Quickly popping in again to say thanks so much for the chat and your valuable insights tonight @Ngandabaa!  Also @Bre-RO I miss Art Attack so much, I remember I always went on the website and wanted to do some of the crafts but I never got around to them. Maybe I can do them now for my younger self  ... View more

@Ngandabaa thankyou so much for the advice! I really struggle with perfectionism, but as you said I can see how finding one part of the piece I am working on that I like could be helpful. There's no such thing as 'perfect'!  ... View more

@Ngandabaa- absolutely agree, there's a reason different forms of art therapy are used in different contexts!  ... View more

@WheresMySquishy -- that sounds lovely! Yeah, I had a mini mood recording app that I used every day for around two years, I started journalling on my phone at the start of the year, and I tried to start drawing every day... but COVID kinda interfered with that, I just haven't had the energy to do little things anymore!  ... View more

@Bre-RO - I seriously went to Officeworks the other day meaning to get more journals, then I thought 'hang on, what about all my other empty ones?'  @Ngandabaa - starting definitely is the hardest part  I agree with you completely @JazzInMay, I'm so hard on myself that it blocks my creativity.  ... View more

I really want to start scrapbook/ bullet journalling but I never know where to start!  same with journaling and... everything, really! Even learning an instrument... I'll get there one day?  ... View more

Amazing quotes @Ngandabaa, I love quotes like that  Being creative really does allow you to think more deeply about things. I like writing and I often find myself thinking about how I would write about what's happening around me as I'm experiencing it, or how a character would perceive it. As I mentioned, creativity allows us to be more mindful! ... View more

@Ngandabaa thanks so much for sharing! I'm sure we will get into it in more depth, but art is so great for mental health for so many reasons. The mindfulness of creating, the ability to express yourself/ your inner emotions, the collaboration of sharing your art and finding others like you... it's one of the best things!  ... View more

Hey @Ngandabaa welcome! Thank you for chatting with us! I just had a little look at your work also and I have to agree with @JazzInMay! I love it, such vibrant colours!  ... View more

Thanks for the tag! I might be popping in and out, but I'll try to be around for the most part!  ... View more

Going to revive this thread as a safe place during these times.  ... View more

Resurrecting this thread, as it's an important resource to have during these times regarding what's been happening in America/ worldwide.  ... View more

Hey @musicfan_xo the others have given you amazing suggestions so I don't have much to add, other than how are you travelling today? ... View more

I've tried 7Cups in the past (around 4 years ago), so keep that in mind! But I found that because it was world-wide, the language and cultural barriers got to me a lot. It is focused on peer-support, like here, but unlike here, it isn't Australian-based. You can search for Australian listeners though, I think? The group support chats are nice, I think I used them the most because one-on-one was overwhelming. ... View more

So excited for this. It's a very pressing topic for me since mental health has both inspired my creativity and has actively blocked it (e.g. fear of failure, perfectionism, lack of motivation...). @Bre-RO -- I'm not sure if it's happening to anyone else, but I just wanted to let you know the forums not letting me submit questions right now! It's showing up ' Must be a valid URL'. ... View more

I tried to type up a post here last night, but my internet cut out just as I was posting it, and I lost the autosave.  Probably a good thing, since a lot happened since last night that I'd have to update...  Blegh... again, I'm really sorry again that I can't really reply to the other messages right now, I'll try to later. Thank you everyone for the support, just know it means a lot even if I can't reply. I just need to sort out my thoughts.  First off, I ended up withdrawing the unit. I feel horrible about it but it was for the best. I just don't know if I'll ever be able to complete uni at this point (or this year, at least)... haha.  TW for next few paras: OCD, existential/ death-related intrusive thoughts, self harm (intrusive thoughts). I really, really don't feel well at the moment. OCD is really getting at me. Which is funny to recognise, because sometimes my OCD obsessions are about how I don't really have OCD and I'm making everything up. But... ugh, I'm just so, so exhausted. I feel like everything is becoming an obsession now. Perfectionism and getting things exactly right is stopping me from doing anything fun or creative that I really want to do. I'm obsessing about my sexuality/ even my gender again. The other day I had a bad dream about my grandpa, and had to make sure he was alright as soon as I woke up. He said grandma wanted to take him on a walk, but he didn't want to go. I told him he should, then I panicked all day that I 'caused' him to walk into some inevitable danger. Every time I'm not sure where someone is, I worry something bad has happened to them. The biggest, most distressing theme is my existential/ death OCD (I can barely type the word right now). I don't even know where to begin, because it sounds so stupid... basically, I can't function at all because I can't stop obsessing about existence/ death. Where do I even start... it just sounds really crazy, I can't even put it into words. I wake up and I'm immediately hit by the limitations I have of just being me, like I can't ever be someone else and experience things in the perspective of someone else because I can only ever be me. Every time I get a random bodily sensation, I go into a panic attack because my stupid brain is convinced that I'm dying. When I walk around in public I get vivid intrusive thoughts of something bad happening to me and wonder how the strangers around me would react. I couldn't sleep at all last night because my dumb brain somehow got convinced sleeping = being unaware + unconscious + brain not fully functioning thus pretty much dying, so every time I felt myself start to drift off I got another panic attack. I haven't slept all day and I'm so worried I won't be able to sleep again tonight. It's so scary, last night I even found myself considering self-harm for a while because I just wanted something, anything, to take my mind off my intrusive, scary thoughts. I didn't do it, but just the thought of it really, really scares me. I feel like things have never been this bad before. I've had crippling OCD themes before, but they weren't exactly life/ death situations/ thoughts, so I could have additional thoughts surrounding my intrusive ones. Now, it feels like all I can think about is the intrusive thoughts.What makes it worse is that I've been feeling so dissociative lately, like I'm disconnected from my surroundings/ body. I really, honestly don't know what I do all day, because it feels like I'm an outsider watching my own body going through the motions... Ugh, I just really, really hate OCD. I don't know if I've said this before but I'd seriously rather live with just depression/ anxiety for the rest of my life. At least my head can have breaks, and everyone understands depression/ anxiety. With depression/ anxiety, you can ask for reassurance and support without it being compulsive and worse off for you. I know it isn't that easy (I also struggle with anxiety/ depression) but I just. Cannot. Stand. OCD. I feel so much regret, my first medication I was ever on worked so well for blocking OCD thoughts but it stopped working for depression... I should have just tolerated the depression, because that would be better than this. I'm so frustrated, I don't know what else I can do. I tried to call Lifeline earlier today but no words would come out of my mouth so I told them I will ring back later (I didn't). Not sure if I've mentioned my psychiatrist saga yet but originally I had a 5 month estimated wait to see a psychiatrist, now I only have two weeks but OCD is going wild saying the new psychiatrist won't believe me, will think I'm crazy, will give me the wrong meds, will make me worse... etc. I've been trying to get into a psychologist also but the wait is long for there too. I'm just so tired. I'm safe, by the way. I just feel like all my progress has gone down the drain. I really don't know where all this came from. Maybe COVID, I can recognise that a lack of routine is getting to me -- I no longer have anything to wake up for (when I do get some sleep)...  I just don't know how I could possibly get out of this.  Sorry for the ramble, I know most of this probably isn't coherent but I needed to get some thoughts out and just vent a bit. ... View more

