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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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User018263 Joining the Army with a History of Depression
  • replies: 5

Hi all, this is my first time on BeyondBlue - would appreciate if anyone could try and give me a hand. I've had a history of depression, anxiety, and a few other more nuanced disorders. They have lasted for almost two years, I am medicated and I was ... View more

Hi all, this is my first time on BeyondBlue - would appreciate if anyone could try and give me a hand. I've had a history of depression, anxiety, and a few other more nuanced disorders. They have lasted for almost two years, I am medicated and I was hospitalised a few times with several severe situations now behind me. I'm now almost clear and would like to join the army in a year or so. The ADF is surprisingly quite ambiguous about careers there with allowance of depressive history. This is all they have to say - "https://www.defencejobs.gov.au/help-centre/faqs?faqCategory=b80b22f6-ab13-4c33-b366-06b660b267b4&faqTag=eligibility&faqQuestion=2e2326f8-1dd9-49c8-9d39-ce5f5785d431". It would be an absolute dream to join and unfortunately, the helpline for the ADF seems to not be allowed to answer me on the issue, possibly on a professional basis. This makes it very tricky - do I go down all the steps of applying for a YOU session and the rest, or should I just chuck it all aside. I have worked really hard to get myself back on track with my diet, education, exercise, rigour, etc., to account for my difficult history which might otherwise reflect badly on my applicability. I appreciate that it is probably hard for anyone in my shoes to be accepted, but my main questions are; 1. Should I bother applying? 2. Has anyone got in like me before? 3. Is there any nuance to my application that increases my chances? Thanks for your time. Alex

ocean-man all of my efforts are in vain
  • replies: 6

title sums things up, i'd say. just seems like nothing i do matters in the slightest. every step i take in life is overlooked and ignored for one reason or another. academically, socially, et cetera. i don't make an impact on anything and i'm not sur... View more

title sums things up, i'd say. just seems like nothing i do matters in the slightest. every step i take in life is overlooked and ignored for one reason or another. academically, socially, et cetera. i don't make an impact on anything and i'm not sure why i even bother with trying. i try studying more than i've ever done for a big test coming up. end up getting a C- anyway. i give a compliment to someone, trying to be nice. they stare at me like i'm a freak and walk away. i try helping around the house in any way i can. get called lazy anyway. i genuinely see no reason why i shouldn't just isolate myself completely because it's obvious i'm not making any sort of impact on the people i meet in any way. i'd even go so far as to say i wouldn't be missed if i wound up dead tomorrow. that's how worthless i feel. i like to think i'm doing my best, but clearly i'm not because then i'd be able to turn some heads with my actions. instead i get brushed over and walked past like a background object. like i always do. TL;DR - feeling worthless because nothing i do has an effect in any way.

_-Jack-_ I promise, things get better :)
  • replies: 4

Hello all, It has been four years since I have posted on this website, first when I was 14 and I am now almost 19. I struggled a lot with depression and anxiety and having low self worth. Back when I was younger I honestly thought that I would feel t... View more

Hello all, It has been four years since I have posted on this website, first when I was 14 and I am now almost 19. I struggled a lot with depression and anxiety and having low self worth. Back when I was younger I honestly thought that I would feel terrible forever, I didn't see any way out of the feelings I felt. I was morbidly obese, had very few friends, had no luck in love and always felt like the outcast in most settings. Now that I am back here after four years I'm proud to say that I genuinely value and love life. I saw a psychologist for 3 years, and as daunting as it was when I first started I cannot express how valuable that was. Personally it took me a few psychologists until I found the one that I clicked with, but when I did and I started to work through my mental health issues it made all the difference. I still suffer from my mental health issues but now I have the tools I need to deal with my emotions and it feels great to be in control. I have also since lost 37 kilograms in the four years and have a genuine passion for achieving the best version of myself I possibly can. I always thought I would be alone forever, but now I am in a serious relationship of almost 2 years. To any young people that feel as though life sucks and things won't get better, please know that if you take the right steps your life can and will become something that is genuinely worth living and embracing. Im not sure if it is possible but if anyone, and I mean anyone needs someone to talk to, I am always open to hear you out. Stay strong, you are loved. Jack

kirbyGirl I have OCD and depression and my family dont care/understand.
  • replies: 10

