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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

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Pebbles3 Seeking some support
  • replies: 3

Hi, I am pretty new to all this, so it feels a bit strange. I don't know for sure that I have depression, however I suspect I do. I know I should probably find out for sure, but I really just want someone to talk to who understands what it is like to... View more

Hi, I am pretty new to all this, so it feels a bit strange. I don't know for sure that I have depression, however I suspect I do. I know I should probably find out for sure, but I really just want someone to talk to who understands what it is like to feel completely engulfed with sadness without escape. I have a loving family and partner, but they just don't know what it is like to feel sad all the time over the most trivial things, sometimes for no reason at all. And, quite frankly I don't want to burden them with such heavy stuff or for them to realise how bad it is in my head. I have serious self image and self confidence issues. I feel like I can't do anything right and I am so scared of screwing up and letting people down that I can't breathe. I look around at people who are so happy and wish I could be like them. I wish I could not stress about every little thing or put myself down about pretty much everything. I guess it would just be nice to feel less alone and less sad everyday.

just_let_go Alcohol and It's effect on Anxiety and Depression
  • replies: 4

Hi Everyone, I'm hoping to get some of your thoughts on alcohol intake when you're suffering with anxiety/depression. I have read quite a bit about it, but you don't even need to do that to know that it obviously wouldn't help. But is there an amount... View more

Hi Everyone, I'm hoping to get some of your thoughts on alcohol intake when you're suffering with anxiety/depression. I have read quite a bit about it, but you don't even need to do that to know that it obviously wouldn't help. But is there an amount that is ok? I'm still in my early 20's, and I often get invited to birthdays and outings which more often than not involve some social drinking, which I usually part take in. I've always try to limit myself since my first major panic attack, before that I must admit I did engage in large amount of binge drinking pretty much every weekend. Now days I have cut down to well under half the amount I was drinking on weekends. Probably more. An average weekend for me my consist of 4 - 5 drinks on Friday and Saturday, where as before it would have been around 10 - 12 per night. During the week I don't touch the stuff. Unless a friend drops over and we might have a single beer together. On a side note, for marijuana I do not believe any amount is ok if you suffer from anxiety. I used to smoke it occasionally, I'll admit. I was never what you might call a "stoner" but my close friends were, so I would just part take in some social smoking occasionally. When I was younger it was more frequent. Maybe once a week. More recently it was more like once or twice a year. But alas, guess what caused my first major panic attack... i can tell you, you DO NOT want to suffer a panic attack while high. It amplifies the feeling x10. It was the worst 2 hours of my life. Safe to say I've never touched the stuff since, and never will. I suppose the reason I've seen it as okay, is that I've never turned to drinking with the intension of making myself feel better. I've never seen it as an antidepressant. If anything I'm the opposite, when I'm feeling really down or my anxiety is peeking, I tend to avoid drinking and going out. I know it definitely effects people differently, so it may be ok for some and not for others. What do you guys think? Is a few drinks on the weekend ok? Is 1 - 2 drinks a day acceptable and harmless to our well being? Look after yourselves.

aidjm What do you do on seriously flat days?
  • replies: 8

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has days where you feel completely apathetic, like you could not be bothered doing anything significant. I spent most of yesterday sleeping and browsing Youtube, and I've had a couple of days like that over the last... View more

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has days where you feel completely apathetic, like you could not be bothered doing anything significant. I spent most of yesterday sleeping and browsing Youtube, and I've had a couple of days like that over the last week. Like you just say dammit to the world and stay in bed.What do you guys do when you feel like this? Do you find it's better to force yourself to do something or just ride out the feeling?

Lady94 Dark Voids of Nothing
  • replies: 5

For the last couple of years, I've been getting periods of darkness. No one can ever understand it & it worries me that if I tell people how I feel, they'll look at me differently. Ever since I was 16 I used to run away & avoid confrontation - but I ... View more

For the last couple of years, I've been getting periods of darkness. No one can ever understand it & it worries me that if I tell people how I feel, they'll look at me differently. Ever since I was 16 I used to run away & avoid confrontation - but I realised that what use of running away, if what you're running away from is inside your head? I make goals that I work towards thinking that achieving them will make me feel better - but once I achieve them, the high only last for a couple hours. There are days when I don't want to get out off bed - all I want to do is find another reality to get lost in. I use distractions like books, movies, music to avoid thinking. I try to fight off the dark days, but sometimes it feels good to just let go. I find people annoying & petty & I can't stand to be around them for too long. Why? I was in a bad relationship & it sounds cliché, but I feel like I can never trust anyone ever again. He turned out to be gay & I was in love with him. I don't know how to deal with it. The logical part of me says I cant get mad - it wasn't in his power to change that. But he keeps coming back into my life & I love him too much to let him go through his depression periods by himself. The only down part is that I ALWAYS end up getting hurt. He wanted us to start anew recently & I stupidly said yes. I asked if he was sure he was over guys & he told me "it was a phase". I was stupid to believe that. It never is a phase. what makes it worse is that he knows he did me wrong & he keeps apologising, but this isn't the first time its happened. this has been going on for 2-3years. But I don't blame him for any of this. Its my fault. It always is. This just adds to my feeling of worthlessness &uselessness. I feel like I can't keep acting like I'm ok & "happy" when all I want to do is curl up in a dark room, in a corner and cry my heart out. Everything hurts, &I'm scared because I'm turning numb. Feeling and having emotions seems overrated now. What's the use if its all just going to make you feel pain. I'm not strong enough for this and I can't keep fighting off the peace that the dark void ahead of me gives. I'm 20 now & this has been happening since I was 16. Its been a while. I know some people out there have been battling longer but I'm not as strong. I used to think of going to the doctors and getting medicated - but right now, I don' t really care anymore. I guess I just needed someone to talk to about all this. Thanks.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 224 636.

