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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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EmmaDarling I'm scared I'm hitting a new all time low
  • replies: 2

Hello, I'm not exactly sure how to start this so I'm just going to get into it. (when I was 13 I was diagnosed with social anxiety and depression) I was 13 when I first really asked for help though my issues started when I was 12, my grades were drop... View more

Hello, I'm not exactly sure how to start this so I'm just going to get into it. (when I was 13 I was diagnosed with social anxiety and depression) I was 13 when I first really asked for help though my issues started when I was 12, my grades were dropping (I always had near-perfect grades and school was easy for me), I started getting anxious around people including my friends and started to dread even the thought of seeing people if I didn't have too. I started seeing the middle school counselor and she was a pretty good person to talk to but I just kept getting worse to the point she had to call my parents out of worry for my safety which upset me at the time but now looking back on it I'm forever thankful that she did. I then had an appointment with my GP about a referral to a psychologist and a possible diagnosis which went well. I had a blood test to see if I had a hyperactive Thyroid problem that could be solved with medication but the results came back and everything showed up normal I was seeing my Psychologist once a fortnight but no progress was made and I got worse to the point I was having 1-2 hour panic attacks in the car every morning which always ended up with my mum bring me home because I just physically couldn't get out of the car no matter how much I wanted to be able to go. around this time I also started to have visual and audible Hallucinations due to anxiety and I was at my lowest low. Life-threatening thoughts were just a daily thing for me and I could never bring myself to get out of bed, let alone do anything. I stopped seeing the psychologist and was referred to a psychiatrist where I got the diagnosis. I saw her once a week for about a year and she was amazing, I improved a lot whilst having appointments with her. I was enrolled in an online school so I can still get my education whilst staying at home. As the year went by and I kept seeing her, my grades improved, My anxiety became more manageable and I felt happy again! But, she retired and I haven't been able to see any other doctor since. I have only handed up 1 school assignment these past 2 months and I feel so horrid. I've lied to my mum about it because I don't want to disappoint her and honestly, myself as well. I know mental health is full of ups and downs but I'm so terrified of going back to my lowest point that I'm lying to myself and others just to pretend that's not where I'm headed. I'm scared to tell my mum the truth and I don't know what to do anymore.

Lucette I don’t even care anymore
  • replies: 18

I don’t think I’m suicidal. But honestly I don’t care about being alive anymore. I don’t want to wake up. I don’t want to answer snaps. My family doesn’t give a shot either so that super funn

I don’t think I’m suicidal. But honestly I don’t care about being alive anymore. I don’t want to wake up. I don’t want to answer snaps. My family doesn’t give a shot either so that super funn

sienpen Joining the military with a history of mental illnesses
  • replies: 1

I've been interested for a while in joining the military (the AAF in particular) when I'm older. I do suffer from anxiety and possible schizoaffective disorder though. I've had a few suicide attempts in the past and fear in the future I could possibl... View more

I've been interested for a while in joining the military (the AAF in particular) when I'm older. I do suffer from anxiety and possible schizoaffective disorder though. I've had a few suicide attempts in the past and fear in the future I could possibly be hospitalised. Would that affect my possibility of joining the AAF? I was hoping others might have been in a similar situation to me and could help me understand what happens

Lyssaa Relationship PTSD?
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone, For some reason lately I've been thinking a lot about my relationship which I had three years ago, when I was only fourteen. It lasted four months, and this is what happened. I was in a relationship with a guy, and for the first month it... View more

Hi everyone, For some reason lately I've been thinking a lot about my relationship which I had three years ago, when I was only fourteen. It lasted four months, and this is what happened. I was in a relationship with a guy, and for the first month it was great. We had a shared friend, a girl- let's call her Girl A. After Girl A split from her boyfriend, Girl A and my boyfriend became very close, they called each other besties and things like that. They spent a lot of time together, and people often used to tell me that they were flirting with each other, which I tried to ignore. Not many of my friends liked my boyfriend, in fact a lot of them really didn't like him. Girl A and my boyfriend would start saying "I love you" to each other, as a "joke" apparently. I snapped at him once because I couldn't cope with the stress, and somehow I ended up being the one apologising. On one of our dates, he facetimed Girl A, saying it was alright because we were both friends with her. Another time, he made a "joke" about how red my acne got when I was angry. As this constant stress of the two of them being close together grew and grew, when he didn't text me back one weekend, I got stressed and started crying to my friends about it. He found out. For the rest of the week he ignored me and told me to "figure out" while I was mad. When he broke up with me eventually, girl A would sometimes make comments to me about how everyone thought they were together now and how close they were, and would still tell him stuff about me and bring him up around me. I later tried to cut her off because she wasn't really my friend, and then her and him spent time shit talking me. The fact that I'm still thinking about all of this three years later makes me feel weak and like I'm being crazy. But part of me also thinks that maybe this was more traumatic than I realised. What do you think- am I maybe suffering some kind of trauma from this, or have I just been crazy all along?

