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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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javalava13 Can't even open up to my psych
  • replies: 4

I don't really know where to start or what to say here but pretty much I've had depression my whole life (I'm 24 now) and developed a lot more anxious thoughts/behaviours in the past few years. I saw a psychologist for a few years during uni but stop... View more

I don't really know where to start or what to say here but pretty much I've had depression my whole life (I'm 24 now) and developed a lot more anxious thoughts/behaviours in the past few years. I saw a psychologist for a few years during uni but stopped finding it very useful speaking to her so stopped seeing her mid 2020. I felt she often focused on my chronic health issues as being the root of a lot of my mental health issues (which I didn't really want to hear at the time - something I'm still learning to accept) and my sessions would generally end up being centred around this. I've had a difficult couple of years (as everyone has) so I've started speaking to a different psychologist for the past few months which I've found quite useful. I still don't know if I went about this the wrong way and I regret not having a discussion with my old psychologist about why I was no longer finding our sessions useful. Anyway, re my current psychologist - I find it so difficult to talk about anything remotely emotional/personal with anyone because i wasn't raised in a super open family, and although i find it easier talking to a psychologist, I still can't open up about my major issues and am so scared of being judged. I know a lot of people find it difficult to open up but i'm just wondering if anyone has any advice? I can talk about specific things that have happened between sessions to make me feel the way I do but I have never opened up about how much I hate myself and other more serious things I need to deal with. I also am so sensitive to/receptive of other peoples' response to whatever I say so whenever I open up to my psychologist and she responds in a surprising way or looks remotely judgemental, I get really uncomfortable and close down. I usually manage to get around this and still feel a lot of benefit from these sessions but I had an appt today and I have left feeling more down than ever and like such a failure and awful person. I won't go into exactly what made me feel so down and I do think often she may not think anything of a situation I am mulling over, but I just want to learn to be less sensitive to other people's reactions so any conversation doesn't cause me to have these feelings because they drag me down so, so much, but at the same time I think I am such a selfish person so think I need to listen to these voices in my head and be so conscious of not hurting anyone. I really appreciate anyone who has read this.

Shanthan Coping with Depression - my 2nd thread
  • replies: 7

Hello all, As mentioned in my previous thread, I'm still fighting Anxiety and Depression. I want to express a few of my thoughts during my fight with mental illness. It's been almost a year since I realised something's wrong with me. Along the way, I... View more

Hello all, As mentioned in my previous thread, I'm still fighting Anxiety and Depression. I want to express a few of my thoughts during my fight with mental illness. It's been almost a year since I realised something's wrong with me. Along the way, I always had heaps of questions for myself and the people I interacted with. A few of those questions I would like to mention below; 1. Why do I hate myself? 2. Why do I care about everyone else and not myself? 3. Why don't they care about me? 4. How are the others coping with all the drama in their lives? 5. Am I the only one who's mentally weak like this? Six and the main one. Why should I live? I don't think it's worth it. Eventually, I have come to answer all those questions to myself, even if they are correct or not. I realised I don't hate myself; I hate that I'm weak right now, and maybe, if I give it some time, I will improve. I realised I care about others because it is Human nature, and there is nothing wrong with it. And why I don't care about myself? I don't have an answer for that yet. Why don't they care about me? Maybe they do, and I just made up some unrealistic expectations that aren't possible for them to reach. I also realised that I'm not the only one going through this. There are millions of them, and everyone is fighting hard to overcome that. And the last question, six and the main one. Why should I live? I don't think it's worth it. I still feel like this sometimes whenever I can't handle the negative thoughts. But, at some corner, I find a light that directs me into a little bit of positivity. I hope I don't lose that positivity. Thank you.

Alex_F Managing Depression...
  • replies: 2

I have dysthymia, a term from the DSM-IV I prefer to use over its DSM-V equivalent, "Persistent Depressive Disorder" (because many people tend to be more familiar with it). It's a form of depression distinguishable from major depressive disorder prin... View more

