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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Introduction to myself

replies: 5

Hi im 33 and currently diagnosed with depression. I have been struggling for a couple of months with it. im normally quite funny and charming guy but have been so down. I join this community to find help and talk with others as I don't have much of support group. im married and my wife is quite supportive as she attempt to understand it more. i enjoy movies, scifi, games, hiking with friends, listening to music. Though lately I haven't enjoyed much. Im here to make friends and help and be helped

New to online forums, int

replies: 1

Hi, i just wanted to introduce myself as I am new to online forums/support groups. My name is Lulu and im 20 years old, I have been suffering with depression, anxiety and mild OCD, off and on since 2007. Ive recently hit a new low and my old medication doesnt seem to help anymore. I have been looking for anything that will help and thought that it might be a good idea to come on here, where i know more people can relate to me.

just introducing myself :)

replies: 2

Hello everyone. I literally just became a member. I've suffered depression for over 20 years now but am in a relatively positive place and have been for a couple years now. (the odd relapse not withstanding) Anyway, the reason I joined is simple. I owe what I have to depression and those who have supported me. Out of respect for that I want to help out as much as I can. I am in the process of publishing a book of poetry. Writing became my way of expressing and trying to comprehend the motives of my dark mistress. I have excessively low expectations of the book selling volumes upon volumes. Yet I'm going to donate 25% of my personal royalties to BB. Does anyone have any tips?

New to talking about mental health, makes my hands shake. Almost spilt my coffee...

replies: 6

Hi everyone, have struggles with various disorders, mostly related to ocd/anxiety. Started therapy a year ago after simply relying on my good friends pharmaceuticals for 16 years. My psych & I are working on cognitive behavioral therapy, so I'm trying to do things that scare me. Since there are no toads around right now, I thought I'd try possibly exposing myself to trolls/criticism/judgement by posting a thread on a message board. Trying to be hopeful that y'all are a kindly bunch who I look forward to learning from. Thanks for reading.

The Future

replies: 6

I'm 56. I'm divorced. My two children live with me - one is 21 and the other 24 - they both work. I had to take out a big loan to pay out my ex. I can only just cope with the loan repayments. I will never pay this loan off. My children do help with the bills. My financial situation has caused me to become very fearful about the future. I am on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety tablets, but I still have many very down days. It takes all my energy to cope with daily life. I want this fear of the future to stop. I'm not suicidal, but I want to stop shaking inside. Tech

new here

replies: 4

hello all im new on here I have complex ptsd , anxiety and depression. Also a recovering addict sober and clean since 12th of March 2012 thanks for having me

Introduction to the community and a little background on why I have joined

replies: 6

I was looking through the the community thread posts and decided to join as it looks like there is a good supportive atmosphere which is difficult to find nowadays online. Just a bit of an introduction as to what I am going through at the moment. About 2-3 years ago, my parents separated as they could no longer be with each other. The arguing was constant and for many years prior to them separating, they lived mostly separate lives with little positive interaction. I was relieved to hear that they had made this decision at the time as I already knew that it was inevitably going to happen. I had grown tired of the arguments and tension between my parents. I told my parents that I would support them both no matter what through the process of the separation and I followed through with that promise. My brother on the other hand did not take the news so well as although my parents were inevitably going to separate no matter what, my father had also fallen in love with someone else that he met online. My brother refuses to talk to my father as well as me, and will only talk to my mother. He says that he is still hurting inside and does not want to speak to me or my father. I have reached out to him several times and he refuses to still see me. It has really impacted me emotionally as I really miss talking to my brother and I worry about his mental health. I feel like my mother and brother punish me for still living with my father and forgiving him for what has happened. My mother calls me the "golden child" and says that my father's partner will be a better mother to me then she ever will. I try to tell her that no one can replace her but she refuses to listen. She becomes enraged with me and takes out her frustration on me with what has happened in the past couple of years. Unfortunately, I wish I could just say that it was due to the circumstances but my mother has displayed this intensity of anger in the past. I wish she would seek help as I feel that our relationship is also under tension and I cannot stand how angry she gets towards me. It has made me very anxious and depressed seeing that both my mother and brother seem to not be able to move on from all this and I worry about them so much. I would really like to hear from other people who have experienced similar circumstances or even just anyone who would be able to provide a positive or insightful perspective. Thanks

Hi there, im new and hope to meet new friends here.

replies: 12

Hey, my name is Lyall, im a 26 year old Australian guy who suffers from pretty bad anxiety, it can be really difficult for me to talk to new people and make new friends so i thought i would try to introduce myself here and hopefully meet some like minded people who can understand an individual like myself, i find it difficult to relate to anyone else alot of the time and have little to none friends. I was told this might be a good place to start finding understanding people. Not sure what else to write here, but i do like to talk, help others and learn, and i hope to explore my metal health more too. Thanks for reading in advance

G'day all, Noob. ;)

replies: 2

Hi everyone. New person here! I've dealt with anxiety for a while; I have a mental health plan and all. It seemed to be going well. However, I'm a teacher, and over the last few weeks I have been dealing with a really crippling attack of anxiety. It was surrounding a particular assessment task that a class of mine did (and didn't do well in). Just today things got worse - I was called to account by my supervisors, because when my marking of the task was checked my marking didn't seem to bear any relationship to what the students actually wrote. Needless to say I was horrified. I cannot find any explanation for what has happened. And obviously I am wondering if there is any logical explanation. Can anxiety make you make decisions that are just inexplicably wrong? If so, how do you deal with it?

Newbie

replies: 4

Hi All , Not 100% sure what to post but here goes New to the forum I am a 36 year old Business owner I have been suffering from stress related anxiety for 5 years off and on and in the last 6 months have developed depression about 8 weeks ago I sought treatment for the first time and have been trying medication and seeing a psychologist to learn coping technics been difficult to find time to work on this due to Business commitments . Most recently I was hospitalised due to a acute anxiety attack which effected my ability to speak. I am married and have been with my wife for 11 years next month we have a 7 month old they have been the things that have kept me going as I have thought recently about giving up my Business. anyway thought I'd say Hi . Brad

Meet your community champions! replies: 10

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

Introduction to myself replies: 5

New to online forums, int replies: 1

just introducing myself :) replies: 2

New to talking about mental health, makes my hands shake. Almost spilt my coffee... replies: 6

The Future replies: 6

new here replies: 4

Introduction to the community and a little background on why I have joined replies: 6

Hi there, im new and hope to meet new friends here. replies: 12

G'day all, Noob. ;) replies: 2

Newbie replies: 4