Young people

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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.

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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

i feel like an attention seeker

replies: 3

everything feels like such a chore lately. i am thinking about whether i should see a therapist. but really, there is nothing wrong with me. lately i've just had a bad attitude, so everythign feels tiring. i think it could be helpful, because i'm sure it would be helpful for anyone. who wouldn't benefit from that kind of thing? but i woul dhave to got hrough my parent.s and i'm absolutely not bringing that up with them. i do not want pity or concern or interference or nuisance or nagging. i don't think i am depressed. i am just in a bad funk but its so exhausting. my room is a mess. im 19 years old. i should be able to simply just clean my room and get my life together. i find it so hard to be motivated to do anything becausde i'm incredibly lazy and avoid problems rather than just solving them even when they're so easy. i feel like a failure. i feel like i'm too fat and ugly. i am possibly the worst conversationalist in the world because i assume everyone hates me (which wouldn't be a problem if i could just hold a conversation) and i make everything 10x more difficult for myself than it needs to be. i do have some redeeming features though. i am nice to people mostly. which is good. i don't know why i am even on this forum i'm just looking for something and i'm not sure what. advice or something, some kind of guidance. im aware that i sound very childish. i am just writing a stream of conciousness (which i cannot spell). i don't mean to be annoying i'm just venting i hope that's ok. i'm not really sure what i'm hoping to achieve here. i feel like i'm kind of out of control. (not in an emergency services type of way, i'm not in a dire position or having drastic thoughts or anything). what i mean is that it feels like i am just going forward through each day not really making active choices but just letting momentum push me along. where am i going? what am i doing? maybe everyone feels this way. if so, they don't show it. that being said, i'm not depressed or anything; i have good moments too. i smile, laugh, so on, i entertain myself throughout the day and spend time with others - no cause for concern. i'm just finding it difficult to maintain this lifestyle going from job to job each day and wasting my time little by little throughout the day, until it's 3am and i've not done anything for myself. and by this time of day i've either eaten scarcely anything OR alternatively eaten an absurdly large amount of food (that i didn't even enjoy).

Lonely & Lost

replies: 8

Hey guys! I have never been on here but thought I'd share what's on my mind. I'm 19 and have been feeling quite down lately. I have been working a lot and have been going home afterwards and not really had anyone to talk to or spend time with. Everyday just seems to be work and then sleep. I get 1 maybe 2 days off a week but find myself spending time alone not knowing what to do as I don't really have anyone to do anything with. I love being social and going out but struggle to find the right people. Just thought maybe this could be a cool place to discuss. Thank you to whoever takes time to read this Hope all of you are doing okay

I keep losing things

replies: 4

As the title suggests, I keep losing things. I've lost two mykis over the past month, and my airpod case today. I don't know what's wrong with me, I think maybe i'm a bit stressed so I'm absentminded. But I'm sick of feeling anxious about things that I've lost. It's starting to make me lose concentration on literally everything else, and like everyone else has their life together except me. How do I stop losing things, and moreover, beating myself up about it so much that I can't focus on my life?

Overthinking

replies: 3

Hey so I’ve never posted here before so it’s a bit weird, but lately times have been tough especially with my thoughts, they just go places and they make me believe things. I’m really struggling and I’m not sure what to do. Any advice?

Looking for someone to talk to - a teen or in their 20s

replies: 29

Hi, I'm Tayla and I'm 20. I'm just looking for someone to chat with who's in their teens or 20s, as the post suggests. It's really hard for me because there's nowhere or any way for me to meet people where I live close to my age. I'd love if someone ... View more

I might be trans

replies: 3

I don't really know for certain but I think I might be. Like, I've never liked hanging out with girls and stuff but I'm really worried because what if I only think I feel this way because several of my friends are trans. How do I actually know for certain? Additionally, I was talking to my mum about how I want a penis (because I know that much) and she's like "ARE YOU SAYING YOURE TRANS" "Cause I don't think you're trans" Even though she supports all my trans friends. How would I know for certain? I don't want to move forward then move backwards I feel like I'd get too much shit for that.

Do I have an undiagnosed mental issue or am I just suffering from a classic case of childhood trauma?

replies: 3

So, my brother and I were on a drive one day and I was telling him about how my mother thought I might have inherited her OCD. This was suspected when I was telling her about my young childhood and how I had habits of crying when paint was chipped, organising things, destroying my art if it didn't suit me, disliking certain patterns, constantly rubbing out and re-doing writing and spending hours making my hair slicker etc. I have grown out of most of these but my mother still suspects it. After telling my brother this he said it didn't sound like OCD at all and more like autism. Deep down I doubt that I would, considering the people I know who have autism, have told me the kinds of things they deal with and how they differ from my own difficulties. I began to overthink this for a few weeks and wondered if there was something else going on in my brain when I related it to more of the things I have trouble with. So I asked my boyfriend who knows me the best and he seemed to think I struggle with emotional neglect from my childhood and issues I faced at a young age. CONTEXT: Growing up I had one parent who worked full time and the other slept all day leaving my care up to my siblings. Both my parents had a really hard upbringing in turn making them a little bit emotionally lacking towards their kids. My siblings got that as well as being brought up in a strict religion that I only experience to the age of 5. My siblings (as teens at the time) were going through incredibly rough times too and didn't know how to treat me and did questionable things they thought would help. In turn, I didn't get any emotional support and security growing up from my family. And from then to now many dramas have transpired in our lives and in my personal life that have contributed to who I am now. Last year I worked through depression and severe anxiety n my own and made it out with some scars and my life. I have become so much happier since then after meeting truly good people and becoming closer to family. However, I have become someone who is stuck in their head a lot and I constantly overthink and dig myself into holes and it controls my every move. I can't live in the moment and I feel like I don't know myself. It's like I act differently for every person. I have the worst self image and I often wonder whether my behaviour is normal + OCD or completely normal or maybe there is something else? Anyone have any advice for me? Hope this makes sense, what a big paragraph lmao

Leaving high school

replies: 2

Hi, So last year I finished year 12 and I was fairly happy to be leaving high school as I did not have that much of a positive experience in terms of some of the people I hung out with, but as of recently I have started to miss my school life. I am not sure it this is just the anxiousness of starting university as I am feeling really down about it and somethings feel near crying. Sorry if this doesn't make too much of sense and seems like word blunder, but I don't know I am scared to go out in the 'real world' due to people around me saying how stressful it is and how their school life seemed so much better than this. Again sorry if this doesn't make any sense.

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

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

My body doesn't match me. replies: 3

Stressed and guilty - not working properly replies: 4

i feel like an attention seeker replies: 3

Lonely & Lost replies: 8

I keep losing things replies: 4

Overthinking replies: 3

Looking for someone to talk to - a teen or in their 20s replies: 29

I might be trans replies: 3

Do I have an undiagnosed mental issue or am I just suffering from a classic case of childhood trauma? replies: 3

Leaving high school replies: 2