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Chris_B PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: 3 important tips to get the most out of this section
  • replies: 0

Hi everyone, The Relationships & Family Issues section is one of the busiest here on our forums. It's also one of the areas where we find members can get themselves into trouble! Before posting here, take a deep breath and be mindful of the following... View more

Hi everyone, The Relationships & Family Issues section is one of the busiest here on our forums. It's also one of the areas where we find members can get themselves into trouble! Before posting here, take a deep breath and be mindful of the following 3 tips: 1. Do you really want to share this with the world? This is a public forum. Are you thinking of posting something that could identify you to a friend or family member? Once you've posted, you can't delete what you've written and we don't take posts down from here unless they've broken one of our community rules. This is because our members spend a lot of time composing replies, and there is a much wider audience that gets a lot out of reading what has been written. It's not fair to ask the community for support, then ask to have it removed once you've read it so others can't also benefit. Use discretion when posting here - think about the level of detail you are sharing, and think also about who might know you are posting here. Also, please keep it clean: this is an all ages forum and explicit discussions about sexual problems are not permitted. Threads and posts of this nature will be removed and your account placed on a moderation hold. 2. What do you want to get out of posting here? Relationship and family issues are stressful. Members sometimes post here seeking advice about a relationship that has broken down, but find themselves getting upset when they don't agree with the response they get. This is a peer support forum, meaning we are not mental health professionals. We are people of all ages and backgrounds, with a wide range of life experiences. While we aim for our discussions to be conducted respectfully, people here will respond with the truth as they see it, from their own experiences and perspectives. We are not here to take sides. Offence is almost never intentional, but it can be sometimes taken. The advice you will see here is not intended to be a substitute for professional counselling. 3. What other support do you have? Most people posting on our forums (about any issue) use this space as a supplement to other supports. This forum is not and cannot be a substitute for offline supports, but it is often a good place to start the ball rolling and find the courage for seeking help. If you are relying solely on an internet forum to resolve your relationship or family issues, you are likely to be disappointed. Check out the Healthy Homes section of our Healthy Families website for further information and resources.

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bubbles85 Still in love with my ex who suffers from depression
  • replies: 15

My (f35) boyfriend (m29) ended our 8 month relationship about 2 months ago due to his depression. He was in a dark place and said he needed to work through it on his own. He had told me during the relationship about the fact he suffered from depressi... View more

My (f35) boyfriend (m29) ended our 8 month relationship about 2 months ago due to his depression. He was in a dark place and said he needed to work through it on his own. He had told me during the relationship about the fact he suffered from depression, but felt he wasn't strong enough to tell me his whole history with it. I never pushed and let him reveal things slowly as he felt comfortable. Everything in the relationship seemed to fall apart in only a 2 week span from the time I could see he was struggling to when he ended things. Over the last couple of months we still have been speaking sporadically and we work for the same company so I do still see him daily even if we do not speak. I've been really struggling with the break up as I am still in love with him. The time and space has done nothing to dull these feelings. We fell hard and fast into the relationship, it was my first major relationship and his first since the first time he was in a serious depressive state. I know he is in treatment and seems to have his good days and bad from what I can see when I see him around work. I really want to tell him about how I feel but I am terrified of being rejected again. I feel like I am currently in limbo because I don't want to be putting any pressure on him while he is still unwell, but my feelings for him are still so strong. I'm looking for advise on how to navigate this.

WeAllNeedHelp Wanting to Leave my Parnter - But how?
  • replies: 6

Hi all. To get the the point, I want to leave my partner. So much is going through my mind. How? When? Basically, Right now he doesn't have a job, he has no income, and he's using his saving to assist in bills, but I'm on my last thread. I'm beyond t... View more

Hi all. To get the the point, I want to leave my partner. So much is going through my mind. How? When? Basically, Right now he doesn't have a job, he has no income, and he's using his saving to assist in bills, but I'm on my last thread. I'm beyond trying to fix the relationship. he doesn't know how I feel. I feel so guilty for the breakup to come which leaves him with no where to go. the lease for the unit we're living in is under my name. I have places i could stay while he tries to find somewhere, but how is he supposed to? Feel like such a bad person, yet i need to be happy. he's holding me back and i want to spread my wings and go places. we lliterally do nothing together, its just say to say life.

Mark h Marriage Crisis - Should I Call It Over? Please help!
  • replies: 2

Hi Everyone. Can you please provide some insights and advice for my current situation. My wife and I separated back in January and she decided to move out of the family home and move into her own rental unit to try and take some time to see if our ma... View more