Im 19 years old and from the age of 13 ive had severe depression, anxiety. This was because of the things I've gone through since a small child, specifically, having an abusive and manipulative father who still on occasion will harass and scare us. I... View more

Im 19 years old and from the age of 13 ive had severe depression, anxiety. This was because of the things I've gone through since a small child, specifically, having an abusive and manipulative father who still on occasion will harass and scare us. I've been dealing with these things for most of my life, alone with the help of my religion, with no help or understanding from any of my family (my non immediate family are not in australia) and recently i found I have OCD, more specifically I wash my hands compulsively, and cannot sleep till my bed and body is clean, if i touch something by accident, i need to wash it again, and if i dont or cant i will freak out, pace back and forth and breathe heavy. I realize this is something i need to work on, but I am a student and cannot afford therapy so I'm trying to deal with it myself. However my family (mother and sister) make it so much worse. We share a small house, and because of how small it is everyone can hear everything and if one light is one everyone knows. Ontop of this the bathroom is right next to my mother's room. We have daily fights about this, and they will talk badly behind my back and my sister will insult, roll her eyes and bump into me "accidently" after a night of me handwashing. I've tried to explain to them i cant help it and I don't mean to keep them awake but i literally cannot help. But they just tell me im selfish and incosiderate and i should just "stop". Its gotten to the point where when I AM washing my hands and trying to focus on not going on and on, the level of anxiety in me makes me feel as if I cant breathe and I often cry and tell myself I want to die. My family also dont respect when I ask them not to touch things or put things on my bed, they just roll their eyes, ignore me, tell me it isnt a big deal or more specifically my mom will say its too bad its her house. Apart from this, ive spent my whole life copping it left and right from my family. On one side my father abused and manipulated me, and treated me like I was the stupid child with issues ( he said this to my mother on multiple occasions when i was as young as 9) on the other side I have a mother continuously telling me what im doing wrong and how im like this and that. And then my sister who's just overall horrible towards me. Im at a loss at what to do and my mental state is extremely bad right now.

uhhhhhh stressed about school starting again
  • replies: 4

I'm sorry I post on here too much lmao I'm in year 10 this year and my last year at school was terrible, I was starting at a new school and I wasn't doing very well mentally, I was suicidal and was skipping school most of the time and then of course ... View more

I'm sorry I post on here too much lmao I'm in year 10 this year and my last year at school was terrible, I was starting at a new school and I wasn't doing very well mentally, I was suicidal and was skipping school most of the time and then of course online school happened which made it even easier to just avoid everything. my average grade for each subject ended up being 50% or less which isn't great. i had so many missing assignments and I thought if I just avoided it all it would go away. i really want to improve this year, i dont want to repeat but my studying and organisational skills aren't the best. i find it hard to concentrate at home and I never really seem to get homework done..also the people at my school are extremely homophobic misogynistic and generally bad people.. since Ive recently come out as trans after school finished last year I'm scared of people recognizing me or deadnaming me and ofc people making fun of me, I mean it's kinda inevitable seeing the people there suck, I have a few friends who are nice but I don't have any classes with them.. anyone know any tips on how to be motivated or keep an alright work ethic? or even how I can stay kinda positive this year? or the best one how I can stay as invisible as possible? really not looking forward to it

H-c How do i recover from this? What’s the condition?
  • replies: 4

I have really bad memories from when i was in my previous school which was co-ed and i was hugged and “touched” [it was really close to my private areas but i did not understand cause i was really naive and stupid back then], even though it was obvio... View more

