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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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Rawson3092 Girlfriend and family problems
  • replies: 4

Hey guys, I'm knew here so I just thought I'd tell my story, give us your thoughts. So I'm 14 years old, I have a gf, 4 sisters, and my mum and stepdad. All of my sisters have moved out I'm the youngest, I haven't seen my real father since I was 9 ye... View more

Hey guys, I'm knew here so I just thought I'd tell my story, give us your thoughts. So I'm 14 years old, I have a gf, 4 sisters, and my mum and stepdad. All of my sisters have moved out I'm the youngest, I haven't seen my real father since I was 9 years old. I rang him one night because I was sick of having to visit him because he is always doing drugs, so I rang him and told him to choose between me and drugs, and he said "I would choose drugs over you anyday". My mum was already seperated from him by then so it was easy for me to not have to see him. My stepdad treats my mum a lot better but after my real father left I have really bad trust issues, so I'm not to sure how to feel about him, even though my mum got married to him this year. He is very strict and doesn't allow me to use my phone after 7:30 which is really hard because my gf is always on her phone at night time and not much during the day so this doesn't give me much time to talk to her. I also can't take my phone out of the loungeroom (which he has a security camera in) because he won't let me. I'm not even allowed to see my gf because both of our parents hate each other so this leaves me and my gf in a very difficult spot. It's also really hard because my gf's mum took my gf's phone so I have no way of contacting her, we also don't even go to the same school and covid has interrupted our relationship because we would generally sneak out to see each other when our parents went to work. This would allow us to see each other otherwise we wouldn't be able to. I've spent nights crying just because I can't see her more often and it's taking away at my mental health and idk how to deal with it. My gf is my everything I've gained so much love for her in our 6 short months together, we have only seen each other twice. At the start of mine and my gf's relationship was our hardest period (because I actually met her at the show and it was basically love at first sight because at the end of that night I knew she was perfect) , because we don't go to the same school all the guys at her school were saying that I was cheating on her and I think that was even harder because I couldn't be there and show her just how much I care, because after all texting can only go so far. All these things on top of; studies, Covid lockdown, work, and my sporting career leaves me in a really difficult situations and sometimes makes me feel hopeless and suicidal.

Daniel12 25 feel like I’m having a qtr life crisis, lacking in hope and motivation to move forward
  • replies: 13

Hi there I’m a 25 year old male whose single and I feel like I’m slowly hitting a wall each day. Things I used to enjoy don’t faze me anymore, my life seems like a repeating cycle of spending each day working but also replaying the same thoughts of b... View more

Hi there I’m a 25 year old male whose single and I feel like I’m slowly hitting a wall each day. Things I used to enjoy don’t faze me anymore, my life seems like a repeating cycle of spending each day working but also replaying the same thoughts of being alone over and over again. I have been trying to meet a partner and it is just a constant source of disappointment, I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel…online dating apps contribute to this as I do not get any matches at all and when I do it’s fleeting. from the outside looking in it would seem I have a good social network but I do not feel part of anything and never have, I have no outlet and things I would do to distract myself are no longer working I feel lost and do not have a clue who I am or are supposed to be, feelings of complete hopelessness are what I carry each down and I just spend most of the time flat and down although I can mask it around family. I do not have any suicidal tendencies and I would not do anything like that for my family’s sake but I am questioning what is the purpose of everything I do when I just feel inherently alone

Guest1020 Falling apart, meeting a psychiatrist in mid ish October for ADHD and very scared
  • replies: 3

Hello, I have a first appointment with the second psychiatrist in mid October and I am very scared and anxious. The first time I visited the psychiatrist (not the ones I have booked with in October), it was nothing but an absolute train wreck, she di... View more

Hello, I have a first appointment with the second psychiatrist in mid October and I am very scared and anxious. The first time I visited the psychiatrist (not the ones I have booked with in October), it was nothing but an absolute train wreck, she didn't believe I had depression or ADHD. To the point, where she said I should stop being tired and form habits. I am scared and very anxious that the psychiatrist will not believe I have any difficulties in life. I am scared that he will think I am a drug seeker, despite me not ever taking drugs, scared that he will say it's all in my head, scared that he will send me off and not help. I am barely functioning right now, I am constantly tired, cannot think properly, constant brain fog, pacing extensively for several hours, forgetting appointment, forgetting bills, spending money impulsively, relying on my mum to take care of cause i can't, hygiene maintenance, fired from two jobs and withdrawn from uni 7 times. i am not functioning, I was prescribed anti depressants, and they made me feel dumb and shaky. I feel like all the doors in life are closing, all my opportunities closed, I can barely even believe that this me and I am very scared that I will be homeless because of these issues. I want to be functional, I want to be productive, I want to work and study, I want to lead an independent life, but at this moment with this brain, I can't. And I don't think I can handle another psychiatrist appointment where either they say I'm depressed or stop being tired. I have goals I want to achieve, I know what I need to do to achieve them, so why isn't there any psychiatrist who can help me. I can't access psychologists because the ones who specialise in ADHD are booked out or there is no ADHD psychologists. I am fed up and exhausted. The school reports I plan to bring don't indicate any mental health issues, and I can't bring my family over since they don't believe in mental health at all. I'm genuinely afraid that I will be seen as someone who is just another ice addict who wants ADHD meds. Trying to access an adult ADHD assessment as a 21 yr old makes me feel like I'm being treated as a criminal or drug addict by the whole mental health system. I am willing to undergo randomised drug testing if it means the psychiatrist can properly evaluate me when it comes to assessment. I don't want to live like this, I don't want to be a burden, pacing extensively for hours because you can't sit still is not depression

