Young people

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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

All discussions

Baam Specific Phobia Help
  • replies: 6

Hi, I'm a 17 year old student (girl), going into year 12 next year. I'm not really sure where to start, so I'm just going to start rambling. While not officially diagnosed, I'm fairly sure I have a Specific Phobia (arachnophobia), as I have all the s... View more

Hi, I'm a 17 year old student (girl), going into year 12 next year. I'm not really sure where to start, so I'm just going to start rambling. While not officially diagnosed, I'm fairly sure I have a Specific Phobia (arachnophobia), as I have all the symptoms. It is limiting me. I am too afraid to go outside at night, my family are complaining that I never use the telescope they bought me, and don't really believe me when I tell them why. I really wish I could, but... Whenever I enter a room I have to check everywhere for any spiders, and if I see one I can not enter, no matter the size or distance (not so bad if it's a giant room, though). I have panic attacks when I get into a situation where I can't escape (lol when they're in between me and the door). It's ridiculous, I don't know why I'm afraid of them, I just am. I really, really wish I weren't. I feel faint whenever I come near a spider, and it gets worse if I can't get out the situation until I fall into a panic attack. I'm terrified it's going to happen at school - it nearly did once but I got away haha. The thing is, I've heard of the treatment things that work (the CBT thing), but I can't really trust anyone enough to ask. Whenever I've told anyone (best friends or whatever), all that results is them making fun of me for a few weeks until they get bored (pretending there's spiders on me or whatever). I feel like arachnophobia is just something no one believes is actually real. My family would never believe that it's actually serious, even mum who witnessed one of my panic attacks I think thinks I am exaggerating this. So how do I get rid of this stupid anxiety disorder thing, if I can't even trust anyone to take me seriously? P.S. anyone else with arachnophobia experienced being in the middle of a shower and a spider 'attacking'? xD!

Guest_69224151 cool about it!
  • replies: 1

I don’t really like my friends at school. They keep running away from me and ignoring me/ running away from me. When I write this down it sounds so childish but it really affects me and I don’t know why they did that. One girl is so incredibly condes... View more

I don’t really like my friends at school. They keep running away from me and ignoring me/ running away from me. When I write this down it sounds so childish but it really affects me and I don’t know why they did that. One girl is so incredibly condescending and thinks she is better than everyone and is always trying to find something to make fun of me for. Another girl has pretty much stopped talking to me bc we don’t have any classes together any more. And the last one is kinda weird. Ik she has a lot going on but she’s not getting the help she needs. And she’s hard to be around bc she’s really negative and always apologises. I get why she’s like that but I’m like girl if things are that bad you need to reach out. Idk if this is stupid it’s just frustrating.

Guest_09831874 Really big issue !!!
  • replies: 1

My brother is living with me for the moment but he's homeless. I need him out of my house as he's having a big issue with alcohol and I have a young child in the house. He does not have a job, he has no place to go and I need him out. He does not lis... View more

My brother is living with me for the moment but he's homeless. I need him out of my house as he's having a big issue with alcohol and I have a young child in the house. He does not have a job, he has no place to go and I need him out. He does not listen to me at all and wants to do things on his own terms which doesn't work for me because I don't like having the alcohol or a drunk person in my home and around my child. What can I do ? Who do I talk to? How do I get him in his own place even though he has no job? Someone help

kingzen69 Lonely. Self-Help. Sad. Therapy.
  • replies: 3

Hey y'all, I'm 23, and I have been lonely and sad for a while now. I live with my mates and their partner, and it sucks most days I just end up being alone. I don't really know anyone in this new city I live in, having been here for nearly two years.... View more

