Young people

Pinned discussions

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

replies: 0

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.

All discussions

Sorted by:

Start a discussion

Weird relationship with my mum

replies: 2

hello, I have a bit of a weird relationship with my mum and I don't know if I'm overreacting or not. I don't know where to start but she is a single mum and she's also an alcoholic. When she drinks (which is very often) I hate being at home. I genuinely feel like running away. I have got depression and anxiety which she does too but she's so selfish and unhelpful when I have an episode. A few months ago I fell into a bit of a depressive episode, she told me I was being selfish and anti-social and she basically said that I was being an inconvenience. one time she was driving me home from basketball practice and I was crying because she was yelling at me for some reason but I was fidgeting with a part of my jumper and she said I was faking it for attention and that I don't actually have anxiety...I didn't even say anything I was completely quiet the entire time she was yelling at me. One time I told her that she upset me and then it ended up with her banging on my door and yelling at me, saying she was going to off herself. I can't stand up to her anymore because I feel like she might do something to herself. She is not mentally stable at all and I feel like I'm walking on thin glass whenever I'm at home. I also feel like she does not care about me at all? like when i show her my art she completely ignores it and the same with absolutely anything I'm proud of. after a hard year of bad grades failing most things because I was having a really tough time mentally, I got an 70% and I told her and she was completely unimpressed like it wasn't good enough. And when i needed a therapist a couple of years ago, i kept on reminding her and asking and she would just put off trying to find one for months. When we finally got to the doctor, we did get referred to a psychologist, but then she kept on postponing calling the place for another good 4 months. I came out as trans (ftm) to her a few months ago and she is now completely ignoring it and doesn't talk about it at all. She said I'm not allowed to change my name, she still uses she/her pronouns and when I came out to her she said that I didn't know what I was talking about. She did call the doctor about a gender therapist to see and they said they'd call her back to give me a referral. The doctor called me the other day to say that shed called my mum multiple times and she hasn't picked up or called back, which shes said she'd do for two months. Sorry for this rant but thank you for reading.

Help Required “please read”

replies: 1

Hi, my name is Georgia and I’m really looking for a known website that I can get a Councelor from but it’s over email and whenever I need them, in certain hours of course. i suffer and I suffer a lot and I’m really hoping that there will be a way out there for me to connect to a professional, I like talking to professionals online because I am a very busy person and don’t like doing things face to face or when I know someone. thanks anyway.

I'm 26. Need help to start over with life. also im having anxiety issues now maybe.

replies: 3

Hello everyone, its my first time posting. I hope this is a good place to just get all of my thoughts out of my chest. Im hoping im not the only one with this problem. I am 25 years old. I graduated with a degree in Uni. its been 2 years now since i got it and i didnt do anything with it. I honestly didnt think about applying for jobs since i graduated i just was so unmovtivated. I preferred to waste a whole year just doing what i wanted to do e.g. exercise, eat better, play music, play video games. With a dead-end job to help keep me sort of afloat financially, at that time i did feel a sense of happiness and contentment. I couldnt do most of that while I was busy studying so i figured why not. Looking back at it now, I think i pursued a degree only from pressure from family. During uni i just studied (barely), didnt make friends, didnt make professional connections, or use any university resources to work on skills to get the job i wanted. Nothing of it drove me to do anything useful for me. I kind of attempted to work on it currently but i think its too late to work on any of it now. i am almost certain that I cant get any job using my degree because i didnt work on ANY skill that will make me employable. I made a dead end for myself bigtime. I just feel so stupid that I pretty much wasted 5 years of my life. So now, im thinking of starting over. I think im just realizing now that i wasnt motivated to work on any of it because its not really what i want to do in life. Is there a resoure that i could use to Maybe TAFE/VET is the best way to go? I dont feel motivated to do another 4 years of writing academic papers again. However, im back square 1 where im unsure of what I want to pursue in life and its frustrating. I want to do something worthwhile/ just get a fulltime job by the time im 30 and i feel like this year is the time to make that crucial decision. However, the stress of it is overwhelming to me. I feel like im having a mini-breakdown. I wake up 2-3 times for the past 3 days. I wake up feeling unrested. I sometimes catch myself just pacing about. Im less coordinated at work. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to cope with this if they had a similar situation? Should i seek medical help? Sorry for the long post but i hope someone reads this. I just feel super down right now i guess. The downiest in my life so far.

