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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 chats on this Forum having 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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Amon Feeling hopeless
  • replies: 5

I have had major periods of depression before but managed to recover through time. Recently I had what felt like anxiety/dread feelings related to stress I was having at work. That then started persistent anxiety which has then also caused depression... View more

I have had major periods of depression before but managed to recover through time. Recently I had what felt like anxiety/dread feelings related to stress I was having at work. That then started persistent anxiety which has then also caused depression. I pushed through work for a month and right when I felt like I was getting better wham another dread episode. Now I mix between dread/anxious/remuneration and depression. I took last week off work and tried to log in and do some things Friday and everything in my mind was resisting it. I have a young family and am the bread winner and the fear that I can't work or do the job is causing me insane amounts of depression/anxiety. I changed my meds 5 weeks ago ssri and have been managing bad days with benz but I feel like I need to get better otherwise my world is going to come falling down around me lose my job or my family. I'm seeing a pshyc and have appt with pshycistrist this week but just feels like this is all taking to long for me to be functional again. Just looking for some advice or encouragement as I feel like the walls are closing in around me

Numb .
  • replies: 1

Hello. That's me. Empty, a mere insignificant dot. I hold no value, I have no purpose, just slowly self destructing. Estranged from my siblings and at the mercy of gossip. My mother is a dependent elderly. She dotes on my two elder siblings and not o... View more

Hello. That's me. Empty, a mere insignificant dot. I hold no value, I have no purpose, just slowly self destructing. Estranged from my siblings and at the mercy of gossip. My mother is a dependent elderly. She dotes on my two elder siblings and not only trusts but relies on them to do everything for her. Over the years, my offer to help Mum, is met with her scoff, distain and refusal. Always stating that my siblings will do it! I eventually wrote my siblings stating my situation and why I've been unable to help ease their burdens. That I will no longer offer, as it now comes across as pleading or begging to prove myself worthy. To this day, when others ask where I am and why I don't pull my weight, neither sibling will explain that I am continually rejected by our mother. My name is mud amongst both immediate and extended family. Tongues wag, but no one asks me what's going on. I've been judged and sentenced. I can no longer cope. I no longer have a voice. I am neither seen nor heard. Forgotten and ignored. My mother is very good at creating rifts and pitting one child against the other. I am very good at allowing myself to be the target. When I do stand up for myself, their shackles are raised and they're the victim and I am the nasty one. I am lonely, dead inside, and wondering why the heck am I still on this planet!!! Sorry to vent.

Fiz Left alcohol in public - struggling with guilt
  • replies: 2

Hi, folks. I went shopping one Friday and absent-mindedly left a small bottle of vodka at the bus shop when going home. I only realised once I was home. By the time I got back there, it was gone. I'm struggling with feelings of shame/guilt, as I'm wo... View more

Hi, folks. I went shopping one Friday and absent-mindedly left a small bottle of vodka at the bus shop when going home. I only realised once I was home. By the time I got back there, it was gone. I'm struggling with feelings of shame/guilt, as I'm worried that a teen may have taken it and drunk the lot. My mind's been racing with worst-case scenarios. It's been over a week and I can't stop beating myself up. The worst part is I'll never know what would've happened. Can anyone help me; or can you share similar experiences? Thanks.

Sunflower23 Tough times
  • replies: 1

Struggling with life at the moment. I've had to move a few times this year. Facing homelessness. I feel a sense of hopelessness and I can't function like usual. I feel anxious about the future.

Struggling with life at the moment. I've had to move a few times this year. Facing homelessness. I feel a sense of hopelessness and I can't function like usual. I feel anxious about the future.

Tomato_ I just want someone to care
  • replies: 2

Hi I go by tomato , I’ve never used this before so I’m not quite sure but I’ll try it. I’m not sure if this is because of my depression or anxiety or OCD but I thought it would be best to share it here. My friend has not been responding to any of my ... View more

Hi I go by tomato , I’ve never used this before so I’m not quite sure but I’ll try it. I’m not sure if this is because of my depression or anxiety or OCD but I thought it would be best to share it here. My friend has not been responding to any of my texts. Not when I said happy birthday or when I asked if she was ok. I asked my friends if she was responding to them and she has been every day. When my friend texted happy birthday she got the response I love you. And it’s made me feel like she doesn’t care and I was worried she was mad at me. Finally she responded to me today and I was super happy. She was even meeting one of my other friends at school so I went to see her. She didn’t even look happy to see me and went straight to talking to my other friend. No hi. No smile. Now I feel like she doesn’t care again. Like hello you see her every week and haven’t seen me in months. I’m literally staying alive for her and she doesn’t care. Now I feel terrible and can’t get anything done cus I think my life is pointless and no one cares about me. But literally no one does and what’s the point? I seriously can’t deal with anything anymore. Dw I’m all good and safe tho. Wish I could actually talk to my psychiatrist about any of this but I never can. I’ve only just started being able to type stuff out on my phone and show him which is helping. Anyway thats it

Guest_41275303 Extremely sad after loosing my best friend
  • replies: 1

Hi all, I lost my fur baby last year, which at being 36years old and unmarried with no kids. He was my baby. I also have a chronic illness which I’ve been fighting for 15 years. Lately I’ve just felt worthless and very sad. I have no time for anyone ... View more

Hi all, I lost my fur baby last year, which at being 36years old and unmarried with no kids. He was my baby. I also have a chronic illness which I’ve been fighting for 15 years. Lately I’ve just felt worthless and very sad. I have no time for anyone and could easily get in the car and drive away from it all. I also have huge pressure from my family with no support from them. I was diagnosed with depression 13 years ago. And I thought I was doing well, but now that I’ve lost my baby it’s showing its ugly face again. Does anyone feel like the world is just sitting on them and there is no escape from all the pressure and sadness. My friend is urging me to see a Dr to get some help. But I’m just scared that they will reject my issues and say it’s all in my head.

