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

GreenLime Starting a tertiary education course, *VERY* apprehensive!
  • replies: 2

This Wednesday night I start one of 3 courses held by the "CAE", Centre for Adult Education in Melbourne. And I won't mince my words, I'm pretty damn scared. I found these courses back around June/July that all revolve heavily with drawing, and I was... View more

This Wednesday night I start one of 3 courses held by the "CAE", Centre for Adult Education in Melbourne. And I won't mince my words, I'm pretty damn scared. I found these courses back around June/July that all revolve heavily with drawing, and I was instantly captivated by them. They were really genuinely exciting, things that I have a deep passion for. It was fantastic finally finding some sort of tertiary education course that met my specific tastes, but now that they're just 2 days away, I'm wrought with anxiety, panic, fear, nerves, just everything really! It's not exactly helping with my already pretty frequent depressive moods, because it all just makes me feel terrible. When I've been completely isolated from the outside world for almost 2 years now, living idly in my house, in my room, removed from any sort of learning environment, and certainly removed from basic social interactions, you can probably understand how difficult it is to just suddenly leave this comfort zone and go and actually do something with my life. And don't get me wrong, I want to do something, I want this anxiety to pass, because I want to make friends and enjoy myself and be successful, it's just I'm so scared, but that's another topic entirely. Right now, I really, truly WANT to feel optimistic about these courses. I want to feel that excitement I got when I first read them, but it's just not coming to me. I have no idea what to expect, no idea where to go, no clue as to how the course will function or anything at all! I don't know what to do, and it's this Wednesday night!! The constant worrying just won't leave me alone!

Summer_ Just feeling empty
  • replies: 4

I've been feeling miserable for a while now and unsure why but because I am constantly sad and unhappy, it has ended up ruining my relationship with my boyfriend, who has just dumped me and now i'm struggling even more to find something in life which... View more

I've been feeling miserable for a while now and unsure why but because I am constantly sad and unhappy, it has ended up ruining my relationship with my boyfriend, who has just dumped me and now i'm struggling even more to find something in life which brings me happiness. I'm a social person, I have a really close circle of friends who is supportive but I don't feel comfortable just texting them whenever because I don't want to be annoying or make them feel miserable too. I am really struggling to find something to get me out of bed each day and whilst in my relationship, and now even more so, I feel like crying every day. It used to be because my boyfriend didn't respect me anymore and started putting me down whenever he didn't want to talk to me and he didn't want to see me when i was with my friends, he would suddenly ignore me during the day because i would ask him how his day was and when I was upset or crying he would tell me i'm carrying on and causing a scene. Now that its over, its because i'm sad it didn't work out and because I feel lost without him. We had so many good times and had fun dates every week. It was hard for him to accept that I was emotional and found life difficult and was down a lot. I have no one to say good morning or goodnight to, no one to cuddle me when i'm sad, no one to kiss me and tell me i'm going to be okay. I'm now not sure if i'm upset because i love him or upset because now i'm alone and really lost. I don't have time for hobbies or sports or fun things, because i'm at full time uni and work in between. So there is nothing i look forward to during the week. I don't know how to change this, i'm scared to be hurt again and i'm scared that if i try something i won't fit in. I have no one to share my every day feelings with anymore because although my friends are really close I never like sharing my personal worries with them, when i see them i just want to have a good time. But now i don't even want to leave my house but i can't sit here crying and worrying anymore because i feel so down in the dumps and i just want that to change.

Kkat1 First Post.
  • replies: 3

Hello, I have joined because I find myself having difficulty staying positive a controlling my depression. I have treated it in the past but lately I feel angry, agitated and hypersensitive. My most common thought now is that I am wasting the time of... View more

Hello, I have joined because I find myself having difficulty staying positive a controlling my depression. I have treated it in the past but lately I feel angry, agitated and hypersensitive. My most common thought now is that I am wasting the time of my life that I should be enjoying; my 20's. I feel isolated from my age group and life, and self. I also love helping others over forums.

