Hi I don't think I commented on this site before, only had an account on fighunter. Just wanted to say it's great to see you are still posting regularly, thanks for keeping us updated and hope you continue to progress towards your goals!
If SSRIs were so useless seems to me that doctors wouldn't use them so overwhelmingly, maybe they're suboptimal for less troubled people but for intense social anxiety they are reported to work great, so seems like they could be useful here
What? Medicine usage is largely driven by pharma profits, not by the medicinal value; the science is pretty clear about antidepressants being ineffective, and there are a lot more meta-analysises out there similarly showing no positive effect from them. There are a lot of other things that could be great for social anxiety, but it'd be impossible to know what would work for any individual without a comprehensive bloodwork panel -- for instance, there's this fairly recent pilot study on an extremely mild testosterone supplementation on women to treat SAD (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01556-8).
For another case of this, see how oral phenylephrine ("decongestant") was marketed as a decongestant for years until studies came out showing it's actually useless, so the FDA pulled the plug on them.
I haven't made a list of new years resolutions for years, but maybe I will this year. I do have some things I want to work on, mostly art related.
I feel like your best bet for working is creative work like you listed in number 5. You'd be surprised how hard on you people are in normal minimum wage jobs, especially if you're a little bit abnormal in personality. ^_^' Ironically, not everyone is a good fit for the basics. But I think usually people who aren't particularly good at the basics have other things they're better at that would impress people. You have lots of ability and experience for creative work. I feel like you could make assets for indie game companies or do your own smaller works while the bigger projects are still in the making (even if they are technically still small projects).
Tbh, people who do various volunteer work can be incredibly and surprisingly snobby as well. I honestly would say don't unless you really believe in the cause because you might have to ignore a bunch of a-holes while you're doing it. I've personally had to avoid the Christians in mental health spaces because they honestly just make it harder to get better. They're way more negative than they realize, even while they think they're being positive and uplifting. It's tiring to deal with their antics, especially when I see them going around and discouraging other people. I used to be one of them, so I kind of see their perspective, but I still think they need to cut it out because it's ironically harmful to the cause.
Of course, you can try a regular job. But I would prepare for disappointment if it were me since I've been there and done that, and people who work average jobs are just often not the people I get along with best. And having good working relationships is apparently important to most people, unfortunately, so I can't even just put up with their a-holery in order to work since they don't want me to (they want me to, but they don't want me to; they don't know what they want).
I've personally more or less given up on driving, but I'm afraid I probably don't have the proprioception for it. There's pretty good public transportation where I live, though, so it doesn't have to be a huge concern. There are dense cities where it's very common for people to travel most places on foot, so I don't feel terribly bad about it... Not being able to drive is just not always the most convenient way to live. Maybe someday I'll work up the bravery (and budget) and get a tiny car (since I figure a tiny car would be easier to control without crashing or running over stray cats or toddlers while also hopefully causing less damage if I do make a mistake, since I probably will. I mean, I still crash my cart at the grocery store. How am I not going to crash a car? ^_^'), but I'll wait and see for now.
Tbh, I am one of those people who complain about cartoon women having odd proportions (many of them are drawn by female artists as well), but I think Spryad has a pretty common body type, which I would probably refer to as a petite pair. I would say she has the most relatable body type of the three (the other two are fine as well), although there will be women who don't quite relate to the petite part, but no one is going to relate with everything, so. ^_^' I dunno. Also, if I notice the artist drawing equally ridiculous looking men, it tends not to get to me as much. You also can't please everyone, of course... Not that that matters.
Anyway, I'm sorry it looks like you haven't been feeling great for the last several years. I hope you have a turning point ahead for yourself like I just had recently. Seeking some type of medical treatment might not be the worst idea. Granted, it might not help at all either. ^_^' My experience is that often the professionals don't actually know how to help even when it's within the realm of possibility for them to do so. Talking to people who have the same condition and are trying to get better can help as well.
I just googled, and the google AI says the prognosis for AVPD is much better with treatment than without. So I would suggest that if treatment doesn't help, then either you got a therapist who's bad at their job, or AVPD might not have been your core problem to begin with, in which case you could think about other possibilities. Technically, psychology is a still developing field, so modern medicine could have the answers or not. It's a bit of a toss-up. I would think it could be worth giving a try, though. I don't know your reasons for hesitating, though.
