Young people

A space for people aged 12-25 to discuss life. If you’re over 25, please be mindful that this is a space for younger people to connect.

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romantic_thi3f Eeep! When study is overwhelming! - Tips, ideas and coping strategies
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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.

All discussions

ocean-man Anybody else tend to disregard their feelings?
  • replies: 1

I'm eighteen and I graduate high school in a couple of months. I find myself stressing about things often, in a variety of forms. Sometimes I'll be depressed, slumping around the house as I overthink about the society around me, and then when I do no... View more

I'm eighteen and I graduate high school in a couple of months. I find myself stressing about things often, in a variety of forms. Sometimes I'll be depressed, slumping around the house as I overthink about the society around me, and then when I do nothing with my time because of my depression my depression just gets worse. Other times I'll be fuming, stomping around the joint and tossing stuff round in a pretty destructive manner over the littlest things. (That was the case at work last night - I kept punching things around me because my coworkers outright refuse to stack up their dishes, which helps me do my job properly.) How I handle the situations I find myself in is a discussion for another time. But whenever these events occur, sometimes thoughts will crop up in my head dismissing them and they always make me ponder if they're correct to do so. I'm being too pessimistic. I have my standards raised too high and I need to take myself down a peg. I'm too picky and need to deal with the cards I've been given. I understand that whether my concerns are valid or not will always depend on the context but I cannot for the life of me make the judgement myself. It's part of the reason why I hardly speak up about things that worry me - I don't want to put undue stress on people over things that might not even matter that much. Even worse, when I don't speak up, I beat myself up for not getting my own needs assessed and accounted for. I'm worried that the fact I can't make these judgements is inhibiting my journey to improving my mental health. Does anybody else struggle with this? Always doubting and second guessing themselves for one reason or another? It'd be nice enough to know there's others out there that have this same issue, but if you have any strategies for dealing with this please feel free to share. Thank you

cqqrey loneliness
  • replies: 3

i’m posting this in hopes that maybe someone else will see this and wont feel alone, also because i cant tell anyone else and need to get it off my chest in a safe space. i have many friends, im extremely extroverted and almost always talking to some... View more

i’m posting this in hopes that maybe someone else will see this and wont feel alone, also because i cant tell anyone else and need to get it off my chest in a safe space. i have many friends, im extremely extroverted and almost always talking to someone. however, lately ive come to realise that im not terribly close with my friends. they can talk about deep subjects of their own to me, but whenever i try to speak up about a mental concern its always shot down quickly or met with a dry response. this has caused me to feel quite lonely, and i decided to try to meet new people. this was however, short lived, because while i have the drive i have no clue where to meet people. i tried some apps that were similar to tinder but strictly for friendships and people would insult either my interests or my looks. i decided to go elsewhere and message some old friends, but none were interested. eventually, i came to the conclusion that joining clubs or attending classes featuring my interests would be a good idea, but unfortunately i dont have enough money to support that. so now im lost, hoping to find someone who understands me.

Catty98_P Feelings
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I never even had a thought about hating school, I was one of the kids that loved school and missed school a lot during school vacations but now everything has changed I don't feel like myself anymore I don't like the things I like. I am also having r... View more

I never even had a thought about hating school, I was one of the kids that loved school and missed school a lot during school vacations but now everything has changed I don't feel like myself anymore I don't like the things I like. I am also having really really bad grades . I don't like it, I feel like I have no one even though I have a loving family. I'm starting to hate school, myself. I feel really bad for my family because they try to give me the best of things and here I am failing.I am sorry my English isn't that good.

