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BeyondBlue Hello! Read this if you're not sure how to get started
  • replies: 0

Welcome This section of the Beyond Blue Forums is for talking about our experiences with depression. There are lots of chats about how it makes us feel, what it’s like to live with depression and what has worked to help in these times. Thank you for ... View more

Welcome This section of the Beyond Blue Forums is for talking about our experiences with depression. There are lots of chats about how it makes us feel, what it’s like to live with depression and what has worked to help in these times. Thank you for coming this far, we know it can be really hard to take these steps if depression is in your life - we see you and think this is a great step. To get the most out of this space we have a few tips: Get involved. The Forums work best for you when you get active and post where you can. Now, we know that can be really hard, especially when you are experiencing depression. So, if you can post something supportive to someone else here, that would be an incredible start. Speak from the heart. This community wants to know how YOU feel and what has worked for YOU. We trust that you have something unique to say and we can’t wait to hear it. Check in. Lots of the discussions in this section of the Forums have been going for years and they are some of the richest conversations we have. Keep checking in to get new ideas and offer your support. We know it can be tough to start, but when you are ready we want to hear your thoughts. If you need some time to get to know the community, that's okay! Have a look around and see where you want to get involved. Thank you for being here! Beyond Blue

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.

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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dl23 4.5 years since I've seen my kids
  • replies: 3

Hi All Been divorced 5 years, separated originally in 2020. Separated under one roof was traumatic. Haven't seen my kids in 1668 days (4.5 years). They changed their surname to hers as she couldn't have a different name. One is almost 18 and the othe... View more

Hi All Been divorced 5 years, separated originally in 2020. Separated under one roof was traumatic. Haven't seen my kids in 1668 days (4.5 years). They changed their surname to hers as she couldn't have a different name. One is almost 18 and the other one is a few years younger. Oldest never responded to any messages rarely over the last 4.5 years. A rare message I got was when I messaged for oldest birthday and apologised for not sending card as ex would never pick them up from post office. He told me to get lost by using the I miss them. But I am also angry. Stopped messaging oldest 2 years ago. Don't know if youngest has a phone or not. Married for over 2 years now. Oldest unblocked my stepdaughter on Instagram (and messaged my stepson a few years ago). Not sure if that is a positive sign or not that he is seeing what we are up to and thinking about us. All the kids got on so well 4.5 years ago. Then completely cut off. I feel sad sometimes and depressed. I think of all the memories and got sad recently when my youngest had his birthday. I have missed their last 5 birthdays and all of my oldest time in highschool. Not really any point or question for this post. Just needed to let it out somewhere. I feel for other people that are going through this.

Guest_57356638 How do you force yourself to feel better?
  • replies: 7

Hi first time writing on this type of forum so apologies as it's very clunky. I've been dealing with generalised depression and anxiety. I've spoken to my family and partner about it and they provide me with support and advice. So in theory I feel li... View more

Hi first time writing on this type of forum so apologies as it's very clunky. I've been dealing with generalised depression and anxiety. I've spoken to my family and partner about it and they provide me with support and advice. So in theory I feel like I know what to do but I can't do it. I feel so tired and I sleep during most of my free time. I'm taking antidepressants but to some extent I feel like its made me just apathetic so instead of feeling anxious+panicked I don't care at all. But on the other hand I've been crying more in public lol. How do you force yourself to do the things that could make you feel better?

Kaden I feel left out at school
  • replies: 2

I am the quiet kid at school and I feel completely lonely and left out of everything. I tried to join an online chat for my hobbies last night to make friends, but / was rejected and hidden from the channel, which made me feel completely invisible an... View more

I am the quiet kid at school and I feel completely lonely and left out of everything. I tried to join an online chat for my hobbies last night to make friends, but / was rejected and hidden from the channel, which made me feel completely invisible and overwhelmed. I can talk to my mum fine, but school and making friends is still really hard. I am reaching out because / want to learn practical skills to help me connect with people, speak up, and feel less alone."

Weaponsofmassdisstortion It really is so stupid
  • replies: 1

For the last 3 hours or so, I have been self soothing. I have been listening to music and playing video games. I was upset. But what upset me you ask? Well it's actually quite stupid; You see I like to create things. I make tshirt designs. I compose ... View more

For the last 3 hours or so, I have been self soothing. I have been listening to music and playing video games. I was upset. But what upset me you ask? Well it's actually quite stupid; You see I like to create things. I make tshirt designs. I compose short clips of music(something I discovered completley by accident). I write short stories. I make videos. I am trying to get back into 3d modelling/animation. And recently I have wanted to start making little mobile games. I thought that would be fun. I have tried to install and launch Unity. Many times. Eventually I just gave up. I told someone about this, and their answer was to try and install Unreal Engine. Well I tried that too, and it wouldn't launch. I decided to just use GoDot. It is not as advanced but I installed it and had it running in under 4 minutes. The thing is, I kind of don't really expect anything to go my way. And this one small incident just reminds me of every other time things didn't go my way. I am always scared of trying new things. Don't get me wrong I do them eventually. But it takes me a long time to even motivate myself to move towards any goal, because I am so used to being dissapointed. I just kind of looked at this current event (though it was insignificant) and threw it on the pile of all my other dissapointments. Then I just kind of stood there and admired how big the pile really was.Anyway, feel free to call me an idiot. I'm not starving or cold or in any immediate danger. I should probably delete this. Please don't hesitate to chew me out over how ridicoulsly dumb this really all is.

SucculentQueen Why can't isolated people connect?
  • replies: 5

So many of us are isolated and lonely so why can't we connect?Depressed and alone + depressed and alone = connection.Why is this sum untrue?

So many of us are isolated and lonely so why can't we connect?Depressed and alone + depressed and alone = connection.Why is this sum untrue?

