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

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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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How do I get my life together after being sheltered and spoiled?

replies: 2

I'm 20 and I've been reflecting on my life until now. I grew up in a broken home which impacted me emotionally when I was a child. Likely out of misguided intent, my parents spoiled and were more easy on my shortcomings, especially compared to my older brother. As a result, I grew up introverted, obese, emotionally immature, self-loathing, terrible money spending skills, and I never bothered to find work or work experience during high school. After graduating, I took a so-called gap year, I say so-called because it was because I did nothing but hang out with my friends. The year afterwards, I tried to study IT and web-development at TAFE, but I ended up disliking a lot of the aspects of the coursework, which included a lot of roleplaying and filming. I understand that it's to help with soft skills, but I honestly felt like I was doing less programming and felt like I was doing more sales rep work. I got tired of TAFE to the point I became a dole bludger and rarely showed up to classes, which I'm still ashamed of today. Of course, I eventually ended up with a $3K debt to Centrelink due to my lack of work and attendance. If I wasn't self-aware now, I'd blame it on TAFE, but I know that my actions are my fault, and I'm grateful that I have the privilege of having a mother who's willing to help me pay it off. But the worst part now is that I've forgotten most of the skills I've learnt during TAFE due to lazing around. I know dwelling on the past all the time isn't good, but I can't help but feel all of my bad decisions are catching up to me, I tried finding work at McDonald's, but I rarely got any shifts and eventually quit on my second day when I started finally getting them due to the crew trainer getting frustrated that I didn't know everything. Later, I applied to a university for a Diploma of IT which will start in June, but I honestly have no idea what I truly want to do with my life and only chose the diploma because I believe I'll get a decent job and salary. But the problem is that because of Centrelink, I'm also scared of having a debt just for studying, especially since the diploma will cost $35K and because of that, I've also considered getting into a trade like plumbing as well, but my lack of skills, anxiety and possible health issues in the future if I do a trade long-term always make me reconsider my options. When it comes to relationships, my relationship with my dad is strained right now, although I care about him a lot, he remarried to a trophy wife who I dislike and had two new kids. Due to my current circumstances, I feel like I'm a terrible son and a disgrace to not only my dad, but my mum as well, who I'm still close to and helps take care of me. Even though I can blame my dad for how I ended up like this, like having to deal with his gambling addiction in my childhood and how he used to be overly harsh on me, I've realised that part of it is also my fault for not putting enough effort. On the bright side, I've started exercising around this year and have been improving physically. I've originally started at 100kg before going to the gym and now I'm around 87 kg in three months, which really helped me feel more confident with my body and I have no intention of stopping. Moreover, I recently talked to my older brother about everything, and he was very supportive and was willing to give advice, which helped me since I'm usually very emotionally vulnerable when I speak about these topics. Moreover, I did apply to Kinokuniya to help do stocktake for a day on a casual rate and managed to get the job thanks to referencing my side hustle as a eBay seller during the phone interview. I hope that it'll be a good stepping stone for me to be more likely accepted into jobs once studying or whatever happens in the future comes around. I know that was a mouthful, but I feel like I have to truly be honest when I need to find help. I want to ask for advice from others as well, how can I fix my life? I may be improving physically, but I can tell I'm not doing anything to improve my life career-wise and mentally, because I don't even know where to start at all, but I don't want to stay being a NEET and continue doomscrolling Twitter, Reddit and YouTube forever.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

replies: 6

Hi guys, im new here, I don’t have anyone I feel like I can talk to atm, but my PMDD really effects me, I get really irritable and sad and suicidal sometimes, I’m on medication for dysthymia and also on the pill, but when it’s my time of the month I still get the PMDD symptoms, has anyone ever had this before? I am seeing my dr soon but wondering if anyone has the same issue as me?

Yr 11 Coping Skills with Depression

replies: 1

Hi....I'm Hayley, Im in year 11 and considering dropping out. School is making me depressed to the point that I'm neglecting my health and have no energy or motivation to be happy

BE MY FRIEND ‌😱‌‌😱‌

replies: 1

im autistic, depressed 16 n stuff. i have no friends because i can never find ppl who i relate to or match my energy ykwim. so if u r lonely or want to adopt a silly introvert i am here!!! i like rock, cats, video games. yurr

I feel so lonely.

replies: 3

all my life I think I've had difficulties with having someone there because I've got social anxiety so I don't have many close friends and I think my mum despises me over my dad (they are divorced). I've recently gotten anti-depressants which have made things good and I can talk to people now, but the second I go home I just feel so alone because my friends and family don't talk to me. Due to the medication it feels weird to be sad, like I feel like I shouldn't be sad but I just feel so over everything and want it to be over. I had a falling out with one of my closest friends because she was manipulative etc and I couldn't deal with it and now everything's just worse. She was the only person who talked to be outside of school and now she's gone so it's just me. Everyday I just feel like crying and I want to talk to someone about it but my mum isn't big on psychologists and stuff because it costs money. I love my mum a lot but I feel she doesn't love me much just because of my dad. Years ago when I wanted to end my life she didn't really care and she was more mad she had to talk to my dad about it and pay for a therapy. I'm in year 12 now so everything's more stressful and having no one to talk to is making everything worse. I don't know what to do I just want to be happy.

