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Sophie_M How are you feeling about the social media restrictions in Australia for under 16s?
  • replies: 14

Hey everyone With the upcoming Australian social media restriction for under 16-year-olds coming up we want to know what this means for you and maybe even the young people in your life. This conversation is a place for all of us to share how we are f... View more

Hey everyone With the upcoming Australian social media restriction for under 16-year-olds coming up we want to know what this means for you and maybe even the young people in your life. This conversation is a place for all of us to share how we are feeling and what we think the challenges and benefits might be for you or the wonderful young people in our community. Have you thought about how to stay connected with friends you’ve met online? Are you focused mostly on the positives, or the negatives? What do your parents think, and what could they do to support you? Importantly the Beyond Blue Forums are not impacted by these restrictions, we're here for anyone under 16. In short, from December 10 Social Media companies will need to ensure that only people over 16 actively engage with their platforms. There is a lot of information out there which can make it tricky to know what to expect on when it comes into effect. To learn more we think these are a helpful place to start eSafety commissioner + Headspace FAQs. We know this change will impact some more than others, QLife provide anonymous and free LGBTIQ+ support and 13YARN are here for all Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people. We want to hear your thoughts on how this might impact the mental health of under 16s in both a positive and negative way. The Beyond Blue Forums are a place for constructive and helpful conversation and the regular moderation rules apply which means we look forward to a kind and understanding discussion. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings Sophie M

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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-Jack_ Anxious 18 year old male who's trigger is his heart/health.
  • replies: 4

I'm an 18 year old male and have self diagnosed myself with general anxiety disorder. On a daily basis I experience pretty much every symptom of anxiety such as; a rapid heart beat, excessive sweating, dizziness/fainting, shortness of breath, hot fla... View more

I'm an 18 year old male and have self diagnosed myself with general anxiety disorder. On a daily basis I experience pretty much every symptom of anxiety such as; a rapid heart beat, excessive sweating, dizziness/fainting, shortness of breath, hot flashes or chills, exhaustion, panic attacks, over-thinking everything that ever crosses my mind, irritability and fear of losing control. These can all occur at random at any point of any day. Mainly, I am worried about my heart. It is the trigger of 90% of my anxiety, and I feel compelled most of the day to check my pulse. I am worried that it will stop beating altogether, or that its beating so fast that something will go wrong with it and that I will die, or that I will have a heart attack etc. Occasionally I forget about my heart but so many things will trigger my mind to start thinking about it again such as a rapid heart beat in nervous situations, or say if im doing exercise and my heart rate rises then i will become conscious of its beating pace and begin to worry. If i feel any sort of pains in my chest, usually sharp, then i also begin to worry that their is something wrong. I become extremely anxious during public speaking at university and have come extremely close to fainting on multiple occasions. Each of these times, a rapid heart beat, sweatiness, mumbly voice and dizziness have occurred. My first ever panic attack was during smoking weed. I had smoked many times before and this was just another regular occasion, although i started to notice my heartbeat was going EXTREMELY fast, in which i began to calm myself down by breathing deeply, this, in fact did calm me down and caused my heartbeat to slow right down to the point i couldnt feel it at the time. I then felt an extreme wave of heat over my body and thought i was having a heart attack and could no longer control myself. A friend sat me down for 2 hours in which during that time i consciously controlled my breathing as i believed if i didnt i would stop breathing and die and held my hand on my heart to make sure it was still beating, (all while my legs were shaking uncontrollably). This experience caused deep depersonalization for around a week afterwards. For a few months this stopped and i forgot about it until one night while trying to sleep i had another completely random panic attack with no trigger that i could identify whatsoever, and all the regular symptoms occurred. From that night (over 1 year ago), until now i have been experienced what i described in my first paragraph on a daily basis. It started mild but now has become a part of my daily life as my mind has become more and more aware of its presence and triggers. Even though my mind acknowledges there is nothing actually physically wrong with me, it still cannot ignore the symptoms. What i have described restricts me in my social life, and activities i wish to pursue. With this has come an extreme constant feeling of loneliness. I will confess, i am not in need of any more friends, although i still feel lonely 90% of the time. This feeling can be ignored if i am with a friend at the time, although as soon as i am alone, my mind begins over thinking life in general, i become sad for no reason, and the loneliness kicks in. If youve managed to read this far then thank you. Has anyone experienced anything similar before? And have they tried any techniques that have in any way helped them? Will this be a part of my life forever or will some sort of treatment be able to put this away for good? Will medication help?

