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.

All discussions

chpouy School stress
  • replies: 5

Hi I am a year 10 student currently attending high school, recently i’ve been feeling extremely overwhelmed with the amount of work that i have to do. ATAR has been introduced to year 10s meaning I have to study hard for the subjects I want that will... View more

Hi I am a year 10 student currently attending high school, recently i’ve been feeling extremely overwhelmed with the amount of work that i have to do. ATAR has been introduced to year 10s meaning I have to study hard for the subjects I want that will contribute to my ATAR score in the future. I feel like I’m very far behind and I don’t know what to do. I’ve asked for help numerous of times but I’m left unmotivated. Taking days off just for my mental health feels like a big risk of missing out on important information for my subjects. This has been continually building up as I keep on struggling with studying all my subjects at once. I’ve been crying each night about this to the point where I have thoughts of self harming to punish myself. I’m only 15, thinking about what my future holds for me and the expectations from school and my mum have me so under pressure about it. I just wish that my mum didn’t have to push me so hard, I know she means good intentions but she really doesn’t show it well. What I mean by that is that she thinks that I can do this without any mental health consequences being pressured on me. I’ve been working my absolute ass off just to please her expectations of school but it’s almost never good for her. I’m lacking that emotional support from her and it’s affecting me so much, I dread talking about anything to her. This stress that I feel has been draining me a lot, I struggle with getting up in the morning. I hate this feeling, the only days I feel remotely relaxed is on the weekend, but after that I know that I have to go to school the next day. This feels like a big loop I can’t overcome. School makes me stressed, stress makes me drained, being drained makes me not want to go school and not going school makes school stressing again. A big loop that makes me feel helpless and completely vulnerable. I wish my mum didn’t belittle my emotions about this. I know that it’s just high school and all and there’s bigger things to stress about, but right now school needs to be my 1st priority.

davw Help
  • replies: 1

Really don't know what I need in life! My partner has know time for me and I feel like I'm trapped and want to start over. I'm so lost I don't know what makes me happy anymore

Really don't know what I need in life! My partner has know time for me and I feel like I'm trapped and want to start over. I'm so lost I don't know what makes me happy anymore

highaltitude I feel like I don't have control over myself anymore
  • replies: 1

Apologies if this post is a little on the longer side but I am really desperate for help and I feel like some context is needed. I'm currently in Year 12 and I feel like my mental health has completely gone down the drain since starting Year 11. I'm ... View more

Apologies if this post is a little on the longer side but I am really desperate for help and I feel like some context is needed. I'm currently in Year 12 and I feel like my mental health has completely gone down the drain since starting Year 11. I'm not sure what switch flicked inside me that made me sort of destroy myself. I'm not really sure what to blame either. I have always been good in school, achieving good grades and feeling confident in my subjects. However, I really dropped the ball this year. My grades in Year 11 were A-/A but this year I have let both my maths subjects drop to C grades. I really don't know what's happening to me. I have somehow allowed myself to procrastinate to the point where I can barely pass my maths tests and hand in assignments way past their due dates. To show how bad it got, I have a maths exam tomorrow but I also have to hand in a maths assignment that I haven't even started ASAP or else I will get a 0 grade for it. I promised myself that if I took 2 weeks off school I would catch up and everything would be okay again. But some part of my brain wouldn't cooperate. Now I feel like I am trapped in my body, just mindlessly consuming YouTube/Instagram content or just succumbing to a certain vice to relieve stress in hopes of being able to get my work done after. Sorry if this is sort of a trauma dump but I really don't know how I can fix myself. Deep down I really have the motivation/anger to get out of this rut but I can't execute my plans for some reason. I am tired of failing to do things all the time. How can I change? I know I am perfectly capable of doing what I am supposed to but I just can't for some reason. Has anyone been in this position before? I have tried many times to fix my problems but I could only successfully do so for only a few days at a time before failing again. I also got sucked into the self improvement community for 2 years (mainly binge watching a YouTube guru called 'Hamza') in an attempt to fix myself, but I ended up being more confused than before. I just want to be disciplined like I used to and enjoy life rather than always being stressed about overdue stuff. Anyone got any ideas to how I can fix myself and get out of this rut? I really feel alone in having this issue as all of my high school friends seem to not have this issue, always getting their work done on time and having fun. Thanks for your time and I look forward to reading your replies. Thank you.

