Depression

Depression affects people in Australia every day. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with depression.

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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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SubduedBlues My circle of despair, has it been broken?
  • replies: 8

By now, my friends, you may be aware that I came to BB following the breakdown of my marriage of 24 years. At first, I believed it was this breakdown and her departure that was the source of the my pain. At first. Since coming to BB and opening up to... View more

By now, my friends, you may be aware that I came to BB following the breakdown of my marriage of 24 years. At first, I believed it was this breakdown and her departure that was the source of the my pain. At first. Since coming to BB and opening up to all you kind people. Reading how others are struggling day-to-day also, many a lot longer than I; and some a lot tougher too. I have come to realise that I am not alone. I have learnt that I am not as useless that I once thought I was. That there just might be a better tomorrow out there somewhere, someday. Though some days I may still have my doubts, I know that I just need to get past these bad days and the good days are just around the corner. I try to see this akin to when I quit smoking way-back-when. These bad days are just like the nicotine withdrawal symptoms; a craving for garbage that will pass. Reading everyone's posts, the regulars, the irregulars, the new people and the once-off, each time I learn more about myself. Each post and each thread sinks in a little, and changes me a little. The BB forums are the most moving and tearful experience of my week. It is where I reconnect to a world that I have had disconnected from all those years ago. I got so caught up in my own world: my wife and that I had forgotten about everyone else. Now, after my wife has departed and I have only my children and a need to maintain a normalcy for them. I find that I have a lot of time to reflect on years gone by. In this reflection, I fear that I have been living in one of those so called one-side relationships that WK has spake of in his other recent thread. Or maybe it was more likely to be where my wife and I were each living in our own one-sided relationship, but neither of them were connecting. It was so depressing being told by the doc that I am depressed. And it was even more depressing when he told me that he wants me to go on ADs for the next six to twelve months. I thought to myself, "Just what I need, to be kicked further down when I was already feeling down." No, I am not ready for this type of treatment; I'll work with the psychologist first. Anyhow, I'm not starting the ADs just yet. As I have had an epiphany. I am will be exploring with the psych of the next few weeks if it was the presence of the marriage that caused the depression and not the absence of the marriage. And, if that were true, would not then, the absence of it empower me to lift myself up without the meds? D'

pink_rose1 I don't know what to do anymore.
  • replies: 3

I don't know what to do anymore. I have no sense of direction in life and I don't have any idea what to do with my life anymore. I just don't want to be here as it is too painful to be alive constantally worrying about what I need to be doing job wis... View more

I don't know what to do anymore. I have no sense of direction in life and I don't have any idea what to do with my life anymore. I just don't want to be here as it is too painful to be alive constantally worrying about what I need to be doing job wise and figuring out what I want to do. I have no goals anymore and no motivation. I have seeked professional help and nothing seems to work. I just don't want to be here anymore. When I talk to someone all I hear is "it will get better" "it's all right something will work out" but it's been like this for years.

MrsC Hello.
  • replies: 4

Hey all, Warning. Looooong story First time here at BB im not really sure what to say but for most my life since early teen years to present (25) ive had a mental illness. (i think) ive never been to a shrink or even a doctor. My poor husband cops al... View more

Hey all, Warning. Looooong story First time here at BB im not really sure what to say but for most my life since early teen years to present (25) ive had a mental illness. (i think) ive never been to a shrink or even a doctor. My poor husband cops alot of my mood swings and moments where all i do is cry. Im not very educated on it all but all i can say is i can only see the negative on most things. Some days im the happiest person but then something could pop up in my head from the past and there goes the happy mood. Ive had a fairly good childhood although my mother suffered from bad depression and alcoholism which led to gambling problems etc. Shes got it all under control now which is great but its left me in a shitty place as i had to deal with ALOT of it as i grew up. Id also always protect my brother so alot of times id push away my emotions and comfort him. But now theyre all catching up with me. yay. Im married to the best man in the world (haha) i have a beautiful 2yo daughter. And my life is good. I feel so guilty being like this on and off happy/sad/angry they both dont deserve it. I dont want anything to rub off on my little one either. Remembering me as a miserable person. My head just feels cloudy and i am constantly putting myself down over every little thing. I could type for hours but i feel like a whinger as i know theres people out there without food for example and people that are in devastating circumstances. But i want to feel happy and give my family the best life i can. I guess im scared and embarrassed to talk about it to anyone. My husband knows but theres only so much he can do. Ive recently met some really good quality friends but they arent aware. Im worried if i go on antidepressants i wont be me anymore. Ill be a zombie. I love who i am. And i just want to get rid of that heavy clouded mind and focus on the positives as lifes too short. Also the funny thing is id love to get into mental health as a career as i love helping people. So id like to sort my own head out first. Can taking antidepressants effect getting into a role like this? Do you Have to tell people. For example if i wanted to foster a child would this be a problem if i was on antidepressants? Are there certain ones that are better or is it up to the doc to decide. Please only nice comments i know that was a whole lot of confusion. Im not the best at expressing myself Thanks

