Welcome and Orientation

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Meet your community champions!

replies: 10

Hi everyone, We wanted to share with you the way that our wonderful Community Champions are here to support you. You may have noticed that a few of our Forums members are labelled ‘Community Champion’. Community Champions are volunteers within the Beyond Blue Forums who: have the time, skills and empathy to support other members regularly; help to welcome new members; are actively engaged members that help set the tone of our community. Our Community Champions are regular contributors to many conversations across the forums. They are a consistent and friendly voice that have committed to sharing their experience and expertise with this community. They are not health care professionals or clinicians. Like you, they have an experience with a mental health challenge or diagnosis – either for themselves or someone they care for. This forum is for people who understand what it feels like and have a lived and living experience of mental health challenges. Our Community Champions help everyone feel comfortable and confident by demonstrating what excellent peer support is all about. Click here to find out more about how you can become a Community Champion! This incredible team are excited to introduce themselves below, and we are sure you’ll see them around the forums in conversations important to you.

HELP..Am I posting in the right section?

replies: 10

Welcome to those who are considering posting for the very first time, welcome. Thought I would repost part of the words that Chris B posted awhile ago, (2014) as I can hear that people are unsure if they are posting in the right section or worried that they are posting "the wrong thing". 1.A good title makes the difference Just like a headline in a newspaper, when scanning the dozens of threads to click into, it’s only natural that people will choose the ones that resonate with them most. A title that entices the reader, or asks a question, is likely to get a better result than something non-descriptive like “Depression” or “I don't know what to do”. If you think you’re not good at choosing titles, leave it till last. Spend time writing your post, then perhaps choose a sentence from what you’ve written as the title. 2.Join in threads that have already been posted We all have our own unique stories, but part of the reason for joining a forum like this one is because you know that you will have a lot in common with others who are posting. Before starting a new thread, have a look through the current topics being discussed and see if there’s a conversation you can join in with. It can be quite common to have a handful of very similar threads happening at any one time, with members seemingly unaware that there are others right there who are going through the same thing. Talking to other members on their threads is a great way of getting yourself known so that when you post a thread of your own, people may respond quicker because they recognize your name. 3.Choose the most appropriate section for your post Many people browse the forums looking for stories specifically to do with pregnancy and parenting, employment, grief, loss, separation etc. Going straight for the “Depression” section may seem like the easiest option, but this section is often the busiest, so your post is more likely to get lost among the threads. Making good use of the different forum sections not only helps keep the forum relevant, but you’re more likely to find others who are going through the same experiences as you. Also, if you're wanting to discuss issues of trauma, abuse, suicidal thoughts or self-harm, it's really important you post in the designated section to avoid triggering others who may not wish to read about these topics. Mostly..just come and chat, we are here for you. Our amazing wizards in the background will see your message ends up in the right spot. Sarah

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Insomnia and anxiety

replies: 9

I’ve been battling with anxiety and insomnia for a few months. Sleeping tablets made me feel worse and I have withdrawn from friends and activities. I am slowly getting better but finding it hard to get back to a happy life. I feel that anxiety is not understood and often feel unwell even though I know it is just in my mind. I have some minor health problems and concerns with my family. Friends have been patient but I believe would like me to get over it. There is no magic cure and it is a hard slog each day especially after a sleepless night. I think I am reaching out to others who are experiencing similar problems. My worries are not major but they concern me in a big way and I think that is sometimes the hardest thing. this is my first post so I’m not sure what happens. A big move for me to reach out.

Introducing myself!

replies: 4

Hi everyone, Just wanted to introduce myself as a new member on the forums! A bit about me - I'm a 24 year old female student finishing off my studies in the mental health field. I've always lived in Melbourne and haven't really travelled much. I also enjoy staying in most nights and cooking! I'm hoping to support and listen to anyone posting here that's going through a difficult time at the moment. I know how important it is to feel heard and really like the fact that people can do so in an anonymous way here if they choose to! I'm really looking forward to connecting with people and getting to know you all... Talk soon

New member introduction

replies: 3

Good morning, I am new to Forum's, thanks for having me . About me... I am a 48 year old woman living in Central West NSW. I am married & have 3 children ranging from 9 to 14 years of age. I have suffered since my late teens with Depression but wasn't diagnosed until 1995. I have had a few major traumatic experiences over the years, lost our little boy who lived just 9 hours in 2006. A bad experience with family after my daughter was born in 2010. And finally my mum became critically I'll in 2017 the same day we handed back a foster child (after being bullied by the company supporting us.. sure) then 3 days later my mum passed away. I have come a long way in my healing but have been sad for so long I don't know how to be happy. Thanks for reading

present / absent

replies: 2

Hello BB My first post, joined just moments ago. I've joined as I find myself increasingly drifting into isolation: alone in my ongoing unemployment, alone within my family + friends who say "oh, things'll turn around", isolated in my industry / community which I've inhabited passionately for most of my adult life. I seem to have become invisible. I saw a therapist for a few sessions some time ago and in response to a question I replied, "I wonder who'll come to my funeral". Not quite sure where to turn, where to place myself, how to fill in empty days... nor am I sure even where this forum may take me, but, well, am open for the trip! Thx!