Paper Nautilus Letter to My 19-Year-Old Self
  • replies: 2

Dear 19-year-old Jacqui, You have just been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Right now you are grieving the loss of the person you always thought you would become. That is natural. There are things that you hoped to do that you will never do, but the... View more

Dear 19-year-old Jacqui, You have just been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Right now you are grieving the loss of the person you always thought you would become. That is natural. There are things that you hoped to do that you will never do, but there will also be many things in store for you that you never imagined or dreamed of, some good, some bad. Don’t be afraid to question your doctors, and the medication they prescribe to you. It takes many years to find the right drug, combination of drugs, or the right dosages, and if you are plagued by side-effects, such as weight gain, don’t suffer in silence. Speak up. There is no one-size-fits-all drug to treat bipolar disorder. Experiment. There’s nothing wrong with being a human guinea pig if it means eventually achieving a better quality of life. Be ambitious. You are intelligent, creative and talented. Your confidence in yourself is well-earned and genuine. Not all ambitions are delusions of grandeur, and what may seem like crazy ideas won’t always be that crazy. Not all excitement is hypomania, and not all sadness is depression. You are allowed to experience the spectrum of human emotion without always second-guessing yourself and interpreting every feeling as a “warning sign” or something to be feared. Allow yourself to feel. It is a fundamental human right. You may be told that creative or spiritual endeavours are just triggers to be avoided, and that indulging in these sides to yourself will always be a slippery slope down a dangerous path. Don’t listen. These things are a part of who you are. You deserve to be loved, fully and completely and not just tolerated. You are not a burden. You are a joy, and a delight. You are not ruining lives, you are enriching them. Hyper-sexuality often comes with bipolar disorder, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. It is something to embrace and be proud of. Throughout your life, you will have both successes and failures. Not all of your failures will be because of your bipolar disorder, and not all of your successes will be despite it. You are still the person you have always been. Love yourself and let yourself be loved by others. Yours faithfully and sincerely, 40-year-old Jacqui.

kay_laaa1995 Gaining weight ruined my life
  • replies: 6

When I hit 19 I gained 20 kilos in one year. Now I'm turning 21 this year in July. Honestly these have been the worst 2 years of my life and I have never felt so miserable. Every night I go to sleep and I can't help but think how much I hate myself a... View more

When I hit 19 I gained 20 kilos in one year. Now I'm turning 21 this year in July. Honestly these have been the worst 2 years of my life and I have never felt so miserable. Every night I go to sleep and I can't help but think how much I hate myself and how worthless I am and how much I suck at life in general. Since gaining on weight - I am so embarrassed about how ugly I've become that I have hid away. If I don't have to work or go to uni then I do not leave my house. For this reason, I have lost all my friends because I just don't want to go out and socialize. I never do any of the things I like anymore (I used to looove shopping but now it just makes me more depressed). Every one on social media are posting photos of them at parties and music festivals and it kills me that I can't go. I started university this year and it has been so hard making friends because I am not myself anymore... and I just can't shake this feeling that no one would want to be friends with me because I'm ugly and fat. I miss being confident.. I miss being myself. I know the obvious answer here is to get up off my fat butt and do something about it but it's not that easy. I cannot stop eating I have no self control. Every night I tell myself I'm going to get up tomorrow and do exercise and then tomorrow rolls around and I find myself sitting in McDonald's drive through ordering a cheeseburger and nuggets. I literally cannot help myself, it's like my body has a mind of its own. I'm not really sure what my question is here. I guess I just needed to tell someone what's on my mind since I have no one else...