mbomb 15 year old daughter help
  • replies: 6

Hi, my heart is broken writing this. My 15 year old beautiful daughter has always struggled with friendships. She is smart, funny, confident and has a huge heart. Girls and friendships seem to destroy her and her confidence is low. She has severe anx... View more

Hi, my heart is broken writing this. My 15 year old beautiful daughter has always struggled with friendships. She is smart, funny, confident and has a huge heart. Girls and friendships seem to destroy her and her confidence is low. She has severe anxiety and panics about not performing well in exams. She has been with the same friendship group for 2 years. I thought they were supportive but yesterday they wouldnt tell her where they were and when she found them the 3 girls told her that they didnt want her in their group any more and they have felt this way for months. They said they are sick of her blaming her mental health on them, which she never has apart from saying to them recently that all the fighting wasnt helping her mental health. They have blocked her, deleted all pictures etc etc, telling people etc. The school are very supportive and I have managed to get a diagnosis of anxiety at the drs and she is on the list for counselling. She cried for 2 hours last night asking what was wrong with her. Luckily I sensed some problems a while a go and suggestd she widened her group which she did so thankfully she has some good support of others for school. I have explained her accountability in it all as I believe she can be very instense and obviously with her anxieties maybe it was all too much for them but I dont understand how girls can be so cruel. She adored one girl in particular and this girl came with her own issues and didnt like my daughter having other friends or being picked for things at school. I have been hugging her, telling her that counselling will help and that she is an amazing person but I am just broken.

strawb3rry_milk I don't know how to deal with School
  • replies: 2

Hi, this is my first time posting on something like this so excuse me if I come off a bit nervous. I don't know how to deal with school anymore. I've always been a good student, gotten good grades, but I feel like I'm being dragged along and forcing ... View more

Hi, this is my first time posting on something like this so excuse me if I come off a bit nervous. I don't know how to deal with school anymore. I've always been a good student, gotten good grades, but I feel like I'm being dragged along and forcing myself to try is getting harder and harder. I have no motivation for school. I love learning, but what we study in school is a complete waste of my time. I'm 15, and my entire adolescence has been filled with academic and musical pressure. I feel like I'm wasting my life, like there is more that I could be doing outside of learning logarithms or how coasts erode. No motivation and no direction, only forcing myself forward. I don't know why I do it anymore. It's like living for the sake of it. Every minute I ask myself, what am I doing? Who am I living for? It's the constant weight that's getting difficult to deal with, and I'm sick of talking about it. I just want to do something. Sorry for the long rant. I hope you guys are doing well.

ppaige Can't seem to keep a job!
  • replies: 5

So i'm only 23 and I have worked in (i feel like) every industry. I have never stayed at a workplace for longer than a year, or I tend to juggle two jobs at one time. I have spent heaps of money on different courses and training in fields that i THIN... View more

So i'm only 23 and I have worked in (i feel like) every industry. I have never stayed at a workplace for longer than a year, or I tend to juggle two jobs at one time. I have spent heaps of money on different courses and training in fields that i THINK I'd like to work in, however, after a short period of time, I end up unable to cope with it all and leave. A part of me hates working; it's not that I am lazy, as I am a very hard worker. But my issue is that I don't seem to enjoy working at jobs. I have tried, retail, office/admin, hospitality, and even support work. I just started a new job recently, to which after only three and a half weeks, I've asked for a few weeks off. I dread going to work, I cry for hours after a shift, and I am left unable to eat. I just figure, why work in a job when it makes me feel this physically and mentally ill. It's just not fair. I want to love this job, and just any job in general, but I never feel satisfied, and I count down the hours until home time every single shift. At this stage I feel like I'd be better off doing some sort of work from home, as thats where i want to be. But knowing me, I'll work from home for a few weeks, and then complain that I wish I could leave the house. Everything is escalated right now because my depression and anxiety is bad, but the fact that I still feel this way when I am feeling mentally okay is really bothering me. I want to be a woman who earns her own money, but at the same time, I would rather never work a day in my life because for some ridiculous reason, keeping a job seems like the hardest task in the world. What do I do from here????

entartung School said i'm getting 0 if i don't complete HSC trials
  • replies: 10

Hi everyone, I'm a year 12 student from NSW whose in the middle of her HSC trials. I'm not sure how much background information i should add (this is my first post) but here's a brief rundown: - Struggling with depression + anxiety since year 8. Also... View more