Feel completely overwhelmed

replies: 30

Hi all I have just joined the forums. My short story is: I have been through an immense amount of change in the past few months and and feeling completely overwhelmed, and have developed what I feel is some quite severe depression. My wife and I made the decision to separate about 8 months ago but it was only two months ago that she moved out. About the time that we decided to separate I had a car accident and the combination of that and the separation led to me deciding to resign from my job where I had been for ten years. Whilst I have been doing some contract work in the past couple of months it hasn’t been the most stable situation and I have been having to work by myself a lot. I am still living in our family home (where we’ve been for more than ten years) although have sold it and will be moving out in about a month. Our separation was quite amicable but our three kids are doing it bit tough as well. I start a new role in a couple of months but am feeling very anxious about it and am not at all confident I will be able to be successful. And am very worried about what I’ll do if that doesn’t work out. So I have a great deal of time by myself, caught up inside my head, and am having a lot of very negative thoughts. Guilt, lack of self confidence, worry about the future, worry about financial security are all at play. I am noticing many depressive symptoms including low energy, poor sleep, lack of appetite, low motivation, inability to make decisions amongst others. At times it is all feeling so incredibly overwhelming. It is good to be able to write all this down and from the little I have seen there are some wonderful supportive people on these forums so thank you for reading and I hope to be able to do what I can to contribute to others’ situations too.

Hi all

replies: 9

Hi, just a thread to introduce, I am new here and am a long time sufferer of PTSD, anxiety and depression, I am still functioning relatively normal, however when I am alone that’s when things get hard.

Trying my Best to Keep On Moving Forward Between Bright + Dark Weeks

replies: 12

Just saying "Hello" to Everyone at BB Forums.

Confused how to deal with anxiety

replies: 1

Hi Guys, ive only came to the conclusion that I’ve suffered with anxiety for maybe the last 5-7 years? I believe it’s got a lot to do with my family, mainly my sister. she started out from an early age with an eating disorder, then onto uppers and Downers (prescribed by her doctor), a failed marriage because of her then addiction to prescription drugs, moving back in with my parents, becoming an alcoholic and ruining my parents lives. I don’t live there anymore, I live quite a bit away and I just feel that I’m doing enough, can’t help enough and that my parents can’t deal with her and I feel that it’s up to me to try and fix it and don’t know where to turn? I’ve tried so many things to help her and she just won’t accept it. It ruins my day because I can’t stop thinking about it and I get so worked up and can’t concentrate on work or enjoying my life. anyone got any tips???

Complex ptsd and severe dysthymia

replies: 1

Hi all, my name is Adam, 34 yrs old from Sydney. I was recently diagnosed with the above illnesses. I posted originally in the Ptsd forum. Just looking to hopefully chat and meet some nice people.

Trying to cope with home stress and school stress

replies: 4

Hi all, My name is Kiki and I just want to say hi to everyone at BB. I am new so if anyone could please help me with navigating the site that would be much appreciated. This is my first post so I am a bit nervous. Anyways, I am having trouble dealing with home and school stress. As I am just starting high school, its a big step up in classwork and friends. (we've all become moody teens). My grandparents went overseas 3 weeks ago with my mum (mum came back after 2 weeks) to go help look after my great grandfather in hospital. For privacy and identification reasons, I'm not going to go into too many details of that, but I will tell you that there's some trouble going on with my great grandfathers full time carer and family over there. Everyone wants to do best by my great grandfather, but everyone has their different ideas. I think I'm getting in the way, cause as a kid I cant really do much to help. So in my school, holidays are a week longer for the holiday dividing semesters, so I've already been on holidays for a week. I left school with fights going on with my friends, over the stupidest things, but fights all the same. I thought it was all sorted, but as soon as I tried to text my friend she kept on finding reasons to push me away all week. Last night I was over it, and started to ignore her because I didn't have the courage to confront her about it. After she texted things like "what's wrong Kiki seriously I'm worried" it all just rushed out of me. At first I said the person was anonymous, but she seemed really mad at whoever did it, so I quoted one of her texts that really hit me. I know it was a stupid idea, you dont have to tell me. "Did I ever tell you I don't live with my phone? I cant talk right now!" She had said. Once I quoted it, she started sending full paragraphs of apology, and so did I. I was crying, and she probably was too. Were all sorted now, but I feel guilty for not even considering that she might have her own stress, I was so caught up in my own. I just feel like a nuisance and that people will be better off without me. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I feel better from just typing. ~Kiki "did I ever tell you I don't live with

Meet your community champions! replies: 10

HELP..Am I posting in the right section? replies: 10

Insomnia and anxiety replies: 9

Introducing myself! replies: 4

New member introduction replies: 3

present / absent replies: 2

Feel completely overwhelmed replies: 30

Hi all replies: 9

Trying my Best to Keep On Moving Forward Between Bright + Dark Weeks replies: 12

Confused how to deal with anxiety replies: 1

Complex ptsd and severe dysthymia replies: 1

Trying to cope with home stress and school stress replies: 4