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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

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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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situational depression/anxiety

replies: 5

I am a recent graduate from university and I cannot seem to find a job, initially I was really proactive about it, I volunteered my time in a relevant area, I took on a course at TAFE to try and get more practical skills, however I keep getting turned down again and again and I put so much effort into my applications, I prepare for days before an interview (learning about the organisation, going over potential questions), and I feel like an utter failure. I know that telling people you're suffering from anxiety/depression from not having a job sounds silly, but I just feel as if the regularity from my life is gone, and I am embarrassed about not having a job, I hate the dreaded question "so where do you work/what are you doing with your self?" because I feel like an utter leach on society. I hate it when people complain about their jobs because its the one thing I so desperately want. I often wake up in the night with night terrors and I am moody at my housemates all the time, I try to get out of the house and do things, but I cant afford it most of the time, I try and go to social gatherings and find myself not wanting to be there. I just don't know, I feel like a giant blob of waste. I use to so energetic and outgoing and that person people actually admired for being so 'on top' of everything.

/Sigh

replies: 3

Hi, I'm a newbie here, but most definitely not new to the perils of depression, OCD and social anxiety. I've had depression for many years, probably since year 7 (so 2005), OCD since (2008-09) and social anxiety for the past 3 years (so 2012). It's been manageable (my OCD) and I've never missed a day of school, or work because of it. But only recently, has it begun to cause such issues. This year alone, I've probably had 10 days off because of my OCD/depression, two of which were breakdowns to the point where leaving the house caused me a lot of pain, tears and screaming. There have been times where my OCD (My OCD is checking locks, fridges, doors, electrical sockets, taps, etc) has caused me to just cry and not be able to leave because of the stress. I avoid a lot of things in regards to it. For instance; not using the heater in the morning, avoiding using taps if possible, not wanting to cook breakfast - opening the fridge, using an electrical socket, using the stove, etc. But it's only come to such difficulty this year. In the past few it's been manageable, along with my Social Anxiety mostly because of cigarettes, alcohol and pure avoidance. I was officially diagnosed at the end of May, but I've only gone to see a psychologist booked in for Saturday. I have a partner, who does his best to 'understand' and 'help', but it's very unhelpful when you tell someone what's wrong, and they go 'dunno' or 'i don't know', or they get angry at you because you're upset and you genuinely do not know what's wrong. He hasn't experienced any of the above, so he has no real concept, so I don't blame him for not knowing. He does get upset when he can't fix it, but getting angry at me really doesn't help anything. His friends all know about my SA, and that I need to be comfortable with them before meeting them, yet none seem to really want to put in the effort, and he really doesn't try and support me in that decision, or even explaining anything to them. It hurts that he doesn't really care, and that he just lets them be arrogant and rude to me, while expecting me to deal with that on top of everything else. I need help in how to a) help myself with all that's going on, b) give my partner some tips on how to help me without resorting to medication, alcohol and cigarettes. Thank you in advance - and apologies if I managed to bore you

How do you deal with tough times?

replies: 4

About two weeks ago, my mum broke her ankle when she was lifting my brother, who can't walk, into bed. She slipped and broke her ankle. She and my brother were taken to hospital, but my brother was discharged about 5 hours later. My mum needed to have surgery on her ankle and she only got out of hospital last Thursday. Since then, she's been confined to a wheelchair and I've had to help out with a lot of things that she would normally do.That's not what bothers me, though. Since about 10 days ago, I haven't had a chance to release everything that's built up inside me, and I know it's hurting me. It doesn't help that my mum's gotten upset with me a few times when I was pushing her wheelchair, because I was going 'too fast'. My brother is in a wheelchair, and I'm used to that, since I've grown up with it. My mum has never been in a wheelchair before and just seeing her like this demoralises me. She provides the stability needed to keep us all together. Whenever mum gets upset at me, it triggers a huge wave of negative thoughts. Why am I so stupid, so pathetic, so weak? Why can't I do anything right? No one else would make such a stupid mistake. It's gotten quite bad, too, to the point where I've wondered what would happen if I were to just disappear or leave. Would they miss me? The thing is, I don't want to talk to my mum about this, because I don't want her to feel upset or sad that this has happened. I don't want her to think that this is her fault, because it's not. I also don't want to burden anyone else with these problems, not when they could be helping someone who needs help much more than I do.I have low self-esteem and self-confidence, and I've never been one to place much faith in myself. I know that there's a whole lot of negativity that I need to let out, but I don't want to cry. I don't want to be weak. I want to be strong, because I have to look after those around me. Crying also makes me feel bad, as well, so I don't really know what to do. Maybe I'm scared of admitting to being weak, or maybe I'm just stubborn. I don't know. How can you feel better without having to feel pathetic first? beyondblue's clinically-trained moderators often work offline (invisible to you) on issues relating to suicide or self-harm. At the same time, general supportive comments from the community are encouraged. If you have concerns around suicide or self-harm, please phone our support service on 1300 22 4636. Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}