ShaDevi STRESS
  • replies: 2

I work at a food factory. I just recently being diagnosed with epilepsy. I told my HR about my condition. They not allowing me to go back to work. Making all sorts of excuses. I gave then a letter from doctor. Still they not accepting it. What i do? ... View more

I work at a food factory. I just recently being diagnosed with epilepsy. I told my HR about my condition. They not allowing me to go back to work. Making all sorts of excuses. I gave then a letter from doctor. Still they not accepting it. What i do? I got no job so hard for living. Please can anyone tell me what i do?

Sunetra Why am I always ignored
  • replies: 3

I don’t understand what is wrong with me or why it happens to me but i’m always the one that gets ignored and i’m always the one that gets left out or forgotten with friends and family! I am one of four girls but i’m the odd one out and have been my ... View more

I don’t understand what is wrong with me or why it happens to me but i’m always the one that gets ignored and i’m always the one that gets left out or forgotten with friends and family! I am one of four girls but i’m the odd one out and have been my whole life and I can’t deal with it anymore I am so hurt but at the same time i’m almost numb I just want to know why my family would treat me like this if they didn’t actually hate me

cn no words
  • replies: 4

Im sitting here listening to my family play on the xbox an I feel so distant. I feel horrible that I am such a failure at being a dad and I am repeating all the same mistakes that my stepfather did with me. I can speak to them. Theres too much in my ... View more

Im sitting here listening to my family play on the xbox an I feel so distant. I feel horrible that I am such a failure at being a dad and I am repeating all the same mistakes that my stepfather did with me. I can speak to them. Theres too much in my head to fit out my mouth. I try and then I clam up. Also I feel frustrated by them. Why cant the see whats wrong with me? A hug and a kiss isnt going to fix it. Sometimes i think they dont even care and they want me to leave. I cant call my mum because ive ignored her for too long. Same as my brother. Every time the phone rings I just freeze. I feel like such a waste of time and money. I changed careers and now I dont earn enough for us and every decision I make sends us backwards. I cant even open facebook because everyone is having such a great time. Whats worse is they post the RUOK messages but they dont really care about someone who needs help. But why would they help me anyway because I have pushed everyone away. I dont know what to do. My head is spinning and I cant find any silence. I cant face work but I cant afford to take days off. The job I do has me responsible for peoples lives not that im going to hurt anyone but I really cant focus with whats going on. I just want some silence. Im so stressed about money and health and dying. Im stressed about being a good dad and husband. I just want to be taken away from all this. I was thinkin of going to the hospital but I dont know what good it would do. I am ashamed and embarrassed and confused. Negative thoughts creep into my head all the time. Ill be having a great time and laughing and then all of a sudden my chest will drop and thoughts will enter my head like "whats the point of all this, you are going to die soon anyway".

Slottx Postnatal...want it to stop
  • replies: 3

I could not love my child more.. but i cry all the time. Im angry at my husband because no matter what he does i feel he doesnt truly understand what im going through. I know my hormones are running wild.. but i want to enjoy this time with my baby b... View more

I could not love my child more.. but i cry all the time. Im angry at my husband because no matter what he does i feel he doesnt truly understand what im going through. I know my hormones are running wild.. but i want to enjoy this time with my baby but im so sad all the time.. jelous my husband gets to go to work. When will this feeling stop? Sometimes it brings in anxity when he leaves to go to work because i know ill be emotional all day and sad... why is this so hard. How do i get a stubborn man to understand what im going through... so much to postnatal...

