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.

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romantic_thi3f Eeep! When study is overwhelming! - Tips, ideas and coping strategies
  • replies: 51

Hi! Just thought I’d make a post with some tips for study. I know this is something we can all struggle with. These are all suggestions so feel free to take them or leave them! Hope they help! If you only remember one thing, let it be this: You are i... View more

Hi! Just thought I’d make a post with some tips for study. I know this is something we can all struggle with. These are all suggestions so feel free to take them or leave them! Hope they help! If you only remember one thing, let it be this: You are important. Your grades don’t define you. (support) Studying can feel isolating but know you’re not alone! Reach out – and find or make friends that can support you along the way. If you’re having trouble finding some friends, join some local communities or clubs! They have lots at Uni’s and even stuff like open days are great ways to meet new people and find out what’s happening. Study groups can also be a great way to meet people and stay motivated. Also remind yourself why you’re doing this; inspirational wallpapers or quotes can be super inspiring. Remember the saying about the oxygen mask? If you can’t take care of yourself first studying will be harder. You are important. You know the drill - water, food, exercise, sleep. Try to stay calm. Stuff that might be able to help include mindfulness, breathing exercises, colouring in, going for walks, journaling, listening to music… If you’re struggling – reach out. See a therapist. Talk to your student counsellor. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Also lots of Universities and TAFE offer disability services – which includes conditions like Depression and Anxiety. (study) Find the right study space for you. Maybe that’s in your room, or a coffee shop, or the library. Some people find that noise helps; other people not so much. If you like particular kinds of noise, you can find ‘coffee shop’ noise or ‘rain sounds’ to help concentrate. Make a plan. It helps to do it often so it becomes a habit. Anytime you get a due date, write it down. Maybe you could use a diary, planner, bullet journal or an app. I find the 30/30 App helpful - study for a bit and then break for a bit. You can also get add-on’s for your computer to block sites like Facebook if you find them too distracting. Find out what study technique works for you. Do you like cue cards? Mind maps? Colour coding? Does highlighting stuff help you remember? Charts, maps, diagrams? Recorded lectures? Goals! These are so important – not just writing down deadlines but rewarding yourself for meeting them. Even making smaller goals like ‘read two pages from a textbook’ can help. Break it down into bite size pieces, and don’t forget to reward yourself after!

Sophie_M NEW TO THIS FORUM? Please read this first
  • replies: 0

The Young People space is a sub-forum within the wider Beyond Blue forum community. 1. Its purpose is to provide members aged 25 and under a space to discuss anxiety, depression and other related life issues. If you are aged over 25, please be mindfu... View more

The Young People space is a sub-forum within the wider Beyond Blue forum community. 1. Its purpose is to provide members aged 25 and under a space to discuss anxiety, depression and other related life issues. If you are aged over 25, please be mindful that this forum is a space for younger people to connect and provide peer support for each other. 2. Content from this sub-forum is displayed on both the beyondblue and youthbeyondblue websites. 3. Please bear in mind that some members find content relating to suicide and/or self-harm distressing or triggering. If you would like to post on these topics, please do so in our Suicidal Thoughts and Self Harm section. Please see also our guidelines for making posts on this topic. Posts made here in the Young People sub-forum containing content relating to suicide and/or self-harm will be moved. 4. These forums are moderated, so your posts may not appear straightaway. Information on how our system works can be found here. Being familiar with our community rules can help ensure that your posts appear online as quickly as possible. 5. This is a peer support community, and to get the best out of being here we recommend that you 'give support to receive support'. More on how that works here.

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_-Jack-_ I promise, things get better :)
  • replies: 4

Hello all, It has been four years since I have posted on this website, first when I was 14 and I am now almost 19. I struggled a lot with depression and anxiety and having low self worth. Back when I was younger I honestly thought that I would feel t... View more