Hey y'all, I'm 23, and I have been lonely and sad for a while now. I live with my mates and their partner, and it sucks most days I just end up being alone. I don't really know anyone in this new city I live in, having been here for nearly two years. All I really know here are my mates, so I kinda just feel like I'm doing stuff solo. Aside from that, it's also just life stuff in general and all the expectations of relationships, careers etc. Being close to 25, I just feel like there's a milestone or something expected of me somewhat. Maybe I'm just overthinking it, I don't know... It's weird, I never thought I'd be listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and watching videos about self-help and self-development, or even start writing about my day or feelings on a daily journal. But I have been, and I'm trying to work on myself, and sometimes it seems like it's such a slow progression. All the self-help and self-development really does help, and I do recommend it. I realised it's help me with managing my overthinking and feelings of anxiety and stress in my life right now. There's a lot I want to let out, because I don't talk about my feelings well. Just to conclude, I'm thinking of starting therapy. It's my first time and I don't know how to approach it. I don't really know what the process is like. I don't know how much I would be spending in sessions and how effective these sessions are. If anyone is able to help out, I'm all ears and thank you. For the past couple of years, I've been thinking of going. But I just didn't want my family, and friends to know that I'm doing therapy. I guess I just don't want them to ask questions and treat me or talk to me differently like I'm unwell and stuff. Thanks

natasha someone keeps lurking around my parents house like recently and I don’t know what to do
  • replies: 1

I don’t know what to do lately someone has been lurking around the house for the past weekend and I’m just so paranoid I don’t know what to do my mother doesn’t really believe me I just keep hearing someone opening things and knocking I know it isn’t... View more

I don’t know what to do lately someone has been lurking around the house for the past weekend and I’m just so paranoid I don’t know what to do my mother doesn’t really believe me I just keep hearing someone opening things and knocking I know it isn’t my schizophrenia like someone is there and I just really don’t know what to do I’m so stressed out and really tired and all I can do is pray I can’t call the police because I don’t have proof and I have a dog he’s just dumb asf and he don’t know how to guard and like I feel like someone is gonna kill me when I’m asleep and I just can’t sleep with having thoughts like tho and actually dealing with something like this it isn’t the first time but eh when will it stop I haven’t done anything to deserve this all I can really do is pray but sometimes I feel like god isn’t on my side it’s like nearly 11pm and this person is still at it like before I use to have stalkers and they would stand at my parents backyard and watch me I just didn’t know it was gonna get kinda worse like I can’t even explain anything I’m scared for my life and my parents cus I can’t do anything bout it

Lia-v Lonely, tired, overwhelmed
  • replies: 2

My name is Lia I’m in year 11 and have been struggling with school forever, last year I finally realised that the group of friends I had been with since preschool were actually bullying and excluding me. I would be sitting alone in silence the whole ... View more

My name is Lia I’m in year 11 and have been struggling with school forever, last year I finally realised that the group of friends I had been with since preschool were actually bullying and excluding me. I would be sitting alone in silence the whole day as every talked to anyone but me feeling worse and worse each day causing me to go to school less and less until my parents moved me to a different school half way through the year. Even after that I was still really struggling with going to school every day and I would be in the staff room crying almost every day. My parents decided it would be best for me to attend distance education instead this year, is was going ok at first until my grandparents decided to take over my learning and enforce strict schedules of what i was doing and when, they would call me several times a day to talk about school plans and would show up to my house to do things like clean my room or take me to lunch every other day it was fine at first but it kept on escalating until my grandmother dropped me off at the distance education campus one day and dragged me out of the car as I was crying from anxiety and dragged me to the classroom as the entire school and my whole class watch me cry. I told my parents that I didn’t want my grandparents help anymore but they said that if they didn’t help then they new I couldn’t do it myself and they were both to busy with work to make sure that I was on track and said that I didn’t have a choice even thought I now don’t like my grandparents and hate school and the idea of getting a job or doing anything in the future even more now my mum would always tell don’t worry it will be better next year for three years now, after it got worse then she just said sorry but this is how the real world works I feel like I’ve lost the support of both my friends and family in the span of two years I was just arguing with my mum about this and just wanted to post here to feel a bit better and know that others have seen it.