I have really bad memories from when i was in my previous school which was co-ed and i was hugged and “touched” [it was really close to my private areas but i did not understand cause i was really naive and stupid back then], even though it was obviously visible that i didn’t like it and said no and told them to stop(my classmates, mainly just from one person). Even though i told that person ( N) that i did not like it and kept on pushing him away, but N kept on doing it cause they enjoyed the way i reacted. I was scared to tell others cause 1. N was a year older than me and 2. N was really popular and outgoing, so i figured everyone would listen to him rather than some quiet and sky kid that sits in the back of the class. Now years later even though i no longer see N anymore i cant help but feel disgusted whenever someone esp of the opposite gender when they come close. [three feet is the closest range where i feel comfortable] my body would somehow freeze . This is bad cause I can’t really ask questions to my teachers cause i hate it when they get close (cause they can’t see my working out ) and i keep on stuttering and sometimes it gets hard to breathe. And now I’m scared of the opposite gender and i know that they’re not like N but i can’t help but feeling scared. Also my friends thinks that thinks I’m some kind of “arrogant” person just cause i refuse to hug them. I really don’t Iike it and feel really uncomfortable when any gender gets close and make any kind of skin contact e.g. poking or touching my arm or holing my hand. Any skin to skin contact, i can’t. After any type of skin contact happens, i have this urge to execessively clean that area and after using excessive amounts of anti-bacterial soap. How do i get “better” so that i dont feel disgusted when someone makes contact, accidental or not? Though its been more than 3 years since I’ve seen N how do i tell him that all this has happened to me all because of them? I get mad at myself every time i think about it. I really want to get better so that i no longer feel uncomfortable when someone accidentally run into me, and I really want to hug the people I love comfortably. (To moderators : sorry if this is in the wrong forum i’s really appreciate it if you could move it to the right forum)

uhhhhhh hard to go to my dad's house
  • replies: 3

hi people on here are helpful so.. my parents are divorced, they had a pretty tough breakup they were both alcoholics at the time and there was alot of physical abuse from what I can remember coming from mainly my dad, but my mum was also quite verba... View more

hi people on here are helpful so.. my parents are divorced, they had a pretty tough breakup they were both alcoholics at the time and there was alot of physical abuse from what I can remember coming from mainly my dad, but my mum was also quite verbally abusive. They divorced in 2016 and I've been going to my dad's house every Wednesday after school and every second weekend. that schedule lasted until around when lockdown started, my little brother and I didn't go to our dad's as much since we were doing online school and it was just easier doing schooling at my mum's place with all my school books and stuff there. i was still going but it was more like one weekend each month or something like that. it's the school holidays now and I feel really guilty for missing out on all that time I could've been at his place seeing as he lives with his girlfriend but she works alot of the time and I felt bad because he might of been feeling really lonely? whenever I go to his place now I feel like I'm not supposed to be there or like I'm interrupting something or in the way? i feel like I'm not wanted at all at my dad's place and that they both secretly hate me and that I'm an inconvenience. i know he thinks we don't like him anymore but I really want to go but everytime I go I feel really guilty about even being related to my mum because I'm being unloyal or that I'm exactly like my mum? they still don't have the best relationship. i hope this makes sense and I'm writing this as I'm procrastinating walking to my dad's so if anyone can help in any way or even someone else who's going through the same thing can relate or? thank you

Eclipse0433 Hi
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, I am new here so I am a bit nervous to be opening up. Before I start I just wanted to say I hope u are all well. I guess I should tell u a little about myself. 3 or 4 years ago I went to headspace for the first time. I had been strugglin... View more