Carlyrm Feeling depressed every weekend
  • replies: 4

I have a problem at the moment where I feel I am doing well during the week, I have set out plans and always have obligations which I find motivate and give me a positive attitude in my life - like I am moving in the right direction. By the weekend I... View more

I have a problem at the moment where I feel I am doing well during the week, I have set out plans and always have obligations which I find motivate and give me a positive attitude in my life - like I am moving in the right direction. By the weekend I feel my mood drop, my friends don't return my texts and I hardly get invited out. I could spend my Saturday night studying or doing something that makes me feel happy but I feel like I'm missing out not socialising on the weekend like most people are my age (not necessarily getting drunk or things like that just being social) and I begin to feel hit with severe loneliness. To the point where I feel so unmotivated to do the simpliest things or hobbies that could make me feel good instead I waste time and then go to sleep. I feel like no one wants to spend time with me I see friends on social media talking about their fun time out with other friends and feel depressed and alone. Why aren't I invited? Why am I still so alone? Maybe I just need to get some new friends? Why doesn't anyone seem to care? I'm tired of feeling depressed every weekend and dreading feeling awful on the flipside I feel very positive and motivated during the week so that's something. I just needed to type this out to vent - it can feel overwhelming.

Rachel_A I need advice please!
  • replies: 5

I have just recently been diagnosed with depression and social anxiety. I applied to do summer camp over in America at the end of last year. Now I just don't know what to do. I don't know if I'll cope or handle it. What would you do?!

I have just recently been diagnosed with depression and social anxiety. I applied to do summer camp over in America at the end of last year. Now I just don't know what to do. I don't know if I'll cope or handle it. What would you do?!

brookey Feeling down about lack of experience in relationships
  • replies: 4

Hey everyone, Lately I've been really struggling with my self-confidence in relation to how I feel guys must see me as a potential partner. I don’t have a lot of sexual experience and I feel as though I have nothing much to offer guys in that sense. ... View more

Hey everyone, Lately I've been really struggling with my self-confidence in relation to how I feel guys must see me as a potential partner. I don’t have a lot of sexual experience and I feel as though I have nothing much to offer guys in that sense. I’d really like some feedback as to what sorts of things someone with a lack of experience might have to offer in a physical relationship. I am aware that I have a lot to offer personality-wise, I'm intelligent and I know that there are guys who find me attractive, but I really am struggling to see what a guy would find appealing/interesting about someone with little sexual experience... My psychologist suggested that it would be great for me to hear from other people on this, so I'd be really interested in reading people's thoughts on this, if anybody is willing to help out

acm10 Does it get better? I feel broken
  • replies: 3

Hi, for what seems like forever, I have felt nothing but sadness. I sought help at the start of the year and after a couple of bad experiences, have found a doctor who cares. I haven't been diagnosed properly and so I feel like I'm in limbo. I feel s... View more

Hi, for what seems like forever, I have felt nothing but sadness. I sought help at the start of the year and after a couple of bad experiences, have found a doctor who cares. I haven't been diagnosed properly and so I feel like I'm in limbo. I feel so stuck. The doctors that I've been to have agreed with my counselor's diagnosis of Dysthymia but all I've been doing is crisis management with my school counselor rather than taking steps to recovery. My biggest concern is that I am scared I will feel like this forever. I feel like depression has irrevocably altered my life. Will things ever be 'normal' again? Cause I have no idea what that may even look like. Is medication worth a shot? I'm legally still a child so my doctor is hesitant, and my condition isn't that 'severe'.