feeling_blue006 HSC in 8 days.
  • replies: 6

The HSC is in 8 days and I've never felt more overwhelmed in my whole life. Theres so much to get into that I don't even know how I can fit it in one post. Since the beginning of Y12, I've been slaving away at work, only to receive substandard result... View more

The HSC is in 8 days and I've never felt more overwhelmed in my whole life. Theres so much to get into that I don't even know how I can fit it in one post. Since the beginning of Y12, I've been slaving away at work, only to receive substandard results. Even subjects like English, which is my favourite subject I've barely managed above 50. Theres just so much stress built up - the hype over internals(all of which I've royally messed up) and now theres barely a week to the first hsc exam. Since I suffered from extreme procrastination pre-trials, i started studying about a month before the hsc but somehow I feel the time ran by too fast and now I still have an enormous amount of content to get through and this is leaving out past papers(i haven't even attempted a single one yet.) plus this, i have the feeling that I need to do well in the hsc and get atleast band 5s across all my subjects as these exams are my final "chance" to prove myself. added to all this I'm also facing some health problems(my iron levels were shown too low) causing clumps of hair to fall out everyday. everyone else seems so calm and collected and no one is freaking out as much as me and yet they all recieved good results in trials and probably will in the hsc too and i feel the pressured to live up to their standards as well. theres also the fact of nerves - i am feeling very anxious about the exams and if Ill get a mind blank in the middle of them. My memory is also very poor and I am panicking over how to fit the tomes of content into my brain. all this is causing me major stress and my feelings are almost always at a low point. i know people will say the hsc "isn't the all" and "your atar doesn't define you" but to me these are the final exams that i can leave my mark on and are so important to me, but just now I am running on crappy feelings and low motivation. if anyone can help with this, it will be greatly appreciated, thank you. ps i know people will tell me to look after my mental health, but i don't have "depression" or anything like that, just to confirm, im just majorly stressed out and want to give up on the hsc but also don't want to.

ElEq78 Bullied and I didn’t even realise
  • replies: 2

In my last semester of highly school what I thought was never going to happen did, I became the outcast of the friendship group and unfortunately am still suffering the consequences. I had been friends with these people for over 10 years, I know peop... View more

In my last semester of highly school what I thought was never going to happen did, I became the outcast of the friendship group and unfortunately am still suffering the consequences. I had been friends with these people for over 10 years, I know people move on but by the end of school they hated my guts and no one could tell me why. Tensions and resentment had been building for sometime but I was only one ever saying sorry, Sorry that I could only see faults in people, sorry I made them feel like couldn’t enjoy their high grades sorry that I couldn’t be like a normal friend and invite them to my house. But they always criticised me my marks, my looks, my socioeconomic status. There were times where I would share some facts then two weeks later they would tell me the same thing when I would say I told you the response was no didn’t I meant this in extension. There was an example in year 10 where we were at a party and they didn’t want me the photo in fact even the adult were excluding asking me to sit out for photos. when I asked why that said that they couldn’t change what happened they were sorry. For me it felt like evidence that they never saw me as an equal just a pity case. I didn’t get a phone till year 11 then social media till year 12 I thought finally I would fit in. But the thing that tipped the scales was what I call the limousine. For year 12 formal the group was going to get a group car. At the same time very thing was being organised my grandparent passed. And I didn’t have a job yet. I don’t get birthday money or pocket money so I really don’t have anything no bank account. So I couldn’t pay and asking my parents at the time just wasn’t the best idea. I owed like 34- 40 dollars which I know isn’t a lot I just couldn’t ask. Soon one of the three started asking for their money. When I was talking to another friend they said I was a terrible person that they work hard for their money that nobody was going to cover my expense. To clarify I never asked and what hurt me even more is that when my family suffered a period of unemployment I had always known how hard it is to work for money. ( my friends all got allowances from their parents). The text conversation had happened in holidays by the end my so called friend of ten years had reduced me to tears saying that I was pathetic friend, selfish - I don’t understand I never degraded them when they had a boyfriend I never spread lies I always asked if they were okay even when they got sick with covid I checked in everyday- when I got it they never even asked. by the end of year 12 I spent most break-times in the bathroom just to avoid the guilt and shame I felt. I didn’t go to my graduation - but unfortunately I’m still living with shame and guilt - but now I feel crazy with paranoia about not trusting people I even deleted one of my closest friends contact because I don’t know who to trust. I feel so alone I feel unmotivated with life and the only thing that brings me joy is gardening. I know in the end I isolated myself which probably made the situation worse. But was it all my fault did I read into things to much - nothing I describe will every fully encapsulate all the elements but did I do this?