Hi Everyone. Can you please provide some insights and advice for my current situation. My wife and I separated back in January and she decided to move out of the family home and move into her own rental unit to try and take some time to see if our marriage was something that she wanted to continue with or not. For her, she has trust issues and for myself, I feel that I have have never really had my needs understood or met especially over the last 8 or so years in particular. When my wife moved out 6 weeks ago, we always spoke and said that we would still do things together on occasion and remain amicable and friendly. I have two teenage boys living at home and am taking care of them whilst also cooking, cleaning etc. We also own our own business together too, so it is an unusual circumstance and outside the norm of what is a standard separation for sure. Over the last few weeks, things have become strained. My wife does still talk to me but is what I would call totally unimotional in her way that she talks and acts. It's almost as if we are now more distant friends which is hugely sad and disappointing. She has a huge support network of friends around her which I am thankful for and of course, they are no doubt offering their own advice. I however have always had the same connection of friends being that I moved over here from the UK 22 years ago and so I have no real network of my own in which to speak with anyone about this. I am seeing a Psychologist and Life Coach who are helping me. Last week, I found that my wife had taken over $3,000 cash from ATM machines during the month of March alone. Something she has never done before. When I asked her about this, she said that she didn't know it was that much but something told me this wasn't true. I decided to be mindful of what could happen and so I changed the password on my phone and deleted my Facebook account as it was making me sad to see her moving on so fast with her friend network. Yesterday we were out at dinner with the family and she wanted to see the specials menu, a pic of which I had taken on my phone. She couldn't get in and this morning she is now saying to me that I am hiding something and that I lied about changing the code. My point here is that I am so anxious about all of this that it's causing me severe distress. Whilst it would be SO hard to end this marriage, I feel that continuing on as we are doing is too exhausting. Maybe a fresh new start for both of us is best? Comments please.

Lily73 A cheating partner with depression
  • replies: 5

Hello I am writing here because I don’t know who else to talk to. My partner recently cheated on me - for the second time. I am not sure whether to try and work it out or go our separate ways. He is my only family here as all of my family is overseas... View more

Hello I am writing here because I don’t know who else to talk to. My partner recently cheated on me - for the second time. I am not sure whether to try and work it out or go our separate ways. He is my only family here as all of my family is overseas. What bothers me is not the act of having sex, but the context in which it all happened. The first time I was overseas looking after my dad who was dying of a terminal cancer. He cheated on me with a friend - an obese, not a very attractive girl. This time, he cheated on me with a person at work - who has some problems in her marriage. my partner has depression, is being medicated for it and is seeng a professional. However, the last three years have been full of emotional abuse. I have been looking after him emotionally, helping him out financially, and just being there. I am completely lost - one part of me just wants to erase him from my life and the other, caring part of me understands depression. Again, not an excuse for all the poor behaviours over the last few years. We just moved into our new house and it is all about to get very complicated if/when we separate. I don’t know where to start and how to get my thoughts straight. I’m very lost, so any objective opinion will be great. I don’t want to get my family into this, because they will only bring all the unnecessary negative emotions in my life.

Npf1120 Ex dating a guy we know....
  • replies: 2

Hi All, mid last year my wife and i decided to separate as things werent exciting and was no spark it was hard at the time but this has been fantastic for me as i have really moved on with my life and am finding out more about myself. we have 2 boys ... View more

Hi All, mid last year my wife and i decided to separate as things werent exciting and was no spark it was hard at the time but this has been fantastic for me as i have really moved on with my life and am finding out more about myself. we have 2 boys 3 and 6 and they have adjusted very well to the separate lives we now have but we have such a better bond than ever before. My ex and i have been getting on very well and its been quite easy minus a few hiccups but we resolved them. so the question i put to you, is she has just told me last week that she is dating a guy that she used to work with from her last job, this guy comes to our kids birthday parties with his little girl, i quite like the guy and we get on well and always have, but i cant help but feel like there was something there before we split, although i truly believe she couldn't of had the time to have an affair as we are both quite busy at the time. I feel very dissapointed that she has gone to him to start dating as it has really hit me making me feel like i was an idiot if there was anything going on. ( ranting a bit) how can i get rid of this feeling that im having, im not losing sleep over it, i just think about it all day, when im awake. she assures me nothing happened before the split. but ya know! who truly knows and i wont ever. moving forward though, what are some guidelines i should implement, im not ready to have my fatherhood challenged just yet. I want to put some expectations forward to my ex like, id like it if you see him outside of the time with the kids for now as to not confuse the kids, of course im sure they will be together and logically the kids will be more involved later. im just in a weird space, im fully ok with them being together, i have no love for her in that respect and i dont mind him. i understand that it was going to happen eventually which im ok with. Ive been on the dating scene and have met a fair few people as well, so i dont hold that against them as id be a hipocrit. any ideas on how to just get over it as i know i should. I say i really dont care but obviously somewhere i do.

Nothappyuni Daughter says she will never speak to me again
  • replies: 7

I rarely come by Beyond Blue anymore, there are too many things here that upset me when I see the pain of others. Today though, I felt the loss of my daughter deeply (and her mother). The breakdown of my marriage played out in front of my children an... View more

