caity, that's so cool! Wish I could play all of those. I play mainly drums, but I also do a bit of guitar. I also got a harmonica for my birthday... :P should be fun.  I think I'll be taking away some of these coping strategies too! So many good ideas. I'll make sure to try them next time I'm stressed :)  Here's a quick summary of tonight's session:   Some people talked about struggling with uni, while others struggled with personal and mental health issues. Everyone seems to rely on friends and family to help them get by, and it seems important to take some time off to get things back to normal before getting into anything too stressful. Also important – seeing a counsellor/psychologist! If you're experiencing any kind of emotional or mental health difficulties, the most obvious (and best) thing you can do is to talk to someone who knows how to deal with these sorts of problems. So when things do get tough, how can we cope? There are so many ways! Talking to someone, socialising, doing art, listening to music, positive thinking, and allocating time to think about the things that are bothering us (to identify issues and fix them). Writing is also good – whether it be writing a list, or writing down the things that are wrong to get a clearer picture. Going for a walk, reading, and playing games are also great ways to deal with stress! As mentioned before, uni is a big area that people struggle with. Work, social life, relationships, and our own selves can also be a challenge to deal with. So how do we deal with these? Asking for help, talking to the counsellor, committing to coping strategies and hobbies, watching tv, playing music, exercising, socialising... Stress can lead to all sorts of mental and physical issues. Depression and anxiety are the big ones – but there's really no telling what effect excess stress will have on you. It's important to try to exercise regularly, take time to be alone, spend time with friends, eat healthy, and be self-aware. Self-awareness is important because if you don't know what causes your stress, you can't possibly do anything to fix it! It's easy to recognise the signs if you've been through it yourself – not attending uni, not handing in assignments, sleeping late and refusing to get out of bed, drinking a lot, eating a lot, mood swings, if they seem extra quiet (or extra manic). It's important to listen to friends and be there for them – if you see any telltale signs of mental illness, ask your friend if they're ok! After so much serious talk, we had a chat about good tunes to listen to when we're feeling stressed! Top suggestions included Never Gonna Give You Up, Come On Eileen, Shannon Noll's Lift...and many others. Thanks for coming guys, great session! Hope you all got something out of it. Have a great night, see you next week! :)  ... View more

haha delicatedreamer, I'll take your word for it!  ... View more

sjg, nice list! Can't say I've heardhalf of those though... :P sorry! Caity, I agree, playing music is the best! What do you play?  Alright, last question for the night!  What's one thing you'll take away from tonight's session? ... View more

haha j95, that's great :P   and Shannon Noll! It's been so long since I heard him. Wonder what he's up to these days? ... View more

sounds awesome! what other songs are on there? ... View more

haha sjg, great/cheesy song! :P I have so many that can get me feeling good - I think the best one, one that has definitely made me feel relaxed and happy, is by a band called Black Moth Super Rainbow (best band name ever, right?)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2hL32fDs6c ... View more

You're all pretty spot on with the kinds of things to look for! It can be hard to tell sometimes when someone is going through a tough time, but there's usually something to look out for. I think the best thing to do is to talk to friends and be there for them whenever they need it :) ... View more

florence, you're right - it's a lot easier to see the signs if you've been through the same things yourself. If I ever saw a friend of family member doing anything suspicious that I know I've done myself, I'd definitely bring it up.  ... View more

That's awesome j95, so good of you to help her out! :) ... View more

Awesome suggestions guys! You all seem pretty self-aware, and you've got these coping mechanisms pretty much mastered. Nice! Let's move onto the next question: How can we recognise when other people (friends, family) are going through tough times? How might we help? ... View more

hey caity, welcome to the GR session! You're right - stress and anxiety have so many different effects, there's really no telling what it might do to you. It can affect pretty much any aspect of your life, and it can be really hard to deal with! I agree, identifying the signs before stress gets too much is so important, and it's also important to talk to someone about these things before it's too late. ... View more

Stress can be so bad for mental health - it can lead to depression, anxiety, anger issues, as well as physical symptoms (I'm sure we've all experienced headaches from excess stress...). I think it's good to take time to be alone and relax (read, write, play xbox...) as well as spend time with friends and get out of the house for a bit. You need a balance!  ... View more

j95 - pets are good too. We actually had a getting real session about that a month or so ago - big discussion about pets! If you get a chance you should check it out :) florence - ice cream always helps! but yea, it takes a while, but it's worth it in the end. I mean, you're obviously feeling so much better now than you did back then-  and even if that isn't the case 100% of the time, it's a big improvement :)  ... View more

florence, that's so good to hear! Sounds like it's been a long, tough journey. Glad to hear you're feeling better after it all :)    j95 - I think the very best thing you can do for yourself is to give yourself that day off every so often (or even every week!) just to sit back and relax. If you're going and going without stopping you'll just burn yoiurself out, and then you won't want to do any of these things. Try to take care! ... View more