Hi everyone, I'm a year 12 student from NSW whose in the middle of her HSC trials. I'm not sure how much background information i should add (this is my first post) but here's a brief rundown: - Struggling with depression + anxiety since year 8. Also diagnosed with ADHD - My school has been aware of it since year 9/10 as i regularly see the school counsellor - Currently seeing a psychiatrist and am on medication for ADHD. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be helping, however she wants me to try it for a little longer. Not on anything else right now as she said it would be difficult to gauge the effectiveness of the medication if i don't take it in isolation - Have started seeing a new psychologist. Only one session so far so i can't really comment on effectiveness. My last psychologist was with CMHS but she just wasn't a right fit, both agreed i wasn't making any progress. Unfortunately this is a tricky period to star afresh with a new psychologist who doesn't know me well. - Was on additional medication last year. It didn't seem to help - Took an overdose last year near Christmas time (hence CMHS) - Currently not suicidal, not self (although i struggle with dermatillomania) Okay, so here's my issue. I have missed 5 of my trial HSC exams, these exams are worth 30%-40% of my school mark. My school is aware of my mental health history and has helped me reschedule and space out exams to lessen the stress. However i'm finding in really overwhelming and difficult to cope and consequently missed my rescheduled dates. 2 days ago they brought in my parents and told me that i would have to either do HSC over 2 years of i would have to complete all 5 exams as well as my major work by the end of next week. I decided against pathways (2 years) for several reasons, including the fact that the HSC syllabus is changing next year, i want to just get HSC over with rather than stretching it out, not keen on going to TAFE and finishing my HSC there and the fact that up until now, my grades have been quite good. I'm almost certain i won't change my mind regarding pathways, but it leaves me in a difficult position, with 5 consecutive exams and my history ex major work due all my next friday. This is an absolutely insane amount of work. My school says i must have it all complete by the end of next week or else i will be getting 0. I don't know what to do, it doesn't seem negotiable as my school was quite firm even knowing my situation. It honestly seems incredibly unfair to me.

Angst19 Feel empty, struggling with purpose/goals
  • replies: 4

Hello, I just finished my third degree last year and have been looking for work for a while. Other than that I am trying to do things I am interested in, but I find myself questioning the point of doing things I enjoyed doing before and often can't f... View more

Hello, I just finished my third degree last year and have been looking for work for a while. Other than that I am trying to do things I am interested in, but I find myself questioning the point of doing things I enjoyed doing before and often can't find the motivation. When I think of the reasons to do something (e.g. earn money, help others, make others happy, impress others or for enjoyment) none of them interest me and I don't know what will make me happy in the long term. As a result, nothing interests me and I spend a lot of time playing games and watching movies to escape the mundanity and I feel guilty that I'm wasting time. I have been looking for work for a while but I don't know what I want to do and have never really known. When recruitment agencies ask me that question (and annoy the hell out of me), I reply with "Anything I can do" or "anything that matches my resume skills." My mother sometimes yells at me frustrated that I don't know what I want. I did a bit of paid and volunteer work last year at a school but have been unable to do that this year due to new COVID restrictions, but I am currently doing a bit of volunteer work on weekends as an accompanist. I studied an Arts degree and an education certificate mostly because I felt pressured by my parents and didn't know anything else I wanted to study. Before that I studied Music because I enjoyed performing and composing, but now I often don't enjoy it and ask myself what's the point. I guess I worked really hard to finish my degrees and feel it has been a waste of time and effort because I can't find work that uses them, and I am afraid of making another fruitless investment of my time and energy. I also had a very stressful experience during work experience in 2019 that a counsellor I saw described as "traumatic" and that I might still be recovering from. One night a week I have dinner with friends from school and once a week I do a morning walk with a local group but usually I can't have meaningful conversations with them because I can't think of things to say and end up just listening and feeling left out. I talk to friends on Facebook but mostly small talk and the conversations don't last long because I don't know what to say to keep them going. These friends are either interstate/overseas or are busy. I have tried joining Meetup groups but feel I can't connect with anyone because I rarely have anything to say, so often lonely. Can anyone relate or give any advice? Thanks.

Tmac22 Got no idea anymore
  • replies: 1

Hey guys haven’t been back in a long time but currently 22 years old finished first degree had a job all be it an internship ready to go then covid hit, graduated 3 months later without much to show for it and due to the fact that the economic ramifi... View more

Hey guys haven’t been back in a long time but currently 22 years old finished first degree had a job all be it an internship ready to go then covid hit, graduated 3 months later without much to show for it and due to the fact that the economic ramifications are still affecting my industry I’ve decided to be proactive and get another degree in accounting whilst gaining a few credits from previous study. in saying that I am so lost, I basically did the degrees because that’s what was expected of me and my family who is in the industry have really been unhelpful whilst me attempting to find work experience is not a position I can be put in due to my job being financially secure and having to split my wage to give to struggling family members. this has put me in a rut as I am very far off financially where I could be and have missed out on heck of a lot of opportunities because family is so reliant on me to pay for daily grocery expenses etc which hard for me to deal with right now. not even sure what I want to do with life either I know I have a very analytical mind and I do enjoy studying however my thoughts have drifted to mute physical jobs ie trades but even then at my age is almost impossible to start and be successful even if I do pre app subjects. any guidance would be heavily heavily appreciated in what I should be doing