got very depressed afterwards and has been on medication for about a year now. He has been really struggling lately and I don't know how I can help him? What can I say or do that might help him when he is really missing his dad? I suggested going back to see his psychologist to help talk through what his feeling, and he wants to do that. I just want to be able to do more for him. I don't really know how to comfort him or what to say.