Immediate support
Immediate support

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.

Start a discussion

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Categories
Start a discussion

Pinned discussions

Sophie_M How are you feeling about the social media restrictions in Australia for under 16s?
  • replies: 13

Hey everyone With the upcoming Australian social media restriction for under 16-year-olds coming up we want to know what this means for you and maybe even the young people in your life. This conversation is a place for all of us to share how we are f... View more

Hey everyone With the upcoming Australian social media restriction for under 16-year-olds coming up we want to know what this means for you and maybe even the young people in your life. This conversation is a place for all of us to share how we are feeling and what we think the challenges and benefits might be for you or the wonderful young people in our community. Have you thought about how to stay connected with friends you’ve met online? Are you focused mostly on the positives, or the negatives? What do your parents think, and what could they do to support you? Importantly the Beyond Blue Forums are not impacted by these restrictions, we're here for anyone under 16. In short, from December 10 Social Media companies will need to ensure that only people over 16 actively engage with their platforms. There is a lot of information out there which can make it tricky to know what to expect on when it comes into effect. To learn more we think these are a helpful place to start eSafety commissioner + Headspace FAQs. We know this change will impact some more than others, QLife provide anonymous and free LGBTIQ+ support and 13YARN are here for all Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people. We want to hear your thoughts on how this might impact the mental health of under 16s in both a positive and negative way. The Beyond Blue Forums are a place for constructive and helpful conversation and the regular moderation rules apply which means we look forward to a kind and understanding discussion. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings Sophie M

BeyondBlue New to this Forum? Please read this first!
  • replies: 0

Hey there! Welcome to the Young People section of the Beyond Blue Forums. The purpose of this section is to provide members aged 25 and under a space to discuss life issues, tricky situations and the difficult emotions and feelings that come with tho... View more

Hey there! Welcome to the Young People section of the Beyond Blue Forums. The purpose of this section is to provide members aged 25 and under a space to discuss life issues, tricky situations and the difficult emotions and feelings that come with those. If you are aged over 25, please be mindful that this is a space for younger people to connect and provide support for each other. These forums are moderated, so your posts may not appear straight away. Information on moderation on the Forums can be found here. Being familiar with our Community Guidelines can help ensure that your posts appear online as quickly as possible. If we have concerns about your wellbeing, one of our friendly moderators will check in with you privately to make sure you get the support you need. If you need more immediate support, we recommend reaching out to the following: Beyond Blue Support Service – any time, chat online to a counsellor or call 1300 22 4636 Headspace – between 9am and 1am (AEST), chat online to a mental health clinician or call 1800 650 890 Kids Helpline – any time, chat online to a counsellor or call 1800 55 1800 Thank you for being here. We’re glad you’ve found us here and hope this can be a supportive space for you Beyond Blue

All discussions

Start a discussion

IthoughtIdtrythis I'm in a bad place and needed to write it down......
  • replies: 5

So I'm a 16 year old kid whose been going through some stuff. But, nothing particularly bad has happened to me. I started getting overwhelmed and start crying when I'd pack my lunch for school, for no reason, 6 months ago. I thought it was strange, b... View more