For sure @WheresMySquishy! Such a great variety of valuable information from everyone, thank you so much! I look forward to any additional insights later, if anyone else would like to add their thoughts at any time! Goodnight, all!  ... View more

@WheresMySquishy exactly! Advocacy can be really important!  ... View more

@Tiny_leaf Here!  1.   What might discrimination look like? What contexts can discrimination occur in? 2.  Who are some people who are more likely to face discrimination in our current society? 3.  What are some things we can do to prevent ourselves from judging or discriminating against others? 4.  What can you do/ where can you get support if you're being discriminated against? 5.  How can you support someone who is being discriminated against?What are some good ways to be there for someone who is facing discrimination? Maybe something you've done before and recommend to others! 6.  How can we take steps towards change in society to make it a less discriminating place? Can you think of any other ways to be an ally for groups facing prejudice? ... View more

@Eden1717 what a brilliant way to sum it up!  ... View more

How   can we take steps towards change in society to make it a less discriminating place? Can you think of any other ways to be an ally for groups facing prejudice? Bringing it back to almost every question in this GR... just being mindful of person's needs, and always taking into account that there are feelings behind each person and practicing empathy. It can start by the simple things, like using non-gendered language such as 'they/them' pronouns when you don't know a person's gender, to larger things, like creating or signing a petition to change something, or bringing an issue such as a lack of clothing sizes or a lack of disability access to a company's attention. As I said, volunteering is always an option for someone wanting to do more for groups facing prejudice -- I feel like almost every volunteer opportunity can fall within those lines!  ... View more

Time for the last question! That went quick! How can we take steps towards change in society to make it a less discriminating place? Can you think of any other ways to be an ally for groups facing prejudice? ... View more

How can you support someone who is being discriminated against? What are some good ways to be there for someone who is facing discrimination? Maybe something you've done before and recommend to others! What @Eden1717 and @WheresMySquishy said!  Completely agree with both your points! It can really be hard sometimes, but stepping in if it's safe to do so can really mean a lot, sometimes there's strength in numbers. And active-listening is a really important point, I feel like if someone's been discriminated against repeatedly they can definitely come to think the way they're being treated is the 'norm' and that they're silly for being upset.  ... View more

@WheresMySquishy thanks for all the links! Especially the Fair Work thing, I feel like some employers can take advantage of people (especially young people) who don't know what their rights are when they're working. ... View more

What can you do/ where can you get support if you're being discriminated against? Definitely talk to someone! You could start with a trusted friend or a family member. If it's a workplace/school issue you could try bringing it to the attention of the boss/principal. As always, psychological support is available in a lot of ways, e.g. online (here, eheadspace), in person (a referral to a psychologist, a school counselor), over the phone (lifeline, kidshelpline). Sometimes things may escalate to the point you may need to  report it to the Australian Human Rights Commission, or  get the police or a lawyer involved... unfortunately I'm not really sure about the processes on that, though!  Here is a good resource for supports you could access. ... View more

Next question!  What can you do/ where can you get support if you're being discriminated against? ... View more

Goodnight @Saltwaterdreamtime! Thank you so much for all your valuable insights! ... View more

What are some things we can do to prevent ourselves from judging or discriminating against others? Just checking in with yourself, and noticing your own behaviors. Even just little things like noticing when you're using gendered language for a person you don't know. I've noticed even professionals use language such as 'he' when referring to GPs etc. 'They' is always a better option unless you know a person's pronouns! Another thing can be volunteering and trying to increase friendship groups by mixing with people you don't normally communicate with... it can sometimes be a good way to increase your understanding of others! ...Also, everything @WheresMySquishy just said.  ... View more

Free hugs for everyone in this thread, and everyone reading! You don't have to fight discrimination alone. ... View more