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Jeriava How do I talk to my doctor?
  • replies: 9

I’ve been struggling with my life for the past 7-8 years but I finally made an appointment with a doctor. I feel really scared though because I don’t ever go to the doctor for anything, and I havent seen this doctor for so many years that I’m really ... View more

I’ve been struggling with my life for the past 7-8 years but I finally made an appointment with a doctor. I feel really scared though because I don’t ever go to the doctor for anything, and I havent seen this doctor for so many years that I’m really scared that they’ll judge me or won’t believe anything I say. I’m really anti social so I feel like I won’t be able to say what I wanna say or I’ll say the wrong thing causing them to just dismiss me and move me along without helping. I’m just tired of feeling alone, depressed and just worthless but I’m really scared to talk to them.

Chris_B Are you looking to support someone else with depression? PLEASE READ before posting
  • replies: 0

This forum is for people seeking support for their own mental health issues. If you're posting on behalf of someone else with a mental health issue that you're concerned about, please have a look at this section of our forums: Supporting family and f... View more

This forum is for people seeking support for their own mental health issues. If you're posting on behalf of someone else with a mental health issue that you're concerned about, please have a look at this section of our forums: Supporting family and friends with a mental health condition It's full of threads from people who have family members and friends going through anxiety, depression or other related conditions. Have a read through the threads there, and feel free to take part in the discussions. Below are also some helpful beyondblue resources you might want to look through first as well: Supporting someone Have the conversation

AGrace SELF HELP TIPS FOR MANAGING DEPRESSION
  • replies: 132

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas you might like to try for managing symptoms of depression. Of course everyone's different, so let us know what works for you, and please feel free to add to the list... Mindfulness – through breathing or engaging the ... View more

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas you might like to try for managing symptoms of depression. Of course everyone's different, so let us know what works for you, and please feel free to add to the list... Mindfulness – through breathing or engaging the 5 senses Distress Tolerance – Accepting Emotions and Self Soothing Distraction – Put the thoughts/feelings aside and come back to them when you are ready to deal with them Positive Affirmations – Have some affirmations written down repeat them to yourself daily Sleep/Exercise/Diet – All 3 aspects of our lifestyle can impact the way we think/feel Increasing Pleasurable Activities – Engage in at least one pleasurable activity per day

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Bigboy31 Dazed and confused (and increasingly sad)
  • replies: 2

Hi all, Got a few things going on that has me quite shaken and not knowing what to do. Need to disclose right at the top that I have had battles with clinical depression on and off for my entire adult life, however the issues that are affecting me no... View more

Hi all, Got a few things going on that has me quite shaken and not knowing what to do. Need to disclose right at the top that I have had battles with clinical depression on and off for my entire adult life, however the issues that are affecting me now are not those I've experienced previously. I am in my mid 40's, and been in a job for the last 15 years. However, the last few months have seen me no longer happy with the work I've been doing (no real surprise considering how long I've been there). There is also no scope for any career progression or options amongst any other teams within the business for me to explore. Also, there is a person in my team I have issues with as she has exhibited bullying behaviour toward me and left me feeling like I no longer belong. Considering the team I am in only has 6 members, this is a major issue. If you are wondering, I have reported this to my team leader and he has had a word with her, but that was right before we started working from home due to COVID-19 so no idea whether anything that's been said will make things better. As this person is getting more and more responsibilities within the team, I suspect not. So, I am in a job I no longer enjoy doing, and even if I was working in an office still feel extremely isolated and just feel I have to get out. However, I have nothing to go on to (in part due to our current environment), and don't have enough funds to survive without employment for an extended period of time. Therefore, I feel like I'm stuck. Do I stay where I am, putting up with everything I've mentioned just to ensure some sort of job security and a steady income, or do I leave that bad situation behind and risk not getting anything for months or worse, years. That is my dilemma at the moment. Not expecting any help on this, but if anyone has constructive ideas on this that would be great to hear. Thank you for reading.