I have dysthymia, a term from the DSM-IV I prefer to use over its DSM-V equivalent, "Persistent Depressive Disorder" (because many people tend to be more familiar with it). It's a form of depression distinguishable from major depressive disorder principally by the facts that it tends to be more moderate in severity, and that it tends to manifest itself less episodically and more constantly (this is in part why people have been lead to think of people with dysthymia as having "depressive personalities"). That said, I do have episodes of more high-moderate to severe depression, but they're relatively short - typically lasting a few days to a week or so at most. I'm a 22-year-old male, by the way, and have been mood-disordered in this way since around the age of 12-13, or thereabouts. I'm medicated with SSRIs, but even with their aid I still struggle. My mother and one of my two younger brothers are also on SSRIs. I suppose, the reason I am creating this thread is because I would like some input from anybody who might care to give it on the fact that I not merely doubt the idea that I am possessed of the strength of character to live a good life with this mood disorder of mine constantly lurking in the background, in need of being fended off, but also that - even if I were strong enough to succeed in having a good life despite my depression - it would be worth doing at all. After all, my depression and my failures to properly manage it - and the ensuing consequences - have set me back in life quite a bit. I'm intellectually capable of higher education, and was admitted to university, but am no longer an enrolled student. Basically, the problems by which my situation is characterised can be summed up as follows: Depressed on and off since the age of about 12-13. It seems to run in the family. Addicted to nicotine (gum and cigarettes). Tumultuous, love-hate relationship with parents. Still living at home and off of a) my parents (yes, I am a burden), and b) Centrelink's disability support pension (i.e. DSP). Unemployed. Not formally educated past the high-school level. No driver's license or vehicle (though I have been on my Ls for about 3 months; it took me more than half a decade of exposure therapy to rid myself of the anxiety I had about driving - plus, I was too immature and irresponsible back when I was 16). This affects my eligibility for certain work or apprenticeships/traineeships, because often reliable transport is required. Advice would be good...

Ray27 Freshly out of school and lost in life
  • replies: 9

Have just graduated school last year. The New Year hasn’t been the worst for me, as I have been able to earn a bit of money and by myself a new car. However I am not at all enjoying my job, constantly clashing with people at my workplace. I also got ... View more

Have just graduated school last year. The New Year hasn’t been the worst for me, as I have been able to earn a bit of money and by myself a new car. However I am not at all enjoying my job, constantly clashing with people at my workplace. I also got dumped by girlfriend of 3 years due to distance which I admit was tough but I am moving on. Point is that I feel like I am already lost at the early stage of my life. I am not going out and socialising as much as i used to, and feel isolated as I live in a rural area. Hoping for advice on whether to tough it out, or to look after myself and go and start a new job in a new town whilst sacrificing income to give myself a chance to be happy.

ratcat New user, longtime sufferer
  • replies: 4

I've been suffering with Depression for over 20 years now. I'm in my early 60's and live alone and no immediate family. I've gone through the trauma of my younger brother being killed by a drunk driver, watched my Father pass away with dementia and f... View more

I've been suffering with Depression for over 20 years now. I'm in my early 60's and live alone and no immediate family. I've gone through the trauma of my younger brother being killed by a drunk driver, watched my Father pass away with dementia and finally took care of my mother by myself at home for the past 5 years. She passed away late last year in December with Parkinson's Disease. This week, a long distance relationship has gone sour and quite frankly I don't remember feeling this bad with depression and anxiety. I have made an appointment with a GP for this Tuesday. I've been usingmedication at the same dosage for most of the 20 years. Do antidepressants need to be changed after long periods of use? I'm worried about long term effects of medication and or withdrawal symptoms if change is required. Should I be looking at changing meds? I feel terrible.

Oscar5320 I’m really scared
  • replies: 4

Over the last few days I have probably had the worst days of my life and I didn’t know where else to go. I am a 21 year old and I lost my girlfriend and brother in the same week and I can’t handle it anymore but for some reason typing everything down... View more

Over the last few days I have probably had the worst days of my life and I didn’t know where else to go. I am a 21 year old and I lost my girlfriend and brother in the same week and I can’t handle it anymore but for some reason typing everything down seems to Make it hurt 1% less I just can’t do this anymore. I’m just so scared to what happens next.

me12345 depressed and wanna let stuff out... feel free to do so too
  • replies: 5

I have bad depression and anxiety, I see a psychologist for it but it's recently gotten a lot worse so I've started going on antidepressants. I'm not one to open up about things so for a long time I was letting everything build up, pretending that I ... View more

I have bad depression and anxiety, I see a psychologist for it but it's recently gotten a lot worse so I've started going on antidepressants. I'm not one to open up about things so for a long time I was letting everything build up, pretending that I was fine but in reality, I was really depressed with nobody knowing. It started to get harder to hide and eventually my mum sort of realised and now here I am. It's not that I like being depressed because we all know that it's a horrible feeling, but I like feeling sad. It's my comfort space and it's what I'm used and I think this is one of the reasons as to why I can't recover/start to feel better. I like to cry because I'm so beyond sad and I like when it's a cold rainy day and I all I do is lay in bed the whole day because I have zero motivation and I really really hate myself. I've only just started going on antidepressants and it's been really rough, it hasn't made me feel any better or worse but it's made my anxiety get worse and I really hate it. What my mum doesn't seem to understand is that the antidepressants aren't actually doing anything to my depression (she thinks they're making it worse). This is how I have always felt and always been but she is actually just seeing it whereas before I would bottle it all up and hide away in my room. I'm finding it annoying because it makes it feel like how I feel and all this sadness I have isn't valid which I don't like. There are some things that I wish my mum could understand and I get that she is trying to help but sometimes I just want to be left alone and at the moment that is all I want. I'm not sure if this is making any sense or if anybody is actually going to read this but yeah.