Hi everyone, I am new here so I am a bit nervous to be opening up. Before I start I just wanted to say I hope u are all well. I guess I should tell u a little about myself. 3 or 4 years ago I went to headspace for the first time. I had been struggling long before then but I had only just got the courage to ask my parents if I could go to therapy. I started to go pretty regularly and I was comfortable with my therapist. However, about 12 months afterwards I stopped going. This was a result of circumstances (my therapist decided to start their own practice, it was getting expensive). During my time with headspace, my therapist conducted some assessments which indicated that I had anxiety and OCD. However, they were a strong believer in not labelling things so I never got a diagnosis. This has made life very difficult. I feel as though I cannot say I have OCD or anxiety as I am not officially diagnosed. I feel like a fraud and do not want to promote self-diagnosis. Since my time at headspace I have not gone back to therapy. I have fallen into this space where I once again am too scared to start the process to go back to therapy. And life since then has been one of ups and downs. I have had some good times but I have also had some really bad times. And now I find myself in a really bad mindset. With nobody to contact for support. This is perhaps the lowest I have ever felt in my life. I know I need help. I have seen what can happen when something is left too long. But the problem is I can’t wait 6-8 weeks to get into headspace, I need help now. I want to get an official diagnosis so I can begin to embrace recovery. I want to be able to sleep at night without my brain filling with intrusive thoughts. I want support so that I can continue working through what is going on. Recently I have had a regular intrusive thought which is rather scary for me. It is what I guess u could call the last nail in the coffin. It signals to me that I need help now. That this can’t continue. Anyway I will stop there as I am sure I am boring u by talking about myself. I hope u all have a good day.

Solid I have plenty of friends, but I feel so lonely.
  • replies: 1

G'day all, I don't know where else to go, so I guess here will do. I'm 16 years old, I have several offline and online tightly-knit friend groups, but I still feel lonely. I dissociate regularly, and when I look in the mirror, I don't really know who... View more

G'day all, I don't know where else to go, so I guess here will do. I'm 16 years old, I have several offline and online tightly-knit friend groups, but I still feel lonely. I dissociate regularly, and when I look in the mirror, I don't really know who I'm looking at sometimes. I've never had a relationship in my life. I've only been game enough to ask someone out once (a couple years ago by now, and to one of my closer friends at the time), and I haven't spoken to them since. I used to think that a relationship would help the lonely feelings, but at this point I'm not so sure. I'm absolutely terrible at opening up to people. My best friends always say that I can talk to them whenever I want, but when I actually feel like it, I don't want to bother them. It's taken me half an hour to write this post up to here, because I keep thinking that nobody wants to hear my random depressed ramblings. But that is what this site is for I guess, so whatever. I've been to many different therapists, but I've never been able to open up to them, always defaulting to my 'person on the street' persona, which is just a very casual and cheerful version of myself, the version which anyone who (for example) asked me for directions on the street would get. I repress a lot of negative emotions and memories into something I call 'the vault'. I picture the bad thing being locked into a big metal bank vault, and then forget about it as best as I can. I know this is bad, but I don't know what else to do with it. My family isn't abusive, or split, or anything really. I had a very comfortable upbringing, I was generally towards the top of my class. Everyone seems to regard me as 'friendly', or 'chill'. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know what I want. I don't know what to do. I don't know what I want to gain from this, but I really just want to let it out. Anywhere. -- Thanks for reading.

JPD1998 Why I never date!
  • replies: 4

Hi - I know this is quite common in the world but I really struggle dealing with my overthinking mind while dating. Once I go on a date and if it goes really well I tend to stress alot to the point that my stomach is pain. My mind goes straight to do... View more

Hi - I know this is quite common in the world but I really struggle dealing with my overthinking mind while dating. Once I go on a date and if it goes really well I tend to stress alot to the point that my stomach is pain. My mind goes straight to does he like me does he hate me. What happens if he's not ready? Am I not right for him. I try to do breathing exercises I try alot of things to just have a break from feeling anxious. Like it can last for weeks. I never use to be like this but I've been ghosted once and it just has done a number on me. This is the first time I dated in a while and it kinda reminds me why I don't do it, but I know I have to stick through it. I don't know if I should take this as a sign that I'm not ready or I am ready and it's my anxiety winning.