Nice one sjg! I'm the same, it took me a while to actually ask for help with uni stuff. Tutors are always happy to help! And so are friends and family.  Haha work is a bit different - can't really skip it! But taking some time off is great if you can manage it.  florence, seems like you're getting better at dealing with all of these things! It's cool to see that you're aware of your capabilities. Keep at it :)  ... View more

j95, that's a good point...can't have too much pizza :P  Alright guys, next question!  What are the areas of life that people seem to struggle with most? Is there a way to make these things easier/less stressful (even if it's just dropping everything for a while and going to watch tv!)? ... View more

florenceforever, I totally get it! Positive thinking isn't for everyone, especially when anxiety is the issue. It can cloud your judgement about everything.    j95, sucks that you've had a rough day! Seems like pizza is another great way to deal with tough situations. And this is crazy, I also had pizza for dinner! delicatedreamer, so many awesome tips! Love it! I really like thought challenging techniques myself, it's a good way to try to think things through in a different way. ... View more

You guys seem like you're all good at this coping stuff! My coping strategy is harder for some people than others, but - positive thinking. Seems simple, but having a positive outlook on things can make difficult situations seem a lot simpler, and it makes it easier to let go of things that don't matter. I'm one of the only ones at my work who can keep is cool 99% of the time - I like to think positive thinking helps! ... View more

Thanks for coming dd! Seems like it'd be pretty tough to deal with placement when you're going through anxiety. I think you did the best thing you could for yourself though, so good on you for that :) do you think it helped? ... View more

Well it's a good thing you enjoy it :) I suppose that makes it a little bit more worthwhile.  Haha nice, mums can be good for that sort of thing! I don't talk to my mum about much, but when I do she seems to always have good advice. ... View more

florenceforever, awesome work! Sounds like a tough time, but good on you for seeking help and making the most of the time off. Sounds like it worked out even better than you expected! ... View more

Good on you for getting help with your uni stuff! Hope it goes well :) Commissioning paintings seems pretty cool, how is that going? Wish I could paint! I went through a bit of a tough time last week - nothing major, but it's something! - when I thought I hadn't done well on an important exam. I was pretty stressed, so I talked to my mum and a couple of friends about it. Feeling much better now! ... View more

Hey guys! Welcome to tonight's Getting Real session. Over the next couple of hours we'll be talking about tough times and how to get through them – perfect for anyone who's currently swamped at uni, working too much, having relationship troubles, or anything else! I'm Magga, and moderating with me tonight is SJG. Please remember to follow the guidelines – other than that, let's have a great night! If you feel like you're having trouble with anything we talk about tonight, please remember that there are loads of contact numbers at the top right corner of the page – check them out if you need it :)   First question: Think of a time when you made it through a tough situation. What happened? How did you cope? ... View more

Thanks to everyone for joining in tonight! It's been a great discussion, loads of awesome contributions and hilarious pet photos. Here's a summary of what we talked about - feel free to come back and have a look through for ideas in the future! Dogs, cats, fish, and even a couple of bearded dragons! There are all sorts of pets out there, and it s eems like everyone loves having them around. Mr Gusteyre looks especially dashing in that top hat! We all love pets – but what about other people's pets? Why do we like watching videos of them so much? Well, apart from the fact that ' fuzzy animals are literally the best thing ever', the fact that humans have evolved to feel empathy and attachment to pets helps. They make us feel happy, and seeing them do things that we're too embarrassed to do is kind of a fun release. Also – they're just plain cute! So aside from watching/spending time with pets, what else can give us a boost in good feels? All sorts of things, apparently! Cleaning the house, 'achieving things', nice smells (like soaps and shampoos), snapchat, hanging out with friends, spending time in nature...the list goes on! We know what to do to increase our wellbeing – but what should we avoid? Well – procrastinating, sitting in silence, triggers, negative people, social media, and the news (makes sense – so much negativity!), to name a few. To stay positive, it's best to try to do some of the positive things instead of the negative. Hang out with friends, do something fun, or just find some way to relax. Stay clear of negativity! So what little things can make us feel good when we're down? Chocolate, taking a bath, going for a walk, sleeping...and pets, of course! Seems like lizards may be just the thing to turn a bad day around. Other people enjoy reading, herbal tea, and the ever-charming Nathan Fillion. How could you not? :P So what else is great for our wellbeing? People, of course! Our parents, family, friends...those who are closest and dearest to us tend to also be the best at making us feel good. Whether we rely more on friends or more on family isn't so important, as long as we all have someone. Of course, another source of positivity is the ReachOut forums! Awesome! What sorts of things can we do if we start to notice our wellbeing starting to slip? How do we even know that we need to do something about it? Well, a lot of us seem to withdraw from social situations, get irritable, feel unmotivated and unhappy, and spend a lot more time in bed than we perhaps should. Some people even experience panic attacks. To combat these feelings, we can exercise or reach out to friends, or work to make some sort of change – set a new routine, destroy the old one, and reaffirm positive goals. It's important to realise that the feeling will eventually pass! Have a great night all, get some sleep! Hope to see you here for next week's Getting Real session :)  ... View more

haha j95, sounds good! Have fun :)  Thanks delicatedreamer, awesome to have you here! Hope you enjoyed it :)  ... View more

By the looks of things, sleep is on everyone's minds! ... View more

I actually have my girlfriend here tonight, so I'll be spending a bit longer with her - but then sleep! Gotta love sleep. And I need to be up in the morning for work...what a shame :P ... View more

sagira - it's been great to have you here! Tonight has been good fun. ... View more

haha chessca, sounds like a great way to spend the rest of the night! lokifish - I think I'll try to sleep too! Always love a good sleep... ... View more

have a good night stonepixie, thanks for being a part of such an awesome discussion! ... View more