Immediate support
Immediate support

People like me

When it comes to mental health experiences, identity is important. Take the opportunity to connect with people dealing with similar issues.

Start a discussion
Start a discussion

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Categories
Young people

A space for people aged 12-25 to discuss life. If you’re over 25, please be mindful that this is a space for younger people to connect.

Karioshi Tired Of Life
  • replies: 6

Hello, my name is Steven im 24 & on the cusp about seeing life for what it is or just the old aww your just depressed so & so as most individuals would probably go along with just to put a label on you. Everyday when i wake up, the first thought's th... View more

Hello, my name is Steven im 24 & on the cusp about seeing life for what it is or just the old aww your just depressed so & so as most individuals would probably go along with just to put a label on you. Everyday when i wake up, the first thought's that come to mind are "oh great another pointless day again🙄" gotta get ready, gotta hygienise myself, gotta eat/drink, gotta play dress up, gotta drive all the way to work & when I get to work, i gotta pretend that im a yes man to work in order to keep it, & make constant small talk all the time to avoid being excluded & risk of job loss. Seriously why are we forced to jump thru so many hoops just to have a decent simple life, life just is but not to sound biased tho it seems humans just make it more harder. i always hear people constantly boasting on radio, on billboards, on television, in groups, sign's of saying "look up & live" look up to the future. I just get so sick & fed up of acting like all of this is normal & aww thats just life so quit complaing & deal with it, like what so wrong with saying life today is not okay when it isnt. Yes we might have the sky, the clouds, the oceans, nature, wildlife, food & water, make life for what you make of it as ive been told thru out my life, but are we really living? Is going to a job you hate everyday just to make ends meet living or just surviving as usual, as thats what kind of seems to be with the majority & if you dont want to participate you get threatened of not having income & a way of means of not providing for yourself. All im saying is life could be better for all, instead alot of folks just wanna extract & reap resources for themselves while the others live with scraps & get paid penny's on the dollar, worrying all the time how am I gonna pay for my mortgage or rent, or utilities, provide for my offspring. As negative as this sounds which probably does depending on the person, how else am I supposed to explain without hurting anybody's feelings, i can't just keep on tiptoeing for the rest of my life pretending everything's okay all the time because its not. If everybody was so content & thankful for their roles, then why are they still unhappy, then they want to bring somebody here & have them go thru the same thing just to keep them company & not have a care in the world what he or she would experience in this life because as long as they're getting what they want, to hell with them. For instance i hear parents saying i want to give my young ones a brighter future, I dont them to suffer like I did. Please make it make sense, because not of this really does.

Guest_07716142 How do you cope with the worry of never being able to buy your own home or live without a housemate?
  • replies: 3

My lease ends in the new year and I've been trying so save as much as I can to get a house deposit with my partner, but no matter how much I save the price keeps going up and now I may need to find a new rental as well because they could be selling. ... View more

My lease ends in the new year and I've been trying so save as much as I can to get a house deposit with my partner, but no matter how much I save the price keeps going up and now I may need to find a new rental as well because they could be selling. I'm just feeling very overwhelmed and stressed that I'll never get to that next chapter in my life and that i could possibly be bringing my partner down too due to my income.

kittyclaws23 wanting to cut off a friendship
  • replies: 5

Hi,I am turning 17 this year, and I have a best friend who we can call M. M is the same age as me and we have been friends for 6 years at this point. But recently the start of the year, I feel as though I don't want to be as close friends with her. T... View more

Hi,I am turning 17 this year, and I have a best friend who we can call M. M is the same age as me and we have been friends for 6 years at this point. But recently the start of the year, I feel as though I don't want to be as close friends with her. This is due to three main reasons. 1. She had a habit since we were in year 7 to copy off me. This escalated into her straight up asking me to make her cheatsheets in math instead of helping and submitting my english homework as her own. 2. I understand she is going through a hard time currently and struggling with her mental health. I don't know if she means to be hurtful to me but sometimes it feels as though she is trying to embarrass me. She vents a lot and I vented to, and we have never told anyone what we told each other which I appreciate and respect. She genuinely just doesn't listen to advice I give her sometimes, I would tell her that she should try a different approach or maybe be wary of this person.3. She invites herself to plans I make with others. It genuinely has reached a point where I don't want to tell her I hung out with other friends because she'll jokingly asked why she wasn't invited and whatnot and make a deal out of it, or if she does invite herself, she changes the plans to match what she has in mind.BUT I am no better. While some situations I have communicated that she should stop doing this, it takes another three times for her to actually listen. I think I brought up stepping back slightly in our friendship in the past, but that never really changed anything. I'm tired of communicating, and I will acknowledge that makes me a bad friend because if I really cared about this friendship I would communicate. I also am friends with somebody who I told M I was mad at because this friend ignored me but apologised and now we are friends again, which is fake of me. I also vented to a friend about this (I will call them E), I was crying over the phone. The whole reason I started venting is because E off-handedly said that M was talking to her and said "Oh trust me you don't want (me) in your english class." Then followed up with a joke reason. I don't know why I started crying but I told E that I helped M so much in english it hurt to hear that. But I still shouldn't have vented because Iooking back I feel like I have no right to vent because I am just as bad as M.I really need advice on what to do because I have a year of highschool with M left and am wondering if its worth worrying over.