Sky_Smith i wish i was a child again
  • replies: 3

ugh, where do i start? i just really wish that i was a child again. i never really appreciated it when i actually was that age, but now i look back and i think, 'wow, my life was so much better back then.' i wasn't struggling with my gender identity,... View more

ugh, where do i start? i just really wish that i was a child again. i never really appreciated it when i actually was that age, but now i look back and i think, 'wow, my life was so much better back then.' i wasn't struggling with my gender identity, i didn't have to worry about my body developing (and the fact that i hated it), i wasn't put under ridiculous amounts of pressure to do assignments and work hard all the time...i had it good. but it's not just those big things that make me want my old life back. it's the little things too. it's the fact that people stop squealing and calling you 'cute' after a certain age, and that you're expected to watch some sort of weird teen drama series instead of winnie-the-pooh (yes, i still watch it lol), and that you're never going to get those cute little kids' activity packs at the airport anymore. it's the fact that never again am i going to get smiley faces drawn in ketchup on my dinner plate, or be read a bedtime story at night, or be able to play children's games at lunchtime (without being judged) instead of just mooching around talking to my friends. no, instead i'm expected to study, study, study, and when i'm not doing that, i should be scrolling through instagram looking at all these cool new dresses and makeup kits and whatnot. i guess you could call this all very bittersweet. i was looking at the DVDS i used to watch when i was 6 years old and i just cried. i remembered watching all the same scenes as a child, and felt strangely happy - but also so sad that i'd never get back to that time when life was simple and i had nothing to worry about. and the worst part is, it's not going to get better from here; i still have years of school left. life was so much better back then.

a13xx Do I have a problem?
  • replies: 3

Hi again, im worried im posting too much on here lol but my therapists on leave  My friend and I have just decided to take a 30 day break off the special lettuce but i don’t know if i can do it. I’ve used basically everyday the past couple years..I ... View more

Hi again, im worried im posting too much on here lol but my therapists on leave 💀 My friend and I have just decided to take a 30 day break off the special lettuce but i don’t know if i can do it. I’ve used basically everyday the past couple years..I used it to help with my eating disorder, it helped my mood, my anxiety, my thoughts started to not be so intense. I’ve been off for a couple days now and I can’t stand myself. I hate the way I think, how slow the day goes, I have zero motivation still.. I thought bud might be the problem but i think it’s just me. I promised my friend i’d do this with her and I don’t want to let her down or anything - I feel like i’m betraying her if i go back to it This seems like a problem..do i need to talk to someone about it orrrr

Nakka help? I need someone to talk too
  • replies: 15

I suffer from anxiety and depression and lately it has started getting really bad, im to ashamed to tell anyone let alone go to a doctor because im one of those people that keep everything inside and just get over it (tell people I don't feel feeling... View more

I suffer from anxiety and depression and lately it has started getting really bad, im to ashamed to tell anyone let alone go to a doctor because im one of those people that keep everything inside and just get over it (tell people I don't feel feelings). I tell myself im just imaging it and that im fine and to get over it.. (feeling makes me feel weak aand embrassed) I have completly isolated myself and feel alone. Even self medication. What can II do? Btw (im a 20yr ofemale)