So I'm a 16 year old kid whose been going through some stuff. But, nothing particularly bad has happened to me. I started getting overwhelmed and start crying when I'd pack my lunch for school, for no reason, 6 months ago. I thought it was strange, but didn't really address it. After a while of feeling, empty and void of any motivation for basic tasks. I reached out to a friend. He took me to go see the GP and, she said I had major depressive disorder. The diagnoses made sense but, I don't know where it came from. I've always been somewhat pessimistic about the world in general, but that was always just me. Everything was going perfectly in my life, I finally had made plenty of friends, after being teased and excluded for 2 years, my grades where perfect, my life was perfect. And yet, I'm miserable, I feel nothing. I started sleeping in everyday for school and being self destructive. My grades have dropped to the point where I'm not even passing, my rooms a mess, and I just feel, nothing. I just want to feel something again. I can't look to the future with excitement for whats to come, everyday is just another day, they've all moulded into each other and it feels like it wont end. But everyone says theres a light at the end of the tunnel, and I believe them, I just don't see any light yet. Part of me thinks it's because I got everything I ever wanted, the things I thought would make me happy, only to realise happiness is a fleeting moment, I'll always be running on my hedonic treadmill. Waiting for the next thing that'll fill the void. But I think I just stopped running, and I don't know if I ever can again. I don't know if writing here will help me, and I wasn't able to capture how I truly feel in so few words. But I'm drowning. And this, this is me gasping for air. If anyone is reading this, thank-you, and sorry it was so dark, but unfortunately it gets dark without the mask I put on. Yes I know the mask is ironic considering I'm posting this anonymously but still, uno what I mean. Have a nice day, I really mean it.

giraffe90 Scared of getting a job away from home.
  • replies: 1

I'm turning 21 soon and currently in my 2nd year of University living 4 hours away from my hometown. Previously, I've been perfectly fine with being away from home/family so much and have dealt well with any feelings of homesickness. Even during COVI... View more

I'm turning 21 soon and currently in my 2nd year of University living 4 hours away from my hometown. Previously, I've been perfectly fine with being away from home/family so much and have dealt well with any feelings of homesickness. Even during COVID, i have been away from home for months at a time and have dealt with that well. However, whenever i consider getting a casual job where i live now i freak out and become super anxious. I don't know what mental block or what is going on in my brain but i was offered a casual job recently and ended up turning it down because i was so beside myself and hysterically crying. I just feel this really intrusive/unbearable feeling of being trapped and isolated if i get a job where i am even though i know that i can always request days/weekends off to visit my hometown. I know part of reason i feel this way is probably because of the current pandemic/isolation situation (i have definitely been a bit homesick the past few weeks) but i still feel like a little bit of a failure because i am nearly 21 and should able to take these steps (getting a new job away from home). This situation has kinda left me feeling a little doubtful of my ability to start my career in the future if i panic about the prospect of getting a small casual job now. Would love to hear if anyone has experienced anything similar?

HoneyMilk something that happened to me and i don't know what to do.
  • replies: 3

Lunch today will be one I will never forget. I had to do an interview with my friends about school life. It was supposed to be happy and fun but then the year 10's came. They are stereotypically the mean people of high school. This was today proven t... View more

Lunch today will be one I will never forget. I had to do an interview with my friends about school life. It was supposed to be happy and fun but then the year 10's came. They are stereotypically the mean people of high school. This was today proven to be true. We sat in their "spot" unaware this was their territory and no one else's. So I and my few friends sat and started to begin and then they came. Time moved slower as they came over and I felt a deep dark pit in my heart erupt. I'm the small bookworm who wears my heart on my sleeves and am way too sensitive for the life of me. It felt as if they were almost about to yell at us over sitting. As I'm writing this I'm in class still and on the verge of tears. I'm so unbelievably worried about walking in the hallway and them seeing me and doing... I have no idea. I just know that they talked trash behind our backs. I know I shouldn't care about what other people say about me but I just feel so scared, helpless and sad. How can I feel better? Is there something I can say to myself to make it all disappear? I knew I should have never gone to school today.

SapereAude Coronavirus and the Impact On Children and Younger People
  • replies: 0

Hi Everyone, I hope that your are going along okay but clearly these are difficult times for younger people, especially in Victoria. How are you coping during the pandemic? What are the main challenges you are facing?What helps you feel better about ... View more

Hi Everyone, I hope that your are going along okay but clearly these are difficult times for younger people, especially in Victoria. How are you coping during the pandemic? What are the main challenges you are facing?What helps you feel better about things? Have you got any other tips for your peers / parents / teachers?