L0st_mys3lf When one door closes another door opens
  • replies: 1

Some people say that when a door closes, everything behind it should be left there. When another door opens, it should lead to new beginnings, not back to old pain.Our relationship ended once. We spent a month apart before finding our way back to eac... View more

Some people say that when a door closes, everything behind it should be left there. When another door opens, it should lead to new beginnings, not back to old pain.Our relationship ended once. We spent a month apart before finding our way back to each other. We reconciled, but we continued living separately. Three years later, our relationship is stronger in many ways, and now he wants to make our future together official.The truth is, I love him. But loving someone doesn't erase the fear of being hurt again.My family knows about our relationship, and I can feel the unspoken tension. I often feel that they believe I should be with someone else. He feels that tension too whenever he's around my family, and seeing him uncomfortable hurts me just as much.Even though we both live independently and have our own homes, I constantly find myself asking, "Should I, or shouldn't I?" Deep down, I don't think we've always been completely honest with each other. We both recognise the flaws in our relationship, yet we continue holding on because we don't want to let each other go.The hardest part has been the dishonesty surrounding finances. Trust is difficult to rebuild once it's been broken.Our social life often revolves around going out for dinner and then we tried on the poker machines. In the beginning, We won what felt like a lot of money, and those early experiences gave us hope that we could do it again. Over time, though, what started as entertainment slowly became a habit.Sometimes love isn't the hardest part. The hardest part is accepting that a healthy future requires trust, honesty, accountability, and the courage to break patterns that no longer serve either person.

Duke_dbz I don’t know how to move forward anymore
  • replies: 1

For the past four or five years, I feel like I have been surviving rather than living.I moved to Australia with the hope of building a stable life and career. I completed my master’s degree, kept working, applied for jobs, attended interviews, learne... View more

For the past four or five years, I feel like I have been surviving rather than living.I moved to Australia with the hope of building a stable life and career. I completed my master’s degree, kept working, applied for jobs, attended interviews, learned new skills and tried to do everything people tell migrants to do. But despite all of that, I still haven’t been able to find stable work in the field I studied for.Recently, I came extremely close to securing a proper Data Analyst role. I cleared multiple interview stages, completed an assignment and reached the final round. I genuinely believed that this might finally be the opportunity that changed my situation. When I was rejected at the end, it broke something in me. It wasn’t just another rejection. It felt like losing the life and stability I had imagined would come with it.During these years, I have also dealt with multiple health problems and surgeries. I reached nearly 190 kg at my heaviest, lost more than 80 kg, went through bariatric surgery, complications and further surgery. I have fought addiction, stopped drinking and tried repeatedly to rebuild myself physically and mentally.I know I have survived a lot, but I am tired of only being told that I am strong. I don’t want my entire life to be about how much pain I can tolerate.Financially, I am struggling. I am a migrant without access to Medicare, and professional mental health support can cost an enormous amount. When you are already broke and trying to cover rent, bills, food and debt, paying hundreds of dollars for therapy does not feel realistically possible.I currently do part-time work and things like Uber or rideshare to survive. I understand that work is work, and I am grateful that I have some way to earn money, but doing this indefinitely feels like a prison. Every day is about making enough to survive the next week, without getting closer to the career or life I came here to build.I feel stuck between not wanting to leave Australia and being unable to find a sustainable way to stay. Going back feels like giving up on everything I sacrificed to come here, but continuing like this is exhausting me financially, emotionally and mentally.The loneliness makes everything worse. I don’t have a partner or a strong support system around me every day. People often give advice, but much of it comes from people who have never had to deal with migration, visa uncertainty, financial pressure, health problems and repeated career rejection all at the same time.I am not asking for motivational quotes or to be told to “just keep applying.” I have been doing that. I am asking for honest advice from anyone who has been trapped in a similar survival cycle and eventually found a way forward.How did you rebuild your life when you were exhausted, broke and unsure whether the country you had chosen still had a place for you? How do you decide whether to keep fighting, change careers, move countries or start again?Right now, I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore. I am trying to hold on and find a path that gives me more than just another week of survival. I could really use some understanding, support and practical advice.

One_More_Day Total Disconnect
  • replies: 7

Years of no connection - lost friends, family, job, house, massive weight gain unable to get out of bed with zero motivation, a total void of hopeless incapacitated existence. Deep gried loss and sadness unable to get back to basics. Despair, useless... View more

Years of no connection - lost friends, family, job, house, massive weight gain unable to get out of bed with zero motivation, a total void of hopeless incapacitated existence. Deep gried loss and sadness unable to get back to basics. Despair, useless lonely loser with no prospects - happiness and meaning gone. Impossible alone. Too far gone now. Curl up and hide all courage lost all will away in bed every day unable to hold a job anymore. In family home about to be sold then nowhere. A burden, a waste, out for the count. Doctors, medication nothing working anymore. Hour after hour days weeks months years alone, totally alone.

Lilly18 Help
  • replies: 6

Can I hear what you'd do if you were me. I feel like I have exhausted all options to treat my depression. Has anyone ever got better from depression? I really need help i cant function.

Can I hear what you'd do if you were me. I feel like I have exhausted all options to treat my depression. Has anyone ever got better from depression? I really need help i cant function.

Happydays Depression Sucks
  • replies: 1

Hi Ive had depression most of my life and it sucks It’s hard when you have trouble dealing with it It’s not like a bad mood where you normally come out of it in a reasonable timeframe Sometimes I can be doing things I actually enjoy and still be depr... View more

Hi Ive had depression most of my life and it sucks It’s hard when you have trouble dealing with it It’s not like a bad mood where you normally come out of it in a reasonable timeframe Sometimes I can be doing things I actually enjoy and still be depressed How does that work Hard on people around you as well

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