Hi lovely RO community!I've been a little less active on here as of late, so I wanted to jump on and say hey! I've had a tough few weeks balancing usual life stuff like work and uni with chronic illness and mental health flare-ups, which has really sucked. This has been a major reminder for me about how important it is to take quiet time to look after myself and do some self-care.It seems to me that autumn has finally arrived, and i've been loving the cooler weather change.I'm a big fan of cosy jumpers, and hot drinks, and going for a walk and feeling the cool wind on my face. I've been self-care-ing this week by working on my latest knitting project, which is a cardigan. I love knitting all year round but find working on thicker projects like jumpers or cardigans extra satisfying when it's cooler because they keep me warm when i'm working on them too! It's definitely something that I find really soothing.I've also been spending lots of time leaning on friends and family for self-care this week too. It's so hard to be vulnerable with the people in your life when things are tough, but it's also so worth it. It's lovely to just be really present in the company of the people you love too.So! I'd love to hear from you all about how you've all been doing, what you've been up to, or what you've been doing for self-care lately. Or even something that's been bringing you joy.Looking forward to hearing from everyone💛🌻.

Hi, I don't know how to start this so ill just go straight into it,I'm mid high school and constantly compared to my older siblings image. Sometimes I feel forced into things I don't want to do just to live up to my family name. As of late I've been on the receiving end of a lot of verbal abuse and I know some people think that verbal abuse isn't that bad so I feel that I can't talk to anyone. Honestly in the last two moths I've been spiralling, my eating and sleeping schedule has been sooo messed up my grades have dropped, I cant seem to hand anything in on time and I've lost a lot of weight. I'm constantly ridiculed to be better and I know it could be worse and that I shouldn't complain but my family's been getting more and more aggressive it feels like I'm suffocating.Anyways that's me, thanks for listening 😊

The 2025 federal election is fast approaching on Saturday May 3rd. There’s an ocean of information out there to process and understand, and it’s important to look after yourself in the middle of it.Here’s some things to keep in mind for May 3rd:You must be enrolled to vote if you are over 18 and an Australian citizen. Head to the Australian Electoral Commission website to enrol if you haven’t already. If you have already voted in a federal election you do not need to enrol again.You can find your nearest polling centre on the AEC website when the information becomes available.If you can’t vote on the day there are alternatives available, including early voting and postal votes.Source: ABC.Having conversations about politics with friends or family who have different views to you can be difficult at this time. You might end up feeling frustrated, upset or unheard. We’ve put together a guide to discussing politics with friends and family which gives strategies on how to cope with a range of situations, so you can put your wellbeing first. You can also join our community’s discussion about election anxiety and ways to manage these feelings.

hey guys! I don't like being vulnerable so I don't want to talk about my feelings, but my life is actually so cooked right now. tell me WHY I barely leave the house bruhhh. actually I do know why, it's the severe anxiety. but like that doesn't make it okay. I have a life to live and this anxiety, self esteem issues, perfectionism and constant low mood is preventing me from living. I'm sure a bunch of you guys can relate, it doesn't feel like living, it feels like just existing.I'm 19 years old, I should be working right now and setting myself up for my future but instead I am stuck here, falling behind. And its almost come to the point where its noticeable to my family and maybe my extended family, because they will be like why aren't you working, why do you keep deferring uni? I'm not going to tell them the real reason why, because they will just dismiss me or make it about them or see me as weak. let me deal with my own crap, I don't need support from my family, I've always gotten through things on my own in spite of them. I regularly see a psychologist too so it's not like I have 0 support. I shouldn't have to let people in on my struggles just because they're family.anyways anxiety sucks bro and avoidance behaviours are the worst. I just want to be able to do normal things and not feel afraid all the time.

this is different for me to do but i might as well give it a go, recently ago my dad came to visit me and picked me up in his ‘new car’ which later i discovered was stolen, he took me back to his new house and we hung out for a few hours, he then took me to get a drink from the servo. on the way back to his house someone started following us and as we got closer to his house he said to me ‘as soon as we get to the house you need to get out of the car and run inside, someone is following us and i dont know who it is.” He then proceeded to jump out of the car, he ran and jumped the fence where I stood in shock and with no idea what to do, he yelled out from the other side of the fence telling me to go inside the front door (which was locked anyways)Spoiler (Highlight to read)as i turned around the corner towards the front of the house i saw multiple cars stopping in front and around the house, i froze as a whole swat team began running towards me with torches and guns pointing at me, they yelled at me telling me to get down on the ground and they proceeded to put cuffs on me, the whole night kind of fizzled out and finally i was in the confession room at the station andas i turned around the corner towards the front of the house i saw multiple cars stopping in front and around the house, i froze as a whole swat team began running towards me with torches and guns pointing at me, they yelled at me telling me to get down on the ground and they proceeded to put cuffs on me, the whole night kind of fizzled out and finally i was in the confession room at the station andmy mum walked in and hugged me, reassuring me that everything was going to be okay. It has been over 2 weeks and I still have not cried. I haven’t been able to cry for weeks and it’s really starting to get to me.Spoiler (Highlight to read)I stayed in the mental health ward last week because I had a plan to end my lifeI stayed in the mental health ward last week because I had a plan to end my life, I still have not heard from my dad as he is still in custody due to court dates. I don’t think I will ever see him again, a restraining order made by the police has been put in place and my heart has been completely shattered by my own father. growing up, he had always told me that he would go above and beyond to protect me and he would do anything for me even if that means fatality or injuries or even prison time. that moment when he got out of the car he had the chance to prove those words to me but no, he chose himself, he chose to run and to leave his 15 year old daughter to be arrested for his own actions. in that moment I saw who he really was and I knew that he didn’t care for me the way he said he did, he chose himself over his daughter and honestly that shows a lot.