Hello all, It has been four years since I have posted on this website, first when I was 14 and I am now almost 19. I struggled a lot with depression and anxiety and having low self worth. Back when I was younger I honestly thought that I would feel terrible forever, I didn't see any way out of the feelings I felt. I was morbidly obese, had very few friends, had no luck in love and always felt like the outcast in most settings. Now that I am back here after four years I'm proud to say that I genuinely value and love life. I saw a psychologist for 3 years, and as daunting as it was when I first started I cannot express how valuable that was. Personally it took me a few psychologists until I found the one that I clicked with, but when I did and I started to work through my mental health issues it made all the difference. I still suffer from my mental health issues but now I have the tools I need to deal with my emotions and it feels great to be in control. I have also since lost 37 kilograms in the four years and have a genuine passion for achieving the best version of myself I possibly can. I always thought I would be alone forever, but now I am in a serious relationship of almost 2 years. To any young people that feel as though life sucks and things won't get better, please know that if you take the right steps your life can and will become something that is genuinely worth living and embracing. Im not sure if it is possible but if anyone, and I mean anyone needs someone to talk to, I am always open to hear you out. Stay strong, you are loved. Jack

kirbyGirl I have OCD and depression and my family dont care/understand.
  • replies: 10

Im 19 years old and from the age of 13 ive had severe depression, anxiety. This was because of the things I've gone through since a small child, specifically, having an abusive and manipulative father who still on occasion will harass and scare us. I... View more

Im 19 years old and from the age of 13 ive had severe depression, anxiety. This was because of the things I've gone through since a small child, specifically, having an abusive and manipulative father who still on occasion will harass and scare us. I've been dealing with these things for most of my life, alone with the help of my religion, with no help or understanding from any of my family (my non immediate family are not in australia) and recently i found I have OCD, more specifically I wash my hands compulsively, and cannot sleep till my bed and body is clean, if i touch something by accident, i need to wash it again, and if i dont or cant i will freak out, pace back and forth and breathe heavy. I realize this is something i need to work on, but I am a student and cannot afford therapy so I'm trying to deal with it myself. However my family (mother and sister) make it so much worse. We share a small house, and because of how small it is everyone can hear everything and if one light is one everyone knows. Ontop of this the bathroom is right next to my mother's room. We have daily fights about this, and they will talk badly behind my back and my sister will insult, roll her eyes and bump into me "accidently" after a night of me handwashing. I've tried to explain to them i cant help it and I don't mean to keep them awake but i literally cannot help. But they just tell me im selfish and incosiderate and i should just "stop". Its gotten to the point where when I AM washing my hands and trying to focus on not going on and on, the level of anxiety in me makes me feel as if I cant breathe and I often cry and tell myself I want to die. My family also dont respect when I ask them not to touch things or put things on my bed, they just roll their eyes, ignore me, tell me it isnt a big deal or more specifically my mom will say its too bad its her house. Apart from this, ive spent my whole life copping it left and right from my family. On one side my father abused and manipulated me, and treated me like I was the stupid child with issues ( he said this to my mother on multiple occasions when i was as young as 9) on the other side I have a mother continuously telling me what im doing wrong and how im like this and that. And then my sister who's just overall horrible towards me. Im at a loss at what to do and my mental state is extremely bad right now.

uhhhhhh stressed about school starting again
  • replies: 4

I'm sorry I post on here too much lmao I'm in year 10 this year and my last year at school was terrible, I was starting at a new school and I wasn't doing very well mentally, I was suicidal and was skipping school most of the time and then of course ... View more

I'm sorry I post on here too much lmao I'm in year 10 this year and my last year at school was terrible, I was starting at a new school and I wasn't doing very well mentally, I was suicidal and was skipping school most of the time and then of course online school happened which made it even easier to just avoid everything. my average grade for each subject ended up being 50% or less which isn't great. i had so many missing assignments and I thought if I just avoided it all it would go away. i really want to improve this year, i dont want to repeat but my studying and organisational skills aren't the best. i find it hard to concentrate at home and I never really seem to get homework done..also the people at my school are extremely homophobic misogynistic and generally bad people.. since Ive recently come out as trans after school finished last year I'm scared of people recognizing me or deadnaming me and ofc people making fun of me, I mean it's kinda inevitable seeing the people there suck, I have a few friends who are nice but I don't have any classes with them.. anyone know any tips on how to be motivated or keep an alright work ethic? or even how I can stay kinda positive this year? or the best one how I can stay as invisible as possible? really not looking forward to it