icecreamspider I have no motivation for anything
  • replies: 5

I’m completely unable to do anything i don’t enjoy. I have zero motivation to do any of my school work. There’s not really much to say here i guess. I’m not sure what to do about it because i don’t even have the motivation to try to fix it. I’ve trie... View more

I’m completely unable to do anything i don’t enjoy. I have zero motivation to do any of my school work. There’s not really much to say here i guess. I’m not sure what to do about it because i don’t even have the motivation to try to fix it. I’ve tried things like alarms and calendars almost hoping that it would stress me out and i would do my work. Nothing has worked. I just ignore the alarms, they’re more of a nuisance than a reminder. I don’t even pay attention to my calendar. I couldn’t care less if i tried. I’ve ended up in detention before because i’ve been late to school so many times due to not caring about it. I’m going into year 11 next year and i’m at a total loss. Please help.

rotten_banana Losing my identity
  • replies: 4

Henlo, first-year uni student here! This is my first ever post so any response would be appreciated :") . So, over the course of COVID-19, I've taken this period to become more self-aware and tidy up my thoughts as an attempt to be kinder to myself. ... View more

Henlo, first-year uni student here! This is my first ever post so any response would be appreciated :") . So, over the course of COVID-19, I've taken this period to become more self-aware and tidy up my thoughts as an attempt to be kinder to myself. Through reflecting, one big thing that changed dramatically over the year was my personality. From what I think, I was extraverted in my terms and was more confident and true to myself. But from one point in high school, I found myself constantly (mentally) beating myself up which over the years spiralled into occasional suicidal thoughts, crying myself to sleep and randomly bursting into tears. This is all a norm for me in the present. I've developed unhealthy mindsets at the back of my head which ONLY applied to me. Another issue is that (I don't know what triggers it) I constantly find myself thinking back to past mistakes which makes me feel even more ashamed and makes me burst into tears. The reason why this is all an issue is that I'm a very emotional person, my emotions seem to dictate my actions. However, despite knowing this, I don't know how to fix it and I really really really don't want to be down every time anymore. I don't have any friends that I can trust to talk about this. I absolutely cannot tell my family because they already have enough issues to face. I've considered therapy but I'm not financially stable to have regular sessions, and I don't know if this issue is 'serious' enough to go to therapy. I also hope that this thread can help anyone facing the same/ similar situation that I'm currently going through :"""""")

user9463728 Why do I change my entire personality so often?
  • replies: 1

No idea where to post this lol. I've never told anyone I do this but I've noticed that I've done this since I was very young. When I was younger it didn't occur as often but I feel like it's getting more frequent. One that I clearly remember was when... View more

No idea where to post this lol. I've never told anyone I do this but I've noticed that I've done this since I was very young. When I was younger it didn't occur as often but I feel like it's getting more frequent. One that I clearly remember was when I was around 10, I took dancing lessons and there was this girl who always caught my eye. I copied the way she acted and when she and her mum weren’t in the room, I'd go to her bag write down the labels of everything in her bag. I even started to crack my knuckles just because she did. I tried smiling the way she did and dancing the same way. When my dance teacher didn't give me the same opportunities or treated me the same I would get pissed off and wouldn't dance how they wanted me to. I even faked injuries to sit out and watch the girl. (I tried to make sure I wasn't being really creepy lol) After I watched her for a while, I would be so excited to go to school the next day and try everything the girl did with her friends to my school friends. I even tried hugging them more because that's what she did. Nowadays I still do this but the person I choose to mimic will be anyone, for example, someone in a tv show, or someone I see at school. I have lots of friends and get plenty of attention too, so I think I've come to realise that the reason I do this is probably because I see what those people get from other people and I want it too. I get so focused and kind of "obsessed" with the person I choose that it becomes very frustrating and I can't do anything without thinking about them. I find it very hard to get work done without getting the urge to spend hours researching everything I can find about them. I'll be feeling like my whole life revolves around acting like them then I'll wake up the next day bored and just choose someone else to mimic. I have a bunch of other things I do that I feel are kinda odd. Some of my friends also jokingly mention how I seem to hate them one day than love them the next, which I honestly feel is true. If they all suddenly disappeared, I really wouldn’t care. I'm aware that I sound like a shitty friend, but I honestly couldn't care less. If I'm bored, ill occasionally spend a whole day messaging them and giving them attention, then for the next week never respond, purely because its funny watching all my friends panic. There are a bunch more things that people mention or I notice but I don’t have enough words. Do you think this is this normal?