UpNDown [BPD] How do you know it's happening?
  • replies: 3

Thought I'd open up the discussion for anyone interested. Mostly for those of us who experience the highs and lows. Not limited to BPD issues but also anyone else who experiences different levels. For example, I get a cold chill and tingles everywher... View more

Thought I'd open up the discussion for anyone interested. Mostly for those of us who experience the highs and lows. Not limited to BPD issues but also anyone else who experiences different levels. For example, I get a cold chill and tingles everywhere when a low is coming on. It's like the life is draining out of me. That's when I can tell I'm about to hit a downward spiral. Then once this passes and I look back I can't help but feel some degree of shame (despite staying silent about it) by looking back and almost feeling stupid for feeling the way I was. I haven't worked out a fix for this one yet. The highs are easy to pick. I'm on my feet constantly with a fleet of huge plans and ideas. At work I'm busy, productive and firing off a thousand emails to various people almost being demanding in my approach. Work and socially I'm shooting my mouth off with near inappropriate things that fortunately haven't landed me into too much trouble. Although over time I've learned to try and control it and realise when it's happening so I step back, take a breath, read that email before hitting send and often end up deleting it instead knowing what's happening to me, biting my tongue before blurting out an opinion. How do some others feel when they are transitioning and what do they do to intervene themselves?

May_84 feeling broken
  • replies: 9

hi everyone, I am very new to this and I wanted to reach out and introduce myself. My name is May and I have been living with depression for the last 8 years. I probably had it for longer but I was diagnosed in 2009. I really thought I had gotten eve... View more

hi everyone, I am very new to this and I wanted to reach out and introduce myself. My name is May and I have been living with depression for the last 8 years. I probably had it for longer but I was diagnosed in 2009. I really thought I had gotten everything under control over the last two years but since I slowly weened myself off of anti-depressants I have had a bicycle accident which resulted in fractures that necessitated me taking time off work and needing to push my studies back (I am now very behind my full time studies and I have assignments and exam revision I am trying to do which has been incredibly stressful). I also feel very behind at work because I had to take a significant amount of time off and I didn't have much leave due to being relatively new with my employer. I think the injury and subsequent time off work and well feeling useless and isolated has not been very helpful. I haven't been able to exercise and my eating hasn't been great which I know would not be helping me right now. I have been finding myself feeling quick to anger and I feel like i am full of negative emotions (I've never been an angry person so this is a very new thing to feel anger as a response to stimuli that would never make me angry). I am so ashamed of how I am feeling and I have been hashing over my past mistakes and things I have done when I know I should have known better. Instead of forgiving myself, I am dragging myself over the coals and punishing myself for not being a better person. I am not proud of the person I have been at times in the past and although I have made many positive changes I am not allowing myself to forgive and move on. I even know that its not right and I should forgive myself but on the inside I don't feel worthy, It's like I keep punishing myself even though I would and have forgiven others for much worse. I look at myself as a person who lacks integrity a as a result of my past and I am struggling to reconcile that my future is all that matters. I just feel like I am in a really dark place and I am already dreading the fact that I have to go to work on Monday and put on a brave face when all I want to do is cry. I am sorry to share such a negative story but I didn't know where else to go. thank you everyone

Missberri why am i always miserable no matter what?
  • replies: 6

Hi everyone, I just wanted to post because I'm not having the best time lately.. I recently graduated with a uni degree, have moved to a new city and got a new proper career job and for some reason I'm just so unhappy. When I was living in my old cit... View more

Hi everyone, I just wanted to post because I'm not having the best time lately.. I recently graduated with a uni degree, have moved to a new city and got a new proper career job and for some reason I'm just so unhappy. When I was living in my old city with my parents I was unhappy too and I couldn't wait to move away and start a new job and a new life somewhere else and just be done with uni and studying all together. But, now that I'm here I feel horrible. My job was so draining even for the first week and I'm missing so many things about my old home. I just don't feel right and it feels awful. I just wonder if I'm ever going to feel okay, it's like no matter what I do I find something negative about it and I try to look at the positives but the negatives are so strong that it just does nothing.. I just wish I knew what to do.. I don't know if I'm following the right career path anymore and I don't know if this is why.. I hate the idea of sitting at a computer screen all day but this is what I'm doing and it feels so unfulfilling and like such a waste of time. I wish I could be helping people in some way but unfortunately that is not what I studied I don't know if i want to be in a big city or if I want to be somewhere quiet and peaceful like my old home.. I just feel so lost and confused and just wish I could feel happy for once and I'm not..