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

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 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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What am I going to do with myself?

replies: 8

Two days ago my university results came out and unsurprisingly, there weren't too many good things that came out of them. I'm in first year studying Law and this is only the first semester, so I understand if they might not be the most outstanding. I barely passed three out of my four subjects, failing one by the slightest of margins. As a result, I have to sit a supplementary exam in a week's time and hearing the news simultaneously made my heart sink and feelings of anxiety reaching an all time high. I have been told many times by my parents about members of our extended family who had to sit them when they were in university, but this didn't do much for me at all. Out of the four subjects that I had to do, this was by far the most challenging and I made quite an effort to study for the real exam as I am for this supp exam. I made a proposition to both of my parents; if I fail this exam, I will have no choice but to defer from my course effective immediately as I do not see myself going anywhere by repeating another semester worth of the same content I hated in the first place. I have hated the university life ever since I stepped foot on the campus, but I can tell deep down that my parents (more-so my Mum) would prefer for me to stay there, even if they're not admitting it outright. I just don't know what I am going to do with myself if I do end up going down this path (which seems increasingly likely at this point in time). I could potentially find some work via Centrelink, but that's about it. I do not have anyone I can consider a friend to hang out with (which is probably for the better imo), I do not have any noteworthy hobbies, and the absolute hole of a city that I live in (Adelaide) has nothing fulfilling to do; everyone is born to die here. As you can tell, I care about my future way too much compared to the average person and fear that I will end up as yet another unproductive member of society, destroying his body with alcohol, and increasingly ready to throw in the towel on his life altogether.

Struggling with final years of school due to depression + anxiety

replies: 3

hi. So last year I had a really bad depressive episode that caused me to miss a lot of school. I ended up getting prescribed medication and I moved schools at the end of the year. I was doing pretty well and enjoying my new school up until a couple months ago. I have a habit of breaking down around autumn/winter, I guess it's kind of seasonal depression. Since May I've been missing a lot of school and overtime I feel myself getting worse and worse as I realise how deep the hole I've dug for myself is now. I am so behind on schoolwork and I don't know how I'll catch up. there's about 3 weeks of term 3 left and then term 4 marks my last term as a year 11 before embarking on my final year. I'm not ready to do my final year of school. In some ways I am- e.g. I can't wait to finish high school, and I'm smart enough to get good grades (it's just that due to my mental health problems my grades are falling). But for the most part I feel unprepared. I've missed so much school last year and this year. I don't think I'll cope next year in year 12, especially when it comes to this time of the year. My parents + school have suggested staying another year at school but I don't want to. I want to graduate at the same time as my friends and I just want to get out of high school. Sometimes I worry how I'll cope in "the real world" if I've struggled this much in high school, but I honestly feel like high school is the thing suffocating me. I see how doing another year of high school could be beneficial but I also can't help but feel like it'll make my mental health worse. I'm just so confused and conflicted because I don't know what to do- I don't want to drop out unless I have something to fall back on. I don't want to repeat a year unless as a last resort. But I also don't want to damage my health anymore than I already have by pushing myself through year 12 when I'm not ready. I think because I'm on meds + having really been in a dark place last year, although I'm struggling right now, I know I've been worse. But I know that i'm heading towards a dangerous place- my anxiety has wrecked my social life and I have serious body image issues now, so it's just a matter of time before those issues spiral into something even bigger + more serious. I don't want it to get to that though and I'm trying to fight it as much as I can. I want to be happy and I want to do well in life. I know I'll get there one day but rn i've hit a roadblock and I don't know how to get around it.