doonzy lack of understanding emotion
  • replies: 7

hi all im a 30yr old male and started my first ever mental health plan last yr just before chrissy. originally i went to my gp as my wife said my mental health hasnt been great and that she thought i needed to see someone to talk about it. i really s... View more

hi all im a 30yr old male and started my first ever mental health plan last yr just before chrissy. originally i went to my gp as my wife said my mental health hasnt been great and that she thought i needed to see someone to talk about it. i really struggle to not only show emotion but to understand and pick up when i am feeling emotions and what the emotion is. this along with my lack of motivation, always feeling tired and feeling like noone really cares or understands has gotten me to where i am now. is it normal for people to not feel emotions?? also is it possible to not be thinking anything? unfortunately because of all this my marriage is heading south, we have 2 kids together and 1 step child and it feels like im losing everything i hold dear. i had started seeing a mental health professional but for some reason i was expecting him to have answers for me like if this was a maths sum. hoping that 1+1=2 and he would go this is how we fix it. my deepest fear now is that maybe i have never actually felt or shown emotions but rather mimicked and faked them to what i think they should be which makes me feel like a complete phony. has anyone else had these problems and how do i go about finding answers thankyou in advance and i hope everyone is doing well

Sofia_L COVID lonliness and increase in mental struggles
  • replies: 7

I have had major depressive disorder for almost 10 years now and was managing it very well for a long time. But the last few weeks of isolation have really been a significant challenge. Prior to isolation, I broke up with my boyfriend, which I don't ... View more

I have had major depressive disorder for almost 10 years now and was managing it very well for a long time. But the last few weeks of isolation have really been a significant challenge. Prior to isolation, I broke up with my boyfriend, which I don't regret as I did not love him anymore. I also moved out of my parents house and was so excited for the new things my life was offering. Then it all changed when I lost my job to COVID, my studies went online and could not see my friends anymore. The last week has been one of the biggest mental struggles I've encountered yet. I am so, so depressed and lacking motivation to do anything. I have almost no appetite, and struggle to cook/eat even though I have a fridge full of fresh food. I get out of bed, make myself my normal breakfast and just can not stomach it. I have no motivation to do anything, and am really struggling to get out of bed each morning. I've been waking up crying, and have major crying fits throughout the day over nothing. I am trying so hard to be proactive and have made an appointment with my GP and brought my psychiatrist appointment forward. However I am just struggling with the lack of human connection. In the past I have relied on friends and family to help me through the tougher times and it's far too difficult to do this over social media. Is anyone feeling in a similar place due to the isolation and restrictions? I am sure I am not alone, and it would be really great to hear from others about how they are coping. Thank you all for reading x

Asmaan Mistreatments at work
  • replies: 2

Hi, I am new to the forum. Since last few weeks I am going through terrible time and it has now reached to a level where I feel so stressed and depressed that I cannot at times breath. I am suddenly treated strangely at work. I was removed from a pro... View more

Hi, I am new to the forum. Since last few weeks I am going through terrible time and it has now reached to a level where I feel so stressed and depressed that I cannot at times breath. I am suddenly treated strangely at work. I was removed from a project and someone with similar designation and lesser experience was given the opportunity. There was no communication from my management, keep in mind I am pretty high on designation, so my reporting management are the State operational heads. I am shut down when I tried to reach out and ask “ why?”. My hours were reduced, while keeping this other person full time because allegedly she/ he has work - which actually is my project handed over to her/ him. They are avoiding me in every possible manner, including the HR. I am very passionate about my job and have always been highly productive. Never in my life have I felt so belittled, humiliated. I have no say in my own job now. I have my family abroad, with Covid 19, I am super worried about them and the fact that in case of emergency I cannot even go there- makes the situation worse. i am usually very strong and do not really share matters with anyone. Solving my problems myself is the way it has always been. But, first time in life , I don’t know what to do. This feeling of being “ worthless & helpless “ is killing me. I feel like running away , but I also need the job to put food on tables both here and back home. It took me a lot of internal fight to convince myself to join the forum and write this. So thank you to anyone who might be reading this. I have no idea what to do next!!!! Thanks Asmaan

alexiaalexia How can I help him?
  • replies: 3

I've been seeing this guy for three months and we're both in our early 20's so we're still both quite young. Things were going extremely well I've never met someone like him and we both had such amazing times together. The past two and half weeks som... View more