Chucky94 Financially struggling
  • replies: 10

I don't know how to start off this post so I'll try to give context, I used to have two jobs, the first one that still pays me well and have been working with for 12 years now, the other I left due to a manager that didn't treat their employers well ... View more

I don't know how to start off this post so I'll try to give context, I used to have two jobs, the first one that still pays me well and have been working with for 12 years now, the other I left due to a manager that didn't treat their employers well and was passive aggressive so I left not wanting to be treated poorly. It started last year when I was not in a good place and I would rather not go into the details, however things took a dark turn when my previous dog passed away from an aggressive cancer and since that day things have not been the same. Nowadays I still have my first job but can only work for one day a week, I spent a lot of money this year, mainly for my new dog who is great but requires a lot of work including finances, some of the money was spent on collecting figures and lastly some of it was spent investing into a hobby that I hoped would get me back on my feet but so far I still have not received payment for this hobby and I don't know where to go, I'm still living with my parents who do many great things for me and I'll be 30 next year, I wish I could earn more again than spend, I wish I could have my own place to live but I know finding a place to live is extremely difficult due to the cost. I still miss my previous dog and struggle with my new one who I think it better off with my parents since I find socialization draining as an introvert, I feel like when I take one step forward I end up taking three steps back and I feel like a failure. Sometimes I wonder if we are meant to just give up our happiness just to survive rather than live the life we want to. I'm sure I'm not alone on this and there are many people who struggle just as much as I am. I'm scared of talking to my parents since they want to know what I spend my money on and I'm scared they want to control my spending. I'm thinking I should sell my property and put the money in a safe place to save up for eventually living in my own home. I just wanted to vent and look for answers and hopefully start to get better from here on.

Rogger Looking for similar series with similar themes to Neon Genesis Evangelion?
  • replies: 1

Hi, recently, I discovered an anime series called Neon Genesis Evangelion through memes. I don't normally watch anime, but the themes regarding mental health in teenagers seemed especially interesting to me. However, the show seems to also have some,... View more

Hi, recently, I discovered an anime series called Neon Genesis Evangelion through memes. I don't normally watch anime, but the themes regarding mental health in teenagers seemed especially interesting to me. However, the show seems to also have some, er, inappropriate content which I'd prefer to avoid. I'm not sure if the show is kinda niche/obscure, but I was hoping if anyone who was aware of the show knew of any other shows which explore similar themes as the anime. Thanks for reading!

calei I feel worthless
  • replies: 2

My partner and I are moving. It’s stressful I get that… but he has spoken to me like I’m the issue he is facing instead of just talking to me or trying to communicate and explain what’s going on in his head… I understand it’s difficult for him and I ... View more

My partner and I are moving. It’s stressful I get that… but he has spoken to me like I’m the issue he is facing instead of just talking to me or trying to communicate and explain what’s going on in his head… I understand it’s difficult for him and I am very patient… but, recently. He is making the insults and anger personal… I’ve been at home everyday with our newborn. And cleaning the house and doing the washing and trying to keep us all fed… I barely have time for an actual shower for myself or to even brush my teeth or hair…. So I was really proud with what I had got done in the past 3 days… but he got mad because it was good enough. He told me that what I have done isn’t good enough, that I haven’t done anything and nothing is clean… I tried to talk to him on what’s wrong and he told me to shut up and fuck off…. He is making the attacks personal and it hurts so bad. Because I am trying my best. And I’m trying not to fall into PPD… but it’s becoming extremely hard when he speaks to me like I’m a worthless person just living in the house… I’m trying so hard but I’m obviously not doing enough. I’m not meeting his unrealistic expectations and my best isn’t good enough for him and it makes me feel terrible…. I just… I guess I needed to rant because no one will want to listen to this in our friend group… they are all his anyway….

anonymous_username Where did I go?
  • replies: 3

In primary school I was so happy. I read lots of books, i was active, I was ahead of all of my classes and I wasn’t stressed at all.now I’m in high school and I don’t have time to read or be active. My grades are slowly dropping and I’m stressed all ... View more

In primary school I was so happy. I read lots of books, i was active, I was ahead of all of my classes and I wasn’t stressed at all.now I’m in high school and I don’t have time to read or be active. My grades are slowly dropping and I’m stressed all the time. I don’t know exactly why and I feel like i’ll fail and kill my future. I never had any future goals, even in primary school, and I feel like I have nothing to work towards. i just don’t know what I’m doing.