H-c How do i recover from this? What’s the condition?
  • replies: 4

I have really bad memories from when i was in my previous school which was co-ed and i was hugged and “touched” [it was really close to my private areas but i did not understand cause i was really naive and stupid back then], even though it was obvio... View more

I have really bad memories from when i was in my previous school which was co-ed and i was hugged and “touched” [it was really close to my private areas but i did not understand cause i was really naive and stupid back then], even though it was obviously visible that i didn’t like it and said no and told them to stop(my classmates, mainly just from one person). Even though i told that person ( N) that i did not like it and kept on pushing him away, but N kept on doing it cause they enjoyed the way i reacted. I was scared to tell others cause 1. N was a year older than me and 2. N was really popular and outgoing, so i figured everyone would listen to him rather than some quiet and sky kid that sits in the back of the class. Now years later even though i no longer see N anymore i cant help but feel disgusted whenever someone esp of the opposite gender when they come close. [three feet is the closest range where i feel comfortable] my body would somehow freeze . This is bad cause I can’t really ask questions to my teachers cause i hate it when they get close (cause they can’t see my working out ) and i keep on stuttering and sometimes it gets hard to breathe. And now I’m scared of the opposite gender and i know that they’re not like N but i can’t help but feeling scared. Also my friends thinks that thinks I’m some kind of “arrogant” person just cause i refuse to hug them. I really don’t Iike it and feel really uncomfortable when any gender gets close and make any kind of skin contact e.g. poking or touching my arm or holing my hand. Any skin to skin contact, i can’t. After any type of skin contact happens, i have this urge to execessively clean that area and after using excessive amounts of anti-bacterial soap. How do i get “better” so that i dont feel disgusted when someone makes contact, accidental or not? Though its been more than 3 years since I’ve seen N how do i tell him that all this has happened to me all because of them? I get mad at myself every time i think about it. I really want to get better so that i no longer feel uncomfortable when someone accidentally run into me, and I really want to hug the people I love comfortably. (To moderators : sorry if this is in the wrong forum i’s really appreciate it if you could move it to the right forum)

uhhhhhh hard to go to my dad's house
  • replies: 3

hi people on here are helpful so.. my parents are divorced, they had a pretty tough breakup they were both alcoholics at the time and there was alot of physical abuse from what I can remember coming from mainly my dad, but my mum was also quite verba... View more

hi people on here are helpful so.. my parents are divorced, they had a pretty tough breakup they were both alcoholics at the time and there was alot of physical abuse from what I can remember coming from mainly my dad, but my mum was also quite verbally abusive. They divorced in 2016 and I've been going to my dad's house every Wednesday after school and every second weekend. that schedule lasted until around when lockdown started, my little brother and I didn't go to our dad's as much since we were doing online school and it was just easier doing schooling at my mum's place with all my school books and stuff there. i was still going but it was more like one weekend each month or something like that. it's the school holidays now and I feel really guilty for missing out on all that time I could've been at his place seeing as he lives with his girlfriend but she works alot of the time and I felt bad because he might of been feeling really lonely? whenever I go to his place now I feel like I'm not supposed to be there or like I'm interrupting something or in the way? i feel like I'm not wanted at all at my dad's place and that they both secretly hate me and that I'm an inconvenience. i know he thinks we don't like him anymore but I really want to go but everytime I go I feel really guilty about even being related to my mum because I'm being unloyal or that I'm exactly like my mum? they still don't have the best relationship. i hope this makes sense and I'm writing this as I'm procrastinating walking to my dad's so if anyone can help in any way or even someone else who's going through the same thing can relate or? thank you

Eclipse0433 Hi
  • replies: 2

Hi everyone, I am new here so I am a bit nervous to be opening up. Before I start I just wanted to say I hope u are all well. I guess I should tell u a little about myself. 3 or 4 years ago I went to headspace for the first time. I had been strugglin... View more