I've been seeing this guy for three months and we're both in our early 20's so we're still both quite young. Things were going extremely well I've never met someone like him and we both had such amazing times together. The past two and half weeks something was really off about him and I was super worried, I spoke to his friends and they noticed that something was off too. He was shutting everyone out and wouldn't answer messages or calls so it worried me. He's a very closed person so he finds it rather difficult to open up to people and I had only known him three months so I didn't expect him to tell me what was wrong. I eventually was able to catch up with him in person and he told me that he's severely depressed. I was so proud of him for opening up and I reassured him that it's okay to not be okay and that he had to get help and go and see someone which he agreed. We both then made the decision to stop seeing each other because he didn't think it was fair how he had 'treated' me and he wanted to be able to find happiness and love within himself before he could love someone else which I completely agreed with. It's such a tough situation because no one did anything wrong, it wasn't anyone's fault and we still have such strong feelings for one another but we just can't be together right now. He told me not to wait for him and to try and move on because it's not fair if he holds me back but I'm finding it really hard right now because I have such strong feelings for him. Obviously we've completely cut contact and I told him I'll always be there for him if he ever needs to reach out but I feel so helpless and lost and I don't know what to do. I so badly want to message him once a month to check up but I know I need to respect his space and his decision. It sounds extremely selfish but I don't know whether I should wait for him or to try and move on because I've never met someone like him and I don't want to give up just yet because he's so strong and I know he'll find happiness.

mikayla_f depression from regret
  • replies: 2

I have been having bad thoughts about regret for the last month and I need some help im so stuck and feel like I want to die

I have been having bad thoughts about regret for the last month and I need some help im so stuck and feel like I want to die

Jaymore Everything is falling apart, no motivation and no desire
  • replies: 2

I've posted on here a few times in the past, I don't know if this time is worse but I suppose that doesn't really matter. I've had depression and depression-like symptoms since I was 9 and here I am again after things have been getting worse in the p... View more

I've posted on here a few times in the past, I don't know if this time is worse but I suppose that doesn't really matter. I've had depression and depression-like symptoms since I was 9 and here I am again after things have been getting worse in the past few weeks. I'm 19, have been living out of home since early February and thought I was coping with everything. I've started losing motivation for everything that goes on in my life. I'm weeks behind on uni with two assignments due in the next few days with so much left to do. Then another two in the next few weeks. I know I have to do them, and I want to do well, but I can't bring myself to get out of bed. I've always been really into running and at state league level in my sport but since I took a few weeks off to heal my knee, then getting sick as well, I cannot be bothered to even go for a walk. I have no desire to eat food or drink water. My sport has always motivated me no matter what, until now. I thought it was my future, but I've completely fallen out of love with it. A lot of the time when I feel down I cannot really describe what exactly it is that's bothering me. I just feel dazed and like I don't really care what happens. I've had some really bad nights recently. Then last night it got worse. I found out my boyfriend had been flirting with another guy. Initially I was telling myself it wasn't my fault. But now I just feel so worthless and that if I was a good partner to him, then maybe he wouldn't have done it. Despite everything going on, my relationship was going great. I really felt like I was in love with him. Now I can't trust him, and I don't know if I should end the relationship. I'm divided on that. So yeah, my motivation for simple tasks, my hobbies, and for living a healthy lifestyle has gone out the window. Everyday I lie in bed with no energy to do anything. I know I should start with getting my eating habits back to normal, but I can't bring myself to do it. For anyone reading, I appreciate that you've gotten this far. Hope you are all doing okay. I'm grateful for this community

bella_06 feeling numb, stuck and self-destructing
  • replies: 6

For almost a year now i have been feeling numb and lonely. I have a partner of 2 years and i constantly feel like i'm not enough. he pays more attention to his phone than to his family. We have a 15mo and it is tough. I don't know how to cope with ev... View more

