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romantic_thi3f 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 i... View more

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!

Sophie_M 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 mindfu... View more

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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keith1234 Leaving home?
  • replies: 2

Hi all I posted here a few years ago about my depression but I don't care enough to actually follow advice to get any better. Anyway, I've been struggling lately because I am currently in my 3rd year of uni (out of 7 years total) and I've been failin... View more

Hi all I posted here a few years ago about my depression but I don't care enough to actually follow advice to get any better. Anyway, I've been struggling lately because I am currently in my 3rd year of uni (out of 7 years total) and I've been failing A LOT. My WAM is ~49.5 so I have no hope of transferring to a different course at my uni. Neither do I have the motivation or desire to actually study anything. Because of this, I'm dropping uni (rather, soon to be kicked out) and my parents are kicking me out as a result. I'd like some advice on what I should do, where I should even start with my life; I'm 21, I have no real work experience, no income, volunteered for the last few years, no other qualifications, no driver's license, no partners or support networks, no fitness, and no passions or interests (outside of gaming lol). My parents want me to continue in my studies at uni, but I have no motivation to continue at this point. It's a tough spot to be in and all I feel is stuck in an increasingly deeper hole.

MacJS I'm convinced that I have a mental illness
  • replies: 5

I am convinced that I have some sort of mental illness (anxiety) and I feel like the people I talk to, like my counsellor, friends or family; don't understand how bad this feels. It feels like torture. Anxiety is now starting to affect my daily life,... View more

I am convinced that I have some sort of mental illness (anxiety) and I feel like the people I talk to, like my counsellor, friends or family; don't understand how bad this feels. It feels like torture. Anxiety is now starting to affect my daily life, most of the time I will refuse to go shopping with other people or go to birthday parties. I also have thoughts about something awful happening or situations that I don't wish to be in, these thoughts sometimes might end up making me tear or cry. I also overthink every little thing I do, and I think it's becoming a little obsessive. Walking down the street, hanging out with friends at the park, crossing roads, walking on the sidewalk/pathways, on my way to school and especially during class I feel very anxious. During class, if a teacher stands behind or next to me; I completely stop what I'm doing or close my laptop until they move away from me. If I hurt myself, need help, need to ask a question or want to answer a question; I simply just cannot do it. I mostly do this to my favourite teacher, which I find quite odd. I am the smartest person in my class and have a feeling that I always have to be correct or get good grades otherwise, I feel like a failure. I know this isn't really good and I try to tell myself that I can't be perfect and get 100% all the time. The funny is, I encourage other people that they are doing an amazing job, they are perfect the way they are and are very smart, but with me. It's different. I'm the total opposite with me, I'm harsh and very critical about what the things I do. Even if I did excellent in something, there is also something to judge about myself. There was a time where I did an excellent presentation in front of the class and got an A+. But, I still said to myself "No one else tried as hard as you, so why do you have to go over and beyond? You look stupid and everyone probably thinks you're a tryhard". I do sometimes have suidical thoughts but I don't want to hurt myself or end my life. I think this all started from an incident that happened in class, I became the centre of attention and most kids laughed at me. Some kids still bring it up today and it happened 7 months ago. I might just be too hard on myself and have social anxiety, but can't seem to stop any of this. Any help?

fruitinseason I'm not happy and I don't know what to do about it.
  • replies: 1

Lately, I've just been feeling very down and I don't know how to cope or deal with it! I'm not really good at expressing my emotions or talking to people about these things, mainly because I seem to be very optimistic and very outgoing on the outside... View more

Lately, I've just been feeling very down and I don't know how to cope or deal with it! I'm not really good at expressing my emotions or talking to people about these things, mainly because I seem to be very optimistic and very outgoing on the outside. But that's not how it is sometimes. I'm very self-destructive (not in a physical sense, more mentally) and I don't know how to cope with feelings of doubt. Just recently, In school, we are split into these advanced and standard English classes based on the grades that we got the last term. I'm currently in the standard class, and when I tell people this they get really confused because I'm known as one of those "smart kids" at school and I just feel like they expect more from me. I look around and see my friends excelling in all their studies, maintaining a perfect report card, but then there's me who can get maybe one A here and there with all B's. And I don't know what to feel, I thought I was smarter than this, but I guess not. I just feel very envious of my friends who can maintain such a perfect report card, and I always try my hardest but then overthink a situation and get myself hurt to a point where I feel worthless. I don't want to feel this way but I can't help it. Another thing that's been going on is that I've been so negative about my physical appearance and have been trying to fix it for the past month! it's taken so long mainly because I start comparing myself to others in real life and on social media and start to overthink to a point where I give up. This has been a constant cycle. Lately, I've just been so self-critical about everything! from my appearance to my mental state and I don't know why this started to just recently. I used to be so happy, but I guess things change. Anyways, this was literally just a rant about my life. But the thing I really want to take away from this is: have you ever gotten to a point which feels so low? how did you get back up? how can I have a more positive outlook on life? What should I do to help cope? and how can I improve my life for the better, in order to feel happy again?