SimpleStuff Not viewing life as something worth living.
  • replies: 2

As the title states, I struggle with the fact that I do not view life worth living. However, this is not from a mental illness, but rather stems from my philosophical views. I believe that life is meaningless and ultimately, that it is a negative exp... View more

As the title states, I struggle with the fact that I do not view life worth living. However, this is not from a mental illness, but rather stems from my philosophical views. I believe that life is meaningless and ultimately, that it is a negative experience. I have read multiple philosophical texts looking for answers, but almost always I find the answers supplied by those texts to be unsatisfactory. That is to say, the answers given do not seem logically sound, or reasonable enough to me (such as Camus' Absurdism, or Sartre's personalised existentialism.) It also does not help when reading works of pessimistic philosophers, such as Schopenhauer or Cioran, I find myself agreeing with their viewpoints that I cannot refrain myself from finding realistic. Furthermore, the result of having such views lead to quite a lonely, unsuccessful life. Unsuccessful in such a way that I procrastinate and waste opportunities (for example, I have several outstanding assignments that I have yet to complete and may not ever complete.) To further expand on my previous mention of loneliness, whenever I find myself expressing my nihilistic views, I am more often than not met with impertinence and disdain. It is almost like others see my philosophy as a threat to their way of life, and push me away (this is evident through the fact that my friendships have suffered greatly from the expression of my views.) Consequently, I also have developed a more negative view of my parents, for the reason being that they thoughtlessly brought me into this meaningless existence (an existence that I would rather not have to endure.) However, my main problem originates in the fact that I cannot rationalise to continue living. That is to say, due to my nihilistic views on life, it occurs to me that it is illogical for myself to continue living. Almost hypocritical, in fact.

spontaneous sunflower High school dropout, don't know where to go from here
  • replies: 16

I'm 17, turning 18 in a few months. I left school at the start of this year. Since I was 13 I've dealt with depression and anxiety, and it became this recurring cycle year after year. I moved schools at the end of 2018 hoping it would help. After one... View more

I'm 17, turning 18 in a few months. I left school at the start of this year. Since I was 13 I've dealt with depression and anxiety, and it became this recurring cycle year after year. I moved schools at the end of 2018 hoping it would help. After one year at this new school, I realised I was at my wit's end. I made no new friends at this new school, I ended up skipping classes and going home early because I couldn't handle being in the classroom, and I ended up failing the school year. I had to leave because I didn't see the school situation getting any better. At that point, after years of anxiety attacks and depressive episodes, I was so burnt out and exhausted. At the start of this year when I decided not to return to school, I had a chat with the career counsellors at school. They told me what my options were and they gave me places to research and look into. I started seeing a psychologist regularly again, and the plan was to get me ready to go to TAFE in July. But my heart was never in it. I kept putting off contacting the TAFE institutes I was recommended, and I had no idea what kind of course I wanted to do, and where I wanted to go after doing TAFE. So I told my psychologist how I felt, and she told me it was okay, that I didn't need to jump into anything too quickly, etc. But it's really hard for me to just accept that my life is "on hold". I used to have a plan, I wanted to get good grades, take a gap year and go to uni to study media and communications. My plans have changed a lot and I'm not even sure what I want to do anymore, if I even want to go to uni. But I hate not doing anything. My life feels meaningless and everyday is the same. Everyone keeps asking me what I'm doing and what I'm going to do and I just don't know. My dad wants me to go back to doing VCE. My family has always believed in me, always expected big things from me and now it's like I've let them down and they don't expect anything from me anymore. I know it's not too late, I believe it's never too late to turn your life around. I'm only 17 for crying out loud, my life has barely started. I would really love some advice or to hear other people's stories of being a dropout and what they ended up doing.

