What does the holiday season look like for you? Do you have any holiday traditions? (Definitely doesn't have to be to do with just Christmas though! ) ... View more

Those cat GIFs are amazing @roseisnotaplant ! So cute   Woot! Time to get the chat going guys! :D Just before the GR begins i'd just like to remind everyone that if at all you find this conversation distressing or you feel like you need to talk to someone, about an issue then you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or use their webchat and email services found on their respective sites. The links can be found  here .  If you are new here then welcome! Have a quick peek at our community guidelines you can find them  here ! ... View more

Hello new mods!!!! Such an exciting time of year!     ... View more

We've spoken a bit about the frustrations that can arise with differences in opinions and expectations across generations, which could be interesting to further unpack, in terms of how to deal with it! How can we explain our experiences and/or differences to our parents and empathise with each other? ... View more

@WheresMySquishy it can super frustrating trying to explain to people why you might not be able to get a job with just a bachelor's degree anymore, or that you need lots of unpaid experience in order to work your way towards even an unpaid internship. Definitely doesn't mean that what you do isn't worthwhile , even if family/coworkers etc don't agree.    Do you think your parents had similar experiences with the generation before them? Is this something they overcame or do misunderstandings still remain?   I think there's always that gap to overcome in a lot of ways. My grandparents had very different expecations for their kids, than my parents did for me and my sisters, and I think a lot of that had to do with the conventions of the time, as well as with religious expectations and more conservative beliefs/behaviours. That being said i think as adults they all agreed to disagree on a lot of things, rather than getting into arguments over them (at least in front of the rest of the family :P)  It's interesting to think about what differences in their beliefs comes from their generation, and what comes from them personally.  ... View more

Hello all! Time to get this one started! :D Just before the GR begins i'd just like to remind everyone that if at all you find this conversation distressing or you feel like you need to talk to someone, about an issue then you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or use their webchat and email services found on their respective sites. The links can be found  here .  If you are new here then welcome! Have a quick peek at our community guidelines you can find them  here !   First question! Why do you think that differences between generations exist? What kinds of factors could be potentially contributing to them?   Tagging the keen beans who're interested! :D @ruthxxx @Charlie22 @scared01 @xXLexi_Lou122Xx @SomeoneNADJS @Esperanza67 @Bee @WheresMySquishy @Hozzles @drpenguin  ... View more

Tagging some recent users to see if you all might be interested in checking it out! :D @Hozzles @ruthxxx @WheresMySquishy @not-an-otter @Maryhadalittlelamb @Tiny_leaf   @Charlie22  @ApplesRoses @Blurryphaced @Bookworm2004 @drpenguin @DruidChild  @Amy9@Animallover2003@ApplesRoses@Bananatime04@Bento@blossomfox@blueberry32@Cheeseburger@Claire-RO@Confused_fox@DC@drpenguin@DruidChild@Jane_Rose@jewels21@Just_nobody@katurian@Ladybug@lennycat2017@litgym@LizO1997@Lonelyboy17@Maryhadalittlelamb@Matty D@MemphisBelle@Milkninja222@MisoBear@mspaceK@not-an-otter@Pasta@peacelovepizza@queenP@Saltwaterdreamtime@Sammyye@scared01@Secret_Pigeon@smileandwave@SomeoneNADJS@Tinkmatter@xXLexi_Lou122Xx @Esperanza67 @Bee  ... View more

@Jess1-RO thank you so much for sharing your experiences and advice it was really helpful and so amazing to read through ... View more

@Jess1-RO and @WheresMySquishy totally agree! Especially with the hollistic approach to mental health, it affects such a broad section of people's lives so it makes sense to have a broad approach! ... View more

Have you had experience of developing a Mental Health Care Plan? And if so, what advice do you have for someone who may be thinking of seeking mental health support through this avenue? That you're not obligated to stick with the same professional for all 10 sessions, and that ultimately you're allowed to choose what you want to focus on. You're definitely allowed to pause and say: this isn't working for me, what needs to change? This is something I think was covered well by other people earlier in the chat :) ... View more

@Jess1-RO I'm having a look through those directories and they look amazing! ... View more

@WheresMySquishy that's so so wrong what some of your friends and family said to you :( It's beyond unfair of them to act as if you're choosing to feel a certain way or are making things up for attention!  ... View more

@WheresMySquishy that's awful :( I can't imagine how frustrating that was! I hope they managed to work it out?   @Jess1-RO I agree that by talking about mental health, we increasingly normalise the discussion, and help people feel more comfortable and less afraid of asking for help Two things I wish we, as a society, said more, is that's it's okay not being okay, and that you don;t have to hit rock bottom before you get help!  ... View more