Sexuality and gender identity

Peer support and conversations about anxiety, depression and other issues in the mental health space affecting LGBTQI+ people.

Guest_28589019 NEED SOME ADVICE
  • replies: 2

Hi ive recently been informed that my adult son of 29 who is married, has 2 children one aged 2 and one aged 7 weeks has secretly dressing as a woman , his wife has known about this and has asked him to stop. He has started lying, about his activity ... View more

Hi ive recently been informed that my adult son of 29 who is married, has 2 children one aged 2 and one aged 7 weeks has secretly dressing as a woman , his wife has known about this and has asked him to stop. He has started lying, about his activity and has now posted photos online and his,wife has caught him out. The trust has obviously been broken in the marriage and having 2 small children my daughter n law is angry, hurt , stressed. My son has advised he knows he has in his words messed up and can seem stop doing this, he wants to get help to repair his marriage. Im dealing with the shock of this announcement and am struggling to give the advice that they both need. Ive suggested counselling, ive told my son I love him and support him and want to help him, and I also want to do this for my daughter n law as well , I just dont know where I can get the information, help organisations etc to support them both. Any help or suggestions would help immensely as I navigate through this difficult situation within my family

Isme1234 Am I gay
  • replies: 4

I am so confused! for the past few years my labido has reduced. partially from prostate cancer treated with radiation. and partly from lost trust due to ex wife’s infidelities. before that i was a very sexual person. i did have my curiosity for same ... View more

I am so confused! for the past few years my labido has reduced. partially from prostate cancer treated with radiation. and partly from lost trust due to ex wife’s infidelities. before that i was a very sexual person. i did have my curiosity for same sex and after a few years of being single I gave in and tried sex with another man. the physical side was beyond amazing however I could not get that emotional connection. i am now remarried years later to opposite gender and love the intimacy however I don’t seem to be able to be aroused with her. I have seen specialist and have been told it’s all in my head so that leaves me to question myself AM I GAY???

waffle_puppy I feel like I'd like to be a boy?
  • replies: 1

Hi again! So recently I've been questioning my gender for a few weeks, and I've asked myself various questions such as "Would it be better for me?" or "Would I be happier in my body?" and I honestly feel as if I could be free if I was a boy. Every ti... View more

Hi again! So recently I've been questioning my gender for a few weeks, and I've asked myself various questions such as "Would it be better for me?" or "Would I be happier in my body?" and I honestly feel as if I could be free if I was a boy. Every time I glance in the mirror, I don't see a girl as I used to anymore; and I feel like a boy is staring back at me, or at least I'd like to see that one day. I've begun to feel uncomfortable with my body and every single time I wear something feminine, or even get called "she" I feel absolutely horrendous and awful on the inside, or even being called by the name I was given makes me feel disgusted and sad. I'm afraid of the fact that my parents might hate me for wanting to be a boy, so I never told them; but I have last year as I felt the same way. The results? My dad said "Just wait for a while, maybe you'll change your mind." compared to my mom who said the same, but with nicer wording; so I kept it a secret for a while. Along with that, I'd really like to be called Colin as I feel like it'd suit me the best. However I just don't think I look like a boy enough, or that I might be deemed "strange" for a boy. I'm not sure though, however I just wanna be a boy who's there to support his friends through everything. Maybe I'll tell my parents when I'm 18, but despite that they told me I'm too young to think that I'd like to be a boy. What could I do? 😣

Multicultural experiences

Designed for members who were born overseas, have parents who were, speak a primary language that isn’t English or have mixed cultural heritage.

Vik888 Racism on the media
  • replies: 1

Hey all, I thought to express some thought here. I am of immigrant background Indian to be specific. I think the mental stress is just unbearable at this stage. Any tips how to get by and keep going when you are constantly abused for just trying to b... View more

Hey all, I thought to express some thought here. I am of immigrant background Indian to be specific. I think the mental stress is just unbearable at this stage. Any tips how to get by and keep going when you are constantly abused for just trying to be a "human" and get through life

Swaggerd98 Job Search Blues
  • replies: 3

Hey everyone, Glad to meet everyone on this forum (hope it's the right forum). I quit my full time job 2.5 months ago without a job in hand, and have been looking for a job in the same field. While I have time until next December to stay in Australia... View more

Hey everyone, Glad to meet everyone on this forum (hope it's the right forum). I quit my full time job 2.5 months ago without a job in hand, and have been looking for a job in the same field. While I have time until next December to stay in Australia and look for a job and have had some interviews, I have been living in constant stress and anxiety, wondering when my next opportunity will appear. I have been regretting the time I quit my job since it acted as golden handcuffs, even though the months leading up to the exit were rough, and I was experiencing stagnant growth from a salary standpoint. Every application rejection is playing with my patience, and is making me look desperate. I am afraid people will call me out for not getting a job. Is there anybody else that is or has experienced the same issue as me? I am keen to hear people's thoughts.