I rarely come by Beyond Blue anymore, there are too many things here that upset me when I see the pain of others. Today though, I felt the loss of my daughter deeply (and her mother). The breakdown of my marriage played out in front of my children and impacted them both profoundly. No physical contact with the pair since I left two years ago, though my daughter would sometimes speak to me or text. My wife teated me terribly our whole relationship (25 years), but apologised after each outburst- I thought that the apology made it O.K and that it would stop, she assured me she loved me and I knew I loved her. But, it just got worse. Kids learn through observation. In time they both treated me like rubbish. I gave everything to, and for my family. When I left my daughter barred me from contacting her, then six months later told me I had not tried hard enough to speak to her (I had tried- so very hard). We had limited contact that always ended in pain for me. I do not lie when I say I would give her my heart if she needed it to survive- without a second's hesitation, but during the last contact she said the most horrible things and ended it with stating she will never speak to me again- ever! My best friend called around the day after, he was stunned at how in one night I had aged so much. I miss her so much, I cry every day thinking about her, then move on with my day. Everyone I know still has contact with their offspring. Everyone says "She will come round, just give it time" yet they have no idea what it is like or just what she said. I was so pleased to come here today to see a thread that was on the same theme. To see many other people who are going through what I am. Break ups are common in this age, but years of no contact with people who you devoted (19) years of your life to, who have your blood in their veins, who you would give anything for. From everything I have read I see it is best I have no contact with her, it was killing me how cruel she was, the hardest part is the precious moments stay fresh in my mind- we were inseparable her whole childhood. Life never turns out the way we expect.

Poobies I can't even enjoy Easter. Is that petty
  • replies: 2

Urgh. I can't even enjoy family holidays because my 16year old step daughter is so worried about not getting as much as the kids............ grow up..... she had her turn when she was a kid......... Heres her post online....... "I got one chocolate E... View more

Urgh. I can't even enjoy family holidays because my 16year old step daughter is so worried about not getting as much as the kids............ grow up..... she had her turn when she was a kid......... Heres her post online....... "I got one chocolate Easter egg and they got like 20 and I was so happy to savour this large egg and you KNOW they Did? They ATE my only f**king EGG So upset rn." She's so worried about my kids having more chocolate than her so she was leaving her bag places at nannies and poppies. So LP hooked into her chocolate...... On the way home she was so cranky she's used the argument of she shouldn't have been in my stuff.......we pointed out that LP is 2............ she is 16. I'm just so over being made feel bad for her shit in her own head.

misillusions Nothing i do pleases my parents and it’s pushing me towards suicide.
  • replies: 8

absolutely nothing i do pleases my parents and it’s very depressing and disheartening. they say they’re only hard on me because they care but it’s just too much. i’ve told them how they make me feel with unfair expectations and ect. and they told me ... View more

absolutely nothing i do pleases my parents and it’s very depressing and disheartening. they say they’re only hard on me because they care but it’s just too much. i’ve told them how they make me feel with unfair expectations and ect. and they told me they know better than me and i need to listen to them no matter what because they’ve been around longer. we are pretty much in a constant argument, and it really drains me. this has been going on for years and despite a mental ward admission they still act the same. i’m extremely close to killing myself as i cannot go on like this any longer. i’m exhausted i’m drained i’m sick of it. i’m 16 and have tried to move out but they refuse to give me my passport or birth certificate or any form of ID so i can’t really get very far. i don’t know what to do anymore i’ve tried talking to them explaining it all to them and how i’m feeling and dad often replies with the good old “toughen up, other people have it worse”. please give me advice on what to do i’ve been at my breaking point for 6 months at least.

BlondeandBlue New here and feeling unsure
  • replies: 2

I’m new here and I am not sure if this is the right forum to write this. For close to 5 years I was friends with a guy I met on a forum and we were close and used to send each other long emails regularly and we would talk about a lot of things includ... View more

I’m new here and I am not sure if this is the right forum to write this. For close to 5 years I was friends with a guy I met on a forum and we were close and used to send each other long emails regularly and we would talk about a lot of things including some private things I don’t usually discuss with many others but I trusted him ‘cause he was always so warm to me and he was there for me during some of my hardest times. In a way he was like a Brother to me online and made me feel safe when I was talking to him and I gave up posting on forums ‘cause of my bad experiences on them and only wrote to him. Last month he just left out of the blue around the time of my wedding anniversary and on the email he sent before he said he was going through a hard time in his life but I didn’t have to worry about him ‘cause he would be fine and he had sent me this funny Pikachu picture and I thought that meant he was okay but then when I replied to his last email he sent me one back the next morning saying that he was in a dark place and had to deal with some personal shit in his life and he wouldn’t be able to reply to emails for the foreseeable future but it had nothing to do with me and leaving me was the hardest thing he had to do but if he didn’t it would be unfair to me but to know he would always love me. I sent him two emails after that telling him how much I cared about him but he wouldn’t reply to me and I was really upset and worried about him and I ended up going back to the forum I was on with him and talked to the other members who welcomed me back and I found out he wasn’t the kind of person I thought he was and had been using multiple accounts on there before including two I wrote to regularly that made out they were from other countries and others that were sexist and homophobic and would attack me and looking at old emails and PMs with them I can see it now and they said some things I only told him and I didn’t really pick up on it at the time and they have been banned. I feel broken and hurt and can’t believe the person who said I was their best friend and they were lucky to have me in their life done this to me. Was I just part of some sick game or were they just using me and decided to throw me away when they were finished? The sad thing is I still miss him after talking to him for so long but it seems the person I cared about wasn’t real I feel so dumb. ‘cause I loved him and now I just feel alone on here without him.