Success

replies: 4

Hi everyone. I just thought I'd share a story of success in my battle with anxiety to hopefully provide some encouragement. I have some type of General Anxiety Disorder (I've never been professionally assessed to be honest) - I can't really say its as bad as some of the things I've read here but it has had a major control on my life for the last 10-12 years. My anxiety is generally caused/coupled with intrusive thoughts and negative thinking. It has caused me to become quite anti social and miss out on a few opportunities to live a more fulfilling life. Anyhow, this year I decided that I've had enough and have been learning more about anxiety and trying to overcome it. Finally last night for the first time in my life I was able to go out with some friends for a night out on the town without being too scared and just having some fun. When I was invited, part of me really didn't want to go because I was scared I would get panic attacks and what not. So I said to myself that anywhere I go, I'll always get anxious anyway and just accepted it. I pushed myself and went along. I had a great time. Sure there were some moments when started to feel anxious but I just let it be.(I'm currently reading a book on Acceptance and Commitment therapy and it seems to help). I really think the way to overcome it is just to out yourself out of your comfort zone. Has taken me to the age of 24 to actually go to a club(not saying this is the epitome of fun or anything, but it was an experience I thought I'd never have). I think you just need to move slowly and get out there and know that in the end, it's just the mind playing tricks and everything will be OK. I know i still have a long way to go, but i just wanted to share this. Hopefully it helps you.

Over Everything

replies: 3

Over the past few years of my life I have struggled with anxiety and depression. I don't know what to do with my self anymore, I am 16 years old and I can't even get out of bed most mornings, it's been an ongoing problem for as long as I can remember. I'm not really sure what it was that may have triggered it, but there have been a few awful events that have occurred in my life but they all happened some time ago. I've been bullied off and on all through my life, at first it was for stupid things such as how I acted or what toys I played with in primary school, now it's much worse and more hurtful stuff. I used to really enjoy school and I would never miss any days, even when I was sick. But now I'll find any excuse I can not to go, I fear that I'm not even going to be able to finish high school and my life is just going to be a big pile of nothing. I see a counsellor regularly but that hasn't really helped, a little bit short term but nothing has given me long term help and support. I just don't know where to turn now, I'm over living my life like this.. but it's just such a hard habit to overcome. Any advice?

Just another day

replies: 4

A lot of people suggest you spend time with friends and family to help beat depression - but depression beats that. I have turned away a lot of my friends with my miserable behaviour, dull moods and boring ego. Yeah, right they must not be very good friends. But, I don't blame them... I would do the same to myself if I could. I am so dull and so lifeless and so miserable. My family are tired of me... time is passing and so is their concern. People also tend to say, time will pass and so will this. Well, it's not and every day is the same. I am getting help, counselling and meds and regular GP visits - I have had several of each. The meds have made me put on weight and I hate it, I am running out of doctors in my area and my counsellor says the same things every session. Yet, here I am, writing another boring, dull and lifeless blog. Anyone? Anything?

bedridden with depression

replies: 4

Hi, I'm Jas. I am 16 yrs old and currently doing yr 11. In 2010 I came down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome due to stress given by a teacher. She would ridicule and humiliate me in front of the entire class all because I couldn't answer her questions. I was only 11 yrs old when this came upon me. Although, I was able to overcome Chronic Fatigue I have ever since suffered from uncontrollable stress and severe depression followed by anxiety. I constantly have the symptoms of headaches, stomach pains, an aching feeling especially in my shoulders and back, In my worst moments, my hands will shake uncontrollably. I also hold a lot of resentment and anger towards teachers in general and I'm so fearful that I will be yelled at my anyone if I make a mistake which has led me to become a perfectionist. During my time in yr 11 I found I could not cope doing my classes at my normal high school so I decided to do Open Access part time homeschooling but even that has become troublesome. I have recently just had a run in with one of my teachers at open access she absolutely criticised me and my work she said that I had handed it up late and that she shouldn't mark it even though there are 30 other students who haven't handed up their work. She also said that I had plagiarised parts of my work from yahoo answers but I can't remember ever using that website for information. Maybe i've got it wrong. She's made me self doubt myself and my work. All i feel now is depressed that I am worthless and what I do is never go enough. I am starting to question whether going to open access was the right choice? but my high school didn't seem to work for me and thats the only school close to me. I don't know what to do about myself at the moment and I'm not sure what direction I should be going in. If anyone could give me some advice. It would really help me.

