Young people

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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 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!

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 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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I really want to make friends with a strange person but I am not brave to say this...is there anything can help me??

replies: 5

I do not know if it is suitable to send my experience and worries in this column or in this forum, but I really do not know what to do in the future of this terrible time. I am a student but I really want some extra care for some reason. From this year I accidentally learned about a strange person in his own blog, which is a teacher. I was moved and attracted by what he said and what he did. I also thought of what I experienced during my middle school time during his contents. I am so happy that I really want to make friends with him -- but I am not so brave to give him some greetings or contact with him, because I am afraid that my content will make him angry or no replies -- because sometimes emails can not get any replies in his own country(He is not Australian). With the help of the counselor, I still wrote something to the teacher with email, but so far there is no replies from him. In fact I am a little disappointed but there is no doubt that he may not use the emails. I have thought of use other applications, but I do not want to disturb him -- this may be the private social applications like WhatsApp. However these days for some reason I think that my life is so terrible(if necessary I will post a new thread but that is not the main thing of this) and the heart of "missing" him is the only desire for me. And I found that I really need him to get some warm care to have power doing something because my mood has affected my daily life, and that may be my final chance to do it. But I am really not brave to do this thing. I do nit know what I should do for this about him -- contact him or not. I really like him but I really have no way to get in touch with him better. Maybe I have other things to say, but I can not say something in this. If I can say some other things, I will add it.

poor mental health symptoms are confusing me

replies: 4

on and off i've had periods of low mental health but recently for the past couple weeks its been the worst its ever been. I've felt emotionally numb and empty and detached. All my energy has been drained and i've been so tired, weak and fatigued. My muscles have been aching and i've been crying for no reason. I've also had the feeling that bugs are crawling on me, feeling like the room is slowly spinning or im rocking back and forth but am being still and that the world is moving in slow motion. Also i had one day where it looked like the walls in my room were moving and have been zoning out to the point where people have been concerned about me and i've booked a doctors appointment. However suddenly i'm feeling fine and im just really confused because i feel like my mental health is just an ongoing cycle of good and bad ranging from days to weeks and i've already seen a doctor a couple months before and they just said that everyone goes through ups and downs however my symptoms were quite full on and i'm worried next time my mental health goes bad again it will be worse and i just am so confused what is happening just because it says that illnesses such as depression are an ongoing thing and that they don't take breaks.

I have suddenly lost all of my motivation and most of my emotions.

replies: 2

Hello, (this is my first post) recently i have just suddenly lost all of my motivation. I have 3 critical assesments due very soon and i just cant bring myself to do them. i could easily finish one of them in about 2 hours but i just cant do it. im going to fail them but im not stressed at all? i have always been stressed when im doing assesments but recently i just lost my stress. I have hereditary anxiety but i have been on a 50mg a day dose of antidepressant/SSRI for the past 2 years and it has been working great until now. Without antidepressant/SSRI im extremely irratable (i used to get in a fight if a kid called me a name more than twice) and i cant control impulsive thoughts that enter my head, i also self harmed but i dont do that anymore. Im thinking i should go to a therapist or something but im not sure. Sorry if this is a bit all over the place but as you might of gathered, im not in the best of mental spaces.

I feel really lonely and really want some friends

replies: 19

Hi, I have so much to say but I just don't know where to start let's just say it has been really hard recently, life has never felt so meaningless I miss being happy I am trying really hard to pull through. I have felt really distant from my friends this past year I kind of don't even know if they are my friends anymore I really want to make some new genuine friends, highschool is hard enough but being in high school and having no friends is just really taking a toll on me. I don't know how to make new friends, not going to lie none of the people at my school really get me I don't know some of them are nice I just get a feeling they don't care about me like they wouldn't care if I was gone. I have many likes and hobbies and wish I would be able to bond with people over them so if anyone has any tips it would be greatly appreciated! Also having high anxiety definitely doesn't help meeting new people lol

unbreably alone. always feeling empty, nothing makes me happy anymore. [looking for advice/guidance]