Cassie i give up.
  • replies: 6

i am seriously done with my life. nothing ever good happens to me, and it never will. people say things will get better, but they wont. i do even feel emotions anymore, im just numb. i hurt my self just to know im alive and i can actually feel someth... View more

i am seriously done with my life. nothing ever good happens to me, and it never will. people say things will get better, but they wont. i do even feel emotions anymore, im just numb. i hurt my self just to know im alive and i can actually feel something. school is making everything worse by stressing me out, i dont want to fail. ugh. im done. Please give me some advice.

Just_Flick Friends? I sleep my life away.
  • replies: 6

Hi, I'm Flick, 22 and im new to this website/forum. I have been suffering from Anxiety/depression and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) for 6 years. I have been a self harmer and ended up in hospital from this. I never wanted to kill myself, but i have ... View more

Hi, I'm Flick, 22 and im new to this website/forum. I have been suffering from Anxiety/depression and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) for 6 years. I have been a self harmer and ended up in hospital from this. I never wanted to kill myself, but i have harmed myself for different reasons. Like numbing my pain, or feeling like i deserve the pain or to make the pain stop. and cos it felt like a big release and rush. I Have seen psychologists and psychiatrist over the years and they have helped but am currently not seeing anyone. I have the most beautiful, understanding, amazing Boyfriend/life partner ever. we have been together 4 years and we live together just the 2 of us. I love him more than anything in the world as he does me. I have a part time job in a clothes shop and i work 10-20 hours a week because thats all i can handle. I think i am a bit of a flake...like i flake out on things when i cant handle them anymore. I have had 9 jobs since i was 15 and been unempoyed for up to 8 months at a time from not being able to work cause of my illnesses. when im not working, then the rest of my life i spend sleeping and doing not much else. Occasionally will go out for tea or do lunch with someone. with my chronic fatigue it makes it really hard to do things, i dont have the energy. On my days off i sleep til about 3pm even though i went to bed at 10.30pm the night before. No one i know seems to understand why i dont like to "go out for drinks" or have late nights. people think im just a sook or something. i have never met anyone who understand what i am going through. I just wish i had some good close friends who i could talk to and who are like me. I dont know how to meet people who are like me, who look like your normal average person. You cant tell from having a conversation with me that i am hurting so much on the inside. Working in a clothes shop i see girls come in all the time having some much fun shopping with their friends and i am so envious. i just feel like all the friendships i have had ended becasue no one can put in the effort to catch up in a way thats not going out and getting drunk or something. Anyone else out there around my age feel the same? Thanks From Flick

missy86 My anxiety and panic attacks have made me so lonely
  • replies: 4

( just a heads up, i'm not great with grammer ) Hi beautiful people, I am not sure if i am posting this in the correct section or not. I'm 27 and have two young children, around three years ago i started to have panic attacks and anxiety. I have pret... View more

( just a heads up, i'm not great with grammer ) Hi beautiful people, I am not sure if i am posting this in the correct section or not. I'm 27 and have two young children, around three years ago i started to have panic attacks and anxiety. I have pretty much no friends anymore. Being in a small town its kinda hard also. Because of my issues i had become distant to my partner, who is great on just about all levels , minus the affection. I went for two months with no panic attacks and then they decided to come back, got pretty bad and as of three days ago i am taking meds for it, i wish that they would work NOW. I had a bad attack today. I feel as tho i need to escape when i get them and that i can't breathe and like my body is going nuts. I guess i come to this site to see if anyone can relate or make a friend even XOX

shay2 Sex and boys
  • replies: 17

Hi I'm Shay 13 year old female So listen I am depressed, suicidal and self harm. I really like this boy in my class right and he is always flirting with me. He asked me to give him oral sex and I said that I would but now he wants to know if he can h... View more