Cate65 Worried about daughter
  • replies: 2

I'm hoping for some advice regarding our 24 year old daughter. She lacks motivation has gained a significant amount of weight over the past few months, does no exercise and has not been able to sleep the last few nights. I've tried to get her to just... View more

I'm hoping for some advice regarding our 24 year old daughter. She lacks motivation has gained a significant amount of weight over the past few months, does no exercise and has not been able to sleep the last few nights. I've tried to get her to just go for a short walk each day focusing on the health benefit both mentally and physically (without mentioning her weight at all) and tried to educate her on the benefits of eating healthy again not mentioning her weight gain. Both my Mother and sister had bipolar so I am very aware of the symptoms of mental illness. Should she go to a GP first or would seeking help from a psychologist be our first option? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

EmiJ I don’t know how to justify my existence anymore.
  • replies: 13

So for the last eight years I feel that along with losing my youth I have just destroyed any hope of ever achieving even the smallest of my once great dreams.I am a constant job hopper due to hoping that I will finally find a place where I won’t feel... View more

So for the last eight years I feel that along with losing my youth I have just destroyed any hope of ever achieving even the smallest of my once great dreams.I am a constant job hopper due to hoping that I will finally find a place where I won’t feel like an incompetent embarrassment. I am unreliable due to always being physically ill. I just want to be a reliable and competent employee with consistency but I have never been able to achieve this.I share a house with an older sibling and accept that they are who they are but I feel like the maid who is treated however they feel depending on how they are feeling. Honestly I am also scared of them . I need cleanliness and organisation to thrive but they constantly mess up my efforts with zero care about the effect it has on me. Yet I am always expected to give way to and be conscientious of anything that may upset them. My home life greatly affects my physical and mental health but I can’t afford to live on my own unless I can hold down a job which I can’t seem to do due to my home life it’s a constant vicious circle.I can’t keep existing like this but I also can see no way out. I feel like I have exhausted myself with trying and just feel like a waste of a life. I honestly hate myself for what I have done to my life.

OllieA_TransKid Why do I feel this way...?
  • replies: 3

I always feel as if i have to put on a smile for everyone. It's getting more difficult and people know about my mental health issues. I need advice to put on the mask again so people can stop worrying about me, and I feel like a burden. I just want i... View more

I always feel as if i have to put on a smile for everyone. It's getting more difficult and people know about my mental health issues. I need advice to put on the mask again so people can stop worrying about me, and I feel like a burden. I just want it to stop. My ex gf is harassing me online, keeps telling people i'm a bad person, she keeps sharing my personal info online like my birth name, my phone number, and my age. I have had 2 unknown numbers call me and say I am a bad person. I need the harassment to stop. She keeps telling people abt my life and is spreading lies abt me to her online friends who are doxxing me as well. I've blocked my ex on everything but she is still putting things in her roblox bio saying that i need to grow up, how she's "moved on" (she clearly hasn't if she's still talking about it) ect. and its just turned into harassment in my point of view. Idk if i should report her to the police bc she is threatening violence on my friends, bc i have a new partner and we told our friends to stay quiet about it bc i know my ex has very... violent tendances, lets js say, and they wont tell my ex if me nd my partner are together or not. When she does this to me, and is now harassing my friends, it makes me feel disappointed that I had dragged them into this, and now they're being threatened, as well. I know they aren't blaming me, but i feel like they should bc I technically brought this upon them, I was the one who had to ruin it. And if u haven't been reading my other posts, My ex is the one who broke up with ME and is now playing the victim... and the worst part, you might ask? She's blaming it on me...(JOKE) Thank you for listening to my TedTalk.

resistor A heavy depression
  • replies: 3

Hi. I am in a very hard depression cycle right now. I have been seeing my mental health councillor for seven months now but I'm still unsure if it's helping. I have dark days that last three to ten days. my doctor knows about my moods. I'm open about... View more

Hi. I am in a very hard depression cycle right now. I have been seeing my mental health councillor for seven months now but I'm still unsure if it's helping. I have dark days that last three to ten days. my doctor knows about my moods. I'm open about them in my sessions. Sometimes I self harm to pull myself out of the spiral. They know about my s/h too. How else can I get help if I am already on the maximum medication and have talk therapy once a month? How do I recognize when I need to switch doctors? I don't want to start from scratch with a new psychiatrist as it's a tough process and I don't want to risk losing progress for nothing. I worry when I feel this hopeless. do I internalize my emotions too much? I don't have any other way to express how I feel outside our sessions. Any advice, please. I'm desperate.