@Jess1-RO  that's really awesome! Recently I volunteered at a symposium that was aimed at informing people working in and with the mental health system about all of the services and pathways available in a certain area part of the city, after the introduction of the NDIS. It was honestly so amazing to see, and really encouraging! I think it was encouraging for everyone else there too, to be honest. It really aimed at helping to bridge the gap between different services, which I think is so so important! :D  ... View more

@Jess1-RO I really like the way you phrased your response that even though there are so many gaps, things are getting better and people's voices are being given space to be heard  Have you navigated the mental health system? And if you have found gaps, how did you manage to navigate around the gaps and find support? I have had experiences with the mental health system several times through a mental health care plan, but i've got an unfortunate tendency to just stop therapy rather than looking for other services when things haven't been as helpful as I'd hoped. And i do regret that! Something i've witnessed though with friends (and family) is that a lack of information has prevented them from going further than just seeing their GP and getting proper help. One of my closest friends was made aware last week of multiple services and rebates she was elligible for that she'd never even heard of, and she's been in the mental health system for years. It's mind boggling!  Another huge gap I feel is the lack of proper mental health understanding in emergency services, such as the ER. I've taken a friend to the ER recently in a mental health crisis, and I'm still fuming. They were nice enough (thank goodness) but so so uninformed :( It broke my heart ... View more

@Jess1-RO wow! That's really cool, and so nice that it's a path that brought you here! ... View more

@Jess1-RO that's really amazing that you've taken your experiences and struggles and used them to help others in a similar position, so they don't come across the same barriers! What kind of work did you first do if you don't mind my asking? :) ... View more

@Bre-RO ohhhh my gosh! Such a cute idea! :D   This is me in October:   I wish i'd thought to take a pic of the snacks I made for a Halloween movie night last week! I made fruit skewers with gummy body parts on them (which surprisingly all got eaten ). I also dressed as a vampire, which is always fun! 🎃🧛‍♀️💀 It was a super fun and creative way of spending time with friends and getting a little spooky, i agree with you that Halloween is good chance to get creative and dress up in a way you might not usually! Unfortunately where I live isn't really accessible for people who don't know it's there, so no trick or treaters here :(    Is anyone doing anything cool for Halloween that they'd like to share! :D I'm always looking for ideas!     ... View more

@Jess1-RO it sounds like this will be a really awesome and informative chat! Looking forward to it! ... View more

@Charlie22 looking forward to seeing you around :D good luck with yr 12! Do you have exams coming up or are you doing it part time? :D   ... View more

I think it's time to wrap up this discussion for tonight! I just wanted to thank you all for joining in on this chat It's been a really helpful and informative GR and i've loved getting all of your insight and opinions! @Esperanza67 @May_ @WheresMySquishy @ApplesRoses @SomeoneNADJS @drpenguin you're all legends!   Everyone is more than welcome to keep chatting about this topic, and if you couldn't make it tonight no worries! I'd love to hear what you think tomorrow! Have a great night guys! :D ... View more

@ApplesRoses love that! Media exerts such a powerful influence on society, it's nice to think that some of it's positive and encouraging too! ... View more

@WheresMySquishy and @ApplesRoses that's so cool that you've found such inspiration in fiction and media! :D ... View more

The article @WheresMySquishy mentioned talks about how to challenge negative thoughts and I actually thought i'd summarise it for us on this thread, because it's a really good resource. It talks about 4 types of questions we can ask ourselves, in order to challenge what our brain is throwing at us, because often it's unrealistic or untrue   There are four main types of challenging questions: - Questions that act as a reality check e.g. What is the evidence for and against my thinking? - Questions that seek alternative explanations e.g. If I were being positive, how would I perceive this situation? - Questions that put things in perspective e.g. Will this matter in five years’ time? (this is one i use all the time and it honestly helps me so much) - Questions that are goal-directed e.g. Is this way of thinking helping me to achieve my goals?   ... View more

@WheresMySquishy awesome infographic! :D    @ApplesRoses i really like how you've emphasised the importance of being connected in building self-love. Acknowledging that you deserve love and support @SomeoneNADJS totally agree! Accepting that everyone is only human, and therefore makes mistakes, is part of being gentle with ourselves. Self-acceptance is also a big part of self-positivity!         ... View more

How can we be more positive towards ourselves?   There's also this awesome infographic for changing the way you speak to yourself :D   ... View more

How can we be more positive towards ourselves?   I'm going to spam us with RO content for this one!     There's a bunch of articles about self-talk and self-awareness here!   A really awesome one about how to recover from making mistakes here!   There's also another RO page that talks about a girl named Sarah, and how she overcome her negative self-talk and the role this played in her recovery     ... View more