No body likes me and when someone does something stops me

replies: 6

Let’s start from the beginning I moved to a new home in a place I’m not use to and I made friends and this was in year 6 , I’m now in high school, year 7 and also I was in a grade 5/6 classroom and most of my friends are in grade 6 right now and now that I have came into high school with only 2 friends and one of them isn’t really in our friend group now. So now I’m in a class with only 1 friend and I only hanged out with that one friend and I never really tried to make new ones because all the people in the class seem to thing strongly think that they’re cool and have a bunch of power over someone else and only 3 people in that group even somewhat like me as a friend but not enough to hang out with me. I want to hangout with them but at the same time I don’t wanna ditch my other friends because he doesn’t like them and only 2 people like my other friend and the other friend who really isn’t in our friend group got into a scrap with them. I’m at the point where I can’t make friends cause I’m not genuinely funny or someone is stopping me and then my emotions and sympathy stops me. more about me: I consider myself very friendly other then when I first meet someone sometimes I randomly be rude because it was my first time meeting them and to be honest those are never my true feelings so I can be a doosh and I have tried to stop doing that and I am seeing progress. I am not to bad of a judge of character (sometimes) and I’m very good with body language and listening to people and their problems. I can get along with people unless they’re up them selfs or think they’re more cool then someone else. please give some advice

I want to move out of home but I'm under 18 and my parents control every moment of my life

replies: 6

i live at home with my dad, step ,mum, and three sisters, and i feel like i am living my parents life through me. everything i do is monitored by my parents, everything i say is monitored. i am not aloud to choose what i wear because i dress like i am "homeless." My parents read my texts with my boyfriend and misinterpret them into thinking I've had sex, they track me through my phone to see where i am and think i see him when i am just walking home or at work, they don't believe me when i tell them otherwise. i haven't had sex yet they don't believe me, but when i am ready for it, i want that to be my choice and no one else. My parents see me as the smart child, and i'm the only one they are expecting to go to uni. my mental health has stopped me from doing as good in school as i used to, yet even though i am still passing all my exams, its not 100% so it isn't good enough. I am not aloud to do anything but study, i am not aloud to go out and see my friends and boyfriend, i literally feel like a caged bird, and i feel like they want me to be someone i am not, and the only person i can be myself around is my boyfriend and certain friends, yet i am not even aloud to see them. the most i see them is whilst i am working and they come through my register. i have to deal with constant criticism and even though i want to be a vet, i am willing to put that off and give up my dream from when i was little, just to get out of home. i am no where near getting the ATAR i need, and i am happy to go to TAFE and just do veterinary nursing then study veterinary science once i have a job in veterinary nursing, but that int good enough for my parents. they set unrealistic expectations, and get mad and disappointed if i don't meet these expectations. i want to move out ASAP, yet even the idea of me moving out would send my parents into a fit. i was helping a friend find a place and they went through my search history and saw that i had looked at granny flats, and they lost it at me. if i just left and didn't come home, i would lose my phone, my laptop, my schooling, my clothes and all my belongings and not have a place to go. if i moved in with my boyfriend then they would know where to find me. i feel trapped and i don't know what to do or what places can help me with moving out. i wouldn't have anything if i just walked out,but it is getting more and more tempting.

Build up of emotions

replies: 2

I’ve been trying for ages to get a job. I’ve built a really good resume, I’m confident when applying in person, and apply as a mix of online and instores but noones taking me even into an interview i know it’s a competitive world but it’s just so hard because I need the money! lately I’ve been feeling so down over a build up of everything but I always come back to this. I feel like if I had a job I’d be distracted, and I would have the money to do the things that bring me down when I can’t afford to do them. i used to be a Christmas casual but I’m needing something more and at least a Christmas job leading up to Christmas! tbh i just feel so alone, I’m loosing all my friends and mentally I’m struggling. Anyone else overwhelmed too!?

I don’t know what to do

replies: 1

Hey, So im just gonna get straight to the point (it’s not really straight to the point) I’m talking to my ex we dated like a year ago and then we broke up cause she wasn’t ready but then she started seeing another guy like a month later and she’s on and off with him and she’s on and off with me. Like she plays games online with him only because she wants to learn as he has experience but she doesn’t want to be with him because he is like 22 and she is 16. And she also doesn’t want to distance her self from him as she is scared of what he will do (which I believe is an excuse for her to stay with him or vice verca) anyways me and her starting talking again and I really like talking to her and being around her because she just makes me happy but I just don’t like how she has to keep talking to her ex that’s a bit annoying cause I get jealous easily and i tend to overthink and assume a lot too so my thoughts are driving me crazy. and then my friends oh gosh my friends I don’t really think they are there for me like the group just feels fake and like I don’t think they really want me there and I just feel left out a lot and it hurts I’ve talked to them about this but it’s happening again. I don’t think they are the right group but they are so judgemental and I don’t wanna leave them cause I do care about them it’s just that I want them to understand me but I don’t really think they seem to care much about my feelings like for example if I went and sat and hanged out with another group they would all be distant towards me and it’d just make me feel excluded and lonely gosh I just feel like I have no support so I came here looking for answers with someone who has experienced something similar