Hi everyone, I am new here so I am a bit nervous to be opening up. Before I start I just wanted to say I hope u are all well. I guess I should tell u a little about myself. 3 or 4 years ago I went to headspace for the first time. I had been struggling long before then but I had only just got the courage to ask my parents if I could go to therapy. I started to go pretty regularly and I was comfortable with my therapist. However, about 12 months afterwards I stopped going. This was a result of circumstances (my therapist decided to start their own practice, it was getting expensive). During my time with headspace, my therapist conducted some assessments which indicated that I had anxiety and OCD. However, they were a strong believer in not labelling things so I never got a diagnosis. This has made life very difficult. I feel as though I cannot say I have OCD or anxiety as I am not officially diagnosed. I feel like a fraud and do not want to promote self-diagnosis. Since my time at headspace I have not gone back to therapy. I have fallen into this space where I once again am too scared to start the process to go back to therapy. And life since then has been one of ups and downs. I have had some good times but I have also had some really bad times. And now I find myself in a really bad mindset. With nobody to contact for support. This is perhaps the lowest I have ever felt in my life. I know I need help. I have seen what can happen when something is left too long. But the problem is I can’t wait 6-8 weeks to get into headspace, I need help now. I want to get an official diagnosis so I can begin to embrace recovery. I want to be able to sleep at night without my brain filling with intrusive thoughts. I want support so that I can continue working through what is going on. Recently I have had a regular intrusive thought which is rather scary for me. It is what I guess u could call the last nail in the coffin. It signals to me that I need help now. That this can’t continue. Anyway I will stop there as I am sure I am boring u by talking about myself. I hope u all have a good day.

Solid I have plenty of friends, but I feel so lonely.
  • replies: 1

G'day all, I don't know where else to go, so I guess here will do. I'm 16 years old, I have several offline and online tightly-knit friend groups, but I still feel lonely. I dissociate regularly, and when I look in the mirror, I don't really know who... View more

G'day all, I don't know where else to go, so I guess here will do. I'm 16 years old, I have several offline and online tightly-knit friend groups, but I still feel lonely. I dissociate regularly, and when I look in the mirror, I don't really know who I'm looking at sometimes. I've never had a relationship in my life. I've only been game enough to ask someone out once (a couple years ago by now, and to one of my closer friends at the time), and I haven't spoken to them since. I used to think that a relationship would help the lonely feelings, but at this point I'm not so sure. I'm absolutely terrible at opening up to people. My best friends always say that I can talk to them whenever I want, but when I actually feel like it, I don't want to bother them. It's taken me half an hour to write this post up to here, because I keep thinking that nobody wants to hear my random depressed ramblings. But that is what this site is for I guess, so whatever. I've been to many different therapists, but I've never been able to open up to them, always defaulting to my 'person on the street' persona, which is just a very casual and cheerful version of myself, the version which anyone who (for example) asked me for directions on the street would get. I repress a lot of negative emotions and memories into something I call 'the vault'. I picture the bad thing being locked into a big metal bank vault, and then forget about it as best as I can. I know this is bad, but I don't know what else to do with it. My family isn't abusive, or split, or anything really. I had a very comfortable upbringing, I was generally towards the top of my class. Everyone seems to regard me as 'friendly', or 'chill'. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know what I want. I don't know what to do. I don't know what I want to gain from this, but I really just want to let it out. Anywhere. -- Thanks for reading.

JPD1998 Why I never date!
  • replies: 4

Hi - I know this is quite common in the world but I really struggle dealing with my overthinking mind while dating. Once I go on a date and if it goes really well I tend to stress alot to the point that my stomach is pain. My mind goes straight to do... View more

Hi - I know this is quite common in the world but I really struggle dealing with my overthinking mind while dating. Once I go on a date and if it goes really well I tend to stress alot to the point that my stomach is pain. My mind goes straight to does he like me does he hate me. What happens if he's not ready? Am I not right for him. I try to do breathing exercises I try alot of things to just have a break from feeling anxious. Like it can last for weeks. I never use to be like this but I've been ghosted once and it just has done a number on me. This is the first time I dated in a while and it kinda reminds me why I don't do it, but I know I have to stick through it. I don't know if I should take this as a sign that I'm not ready or I am ready and it's my anxiety winning.