replies: 2

im close to 18, and just finished my year 11 exams. i used to suffer from a bit of anxiety, which i fixed by myself over a few months. i now feel self confident in general, and have a few hobbies. my grades are average. 5 months ago i broke off from dating a girl, as we both thought she was not ready for a relationship. we still talk, or did until about a week ago, when she told me to get off her back, and that she had no friends. it really hurt hearing that, after i had tried my best to be there for her, and so have many others. i told her how much i was hurt by that, and she ignored me, and no longer speaks to me. my best friend of 4 years met a girl at the beginning of the year. since then, he almost never speaks to me, unless its about his girlfriend, or if he needs tech related assistance. we used to talk almost every single day, or most days, now we share a sentence or two every week. after a conversation with his girlfriend, he also said he has no friends, and he feels as if no one cares about him, except for her. 6 months ago was the last time i saw my father. he verbally and mentally abused me until soon after i turned 17, when i decided to stay at my mothers. he made me feel useless and pathetic when he shook the house with his voice toward my step mother, my sister and i, when he was in physical pain, or had a bad day. on some nights, they would yell at each other over nothing until 12am. my parents divorced when i was 6 for this very same reason. however, when my parents were still together the abuse was physical, and left me sleeping on my stomach at some nights. on top of all that, half of his side of the family dislikes me, and my grandfather died recently too. his wisdom guided me. i have been feeling like i am on autopilot for months now. i almost never speak to anyone, maybe saying a few sentences to people per day at school, and im barely self aware. when i get home, i still feel extremely isolated and alone. i feel so alone and i feel i have no purpose, at times i feel theres no way out, and no one to make me happy anymore. i used to be a rowdy, noisy guy, now i feel like theres a wall between me and others. my only friend is an angst teen i know from childhood, although is always there for me, but lives 2 hours away. every night i do homework, then sleep at 8pm because i have nothing to do, and no one to talk to. i dont want anyone i really care about to know, and to hurt them. if im trying my hardest, my hardest isnt enough i guess

Have no friends at school

replies: 2

I've been withdrawing from all my friends at school and I don't know if I should be concerned. I used to have a very large group of friends but lately I have been finding it extremely draining to be around most of them. I've also recently had a pretty major fight with one of them. I just really don't want to be around them now and I feel so much more comfortable finding a quiet place to just sit by myself during breaktimes. I don't know if my withdrawing is because I'm happier alone or if it's a symptom of something being wrong with me.

Do I have depression? How do I ask my parents?

replies: 2

So recently I have been sad a lot feeling worthless and hating myself, you know all that fun stuff. so I have tried taking depression tests and they all comeback as high or whatnot, but I feel like I can’t tell people because I think it’s not true th... View more

I feel nothing

replies: 5

Hey! I guess I’m just writing this because I needed to let someone know. I have nothing inside of me. I won’t deny that I’ve been like this for quite a while, months maybe, and it’s not the first time I’ve endured this experience, but recently it seems odd that I feel nothing. I would like to say I have a good bunch of friends and am in a good relationship, but I feel nothing towards any of it. A lot of the time, I sit in silence and let my mind wonder, literally anywhere just so it can spark any emotion, but it doesn’t. I find it so easy to whack on a smile for my friends, family and partner, but inside I’m so numb and so lonely. I’m in tears sometimes too, and still in the middle of it all, there’s nothing inside of me. I want to be happy or sad or scared or anything, and I’m not. I don’t want people to know I feel this way, especially not my partner, I just want to be alone. I don’t know what to do. I’m a mess!