Pinkrose I feel lost and alone after accident
  • replies: 3

Hey so I've never written on here for myself before but I'm just really feeling lost and alone right now. I'm 21 years old female and was working until I had a pretty sever car accident about a year ago which rendered me unable to go back to work unt... View more

Hey so I've never written on here for myself before but I'm just really feeling lost and alone right now. I'm 21 years old female and was working until I had a pretty sever car accident about a year ago which rendered me unable to go back to work until I was well enough. At first they told me 1 month then 2 months then 4 etc and now we are here over a year later and I have just started back at work. I am struggling. I'm good at my job but it's overwhelming and still painful with my injuries and i am frustrated because I still can't do the hours I could before. I t feels like somone stole 1 year of my life and I'm so lost and don't know what to do. No one around me seems to understand how hard it is for me to go back to work when I've been down at home for so long. I just keep thinking about what my life would be like if I wasn't in that accident which I know is stupid to do but I can't help it. I feel lost and alone even though I have people physically around me. Anyway I don't know where I'm going with this or even if anyone will respond I guess I just wanted to talk about it somewhere. Thanks for taking the time to read if you did.

MARSHA Year 12
  • replies: 1

Hi. I’ve been getting 50-60% on my assessments for term 1 I’m in year 12. I have gotten 30% in legal and 50% in English advanced, 40% in maths standard, 50% in modern history, 70% in biology for term 2. I really want an ATAR that is at least 80-90, a... View more

Hi. I’ve been getting 50-60% on my assessments for term 1 I’m in year 12. I have gotten 30% in legal and 50% in English advanced, 40% in maths standard, 50% in modern history, 70% in biology for term 2. I really want an ATAR that is at least 80-90, and I want to do criminology alongside with forensics. I do so many curricular activities at school so it’s been tough on me. I don’t think my goal for 80-90 ATAR is possibile anymore, and now I’m scared because I will end up being a disappointment at this rate

banann My tiredness is affecting me a lot
  • replies: 1

So recently, I've felt very tired, physically. Like I can't be bothered to do anything anymore and I'm struggling to focus in my classes. It hasn't affected my grades but it has been worrying me. On top of that, I always feel so restless and I always... View more

So recently, I've felt very tired, physically. Like I can't be bothered to do anything anymore and I'm struggling to focus in my classes. It hasn't affected my grades but it has been worrying me. On top of that, I always feel so restless and I always struggle to fall asleep. Recently, I've been having trouble sleeping properly and not being able to doze off, which is making me more tired. I don't know if anyone else experiences this or is struggling through this. I'm also half-way through my high-school journey so maybe thats why. Also this is my first time using this website to talk.

anonyue too much stuff stressing me out
  • replies: 1

i'm a 15yo girl in year 10 and i honestly can't handle all these things anymore. i have a bunch of exams coming up but honestly i'm already so drained, every exam i do i feel so exhausted and like i can't handle it anymore, can't even make it through... View more

i'm a 15yo girl in year 10 and i honestly can't handle all these things anymore. i have a bunch of exams coming up but honestly i'm already so drained, every exam i do i feel so exhausted and like i can't handle it anymore, can't even make it through the week. and i have to practice for my clarinet exam and stuff, and i have band stuff to practice for too. i'm trying to find work experience and idk where to go for that, also i really want a part time job for money but literally nowhere wants to hire teensdon't even get me started on my family, my dad has been smoking every day even though he hasn't smoked in years and he swore he quit, and it's stressing me out. my mum found out and she got so mad and i just wonder what's even happening to my dad. he's wasting money buying all these cigarettes and his mood is cosntantly terrible i hate being around him. my brother is in his 20's and won't get a job, all he does is lie around and watch stuff on his phone even though he has a degree, and my mum is constantly yelling at him. i hate seeing him lie around uselessly every day and i wish he would move out and stop draining this family's resources because we are honestly not that wealthy. like i wouldnt mind having all these family issues if i was rich or something but no i literally worry every day that my family is gonna become poorit's gotten to the point school is literally an escape for me, like it's stressful but at least i can just focus on just learning stuff and be surrounded by my friends