H-c Year 12 and toxic friends
  • replies: 7

Term one of year 12 is already done and I’m stressed about the atar and all that stuff. There are so many things going on and I’m on the verge of breaking down everyday. The pressure of getting a 91+ atar is getting to me. I know there are alternate ... View more

Term one of year 12 is already done and I’m stressed about the atar and all that stuff. There are so many things going on and I’m on the verge of breaking down everyday. The pressure of getting a 91+ atar is getting to me. I know there are alternate pathways but i can’t for reasons. After the first assessment I burnt out and the coming assessments I didn’t do that well. And i feel like I’ve one nothing in the break and a week have passed already. How do i recover from a burn out? Another thing is my “friends” they are another reason that’s putting the unnecessary stress. And i only have a small group of friends but sometimes i feel so alone even though I’m physically there with them. I’d have to listen to all their rants about their family and other people but whenever i wanna tell them my worries they say stuff like you think we’re not feeling the same way? And all those comments about how I’m being selfish just because i told them my worry. One of them is the worst out of the three(let’s call them C). I told C, my worry about year 12 and the hsc and she was like dont stress about it then? Like its that easy. And when I said that C was like fine you’re getting a 30 atar and all that stuff. I’m already dealing with the voices in. my head i dont need another to tell me I’m worthless, dumb and a piece of trash like i get it. And most days i dont wanna go to school or i dont want my lessons to end because of them i dont want to see their faces or talk to them. But they wont leave me alone. Whenever i stay quiet cause I’m trying to deal with my thoughts C comes and annoys me and starts to physically abuse me. I hate contact with people unless I’m really close to me i get uncomfortable when people hug me or touch me. I told C to stop touching me and C was like “ nah i bet when you get a partner you wont stop touching them (holding hands and stuff)” and when i told C to stop and yelled at them, they’re like geez someone’s in a bad mood. C tells me all her problems and when gossips about others that i don’t even know and i cant be bothered to listen to C talk about all the things they hate and whenever i ask them for advice they’re like idc and C is like oh I’m finishing the syllabus for maths and chem and all their subjects which is not helping with the fact that I’m stressing out about the upcoming year. It’s so frustrating. I know this is childish but pls help i dont think i can do this for one more year. what do i do?

C_O_D I feel like everyone hates me and I don’t like who I am, I’m not sure what to do
  • replies: 7

This is my first time posting anything so I’m sorry if what I say is wrong or if it makes no sense, I’m a little nervous about this. I’m just gonna share a few things, and ask for some thoughts. Whenever I talk to some of my friends, it feels like ev... View more

This is my first time posting anything so I’m sorry if what I say is wrong or if it makes no sense, I’m a little nervous about this. I’m just gonna share a few things, and ask for some thoughts. Whenever I talk to some of my friends, it feels like everyone is ignoring me. I could say something or ask a question and then the topic changes, at it doesn’t happen all the time but it happens enough to the point that I’m starting to think this way. I could say a joke then, someone might say “that’s not funny”, or “that’s disgusting”, but then someone else a few minutes later says word for word what I said, and everyone laughs. It confuses me and then I think to myself, am I the problem? In that group of friends, one of them I’m good friends with, but sometimes she does stuff that make me question weather or not she want to be friends at all. We might say let’s play a game in a few minutes, the she’s playing with another person and says she’ll play in an hour, when I ask why she didn’t say to the other person that she said she was gonna play with me, she says she forgot, (granted this has only happened twice). Another time I asked if she wanted to do something on the weekend, she said she couldn’t cause she was doing family stuff, then I hear from other friend that they were all going out somewhere and not only was this about a few days after I asked her, but none of them invited my until about 10pm the night before. This next part is me hating my self. In short, I’m fat. I know I am and I’m trying to lose weight, but I wake up one morning with so much confidence, but then a week later I’m back to where I started. I’m trying to go on a low carb diet, so that I can burn more fat because I’m not interested in building a lot of muscle, but 1. My dad is feeding me a lot of carbs and when I told him I wanted to diet he just told me I don’t know what I’m talking about 2. The people around me aren’t supportive at all, whenever I get back from what ever workout I was doing, I might tell them what I did, they just say they don’t care and what ever I did was nothing compared to what they can do. for the most part, the only 2 reasons I want to keep going is so that no one can call me fat again, and so that I’m not ashamed of who I am and I can finally be looked at as an equal rather than dirt. I’m sorry if what I’ve said is just “teen issues” I just have no one to ask for help and I wanted to know if anyone has gone through something similar and knows how to cope.