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Struggles with mental health

Struggles with mental health

Here’s a thoughtful, honest, and impactful message you can post on the SANE Forum, striking a balance between vulnerability, self-awareness, and your desire to be understood:

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Title: Struggling with Depth, Disconnection, and Emotional Exhaustion

Hi everyone,

I’ve been sitting with a lot of conflicting thoughts lately, and I wanted to share them here because I’m tired of being misunderstood or told to "just be positive." I’ve always been someone who feels things deeply—pain and frustration with life and status as a temp migrant. I have a strong inner world, and sometimes it feels like that makes me an outlier.

I’m surrounded by people who say they care, but I often feel like a miniscule group of people genuinely listens without trying to fix me or judge me. I cherish those rare friendships, but I also feel drained—mentally and emotionally—especially when I'm expected to be cheerful. I have been contemplating a job change, but the uncertainty surrounding my visa status is hurting my prospects.

I’m an introvert, I connect with dark music, and I’ve had a history of feeling like an outsider since I was born. Some days, I want to isolate and beat myself, while other days, I crave being heard without having to put on a mask.

I don’t know what this all adds up to—burnout, depression, existential fatigue? All I know is I feel emotionally raw, and I’m looking for a space where people won’t downplay that or tell me to just “look on the bright side.”

If you relate, or have any words, I’d really appreciate it. I’m not expecting a fix or a new job—just maybe a moment of human connection that feels real.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day/night.

176 replies

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In response to: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

@rav3n, Unfortunately not. I have been to some small towns in Tamil Nadu, namely my dad's ancestral town called Mannargudi, Trichy, Kodaikanal and this place in Karnataka called Davangere.

Davangere is famous for its dosa that's drenched in a huge block of butter.

In response to: Re: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

hey! @Lowrida29 how are you going?

Davangere sounds so familiar... i'll need to check with my dad to see if i've visited that place before. omg that dosa sounds amazing!! i once had amazing masala dosa for 5 rupees. eating dosa in melb makes me sad when i look at the price haha

outta curiousity, do you speak multiple indian languages?

In response to: Re: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

@rav3n. Fine. I am waiting for a new marketing campaign to begin at work. Hbu?

Eating South Indian food in Australia is a crime against South Indians. I can't find a good south indian restaurant that serves good Tamil Muslim style biryani.

I studied Hindi till Year 3. But, I can understand most South Indian languages like Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada. My Tamil is alright for a whitewashed dude, but my brain always thinks in English. Has this happened to you?

In response to: Re: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

oo that sounds interesting! @Lowrida29 i'm alright, been enjoying the melb weather today (not too hot but not too cold!)

haha so true, i don't think i've come across a really good south indian restaurant yet. ooo i don't think i've tried Tamil Muslim style biriyani before... but that does sound good. is it quite different from dum biriyani?

i wish i knew hindi!! mainly so i could understand movies/songs without subtitles. i'm not fluent in my own mother tongue unfortunately (i used to be when i was a kid, but now my 4 yr old nephew speaks better than me). i can understand bits of kannada, i'm actually trying to learn it on an app at the moment. tamil, i understand tiny bits but can't speak at all... same with malayalam - i can only say a few insults in that language and that's it. my brain defs thinks in english! i never thought about people having thoughts in a different language... now i gotta ask my parents what language they think in haha. do you watch a lot of indian movies? (also i'm heading off soon so i'll respond to you when i'm on next!)

In response to: Re: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

@rav3n. I don't watch a lot of Bollywood movies. I watch mostly Tamil and to some extent, Telugu movies.

Although I can understand languages, fluency can take a lot of time. Despite attempts to read Tamil, I have received flak in the past for speaking like a foreigner, so, I can relate to your efforts to learn Kannada on your phone.

In response to: Re: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

@Lowrida29 oh nice! my sister loves watching south indian movies, but i unfortunately am a bit white-washed there. i did watch a Kannada movie in the cinemas recently though - it's really cool seeing Kannada movies in Aussie cinemas, a few year ago they only did Hindi!

that's true, fluency does take a lot of time and practice. learning to read Tamil sounds quite challenging though!

In response to: Re: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

@rav3n, nowadays most theatres in Western Sydney have started showing south indian movies, even one of the theatres in Broadway shows them occasionally.

Yeah, reading Tamil is challenging because of the letters and their variations, similar to what Kannada offers.

In response to: Re: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

that's so good! @Lowrida29

yeah, i think i tried learning the kannada alphabet when i was younger and gave up instantly haha.

also, hope you've been well 😊

In response to: Re: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

@rav3n, I'm alright. Hope you are well too.

Btw, my parents speak a dialect of Tamil that's spoken by the elite, although I take the piss out of it, due to its pretentiousness.

In response to: Re: Struggles with mental health

Re: Struggles with mental health

thanks @Lowrida29 i'm alright too 😊

haha love that you do that! i don't think i've come across that for my own language, but i'll have to pay close attention when i go india again. also did you end up deciding whether you'll go India, visit melb or stay in syd?

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