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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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keyboardcookie I'm starting to resent my bestfriend
  • replies: 6

For context, we've recently graduated highschool. Recently though, I feel like I'm starting to resent her. This has been a trend through alot of my close friendships, which usually end up in me pushing the other person away after a few years, after d... View more

For context, we've recently graduated highschool. Recently though, I feel like I'm starting to resent her. This has been a trend through alot of my close friendships, which usually end up in me pushing the other person away after a few years, after developing negative feelings towards them. She's my best friend, is nothing but kind, loving, and understanding towards me so it hurts me when I feel these negative feelings towards her. I can't help but also feel some envy towards her. Her family quite well-off financially, whilst I grew up lower class, as well as this, she's absolutely gorgeous and so kind - which are qualities I don't feel I exude, but have always wanted to. I don't want to feel envious, and try not to compare myself to her, or feel any resentment towards her, because I value our friendship so much. I think oftentimes this ends up in me trying to 'prove' to myself that I'm somehow better than her, even though I know our friendship isn't a competition. She'll sometimes do things mindlessly that hurt my feelings (i.e, responding to my exes if they try to spark up conversation with her and being friendly, staying acquaintances with people who she met through me, who have really hurt me in the past - or becoming friends with them) Recently, one of my exes even hit on her, and all she did was make a joke back to him - only stopping texting him once I explicity asked her to. These things hurt me as to me, it seems like a no-brainer to not do them, as I would never do them to her, but she will only stop if I directly tell her to stop, which I don't like to do, but often have to as I feel if I don't, my resentment will only grow. I don't think they're unreasonable things to ask from her, because these people aren't necessarily close friends with her, and in every case, she's never even met them. Regardless, these things really hurt me. It's gotten to a point where everytime she posts something on social media, or acts in certain ways - things that never used to bother me - make me snarl or roll my eyes in annoyance. And everytime, I feel like such a horrible person. I love her so much, and she tries so hard to be such a good friend to me, and she really is. I don't want to resent her for the few mistakes that she makes. But, I can't help but feel my cycle of finding a great friend, then suddenly hating them is repeating.

stitch_feels_sad A girl at school is giving me a hard time!!!
  • replies: 6

This girl at school, year 11, absolutely hates me, year 8, she holds a grudge cause I went off with other friends and because she hated my sister. She tried to turn everyone against and thinks she the boss of the friend group. This week I’ve been act... View more

This girl at school, year 11, absolutely hates me, year 8, she holds a grudge cause I went off with other friends and because she hated my sister. She tried to turn everyone against and thinks she the boss of the friend group. This week I’ve been acting out at school cause she came back from having covid and it was nice and peaceful. This week she also stalked my tiktok account and talked bad about me in the comments of one of MY videos. What should I do about her?

AW-1972 Drama within my friend group makes me stressed.
  • replies: 4

Hello everyone. My friend group has heaps of drama and its making me overwhelmed and stressed. My friend group consists of about 7 people and they all are in on things without me and attack me for no reason, they make me feel like a outsider. They ge... View more

Hello everyone. My friend group has heaps of drama and its making me overwhelmed and stressed. My friend group consists of about 7 people and they all are in on things without me and attack me for no reason, they make me feel like a outsider. They get angry and start fights over me not liking a video game. They also just say some really rude things to me and my other friends. I just want to keep my relationships and don't want the fights and drama. I love my friends but I don't have the emotional capacity and time to deal with all of this. It makes me so stressed and anxious.

Trish2 I'm unfulfilled in life
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I last posted on here but I think I've been feeling particularly lonely in an area that I think a lot of us can relate to possibly. I've been dealing with the loss of a relationship that meant a lot to me for ... View more

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I last posted on here but I think I've been feeling particularly lonely in an area that I think a lot of us can relate to possibly. I've been dealing with the loss of a relationship that meant a lot to me for 9 months or so now and although there's been some slight progress with dealing with that pain, it still comes and goes and I can't get it out of my head. I feel this is taking way longer than it should if I'm being honest. As a result, I've been missing that connection in life that made me genuinely happy for a while, which was having someone to hug/cuddle, someone to tell your most intimate details to and all that sort of stuff. I definitely have my friends and I'm even lucky to have a friend I've known since forever, but I don't feel comfortable having that sort of relationship with them where I can talk about how I feel or just those deeper conversations as they're not the type of people that do or enjoy those things which makes me feel even worse and I feel stuck. I don't feel like meeting anyone new either as I'm not ready for it yet and I feel like it's hard to find even platonic friendships these days. Does anyone have any good tips or advice for dealing with a situation like this or feeling better about it? I feel so stuck and I have no one to share that side of me with and it makes me so sad. I also used to live with my pets that would cuddle me too so losing that as well really adds to the pain.