Hi I'm Shay 13 year old female So listen I am depressed, suicidal and self harm. I really like this boy in my class right and he is always flirting with me. He asked me to give him oral sex and I said that I would but now he wants to know if he can have sex with me, I am a virgin and I guess I want to but I have a few problems. he is always feeling me up when he gets the chance and talks dirty to me. here is a list of problems and please don't judge me: *I am scared it will hurt *I don't shave or wax (down there) -embarrassing *cringe*- and i don't know if he will mind *How do I get condoms? *Where and when can I do it so my parents wont find out? *will it make me more depressed? *what if he can't fit in me Please if you could give an answer to all these it would b very helpful

mooie Hit rock bottom. First time talking, please help!
  • replies: 2

Hi this is my first time doing this so im a bit nervous. Here is a bit about me! I am 19 year old female and have been suffering from depression for around 5 years. It has damaged many of my relationships in the past and the ones who have stuck aroun... View more

Hi this is my first time doing this so im a bit nervous. Here is a bit about me! I am 19 year old female and have been suffering from depression for around 5 years. It has damaged many of my relationships in the past and the ones who have stuck around are getting sick of my ****. This is the main reason I'm doing this, I don't want to lose the ones who mean the most to me i need somewhere to vent and get some help. I have very low self esteem which i think is a result of been bullied in primary school, i moved schools it even got so bad. It was mainly due to my looks, i wore glasses and was overweight so i got teased for it. I felt very alone and confused why no one liked me all because of the way i looked. I never felt accepted So i went in to high school thinking i was ugly and disgusting. Throughout high school things seemed to get better i lost my glasses and some weight and people seemed to like me better i made some friends. This still wasn't good enough i needed everyone to like me. I then thought that the only way anyone would like me was if i was pretty, skinny and cool. I then thought that if i was all these things i would be truly happy. it put this huge pressure on myself to be perfect, i tried absolutely everything to fit this image and am still struggling to do so today. I have these massive expectations on myself and whenever i fail i punish myself. I beat myself up so much in my head, i genuinely hate everything about myself at times. I then turn to food for comfort, which makes me put on weight and then makes me more self conscious and depressed. I then manage to pull myself together for a short time lose the weight which makes me feel more confident but then i realise im still not happy. No matter how much weight i lose or new clothes and makeup i wear I'm still unhappy and it gets me so down. Its a vicious cycle I have had one boyfriend in my life and he broke my heart. He was my first love so i guess it was a given. He broke up with me out of the blue due to not having feelings for me anymore but i took it really badly. I blamed it on myself for not being good enough. Im am well over him know but i have never been able to let anyone in as I'm so afraid of rejection and being hurt. I have this huge wall up and find it very hard talking to guys because i don't believe they truly want me. If I'm not good enough for myself how can i be good enough for anyone else. Im a year out of high school and still suffering these problems. Im still so unhappy with the way i look and feel and am really unsure how to fix it. I work very hard on trying to be perfect in every way. It is all i think about How can I make myself more attractive? How can I get this guy to like me? How do I act to make sure no one see's how messed up I am? etc.. This has started to affect relationships with my friends more than it ever has. Im constantly putting myself down and being negative, because thats how i truly feel. They dont understand why i feel so badly about myself because they dont think there is anything wrong with me. I often dont tell people how i truly feel because I'm afraid of upsetting them or being rejected. So i let these emotions build up over time and then attack them over small things. I hate doing this but i just get so caught up in the moment and cant handle my emotions. If i dont attack them I get very upset and have panic attacks and ball my eyes out. I think they are starting to get over my negativity and trying to always make me feel happier. Also my random breakdowns. I feel so alone and cant find anyone who understands. I just want to be happy within myself I need to find a way of making me feel better on the inside not just on the outside. Help me! and please dont judge I dont want to lose my friends

14maia Unsure how to deal with helping a friend.
  • replies: 1

I need some help when it comes to help a friend through what she is experiencing as of now. Recently, a close friend of mine has started to reveal some of the things that bounce around inside her head, with depression being one of the major aspects. ... View more

I need some help when it comes to help a friend through what she is experiencing as of now. Recently, a close friend of mine has started to reveal some of the things that bounce around inside her head, with depression being one of the major aspects. She has talked to me about how she feels when she ends up falling into a particularly depressing mood, how her depression has altered her sleep cycle to the point in which she has trouble telling whether or not the next horrible thing that has happened to her was real or not, she has described waking up from terrifying nightmares that involve severe physical trauma or even death and feeling a sort of 'ghost' pain, pain in areas that were subjected to trauma during the nightmare, and a whole handful of other things that I don't have the space to write about. As someone who's never had to deal with a situation like this before, I often feel as if I'm only making it worse. She claims that she has sought out professional help with these issues before, and that the majority of them were not of much help. Her family doesn't seem to be too supportive of her either, often being very distant and disinterested in what she has to say. I really worry about her, and I feel as if I'm stuck in a 'Damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation. Any advice on what I could do to help, or even just similar experiences you guys may have had. Thanks in advance.