Froggy_you Am I depressed?
  • replies: 3

There’s so much going on I don’t even know where to begin. From living with an unreasonable partner to feeling so useless, I have a lot of crap going on in my life. My social anxiety has been getting so bad. Im giving interviews but my anxiety catche... View more

There’s so much going on I don’t even know where to begin. From living with an unreasonable partner to feeling so useless, I have a lot of crap going on in my life. My social anxiety has been getting so bad. Im giving interviews but my anxiety catches up during the video calls and I end up messing it all up so I’m not getting any jobs. Secondly, I learnt that everything I have done up until now in my career did not equip me for a proper job in the field so I have to start all over again. And I’m 31!!!! I moved to Australia a couple months ago so everything is new to me. I have no friends to spend time with. My cat died because of my moms carelessness back at home. I feel so lethargic that I literally don’t want to do anything at all! I have to learn some things career wise but I cannot get started. I just cannot bring myself to doing anything besides doing chores. I also have a messed up sleep pattern. It’s hard for me to both go to sleep as well as wake up and I never feel well rested even when I wake up. I don’t do much but I am still low on energy and it’s like, I don’t understand what’s happening with my body. I’m also extremes self critical about myself. Today I had a breakdown because I realised that I don’t have what it takes to just do the things I want. I keep envying the people who do what they do without worrying what people will think. I’m constantly worried about if I am making myself look stupid. It’s so difficult to even put my feelings in words at this time. I know this post is all over the place but I don’t want to think too much, I just want to put it out there and ask what you guys would do to cope with this kind of situation. I am so lost. I use to take meds for anxiety a couple of year back but I stopped and idk if I should be taking more.

Living57 Overwhelming depression
  • replies: 8

Since Easter i have been struggling with depression that seems to be getting heavier and heavier. I live in one state where a daughter and son-in-law live, I have another daughter, son-in-law and grandsons in another state. My struggle is wanting to ... View more

Since Easter i have been struggling with depression that seems to be getting heavier and heavier. I live in one state where a daughter and son-in-law live, I have another daughter, son-in-law and grandsons in another state. My struggle is wanting to be available for both of them. I've started thinking about moving house so that I live halfway between the two. Im only daunts me due cost and finding accommodation, I currently live in government housing its beautiful, I'm the first tenant here I dont know what to do. I'm also dealing with a sexual assault, the ongoing investigation, its left me isolated, confined to my house, I no longer trust the police, people, crowds etc Im not getting more than 3-4 hours sleep at night, my brain just doesn't shut off. I have to remind myself to eat. I struggle with mental health, childhood abuse and sexual assault my depression, anxiety CPTSD worse. It is totally debilitating, even the simplest things are hard. It takes away my ability to accomplish anything, I start but can't finish. I've spoken to my Dr, who I have a lot of trust in. I used to see a psych about the sexual assault but have stopped as I dont think its making much difference, I'm still having nightmares and flashbacks, after 2 years I feel I'm wasting his time. The one thing that's a constant in my life is taking my meds. As I said to my Dr im too bloody scared of what might happen if I stopped. I'm tired of the pain and struggle and trauma and rejection and loss. I'm tired of knowing that no matter how hard I tried, I was never healthy, never whole, never able to do the things I wanted to do, never had a real life. It's too much and I don't want to do it anymore. But I will, because I have to, just like when I was a child, when I thought it would all be better when I grew up, but now I know I will never grow up, not in the parts that hurt, that are unwanted, that are and always will be a tiny creature crying out with unmet needs. That's what I was born to and will never escape from. I find I'm thinking about death a lot, making sure all my papers etc are altogether. That people know where they are., but I'm not actively thinking about ending my life its just an overwhelming feeling of being trapped with memories of hurt and pain, unloved and unwanted. I have told my Dr this as well. I am really at a loss of where to turn or what to do. I go to bed at night and dread the dark hours that will lead to another day the same as the one before.

JS2000 Depression and grievance of my dog
  • replies: 3

Hi everyone, I'm a 14 year old kid and last saturday my 11 year old dog passed away, I've struggled with sadness partially throughout the last years but this has really pushed it to a limit, I cry whenever I see something that reminds me of her, and ... View more

Hi everyone, I'm a 14 year old kid and last saturday my 11 year old dog passed away, I've struggled with sadness partially throughout the last years but this has really pushed it to a limit, I cry whenever I see something that reminds me of her, and I feel so guilty that I wasnt able to hug her one last time before she passed. I wish I could have told her its going to be alright but she passed away in the night while we were sleeping. I am still in shock and I don't know what to do with myself, it is constant sadness right now and when I go downstairs and see anywhere she liked to sit or anything that she used to enjoy like dog toys, her food, her bed, I just break down. If anyone has anything I can do or any tips please help. Thank you.