Steve22 Hello, I am Steve
  • replies: 2

Hey everyone, My name's Steve, I'm new to the Beyond Blue forum haha. Allow me to introduce myself.. Like many, I too suffer from depression and anxiety. My time in primary and secondary schooling, was well.. The polar opposite of positive. Most of m... View more

Hey everyone, My name's Steve, I'm new to the Beyond Blue forum haha. Allow me to introduce myself.. Like many, I too suffer from depression and anxiety. My time in primary and secondary schooling, was well.. The polar opposite of positive. Most of my time in school was shrouded in misery, depression, unrelenting bullying and the list goes on. Despite my best efforts, I've been really struggling to deal with depression (due to unemployment) recently. In order to try and deter depression, I regularly hit the gym (3 times a week) for lengthy sessions at a time. While regularly attending gym is a good thing, it still does not fix the underlining problem of unemployment. After working out rigorously, I often find myself with too much time on my hands. I do enjoy maintaining a very clean car, but you can't be washing it daily lol. I do enjoy hitting the beach, but given that it is winter here in Melbourne, the cold ocean breeze does detract from the overall enjoyment of the beach haha. So why don't I go get a job?.. Ahh yes, easier said than done. When your someone like me, who gets discriminated from applying for jobs due to your heritage (despite having the essential licence), it makes applying for and being accepted for a job.. Impossible. I myself am not one to judge people, I am very accepting of all people, all shapes/sizes, heritage, religion etc. I never judge people on those particular things, but it seems that others judge me purely on my heritage. Maybe employers are scared that a young man with dark brown hair & eyes and olive/tanned skin wants to become a truck driver?, the possibilities are endless. If you must know, I am of Italian heritage. I can't understand why being of that heritage is disliked by employers, it's just ridiculous. I've found that by paying attention, listening and offering advice and tips to many other people in our community, it helps me too. I understand that there are many people who are suffering from depression for different reasons compared to me, It's something that i want to help people with. Having suffered from depression for many years, I'm definitely no stranger to it. I can well and truly relate to it and understand what many are going through. That's why I want to help people, to let them know their experiences are understandable. That's my brief introduction (not really brief, but you know what I mean), I look forward to speaking to and offering advice to many on this forum. Thank you for reading my thread!

Shannlee Not being able to moving forward
  • replies: 6

Hi all, I've never written anything like this online before so here it goes.. I guess I feel as though I'm not getting anywhere in life, I lost my best friend very unexpectedly 2 years ago which of course left me devastated. But because of family iss... View more

Hi all, I've never written anything like this online before so here it goes.. I guess I feel as though I'm not getting anywhere in life, I lost my best friend very unexpectedly 2 years ago which of course left me devastated. But because of family issues (world war 3 every night between parents) I was not able to grieve properly. Since then I have moved house a few times but had been constantly worried about my younger siblings who were still home so I had to step in and remove them from there, so they now live with me. This caused more issues between our parents. The few friends I do still have don't like to talk to me all that much and they have admitted to me that my depression is something think is too much effort and would rather be around someone who is happy all of the time. That hurts me. I have listened to them but having people you love tell you that you are too much effort is really a kick in the guts. I just seem to be stuck in the rut and cannot find a way to climb out.

GrayGray Do I have depression?
  • replies: 3

Hi. I've just come across Beyond Blue, as for the past five/six weeks I've been feeling like I've been having these continuous phases of sadness and despair. Sometimes I can feel extremely alone and hopeless and I just break down. It hits me at rando... View more

Hi. I've just come across Beyond Blue, as for the past five/six weeks I've been feeling like I've been having these continuous phases of sadness and despair. Sometimes I can feel extremely alone and hopeless and I just break down. It hits me at random times but there hasn't been a day so far that has been 100% free of that feeling. At first I thought that it was just sadness, but it seems different, like, I've never felt this way before. I started to look at some of the symptoms on this website and some explain exactly how I'm feeling - overwhelmed, irritable, miserable, hopeless and withdrawing from people and things that I used to love doing. I took the checklist test that the website provides and it came out with moderate depression...but I feel like I can't actually ask anyone if this could be happening to me, as I feel like they'd just think I was being dramatic. I'm not quite sure where to go from here or whether or not depression explains my thoughts and feelings lately, but any advice would be much appreciated.