Do I need mental help?

replies: 3

Hi everyone just wanted your opion on this. Basically i like talking about violence, alcohol and other things like that, but i don't know if i atually like talking about it or if I'm just creating a person in my head and trying to be them. .Please te... View more

im scared to reach out

replies: 4

i have been through a lot but now that im 15 ive been suggested to see a counsler about my problems but i just cant ive been throug neglect and truma. i also have been through mental and emotion abuse since i was 4 now i can barely eat, sleep and somenights talk or breath. most nights i go through my head but i cant fully breack down and i havent been ableto since i was 11 wheni thought i was finally loved then i got neglected by that person out of every one i know one 2 to 4 people havent hurt me and most days i sit in my room after school listen to music and cuddle a pillow with a tear in my eye not knowing why i got dealt the bad card of life and why its hitting me not and so hard esspecially. just a week ago i was writing to someone and a tear came to my eye in the first time in 2 years when i wrote i wanna truelly be happy again and i just wanna let my problems go and not effect me but i cant and I really need some help so next week im going to reach out to my child youth group worker and let them have a look at my situation and tell me what i need to do cause i dont know anymore i havent given up but over the past 4 years it crossed my head many times.

Feeling sad without a reason

replies: 2

I feel sad all the time and I don't know why. Mum tells me that I should be happy because of everything that I have but I'm not, so she yells and screams and gets mad at me but when I tell her about my problems she doesn't really care. She schelued a meeting with 2 teachers that I hate and didn't think of taking me to a professional. I don't eat I can't sleep clearly she should have picked up on it by now. I'm only twelve and she expects me not to forget anything ever, she treats me like I'm an adult already. I don't understand how she can't understand that I'm only twelve, she but me into school when I was four and pressured me to do all this homework and school work that I shouldn't be doing. There's no way I am going to tell about my more serious problems if she is like this, she would probably get mad and tell me I should be happy because of all the things I have. Some words she's said a lot that I have them memorised are "You just want, want, want." "I'll give you something to cry about" "What about when I take away all of your nice things then you'll be misrable" "Enough with the additute" "You need to give Dad a break, he is sick of you" It makes me want to not exist hearing those words, but I'm scared if I call a helpline they're going to send me to the hospital, I don't have anyone to talk to. I try not to be sad but it's hard and everyone forces answers out of me so I lie to them because there is no way I will be telling them the truth. She said I'll be going to a counsler but does that even count as a professional. Everyone keeps asking me "Is it at home or is it at school" they won't accept the answer "I don't know" or "It doesn't have a location"... I don't know what to do anymore

First thread- first talk to a professional

replies: 7

hi! I'm new to these forums! not really sure why I'm her but I don't really get to rant a lot unless its to my friends. Anyways, I'm planning on seeing my schools councillor on monday, Kinda really scared though, It's been my first time talking to a professional about my problems in a year or two as I stopped going to the old one as she really broke my trust and I would just feel more anxious after I'm really scared to go back. My friend who has seen her before and she said she's great but I'm really scared to go. I also feel a lot of guilt for going, like I don't deserve to go or I'm doing something bad even though I know I'm struggling and I really don't want to back out but I'm worried I'll get too anxious and not go? Has anyone ever felt like this? And if you have did and how did you overcome it? Because it's seriously eating away at me but I know I need to talk to someone about how I'm feeling. Thanks everyone