Smithiks Slipping back
  • replies: 2

Hi - I didn't know who to talk too, I feel like I am slipping back into my depression. I don't know how to stop this from happening - it's all falling apart again.

Hi - I didn't know who to talk too, I feel like I am slipping back into my depression. I don't know how to stop this from happening - it's all falling apart again.

BenD Young, dumb and broken.
  • replies: 12

Hi all, A few years ago I was a passenger involved in a drink driving accident. I was 18 at the time, stupid/naive, and it has impacted my life quite a lot. My left femur, right hip and pelvis have been screwed back together with metal implants, whic... View more

Hi all, A few years ago I was a passenger involved in a drink driving accident. I was 18 at the time, stupid/naive, and it has impacted my life quite a lot. My left femur, right hip and pelvis have been screwed back together with metal implants, which has caused me arthritis and restricted my sporting ability. I grew up being a really good runner, finishing first for my age group in high school from the age of 15 to 17. If nothing else was going for me, it was something that I could hold onto and say that I was really good at. Now I get pain in my legs whenever I try to run, leaving me unable to walk properly for days afterwards. Probably just having a bad day, but it feels like the world can be damn cruel sometimes. Ben

Paige02 New to beyond blue and having a rough night
  • replies: 6

I just wanted to say hi, I'm new to beyond blue and decided to make my account tonight because I am having having a really rough night as far as my depression and anxiety goes, I just wanted to distract myself for a while. Seeing some of the very kin... View more

I just wanted to say hi, I'm new to beyond blue and decided to make my account tonight because I am having having a really rough night as far as my depression and anxiety goes, I just wanted to distract myself for a while. Seeing some of the very kind words people have said to others I am very glad I joined this sight and I just wanted to say that I'm feeling much better knowing people feel the same way as me and that I'm not alone.

bandaid 3 Years anxiety free... then Bam. It's back. Help!
  • replies: 2

I'm booked into a psychologist for this one.. but the appointment is not for another 2 months, so reaching out to my similarly-conflicted online fellows to see if I can get some short term advice! Anyhow, here's my back story. Always felt like a bit ... View more

I'm booked into a psychologist for this one.. but the appointment is not for another 2 months, so reaching out to my similarly-conflicted online fellows to see if I can get some short term advice! Anyhow, here's my back story. Always felt like a bit of an alien growing up, frequently had severe bouts of depression or anxiety. The first time it got particularly bad was when I was about 11 and took a whole bunch of pills. Fortunately, nothing lethal and I snapped out of that soon after. Through my younger years, probably up until I was about 19 it was always depression.. but after that anxiety made it's way up the ladder of annoying things my brain does. 19-21(ish) was a massive battle for me, I was never particularly happy, crowds started freaking me out, I withdrew from friends and started drinking a lot more.. amongst other mild substances. Got in with the wrong crowd. Was generally an epic mess. Nothing in particular was triggering it. It got pretty dark for me sometimes, got hooked on benzodiazepines and I'm fair sure if I wasn't taking those, I would have ended up in hospital many times. After a solid year and a half of that, I saw a psychologist who specialises in Aspergers. Whilst I didn't get diagnosed with it, she said I had many personality traits that are similar and learning about the disorder may help me. And oh boy, it did. It took a year, and a lot more struggle, but through studying it and my own sheer will, I got through it. The anxiety was gone, I did it without any form of drugs, prescription or other. The next few years were incident free, only very minor bouts but I pulled myself out of them just as soon as they started. Until about a month ago. I've been single for the past few years, dated a few times but nothing that ever really got my emotions moving. 3 months ago, at 24, finally felt like I was ready to cross that bridge and let someone else in. So I did. Great guy. 2 months go by, no worries. Month #3... I'm a mess. The slightest minor slip up on his behalf, something so petty that I shouldn't have even thought about 2 seconds after it happened.. But.. it just snowballed from there. And it's bad. I don't want to screw this up, and I'm thinking a 2-month wait for the appointment might just be a bit too long for both of us to handle. If anyone has any advice or tips, just in the short term to help me keep my crap together.. You will have my biggest thanks. .. Sorry about the wall of text. I like writing.

Mindymoo91 I need help!
  • replies: 7

I self harmed for the first time last night. I've never done that before no matter how severe I get. I've been thinking of ways to end my life and I just need some help but I can't afford a shrink what do I do?

I self harmed for the first time last night. I've never done that before no matter how severe I get. I've been thinking of ways to end my life and I just need some help but I can't afford a shrink what do I do?

Little_Rascal New and struggling
  • replies: 5

Hiya, So after 8 months of trying to sort out my anxiety and depression in other non medical ways, I had to admit that I not doing ok. I've been back on medication for a week now, and today is not a good day, I have no motivation, physically sick, ov... View more

Hiya, So after 8 months of trying to sort out my anxiety and depression in other non medical ways, I had to admit that I not doing ok. I've been back on medication for a week now, and today is not a good day, I have no motivation, physically sick, overwhelmed and I have no interest in anything that makes/made me happy or excited. I see a counselor once a week and shes great, I saw her yesterday. Yesterday was a great day, so productive and positive. Today ... I want to go home and curl up on the couch. Me and my partner have our own business and today is a very busy day so i'm too anxious to ask him if I can go home, i'm also to anxious to drive. The anxiety along with IBS and some other illnesses has brought on some pretty gnarly depression. What does everyone else do to cope on days like today???

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