Guest_236 i feel like i'm going nowhere
  • replies: 9

I hope you're all doing well, drinking your water, getting fresh air. I'll get straight into it. I'm not sure if I'm asking for advice or just someone to listen, I'd appreciate either. I'm nearing the end of year 12 and currently preparing for trials... View more

I hope you're all doing well, drinking your water, getting fresh air. I'll get straight into it. I'm not sure if I'm asking for advice or just someone to listen, I'd appreciate either. I'm nearing the end of year 12 and currently preparing for trials. There's zoom classes, online work, homework, personal study – I don't know which one to prioritise. More than that, my fears of the present and future is leaving me paralysed. I'm constantly wondering, what if I don't get the ATAR I need? What if I sit in the exam room and have no clue where to begin? I'm constantly thinking about death, grieving over loved ones who aren't even gone. I think about how trivial and a waste of time school is – I could be finding myself, learning to love myself, building the skills I want, becoming good at my hobbies. I feel like school has made me lose sight of who I am. And if I can't even make it through school, how could I ever survive the real world? These thoughts make it impossible to study without getting distracted or depressed or anxious. And even when I am super focused, I feel like I'm barely getting anything done. It seems like everyone else finds it so much easier than me. They're focused, they're productive, they understand the content, they have their life together. When my friends tell me they're stressed about school, I secretly feel so upset, because I know they've always been doing so much better than me. I know I'm not the most hard working person, but I feel like this is something beyond laziness. I think I've tried every tip and trick in the book to study more efficiently, but nothing works and I'm the common denominator. I feel so broken and incapable. I've always felt like there's something wrong with me but year 12 has really brought that feeling to the front of my mind. I just want to lay in bed until it all blows over

Sally1999 Recently left job, got broken up with and stressed with grades
  • replies: 6

Hey all, I’m 21 and it’s currently 7 am and I haven’t slept as I’ve been crying for the whole day… I left my job at the start of the month because I couldn’t balance a full time study load with full time work. I felt so guilty as during the pandemic ... View more

Hey all, I’m 21 and it’s currently 7 am and I haven’t slept as I’ve been crying for the whole day… I left my job at the start of the month because I couldn’t balance a full time study load with full time work. I felt so guilty as during the pandemic it seems like the worst thing to do - I’ve been feeling super stressed trying to find other jobs at this time and feel like such a failure I have not been unemployed since I’ve come out of high school and I feel so lost… my grades were not the best while I was working which is why I thought to stop working and focus on studying but during lockdown every day seems so hard, I’m constantly tired even though I don’t do much in my day, I have constant head aches and nights where all I do is stay up and cry. My boyfriend of 6 years broke up with me today as I told him I wasn’t okay with him talking to a girl and would feel more comfortable if he just had blocked her. He has previously cheated on me 2 years ago and I don’t feel comfy with him talking to girls like that anymore… she was sending him screenshots of her dms and all. He told me I was being a psycho and a weird overreactor which is why he previously felt the need to delete conversations even though I don’t check his phone or ask for his passwords. I feel completely hopeless, I feel like I am a psycho and toxic and I just don’t know what my purpose in life is anymore. I have so many exams coming up and I feel super stressed and that I won’t be able to achieve the marks that I want. This month I have not felt happy at all even though I may have had glimpses of it. I know I need to take care of myself and do better but it’s so hard to, even when I’m awake I feel disconnected to everything as if I’m not living in my own body and experiencing my own emotions. Everyone seems to be talking about their future goals and ambitions while it’s so hard for me to get by each day, I honestly feel like I’m a waste to this world and maybe I am victimising myself as my bf says or just idk. I just wanted to come on here and say my thoughts because I genuinely don’t have anyone to talk to and I really don’t want to burden my friends and family with this, or let them know I’m not okay. I think I should definitely seek a therapist but I’m so scared to do so! I feel guilty because I haven’t faced any traumatic experiences yet I am still in this thick bubble of sadness. I honestly wouldn’t know what to talk about or how to start? Sighs.

manpreetrockerji Im 22 and need help
  • replies: 4

hello guys, Im 22 Now and i have no idea what i want to do in my life, i have graduated from BBA in International Business, nut now i dont have any idea what should do any help would be appreciated

hello guys, Im 22 Now and i have no idea what i want to do in my life, i have graduated from BBA in International Business, nut now i dont have any idea what should do any help would be appreciated

thehiss Derealisation
  • replies: 5

I have been experiencing derealisation for over ten years straight day after day. I feel like I'm in a dream, everything is 2D, fake and like I am separated from the rest of the world by an invisible wall . Quite often if I put my hand out to touch a... View more

I have been experiencing derealisation for over ten years straight day after day. I feel like I'm in a dream, everything is 2D, fake and like I am separated from the rest of the world by an invisible wall . Quite often if I put my hand out to touch an object, I expect my hand to go straight through it. I have mentioned it to my doctors and psychologists over the years and they keep saying I'm experiencing this due to the fact that I am always so anxious. Does anyone else experience this?