Betriouffift Stressed about new job.
  • replies: 3

I recently got a new job as a dishwasher for a casual dining restaurant, making this my second job I've ever received, I quit my first job after a couple of months due to overwhelming stress during that period of my life, which caused me to panic and... View more

I recently got a new job as a dishwasher for a casual dining restaurant, making this my second job I've ever received, I quit my first job after a couple of months due to overwhelming stress during that period of my life, which caused me to panic and break down when on my shifts and it just became too much. After a long while of not working, I believed I could get back into it with my newly acquired skills, and I tried really hard to get the job I currently have now by running around and applying to every store and restaurant that I could, until this restaurant decided to put me on for a trial, they really liked me and I enjoyed myself so I got hired. My first shift was two weeks ago and was pretty stressful, it was on a Thursday and I was required to stay until 11:45PM to clean up after the store had closed, I ended up going to sleep very late and spending money on an Uber to get home and was a zombie the next day, but I didn't worry too much, my next shift was easier, even though I was alone. My next shift was fine, until my most recent shift, which lasted 6 hours since I was brought in early, I did well for the start and didn't worry too much, until later in the shift, I began to get an anxious and overwhelming feeling of 'I really don't want to be here', I'm frustrated because I was hoping I wouldn't get this feeling anymore, but it still seems to be present and it makes working a lot harder because of how worried I am to go to my next shift. I know its important to give it time, but this feeling didn't subside at my first job, despite being there for months, I've tried strategies to calm myself down in stressful situations but most don't work or are very temporary, causing me to sort of feel trapped in my mind of what I want to do, the stakes are high for the job as I really need it to pay for important expenses, so I can't leave this time, but I just want to make the transition into comfort a lot easier, any suggestions?

EC101 Where do I even begin?
  • replies: 2

I am a 12 year old girl, and have been diagnosed with anxiety, and I have ASD. My anxiety is mainly caused by certain sounds, and pressure. Hearing hiccups, sniffs, loud breathing or snoring makes me want to cry. My Dad understands, but my Mum doesn'... View more

I am a 12 year old girl, and have been diagnosed with anxiety, and I have ASD. My anxiety is mainly caused by certain sounds, and pressure. Hearing hiccups, sniffs, loud breathing or snoring makes me want to cry. My Dad understands, but my Mum doesn't seem to care. And there's another issue: My parents split up early last year, and I still haven't gotten over it. My Dad gets sad, because he never gets to see us, and he never wanted to split up. I just feel like my Mum ruins everything. My Mum has a boyfriend who lives with her, but I have him. He smokes and is just an awful person, and I feel angry towards him, maybe not because he did anything, just he could never be my Dad. I have a one week cycle with each parent, and when I'm at my Dad's he respects my privacy, and doesn't make me do anything I don't feel comfortable doing (mostly). But when I'm at Mums she's a nightmare. We have at least 3 fights a week, and doesn't understand that not everyone will always be perfect, like my older sister. Then, I have these two friends. They keep on having fights with each other and both make it hard for me to be myself, but I really don want to lose them, cause they're all I have. Except often, they use me, because I'm quite intelligent in some subjects ( I can't say that without feeling guilty) and make me help them with their work. I have a crush on this girl at my school, but my Mum is strongly against homosexuality. Again, my Dad understands and always supports me, but I don't know what to do. I feel I'm too young to come out, or decide this is my life now, and I need help. I feel this is too much for a young girl to handle, along with trying to act like nothing's wrong at the same time... I really need help, for any of these problems you can relate to. I just want a real friend for once. EC

anoncreate i feel worthless
  • replies: 4

all my thoughts are negative it’s like in any situation i will find a way to feel bad about myself. i think too much, i think about everything from the tiniest thing someone will say or the way someone will act without even realising i will take so t... View more

all my thoughts are negative it’s like in any situation i will find a way to feel bad about myself. i think too much, i think about everything from the tiniest thing someone will say or the way someone will act without even realising i will take so to heart and it will genuinely affect me because it stays on my mind for so long it’s like i can’t tell if i’m just mega insecure and feeling bad for myself or if i’m genuinely upset. i hate feeling like this, i don’t want to tell anyone and i never talk about my feelings because it makes me uncomfortable because i don’t want people to look at me differently and also i feel like my problems aren’t worth someone listening to because i feel like it’s not a real problem but at the same time if i’m constantly feeling sad then how can that be not be a problem? i’m just confused because i’ve felt like this for so long and i’ve always denied that there’s been something wrong but when it comes to that i don’t even wanna talk because i’m insecure of what people have said about me like why can someones opinion that doesn’t even know me affect me so much i don’t know what’s wrong with me and i don’t know how to deal with it sometimes i wonder if i wasn’t here would that just make me feel better because stressing about my life that feels so worthless is getting me no where.