For almost a year now i have been feeling numb and lonely. I have a partner of 2 years and i constantly feel like i'm not enough. he pays more attention to his phone than to his family. We have a 15mo and it is tough. I don't know how to cope with everything. I try talking but he doesn't understand life with anxiety and depression. I know i have been snapping but after losing my grandmother a year ago, i feel so lost and broken. (he wasn't there to support me and help me when i needed and i feel this pushed me away). I had to remain strong for everyone (because thats's how i cope). now i just want to feel something, anything. All i can feel is pain. I have self-destructed and with the pressure and stress of this virus i don't know how to be okay. I have tried to explain when i snap its because i am scared and need reassurance, he just doesn't understand and it makes me feel like a monster. he has called me over dramatic and said i'm taking it overboard. I feel the stress of everything and i just don't know how to feel safe and normal. I'm trying to protect my daughter and myself, yet he makes me feel crazy. I know i am pushing him away because i have been hurt in the past and i never want to allow anyone to hurt me anymore. After a small argument he said he started packing his bags to go until i can stop being paranoid with the virus. That just broke me and i have ended things. I don't feel anything. I am numb, i just don't know whether i still love him. I should feel hurt and sad, but i don't, i feel nothing. I feel so out of control and like i don't know what i want because i can't feel anything. I feel so lost because i can't even make decisions in my life based on my emotions because i feel nothing How do i feel things again i just want this feeling to go away.

fifithebunni Here I Am Again...
  • replies: 4

It sneaks up on you, in such a way you're kind of used to it. And then you come to a point where you want to cry so badly but you're numb, and you want to hurt yourself to externalise the pain. I guess I have a lot to be grateful for. I'm blessed wit... View more

It sneaks up on you, in such a way you're kind of used to it. And then you come to a point where you want to cry so badly but you're numb, and you want to hurt yourself to externalise the pain. I guess I have a lot to be grateful for. I'm blessed with an awesome kid with whom I have a great relationship. I've got a home and I don't need to worry about being kicked out by the landlord etc . But, this feeling of failing and hopelessness is so overwhelming I'm physically weakened by it. I despair at how I'm not able to provide my son the opportunities that I think he deserves. He is such a smart and special child. I'm deeply ashamed that he sees me in the state of weakness and he worries about me and wants to help. My biggest embarrassment is my work/job situation. I simply don't know how to break out and improve my earning capacity. I stare at my CV and don't know how to sell myself. I suppose my confidence is just completely shattered. Have been doing 2 jobs over the last few years, and neither brings good money or growth. And yet I have no real prospect of doing something completely different. If you ask me what I have passion for, I don't even know what it's like to have passion for anything. I think I'm so sick and tired of myself asking the same questions over and over again, and never have had clarity and sense of direction. I feel I'm eternally lost and stuck in the void. I am mostly happy to be by myself, I guess I do still love life. And yet there are moments I so crave to have someone to confide to, someone to bounce ideas off, someone to laugh with, or simply someone to give me a cuddle. I don't even know where to begin in finding that special someone. Tried online dating, seasons come seasons go. As much as I can approach it with good humour, open mind and general compassion, I find it harder and harder to not be cynical. I always believe that life in itself is the most previous thing and worth living. But this pain, numbness, sense of despair and hopelessness is hard to shake off. Is it simply somethings one should learn to live with? Stoicism? I guess I still dream of shining my light in some way. I just don't know what that way is, and worry that the flickering is getting too dim.

believe248 Is my partner depressed?
  • replies: 2

Most of the time my partner of 2+ years is in a really good mood, he makes jokes & acts silly, exercises, is really affectionate and caring. But a couple of times a month, or sometimes even once a week, his mood suddenly takes a nose dive. For a coup... View more

Most of the time my partner of 2+ years is in a really good mood, he makes jokes & acts silly, exercises, is really affectionate and caring. But a couple of times a month, or sometimes even once a week, his mood suddenly takes a nose dive. For a couple of days he totally withdraws, stops eating properly, avoids me or when he does talk to me he's cold or even sometimes rude ir snappy. He is in this mood right now, i believe triggered by the stress he is feeling from losing his job due to Covid. Im not sure if it is depression, given typically he'll bounce back to normal within a day or so. I really feel for him during this tough time, but I am also a sufferer of anxiety and being suddenly ignored and snapped at makes me really stressed. Its like emotional whiplash. Im trying my hardest to be patient and focus on my own happiness, but it's hard not to feel on edge. Also I'm pregnant with our first child , and it terrifies me as to what will happen if we can't work this out. I would appreciate any advice as I'm a bit lost on what to do.