BeautifulHorse I'm homesick and lonely and I feel like I can't tell anyone
  • replies: 3

I've recently 'moved' in with my aunt for a little while, and I miss home. It's very organised and more strict here, I'm not allowed to eat in the lounge room for example, and everything is really... different. And I have to put up with my uncle, who... View more

I've recently 'moved' in with my aunt for a little while, and I miss home. It's very organised and more strict here, I'm not allowed to eat in the lounge room for example, and everything is really... different. And I have to put up with my uncle, who is either annoying or scary. I feel like I'm letting down my guard too much, because when I trust someone they always somehow bite me back. I don't know what to do because they try to be really nice, and it would feel nasty to say anything against that. Sometimes I want to cry, but I don't because I don't want anyone to know I'm upset. I'm not sure if anyone else feels like this and I don't know what to do. It's not healthy to let these sorts of things linger, but I don't really have anyone I feel safe talking to and I can't get out alone to call someone to just talk to.

OceanPhoenix General Venting
  • replies: 3

So recently I have not done any work related to school in a week and I'm always stuck in bed. It has dawned on me multiple times that I may be very unmotivated but throughout the years I was told I was lazy so I struggle to tell the difference. I'm s... View more

So recently I have not done any work related to school in a week and I'm always stuck in bed. It has dawned on me multiple times that I may be very unmotivated but throughout the years I was told I was lazy so I struggle to tell the difference. I'm scared that this may persist and eventually, it may lead to me not eating frequently or not attending social gatherings etc. It's also really hard for me to communicate with others I often keep everything bottled up and my whole life I despised leaning on others. To be honest I don't even know why I'm here...Maybe a stranger's advice holds some worth? Maybe to vent? I don't know. I guess I was wondering if anyone out there struggles with differentiating laziness and lack of motivation or being "burnt out" as I do. Also recently I feel rather lonely despite being surrounded by others constantly and more tired than usual. Some days I feel like I'm not heard or no one pays attention to me when I'm usually okay with not being in the center of attention. Lastly, I have been very irritable and I just don't know why as the smallest things set me off whether it's with friends or family. Well, that will be all for now I suppose. Thank you for listening to my venting.

Yes And No I Feel Like I Don't Deserve to be Depressed
  • replies: 5

Hi Everyone, I have no idea if anybody is going to see this, but I've realised I need help. Sorry in advance if this seems more like a way to get this off of my chest instead of a cry for help or something. My life seems to be ideal, a fair few frien... View more

Hi Everyone, I have no idea if anybody is going to see this, but I've realised I need help. Sorry in advance if this seems more like a way to get this off of my chest instead of a cry for help or something. My life seems to be ideal, a fair few friends, loving parents, top grades at school, but I can't help but hate myself. I was born with a rare genetic condition which effects my appearance in a really negative way, and it makes me feel like I can never be as good as anyone else. I feel like I'll never be loved because of the way I was born, everyone around me is in a stable long term relationship, and I've never experienced the feeling of somebody outside of my family loving me. Everyone I've ever thought I loved has either left or is in a long lasting relationship with a person who's better than me. I feel trapped, like there is nobody I know who I can talk to, I don't bring it up with my parents because even if I bring up something minor I get back the standard "people have it so much worse than you, you should feel lucky that you're as privileged as you are". I have no friends who I can talk to because they either aren't people I trust with my insecurities, or they're going through something so much worse than I am that it would sound more like a complaint than a genuine attempt to get help. I've been considering suicide but I know that I'm too much of a coward to actually go through with it. And through all of this I'm thinking that I'm only doing this for attention, because I don't even have it half as bad as everyone else does, I'm angry with myself for being sad because I know that there are people who are going through worse than I am, and that I can only be thinking these things because everyone else is. Every time I do try to say something people will ask me if I'm OK and even if I say no I don't want to talk about it because I don't want to make them feel worse because they have to bear my problems as well. Somebody I know has attempted suicide on multiple occasions and I fear for her life because I feel like I'm not doing enough to help her, but I can't help her because I don't know how. I'm sorry if this post feels like a mess, it's the first time I've made an effort to reach out to the wider community about my problems, Thanks for reading this, YAN.