brooked They say it will get better?
  • replies: 1

Hi, I'm 25 & have been struggling with depression for 10 years! I was sexually abused by my brother as a young child and kept this to myself till I was 16! the aftermath of this has almost been as bad as the abuse, my parents have spilt up and my fam... View more

Hi, I'm 25 & have been struggling with depression for 10 years! I was sexually abused by my brother as a young child and kept this to myself till I was 16! the aftermath of this has almost been as bad as the abuse, my parents have spilt up and my family All hate each other! I feel like this is all my fault( even though i know its not) i constantly feel like i have spilt the family up even though they all tell me its not my fault and not too worry! How can i not worry when i now dont have a family that supports each other! Sometimes i just wish i could end it because i really cant handle it being rubbed in my face everyday! But i know i cant because my cousin commited sucicide and it was horrible my family was a mess! As much as i want to escape my family & life i still love them and cant bare to put them through it again! My friends tell me it will get better and to just be happy! I have been waiting my whole life to be happy! Will this ever get easier? Brooke

Blackbird89 Young, unemployed and feeling useless
  • replies: 5

First of all I'll give you a brief history... I am a 24 year old female from Brisbane. I have suffered with depression since I was a young teenager. It comes in bouts, and I can have periods of happiness, but it ALWAYS returns. I have been on antidep... View more

First of all I'll give you a brief history... I am a 24 year old female from Brisbane. I have suffered with depression since I was a young teenager. It comes in bouts, and I can have periods of happiness, but it ALWAYS returns. I have been on antidepressants for 7 years. I have been to a psychologist many times before. I have been to university and graduated from a degree in 2011. While I was at uni I had an internship which provided me with income while I studied, and afterward I joined the graduate program with the same employer. However, joining the graduate program meant I had to move to Canberra. I hated Canberra with a passion. I became depressed and lonely, and didn't make any close friends there. I found it hard to get out of bed and spent days at a time not leaving the house. After the graduate program ended, I decided I had to move back to Brisbane to be near my friends and family. I got a job with a small company, but it was a sales role and it caused me great anxiety and made me suicidal. So I quit that job, and now I am unemployed. It's been 3 months since I quit and I've applied for a number of jobs, but have had not so much as a rejection email. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I find my self esteem dropping to a ridiculous level. All the job advertisements say they want someone super amazing with X years experience in that exact industry, and I feel like I can't even apply. Even the simplest jobs want someone bloody fantastic - someone who is passionate and motivated to be in that role... Even if it's a dish pig job or cleaning bloody toilets. I'm getting sick of it, and I'm losing faith about the future. I can't see myself ever owning a house. My parents can't look after me. They have just retired and they don't have lots of money. I hate being a burden on them - I have had to move back home. I feel incredibly guilty about eating their food and living in their home, when I am an adult who should be able to support herself. I want to pay them back when I do eventually find employment again. I am so grateful for their help recently. Anyway, I am just writing this to get my thoughts out. Part of me thinks it will be ok in the end, but the other part thinks this could become a pattern - one of ups and downs and eventual unhappiness.

Ruby_R year 12 stress
  • replies: 0

Hey guys I wanted to ask someone about my mood swings and how to stop them, but I didn't know where to go so I came here, looking or some help. I've just started year 12 and already I'm stressing out majorly about all the work and pressure. My parent... View more

Hey guys I wanted to ask someone about my mood swings and how to stop them, but I didn't know where to go so I came here, looking or some help. I've just started year 12 and already I'm stressing out majorly about all the work and pressure. My parents expect me to top every class and it's starting to make me break down and put more pressure on myself, and that pressure and stress has started to make me have horrible mood swings. I've gone from happy to so upset that I'm in tears in a matter of minutes lately and it's causing so many fights with my friends and boyfriend. I need to stop these feelings and these mood swings but I don't know how. Please help or give advice? Ruby