Difficulty in isolation

replies: 1

Hi,I came in this forum to seek advice. I have been suffering from chronic fatigue and other symptoms the foremost of these been anxiety for over 2 years now. As a result of these symptoms I have been largely housebound, did not finish school, and have lost touch with many of my friends. While my family has been incredibly supportive, I find that most of the people I interrupt with outside of home are medical personnel. Due to the stress of my Illness currently I spend most of my time at home, and consequently, find it difficult to interact and connect with people my age (19). I was wondering if anyone had similar experiences or recommendations on possible courses of action which do not require too much energy.

Moving schools

replies: 2

Hi my name is Carla and im in year 9, i’ve recently started at a new school an hour away from my home, and its safe to say im struggling. i have no motivation whatsoever to go to school, i hate waking up and hate seeing everyone to do with this school. there is a lot of drama revolved around me here and i just want to get away from it. i have fake friends too, and its hard to cope with all the work since i used to be one of the top in my class but now im droppin. im wondering if i should move to the school that is closer to my house. my old friends are there now, the school used to be considered feral but it has improved a lot since then. i want to be near my house, my old friends and not have to wake up so early. the school im at now is considered really good but i don’t understand the hype. i dont know what is the right decision to make, what if i leave and continue to have no genuine friends? what is the right decision??

ADF medical appeal for depressive anxiety disorder

replies: 1

G’day guys, just seeking some advice on my medical appeal for the ADF (Army Medic). When I was 16 I had been diagnosed with “depressive anxiety disorder” and prescribed with anti depressant medication. There was lots going on in my life at the time and I was very aggravated with the world. My Mum took me to a paediatrician and I ended up with this diagnosis. The medication never seemed to make me feel any better, I was never reviewed and just kept getting advised to take this tablet. Now, I am 21 years old and stopped taking the tablet in January. I feel better than ever. I started exercising whilst also working full time, I’ve been studying at university since 2023 trying to become a paramedic. I have previously been knocked back from the army twice. I have applied again and of course, been knocked again. I constantly kick myself for ever agreeing to go to the paed as this situation would never have been an issue. I have made the decision to appeal and have seen a psychologist. She says that I shouldn’t have ever been put on medication especially at 16 y/o and that the certain type of antidepressant is not approved for anyone under 18 y/o. (Australia) my main questions are: - what are my chances of a successful appeal - what is some strong evidence to chuck into my appeal Thankyou for taking the time to read my post. Kade.

Please help

replies: 1

Please help. My son recently attempted to take his own life (I know that's not the right terminology and for that I'm sorry). It was just days ago. His pain isn't something that will change. He's grieving the loss of his step father, his girlfriend and him are having issues, his dad and his relationship is strained. I can't change these things and his pain became unbearable. He has done every kind of talk therapy for 5 years about these things and he can't talk about them any more. He says that talking about things makes it worse, they can't be fixed but the pain is clearly crushing him. I have taken leave at work so I can be with him but this is a temporary thing. I can't follow him around forever and just keeping him alive while he's being crushed by pain isn't the answer. Where do we go from here? We've talked to doctors who say more counselling but how if that makes him feel worse??

No purpose in life

replies: 1

i’m 18 years old. i have no friends. my family acts like they can’t stand me. i’ve graduated high school and struggling to find a job due do my anxiety (not that i want one anyway). i rarely get out of bed unless i have to. i do nothing all day and i genuinely have no direction in life. i feel like collapsing when i see any type of friendships online. i miss having a friend group and i feel like i’m missing out on everything, like life is passing me by. i’m mourning a life that doesn’t exist. i wish i was never born. how is that fair? why do i have to deal with such suffocating thoughts and feelings when i don’t even want to be alive. i’m full of hatred and anger about my past. i’ll never get over it. what’s the point of continuing?

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

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

How do I get my life together after being sheltered and spoiled? replies: 2

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder replies: 6

Yr 11 Coping Skills with Depression replies: 1

BE MY FRIEND ‌😱‌‌😱‌ replies: 1

I feel so lonely. replies: 3

Difficulty in isolation replies: 1

Moving schools replies: 2

ADF medical appeal for depressive anxiety disorder replies: 1

Please help replies: 1

No purpose in life replies: 1