CameronN Advice on what to do
  • replies: 1

I'll make it a brief as possible as I'm not really one who tends to open up but it's killing me inside When I was 18 though to 20 I lost my best friend and other friends from suicide or an accident, that messed me up for years now, I felt like I was ... View more

I'll make it a brief as possible as I'm not really one who tends to open up but it's killing me inside When I was 18 though to 20 I lost my best friend and other friends from suicide or an accident, that messed me up for years now, I felt like I was getting better but I pushed alot of people away because of it, now just recently I spent 7 and a half months bed ridden, unable to look after myself and do anything for myself for the longest time which has made me fall into a deeper hole I thought couldn't get deeper, I was alone and in pain constantly, I pushed my friends and family away cause no one showed they actually cared towards me. Now that I've had surgery and in the process still recovering my loss of strength. I've come to the point that I don't know why I keep trying to recover, having no friends anyone and no one around really eats at me, but I really am trying my best to make myself better but it's so hard when you always feel lonely. If there is any advice anyone can offer I'm willing to try, I do wanna improve myself but I just keep feeling worst and worst the more I try it alone

Cindy7777 Opening up
  • replies: 2

My whole life I have suffered with depression and anxiety. I have gotten to the point I need to do something as it’s affecting me so much now and losing me opportunities I want. The one thing is I find it impossible to talk to people, I won’t ever fu... View more

My whole life I have suffered with depression and anxiety. I have gotten to the point I need to do something as it’s affecting me so much now and losing me opportunities I want. The one thing is I find it impossible to talk to people, I won’t ever fully open up and talking to a professional I just completely close up on them, no matter how much I want to open up. please help any ideas on how to get through this? Bit of background I am looking after my sick mum and being a single mum and also working and studying. My mum has never been supportive and very self absorbed my whole life only due to dealing with her own issues. I’ve been through a dv situation with my daughters father and constantly feel anxious.

cjcj5 I've got no one to turn to, so I just wanna let my thoughts out here.
  • replies: 3

I'm new here and I'm gonna make this quick because I can't be bothered to type a lot. I'm 15 and I have a few friends but none of them like to talk about serious stuff. My parents a generally ignorant and I can be in literal tears and say I'm just ti... View more

I'm new here and I'm gonna make this quick because I can't be bothered to type a lot. I'm 15 and I have a few friends but none of them like to talk about serious stuff. My parents a generally ignorant and I can be in literal tears and say I'm just tired and they believe me. My parents do not believe in mental illnesses and when my sister asked to see a therapist my mum told her there is nothing wrong with her. I'm not close with my sister, by the way, so talking to her isn't really an option. I've been feeling really down lately. I don't remember when this started, but I have no energy and I keep crying. I don't have the energy to talk much and I cried twice in class today. I feel really alone and I can't stop thinking about it. I can't concentrate and I don't really care about much now. I'm writing this instead of doing an assignment that's due in half an hour, actually. I just don't know what happened. I used to feel fine despite the lack of attention I get from my parents. Now I just can't stop crying and I don't want to go to school tomorrow at all. My parents don't know about any of this, they think I'm always fine and there's nothing wrong with me. I guess I'll just leave it as that.

Billiee 'White Picket Fence'
  • replies: 3

Hi Everyone, I'm sure alot of you have heard the lay metaphor 'White picket fence life' ... if not, this metaphor usually starts to relates at a certain age (late 20s) where you settle down with a partner, get married, have kids, live in the family h... View more

Hi Everyone, I'm sure alot of you have heard the lay metaphor 'White picket fence life' ... if not, this metaphor usually starts to relates at a certain age (late 20s) where you settle down with a partner, get married, have kids, live in the family home which comes together as the 'white picket fence life' So it's 2020 and times have REALLY changed but there is still alot of stigma and weight behind this term for young people in their late 20s. I have been doing alot of mental training to try and get this toxic thought out of my head as i don't believe it's is one of my own thoughts but merely a pressure of society that we have been born with blue printed into our minds. For those who experience this struggle in society i'd like to hear any thoughts as to your experience with this ... if it's something you think about alot? or if its never crossed your mind. Billiee