Cerise547 Feeling bad and using my phone as an escape
  • replies: 3

Hey all, so recently I’ve been feeling really strange- I feel tired, lazy, unhealthy (I’ve barely exercised for weeks and I’ve been eating pretty badly), rude and grumpy. I feel stuck in a rut and I feel disappointed with how I am and how I’m acting.... View more

Hey all, so recently I’ve been feeling really strange- I feel tired, lazy, unhealthy (I’ve barely exercised for weeks and I’ve been eating pretty badly), rude and grumpy. I feel stuck in a rut and I feel disappointed with how I am and how I’m acting. I just feel strange like all of the time and to combat these feelings, I lie in my bed or on the couch for hours on my phone. I use stuff like Instagram, YouTube, and some other social media. I don’t wanna get up and I just use my phone as a way to ignore my real life. I feel a disconnect from my real life and the people around me. I feel like I’m stuck in a hole, but I’m too lazy to get out. I don’t want to face real life. i just checked my screen time, and last Sunday I spent over 9 hours on my phone. On school days I spend around 3/4 hours on my phone. Ugh. i also feel like I’ve been acting and speaking to others rudely, especially my mum. I feel like I can’t help it and then I feel awful afterwards, since she’s under a lot of stress too. This “stuck in a rut” feeling has made me so lazy that I don’t even help out around the house or do my chores, which disappoints my mum. I feel like I’m disappointing myself and the people around me. even when I’m at school I don’t talk to my friends at lunch, I just go on my phone and stay silent. My friends notice this since I’m normally quite talkative and bubbly, but when they ask about it I just say I’m tired. I just don’t want to talk with most of them. i feel awful, but I don’t want to talk to people about it in my real life because... I don’t know really. Maybe because I’m scared of judgement? Or I can’t be bothered? Or I don’t want to face what’s really going on? I don’t know, but I’m sick of this feeling. I feel stuck. That felt good to get that all off my chest. Please help if you can

Guest51956 Cold feet? Anxiety probably.
  • replies: 4

Hey everyone, I hope all is well. Sorry to be a downer but I'm not so well. Life has stopped for me, day by day nothing really happens. I know life really hasn't stopped but it really feels like it for me. I believe it or not have 11 siblings, this b... View more

Hey everyone, I hope all is well. Sorry to be a downer but I'm not so well. Life has stopped for me, day by day nothing really happens. I know life really hasn't stopped but it really feels like it for me. I believe it or not have 11 siblings, this being the case I shouldn't be feeling lonely at all? Well yes I in fact do feel alone. I haven't got any friends, this is my own fault for not making myself seen by the world. I think what really has run me into the ground though is that ACL broke. Riding a moterbike on a farm in the dark on a dirt road at forty kilometres/hour has some consequences. I hit a stone, lost balance and made a last minute attempt to stop myself from crashing. I put my leg out. This is getting too long. My point is life sucks too much to care.

lonelyglassesgirl Anyone else feel burnt out and like you don't know how you'll finish all your studying for term/semester?
  • replies: 1

I feel like this. 25-year-old uni student, been studying full/part-time for years, doing pretty okay but absolutely sick of it and I've still got another year to go. One particular essay is absolutely destroying me; I only have limited time to work o... View more

I feel like this. 25-year-old uni student, been studying full/part-time for years, doing pretty okay but absolutely sick of it and I've still got another year to go. One particular essay is absolutely destroying me; I only have limited time to work on it due to work, but in my non-work time I'm so exhausted I tend to procrastinate at least 50-70% of the time. It's coming along slowly, but I think it's rubbish. I also feel like my degree is worthless for getting any sort of job I'll enjoy, and the news of the coming recession is stressing me out. Also I've made a job application (for when my current fixed-term contract ends) and they're ghosting me, won't even reply to confirm they've received the application. Yeah, I just feel like a screw with all the thread worn off, like I can't be productive anymore. Work's a bit better; I was having a lot of panic attacks until about two weeks ago, which was really wearing me out, and even though that's improved, I feel like I'm still dealing with the cumulative effects. Sorry for the rant. That time of year, I guess.

Bee1998 Anxious About Death
  • replies: 2

Hi, I am 21 and have been having very surreal thoughts about dying for the majority of my life. I am extremely scared of the thought of death at an old age. I start thinking about when I get old, and the reality hits me, “oh shit, I am going to die o... View more

Hi, I am 21 and have been having very surreal thoughts about dying for the majority of my life. I am extremely scared of the thought of death at an old age. I start thinking about when I get old, and the reality hits me, “oh shit, I am going to die one day, and that’s the end. Nothing more.” It scared the shit out of me... the thought of just being dead . It’s black. Nothing. That’s it. These thoughts get so bad that I start choking up and can’t breathe. Sometimes I get so caught up in today, that I forget that one day it’s going to happen. Can anyone else relate?