i missed my school presentations because of myself

replies: 4

I wasn't sure where to post this because now that I think about it, this situation sounds more like a stupid excuse than anything. I'm supposed to be at school right now doing my presentations for some subjects, but I'm at home, why? Because I didn't finish the scripts for them. And yes, it was partially to do with the fact that I procrastinated, but I really wanted to finish it all last night and I somehow didn't. Usually, I get my school work done on time, but lately, I haven't been getting anything done on time at all, and it's been bothering me to no end. I used to work well, but somehow that doesn't work anymore. I get distracted and I don't have any motivation to finish the work. I get worried about the outcome of the grade and I don't trust myself. I think for a while I've had some underlying mental health and commitment issues. I know that I am definitely an obsessive worrier. I always overthink many situations to the point where I scare myself into not doing something, which makes me withdraw further away from asking for help. For example, to authenticate that I missed my presentations and to do them later, I need to hand in a doctor's certificate. What I am going to tell the doctor? "I didn't finish my assignments because I was too worried that I wouldn't do well so I stayed home instead to avoid doing the presentation?" What if they say no? What will I do then? (This example was actually the whole point I decided to write this post for help;;;) These kinds of thoughts make me end up lying to people about my real situation and it just adds onto the worries that have already accumulated, which does not make my head any lighter from carrying the worries. I'd also a high-achieving student, so I pride myself on being smart and knowing things because, without that, I'm not sure what else I have. Sure, I may be nice to people on a surface level, but most of the time, I make friends with the intention of using them to help myself get a better reputation in school and just in general look like a decent human being. I don't know what to do, and at this point, this post has become a vent post. Anyway, what should I do about the presentation issue? Should I just ask my dad to take me to a doctor and to ask them if they're willing to give me a medical certificate to excuse me for today? I still need a legitimate reason, and I'm scared to talk to my school counsellors about it just in case they don't let me do my presentation and fail me instead for it.

First thread for an Infamous_Moustache

replies: 2

Hi there. Its my first time here so I think its appropriate to introduce myself a little Online I'm known as Infamous usually. In my real life, I go to an intensive selective high school and compete in many competitive sports. For quieter activities, I usually put all my stress into drawings and art. I like to eat a lot of foods as well because that always make me happy. Seems like a good life hey? My main reason on coming here is to understand a bit more about myself and hopefully getting some advice and support. Growing up in a competitive environment has understandably created a want to be the best as a moral for my mentality but I also don't understand why my stress is really obvious compared to all my friends around me. I have visited my school counsellor a bit ago this year but I believe that it has gotten worse over the months of 2020. I have a few theories why I may be feeling this way. Perhaps it is with all the changes my family has gone through suddenly. We got someone else under our roof and a whole new bunch of responsibilities to juggle. Perhaps it is my failing performance in studies and disappointing myself. It could perhaps be because I am being threatened of getting stripped of all of my extra activities of which I hold lots of value to. Being honest I don't really know for sure. I also suspect that it may be multiple things, but I haven't really searched that far enough. I am too scared to reach out to my family or my friends because they're all really busy all the time. Some days, I feel like everything is an effort and that I should have no reason to feel this way. Some days I don't want to interact with anyone. I don't look after myself well, often finding it difficult to get myself to eat or drink anything for a day or two. I don't feel comfortable talking a teacher or a counsellor about it for whatever reason I don't know of. Usually my stress would be managed through drawing or simply sketching (buildings are my favourite), but ever since getting restricted heavily on all my mediums, I'm finding it difficult to keep it under-control. I lash out more often and there is a rise of arguments between mum and I (usually in the mornings). My greatest fear is loosing control in front of people because I don't want them to think I am too weak to deal with emotions. I mean, shouldn't we always show our good side to people and keep negative emotions to ourselves?

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

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

I really want to make friends with a strange person but I am not brave to say this...is there anything can help me?? replies: 5

poor mental health symptoms are confusing me replies: 4

I have suddenly lost all of my motivation and most of my emotions. replies: 2

I feel really lonely and really want some friends replies: 19

unbreably alone. always feeling empty, nothing makes me happy anymore. [looking for advice/guidance] replies: 2

Have no friends at school replies: 2

Do I have depression? How do I ask my parents? replies: 2

I feel nothing replies: 5

i missed my school presentations because of myself replies: 4

First thread for an Infamous_Moustache replies: 2