A-ly Lonely a lost purpose
  • replies: 1

Hi,I was a very passionate driven person when I was younger and achieved a lot in my passions as a teen/young adult and have been lucky enough to have experienced a lot of travel and success in my passion during those years. Since retiring that passi... View more

Hi,I was a very passionate driven person when I was younger and achieved a lot in my passions as a teen/young adult and have been lucky enough to have experienced a lot of travel and success in my passion during those years. Since retiring that passion 2 years ago (it was too physically and financially demanding so can't return) I have felt as though I have really lost myself. I don't really know who I am anymore, I feel as though I don't have any connections with anyone really anymore. Like all my group of friends have slowly drifted over the years as we all went in different directions with careers and they slowly started leaving me out to the point they don't include me anymore and I never understood why. I have one best friend who I love, but our connection just isn't the same at the moment, we are in completely different seasons of life to each other. I feel like I know a lot of people but can't make connections. I don't know where I belong anymore. I am 30, have no partner, not real sense of connections to anyone and struggle to make new ones. I just feel incredibly lonely, I don't know what my purpose in life is anymore and I just feel like I'm going through the motions every day eat work sleep repeat with no sense of direction or purpose anymore.

Grief and loss

Support and advice following the loss of a family member, partner, spouse or someone close to you.

Broken79 Grief. 10 years later.
  • replies: 2

Hey. I'm back again. I don't really know where to begin. All I know is I want it to end.The lonliness and feelings of being lost in a foreign place without him are very overwhelming. Its 10 years next August.10 years without my sweetheart is crazy. 2... View more

Hey. I'm back again. I don't really know where to begin. All I know is I want it to end.The lonliness and feelings of being lost in a foreign place without him are very overwhelming. Its 10 years next August.10 years without my sweetheart is crazy. 20 years we spent together. 6 kiddos and a reality I will never be able to exist in ever again.What a ride it was! I took it for granted. Now. It's gone. I tried other relationships. Got "swept of my feet" literally 5 months after he passed.The guilt and shame and absolute disgust in myself for that decision haunts me every single day. The guy ended up thinking he could access my then 14 yro daughter, whom I'm proud to say, spoke up right away. I kicked (i wished literally) him to the curb and supported my sweet girl throughout the court proceedings. Can understand why people stopped wanting to be my friend after that though. So, super isolated, with only my children ( who's love is unconditional) . But had to leave town. New community, new beginnings right? Nope. The pain. It follows me, the self doubt, the self loathing, the ugliness of it all tags along with me every single step and day I exist. ... and....You know what..... I kinda think I deserve it tbh. So I've become numb, things that excited me no longer make me smile.I have to act to convince myself that I should be happy. I mean, I'm great at being a social worker, I can slap my hat on for the day, and flick it off when I'm home. Its not fair on the girls, now 16, 18 and 25. But I respond on cue, smile when everyone's laughing and just be there, in the moment, even though I'm miles away. I'm morbidly obese at 122kilos and have become interestingly masculinly ( if that's a word) unattractive. I now am just waiting to expire.46 next week. And I'm so so sad. I'm sorry for the lengthy post. I get it if none has even made it down this far.But, I need to off load it somewhere. Any words would be greatly appreciated. I dont know .. 🐌

jays1989 Not coping with loss and grief
  • replies: 4

I am not okay, I have been an absolute emotional wreck since monday morning when I received a phone call stating that my grandmother passed away, I understand that it's all part of the circle of life but it doesnt make preparations any less painful a... View more

I am not okay, I have been an absolute emotional wreck since monday morning when I received a phone call stating that my grandmother passed away, I understand that it's all part of the circle of life but it doesnt make preparations any less painful and it still comes as a shock no matter was. I am trying to keep busy and keep my mind distracted but the hardesť part is that I feel like i have emotionally shut down and I look like I have a vacant expression on my face. I have been asked now to be one of the Paul bearers during the funeral and of course I said yes because it's the 4 grandchildren that are being considered but it still doesnt help that I feel like I havent had a moment to process this whole week and the worst part is I haven't had the opportunity to actually let out my emotions. Anyone that has gone through this please any advice on how you got through this would definitely help me out

sparklystar I got a kitten after my mum passed - now I'm struggling.
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone. My mum passed away at the start of November and after coming back to Australia after a month back in the UK dealing with her funeral and being with my family, I adopted a 3 month old kitten. Only now that I have come back to Australia ha... View more

Hi everyone. My mum passed away at the start of November and after coming back to Australia after a month back in the UK dealing with her funeral and being with my family, I adopted a 3 month old kitten. Only now that I have come back to Australia has my grief hit me like a freight train. I cry everyday, I have negative thoughts, not taking care of myself well in terms of eating and sleeping and now I have to look after a kitten. I have been thinking about this kitten for so long, was so excited to come back and get her and now she's here I'm just not sure if I can handle her and my grief at the same time. What should I do?