Having a hard time accepting myself

replies: 49

I have doubts, I made another post on this board elsewhere but I have so much more I want to say.As I mentioned in the other post, it's in the school section. I find myself not really fitting in with my school because I am pretty much a goody two shoes, I don't like taking risks and I refuse to drink alcohol.But here I just wanted to discuss a few things that happen because of or outside of school.I basically feel worthless, I don't feel as if I have done anything to help anyone else, have nothing to be really proud of or feel like I contribute anything to the world. I feel as if my existence is pointlessThere are some nights I can't sleep so find myself taking self-esteem tests online and trying to listen to the saddest music to make myself cry.I find myself apologizing all the time for the littlest mistakes, repeatedly. Any advice to lighten up on myself? Am I thinking about too much at my age? (17) Should I wait a little longer till all those things come into play? Thanks, Liambeyondblue’s clinically-trained moderators often work online (invisible to you) on issues relating to suicide or self-harm. At the same time, general supportive comments from the community are encouraged. If you have concerns around suicide or self-harm, please phone our support service on 1300 224 636.

Deja Vu

replies: 3

Hello everyone, I sit here today questioning what I'm actually doing with my life. I know there are many people who have had the similar experience where one is left pondering and wondering all complexities of life. What should be? What could be? What would be? Due to many personal complications I'm left jobless, friendless and more often than not extremely depressed. I have Bipolar which assists in making me a socially awkward and uncomfortable person to be around. I lack confidence which in turn sets restrictions in finding new friends and new working opportunities. Some days I'm really enthusiastic that things are going to change but things aren't going to magnificently change over night. It's up to me to make the change but how and where do I even start? There's no stability! When I'm experiencing a "manic" episode I'm energetic, I'm enthusiastic......I'm wanting to make a dramatic difference. Although when I'm experiencing a "depressive" episode I come across distant and extremely pessimistic. I then am in the process of trying to rebuild that confidence and that enthusiasm only to know it will soon come crashing down again. I am back to square one yet again with this overwhelming feeling of disappointment and frustration.............................................................its exhausting!! There are many people in this world who are struggling, suffering life threatening illnesses and living in unimaginable circumstances. I feel extremely guilty for feeling and being the way I am for no reason but I'm beginning to accept that i can't control this. I can only accept it and live with it rather than fighting something that won't ever fully disappear. I can only improve myself and by doing so, can then start making a difference to the many other lives I encounter. I want to be a better person! There are times where I loose sight, I loose motivation and I loose hope but I'm trying to find and discover my own personal coping mechanisms that will assist in making me see things differently. We all struggle at some point but as Dori from Finding Nemo says "Just Keep Swimming".

My life has fallen apart.....

replies: 3

Im a 16 male in highschool (year 10) and im just failing at the moment. I'm a smart kid i can get really good grades and do incredible work but i just cant get myself to do it. Its monday and i skipped school today to do my 3 essays that are due and i still cant do them. The plan was to spend the weekend doing homework yet i couldent. i was distracted doing everything else on my laptop. i have been in bed for litrally 3 days and still have not done a single thing for my homework. i have a 1000 word essay that was due 4 days ago which is very important and a portfolio due for d'n't that i havent even started and my english which is another 1000 word essay. I have hdhd but i dont think that should matter. Im not eating allot i dont like the food that is in the house i have not eaten allot for 3 days, everytime i get out of bed i feel dizzy as i normally do. With school i have not been ontime once for maybe 1 year.... Gaps in the system have let me gotten away from trouble until now yet im still doing it. i go to sleep to late and find it hard to fall asleep. im adicted to not getting of ontime. I have fights with my family and mum. My room is the biggest mess. I can name so much that is just going absolutely horribly. Everything i have no a meeting with the school and my dad ( i live with my mum) because of skipping school and i still havent done my assisgments gone to gym and i want to or eaten anything tbh for the past 3 days. I go to a private school and its about 30 grand a year for me and i dont do anythingPLEASE HELP ME ACTUALLY NEED IT THINGS ARE GETTING SO BAD AND I DOUBT I CAN STILL DO MY HOMEWORK FROM ANY REPLYS BUT ALL IS WELCOME.

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

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

situational depression/anxiety replies: 5

/Sigh replies: 3

How do you deal with tough times? replies: 4

Success replies: 4

Over Everything replies: 3

Just another day replies: 4

bedridden with depression replies: 4

Having a hard time accepting myself replies: 49

Deja Vu replies: 3

My life has fallen apart..... replies: 3