not keen to go (back?) to uni

replies: 7

i do not want to go back to uni because there will be people there and they will all know eachother and i will not know anyone and i will be too shy to talk to anyone, and even if i do talk to anyone i will not have anything interesting to say and will make everyone annoyed or uncomfortable my first year of uni was done online because of social distancing protocol (not a complaint - i'm just glad people are staying home and staying safe when possible). the thing is, i've only ever been on campus one time - this was for a single lecture, before we were sent home in 2020 and asked not to return until restrictions eased. you may have guessed that i am not a social butterfly. i have a group of friends that i liked spending time with. i find people easy to like, and i enjoy spending time with people. the problem is that i'm kind of awkward. i don't know how to hold a conversation with a stranger - unless i already know the person, i'm likely to kill the conversation accidentally because i assume i'm being annoying or simply don't have anything interesting to say. i'd love to make new friends at uni. i'm just nervous.

My body doesn't match me.

replies: 3

Hi. I hate talking about this but I can't stop letting these negative thoughts interrupt my daily life. I hate my body. And worst of all, I hate it in ways that I can't do anything about. It stops me from doing things. My insecurity limits my happiness. I spend hours deliberating about whether or not I should go out and see my friends, because then I'd have to get dressed and they'd see me and I'd exist outside in the world to be freely percieved. I dread going to work (not just because I don't like my job) because I have to get out of my pajamas and once again be percieved. I kind of wish I could stay in my room forever. I'm a 5'9 19 year old female (that's pretty tall). I really hate my height. I know it's not even ludicrous on paper, but I'm already such a shy and insecure person. I wish I could shrink down and be smaller; I feel like I stand out. I know I'm not even excessively tall. I just don't like it and I feel that my body doesn't match me at all. I feel that I appear more masculine than I would like, because I'm on the tall side and sort of have broad shoulders. I know this isn't a real problem so it's sort of embarassing and silly to complain about, but it's something that affects me a lot. I'm so awkward and I feel like I just loom over most people like a big stupid giant or something. Anyways that's my blown-out-of-proportion qualm for the day. Really not a big deal but feels like the end of the world.

Stressed and guilty - not working properly

replies: 4

Hi there, I’m overwhelmed with my job (admin), likely because of lack of sleep, stress from the workload, and overwhelmed with the critical thinking required for my tasks. I know it’s normal to be tired at work but I’m feeling this crushing pressure to get it all right and to continue on regardless of how tired/stressed about it I’m feeling, and I’m working from home. My parents told me to keep going and I agree with them - I cry at my desk - it’s not depression because I know what that’s like and it’s definitely not that, I think it’s tiredness. I’m saying in my head all the time ‘You should care about your job and you’re really lucky to have this job’ and ‘You’re pathetic, toughen up and keep at it’ because to be frank, it’s partially laziness, and I don’t have the mental muscles to keep at it, I don’t like the feeling of working just like many others do, but I’m less tolerant or something, probably because I’ve spent a long period of time in the past not working/studying because of actual depression and anxiety (which is SO much better now thankfully). I kind of beat myself up about not being adjusted to working so much, and not putting up with my stress and muscling it out. We have meetings every week and I sweat because they’re going to find out I’m not working enough (if they haven’t already). Yet I continue to underperform. I think about changing jobs often, but that wouldn’t be a good move, because this is a good job for a good cause and I’m better suited to this job than other ones skill-wise. I know that changing jobs likely isn’t the best solution because it’s running away from the current problems rather than fixing them. Thank you for reading this, if anyone knows what is a good thing to do in this situation, I really appreciate your comment. Thanks

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

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

Weird relationship with my mum replies: 2

Help Required “please read” replies: 1

I'm 26. Need help to start over with life. also im having anxiety issues now maybe. replies: 3

Do I need mental help? replies: 3

im scared to reach out replies: 4

Feeling sad without a reason replies: 2

First thread- first talk to a professional replies: 7

not keen to go (back?) to uni replies: 7

My body doesn't match me. replies: 3

Stressed and guilty - not working properly replies: 4