I want to join a group, have tried, but I get so overwhelmed at all these new people I don't know at all.

replies: 1

I moved schools at the start of this year, and all year I have struggled with making friends. I have made a few(around 3-4) but none of them are in one group, and so I've had to choose which social circle I want to join. I am particularly good friends with one person, and she has a group that at first seemed nice, and I have numerous times sat with them, yet failed to make any connections. I don't speak in the group conversations, and several members intimidate me, as I feel as if they are very judgy. Several times I have just got up and left because I was so overwhelmed, and I hate it. I hate not being able to just relax, and join in, and make myself known. The friend I have in the group says I need to speak up more, and that going off will not help(which I agree with), but I have such low self-esteem that I can't join in out of fear. Does anyone know what I should do? Is this a lost cause, and should I try elsewhere, or should I continue to keep trying, despite not feeling great? I dont know what to do; I still have an entire year left of school, and I don't want my final year to be filled with the same stress and anxiety of this one. I have friends outside of this school, from sports and my old school, and it has become so bad at my new place that I feel moving back might be one of the best options, for myself, and my overall wellbeing.

career stress. please weigh in.

replies: 3

Hey guys. so I'm in year 10 this year so we have to chose subject for years 11 and 12 aswell as start to think about what we want to do with our selves after school. quite surising to me that alot of the kids in my class have really clear plans of what they are doing next or at the least what they want to be, but I have no idea on what I want to do. this isnt much of a problem for me cause i usually just wing things anyway but im not sure i should be taking the same tactic with something like this. Im very lucky and i go to a private school which does mean there is ceratin expectaions for me to do something decent and not end up working a 9 to 5 retail job. I'd love to hear your thoughts whether your going through this now or youve already finished school. have a good day.

Wassup?

replies: 2

So i kinda need advice and whatnot on what im doing and what to do about it? Randomly, out of the blue i begin acting strange. how so? well I begin saying weird jokes, laughing histerically at nothing, making up storys about house hold items for people, etc. but today i had it way worse than normal for some reason- i dont know why but it might be emotionally related as today my friends decided to dump me for good, dunno if thats it but i suspect it might be. I was chilling with my brother playing Animal Crossing New Leaf and without warning i began doing my weird stuff again but it was worse and lasted longer this time. despite knowing the word i want to say i would instictivly say the first few syllables over and over before saying the full word, i dont know if it would be called stuttering or not. i put my fingers to my brother's knee cap's skin and began moving it around, making illegible sounds. at some point i used both his knee caps and began to make them communitate. admittedly what they where saying didnt make much sense to me but for some reason i didnt want to stop finding all of this really fun. i would wrap my legs around my arm and crawl around, try to bite my 3ds screen, in the middle of doing these things i would randomly pause and rethink. i would think to myself "what am i doing?" but immediately go back to doing my thing. is this normal? its been going on for awhile but it was pretty intense tonight and idkk..

feelings towards others

replies: 6

Hi all, Lately I've just been getting very easily irritated by others, to the point where I cat stand to be around people anymore. This is extremely frustrating, as I am still in school and spent my entire day with other people. I've never had this before. all of a sudden I just had this overwhelming feeling of utter annoyance and the complete desire to just isolate myself. If anyone had any advice on what this is, it would be greatly greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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

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

What am I going to do with myself? replies: 8

Struggling with final years of school due to depression + anxiety replies: 3

No body likes me and when someone does something stops me replies: 6

I want to move out of home but I'm under 18 and my parents control every moment of my life replies: 6

Build up of emotions replies: 2

I don’t know what to do replies: 1

I want to join a group, have tried, but I get so overwhelmed at all these new people I don't know at all. replies: 1

career stress. please weigh in. replies: 3

Wassup? replies: 2

feelings towards others replies: 6