Scotty02 Is this normal? Potential health anxiety
  • replies: 3

G’day guys Over a month ago now I woke up one morning feeling pretty serious brain fog (couldn’t concentrate, poor memory and feeling generally ‘off’). This brain fog coincided with never before experienced panic attacks which lasted anywhere between... View more

G’day guys Over a month ago now I woke up one morning feeling pretty serious brain fog (couldn’t concentrate, poor memory and feeling generally ‘off’). This brain fog coincided with never before experienced panic attacks which lasted anywhere between 20-30mins. I am 19 and have never had an issue with my mental health, and now I find myself slowly getting ‘worse’. I constantly hyper-fixate over physical and mental symptoms that I display, and manifest a reason that it could be the start or early onset of something sinister. For example: I go into panic attacks thinking that I’m developing bipolar or schizophrenia, despite not showing any real symptoms. I have begun seeing a psychologist 3 weeks ago to address some issues at home (minor) and started taking antidepressants 4 days ago. As stated, this is all completely new and it’s incredibly frightening. I find it difficult to fall asleep at night, fatigued and constant brain fog. Sometimes I stand up and feel dizzy and have frequent panic attacks, often twice in a day. I spend the whole day worrying that I have a brain tumour or as mentioned, another more chronic mental illness. I’m not sure if that’s how these illnesses start, or if I have health anxiety or even slight OCD. Wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience, wherein symptoms appeared overnight and gradually got worse. Not sure if a formal diagnosis would be beneficial, as I feel the root of my problem is the constant anxiety/ stress that I am developing a ‘chronic’ mental illness. thank you in advance.

eiddesqrd i feel like i don’t belong
  • replies: 6

this is kind of just a rant sorry im really scared to go back to school. there was a mishap last year and i moved from my group that, for the longest time, i thought would be the only group i’d be in. but then i realised i didn’t belong there so i mo... View more

this is kind of just a rant sorry im really scared to go back to school. there was a mishap last year and i moved from my group that, for the longest time, i thought would be the only group i’d be in. but then i realised i didn’t belong there so i moved to the group of my closest friend at school. i really enjoy being there but i feel like im late to the game. these people have had so much time to get closer and im a newcomer. there are smaller groups within this group and honestly, i feel like im not really apart of any of them. i see them in photos together and planning stuff together and i can’t help but just feel like im an afterthought. like im looking through a window at them. i even get jealous when i see my old group going out (which is incredulous to me- i left them! and yet here i am). im really embarrassed about it. i want to find a new group where i feel as though im valued but i don’t know, im nearing the end of high school and it just doesn’t feel worth it. nothing does anymore. maybe i’ll just sit by myself in the library? i don’t know at this point.

Lonelyness I recently found out I have an STI
  • replies: 6

About a week ago I found out my boyfriend gave me herpes. It was an accident of course we are still together going strong but... I'm scared. I've had issues with my self-esteem for years now and only in the last year have I gained any confidence in h... View more

About a week ago I found out my boyfriend gave me herpes. It was an accident of course we are still together going strong but... I'm scared. I've had issues with my self-esteem for years now and only in the last year have I gained any confidence in how I look and who I am, but after this all that work has gone out the window. I feel disgusting in myself and hate myself even more than before. I don't feel like I deserve to have any sort of sex life anymore and the idea of my boyfriend trying to touch me makes me want to cry. I feel like I don't deserve to be treated like a pretty human anymore, just some sort of ugly creature pretending to be human but in reality is still just a creature nobody should think is pretty or hot in any way. I've spent a lot of time crying about all this but I can't think of myself in any other way.