K_A Failing methods and its affecting my other subjects.
  • replies: 2

I'm a year 11 student doing Atar right now, I'm averaging B and Cs in my other subjects and doing pretty good compared to my other classmates, however in maths I'm doing horrible. For context last year I was getting high 90s in math and now I'm avera... View more

I'm a year 11 student doing Atar right now, I'm averaging B and Cs in my other subjects and doing pretty good compared to my other classmates, however in maths I'm doing horrible. For context last year I was getting high 90s in math and now I'm averaging 30s. I listen to my teacher, my parents and my sister who all say just practice and it should come you naturally, but no matter how hard I practice or how many practice exams I do, I fail. The breaking point for me was getting the lowest score of the class while others who didn't study somehow got higher than me. The semester 1 exam just got released and I failed with a 34%. I did countless practice exams, watched so many youtube tutorials and the best I could manage was a 34%, I got 9/52 for the non calc. I have to do methods if I want to get into engineering for uni especially if its nuclear engineering. I just don't know what to do, I got a private tutor aswell. And to make it all worse there's this girl in class who is some how the best in every subject we have together. She always acts like shes done so bad and then she reveals she got the best score, saying something along the lines of " of i did so bad, what did you get" and then when i tell her " that's really good" and then she shows off her 97%. when i went to the after school tutoring i got help with only 1 question because whenever the teacher was helping me she interrupted her and asked a different question. Its really demoralising and i just don't know what to do

_Charlotte_09_ Lost motivation, and I feel like giving up...
  • replies: 1

Hi there everyone, I'm a 14-year-old high school student, and I am having a very difficult time right now. High school can be very stressful and draining, and I have reached the point where I am feeling drained and need a place to vent (if you don't ... View more

Hi there everyone, I'm a 14-year-old high school student, and I am having a very difficult time right now. High school can be very stressful and draining, and I have reached the point where I am feeling drained and need a place to vent (if you don't mind). Recently I get silent mental breakdowns or anxiety attacks in class, and sometimes at night when my parents aren't with me I would attempt to self-harm. My depression and anxiety caused a significant drop in my grades, and I lost motivation to study. Every night I would cry and miss the old, smart, friendly, and happy me... Second of all is that many friends I know are suffering from depression or at risk of self-harm and I'm feeling very worried about them. I don't like losing friends, especially if it's from suicide. Can someone please give me some useful resources that I could give them? thank you for reading

Chloe_f feel unneeded and unwanted
  • replies: 1

I need help. I feel so selfish lately being so upset over everything in my life most people with think I’m being over dramatic but to be honest everything in my life is going down hill right now my depression has gotten worse and since I’m a 14 yr ol... View more

I need help. I feel so selfish lately being so upset over everything in my life most people with think I’m being over dramatic but to be honest everything in my life is going down hill right now my depression has gotten worse and since I’m a 14 yr old at an Australian high school everything to do with mental health is under-looked and teenagers like to shame people for having mental health problems it’s gotten that bad that I’ve been in hospitals for about 2 months from unsuccessful suicide attempts as soon as people at my school realised this they were quick to judge I slowly lost the little amount of friends I had and all of them have turned against me as I am “emo” I felt like the only person I had left was my boyfriend but as he is dealing with much of the same things it was really hard for us to stay together through it all it was such a rough patch so a week ago we decided to call it quits and to be honest it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done to let my best friend and the love of my life go I know I’m only young but we were really good for each other we had so much in common and I felt so safe around him like I’ve never been able to with anyone else I miss what we had and just the idea of him but I know that I have to move on but I just don’t know how. I’m so tired of all the constant petty drama I have to get sucked into because of my mental health I always feel the need to talk and be around people but lately everyone has slowly gotten tired of my constant talking and my energy that I’ve lost touch of it myself I find it really hard to get out of bed in the mornings and sometimes I don’t even make it home from school I leave and try an end my life eventually I get found but I just need help please if anyone has any advice on what to do other then counselling please let me know