Thanks for taking the time to write a long reply. Have we interacted before? I don't recognise the username.
Honestly, I'm expecting most volunteers whereever I go to be decades older than me, like with every other local group thing I've ever been to, which puts me off more than anything behaviour- or personality-related (such that I hadn't even considered what those aspects might be like). I also suspect I'd be an outcast at any job, which keeps me from taking the steps towards getting one. At this point I keep just hoping that rapid AI advancement might lead to major societal shifts that puts most people out of work so we have to collectively figure out the problem together instead of me figuring it out alone. But I've been hoping for AI cars - so then I don't have to learn how to drive, as I have similar concerns to you about my aptitude for it - for years now, and they've yet to manifest as promised, so... who knows. I'll need to look for *something* soon, though.
Re proportions, I suppose I've never really got the desire to see one's own body represented in fictional characters; I'd rather make and see male bodies UNlike my own less-than-ideal one, since art gives me the power to bring those into being, so why be limited by real-world restrictions? None of the male Dreamons have my body type. But then again, I never include self-inserts in any stories I write (these days), since seeing myself as an alien onlooker - rather than a participant - is so fundamental to my experience of reality.
We tend to pathologise and medicalise circumstance these days. Kind of like how someone might complain of terrible hunge pangs only to be told to take painkillers to numb the sensations, when the actual solution is to eat, which might not even be an option for them for whatever reason (poverty etc). My issues are primarily circumstantial, and the only real 'cure' would be to change those, which may or may not even be possible. I'll be trying to take steps in that direction rather than the medical one, at least.
It's my actual name that's connected to my email. I figured substack would prompt me to input a username, but it didn't, and... I don't really care anyway. ^_^ I was Laprilla on Alora Fane and Osila (I think) on FigHuner, although you probably don't remember that.
I think a lot of artists feel that way and prefer to create aesthetically pleasing images. But I figure different artists are gonna have different preferences based on what they kind of feel like their objective is as an artist in what they want to create. Personally, I like to create aesthetically pleasing art, but I've recently also wanted to create more... accurate to life art I guess you could say, which I'm definitely worse at.
But as for why it irks me to see unrealistic female drawings, it's generally because it gives me the sense of a meat-bag with no soul, and I don't want people to view women that way. ^_^' Also, I guess I like being represented a bit, and therefore I also want others to feel represented by my art. But I also appreciate art that looks like it was more focused on pure aesthetics.
If you don't think any kind of medical treatment or therapy would help you, that's understandable. Although to be honest, I think a lot of us felt the same way until we got ours. I will say that autists don't tend to have great treatment options for them, though, so they basically just have to cope, lean on loved ones, or get on some type of disability (if they can, although those requirements also seem pretty strict). In any case, I hope things get better or at least manageable for you. I'm likely to buy anything you make, by the way.
Hi I don't think I commented on this site before, only had an account on fighunter. Just wanted to say it's great to see you are still posting regularly, thanks for keeping us updated and hope you continue to progress towards your goals!
Thank you!
Do you think it would be helpful to try SSRIs? It could be good for productivity in the long term. I've heard Zoloft has had good results for panic
SSRI's have 0 value, but are probably inhibitive long term due to their universally negative endocrine effects https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0
If SSRIs were so useless seems to me that doctors wouldn't use them so overwhelmingly, maybe they're suboptimal for less troubled people but for intense social anxiety they are reported to work great, so seems like they could be useful here
What? Medicine usage is largely driven by pharma profits, not by the medicinal value; the science is pretty clear about antidepressants being ineffective, and there are a lot more meta-analysises out there similarly showing no positive effect from them. There are a lot of other things that could be great for social anxiety, but it'd be impossible to know what would work for any individual without a comprehensive bloodwork panel -- for instance, there's this fairly recent pilot study on an extremely mild testosterone supplementation on women to treat SAD (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01556-8).
For another case of this, see how oral phenylephrine ("decongestant") was marketed as a decongestant for years until studies came out showing it's actually useless, so the FDA pulled the plug on them.
I haven't made a list of new years resolutions for years, but maybe I will this year. I do have some things I want to work on, mostly art related.
I feel like your best bet for working is creative work like you listed in number 5. You'd be surprised how hard on you people are in normal minimum wage jobs, especially if you're a little bit abnormal in personality. ^_^' Ironically, not everyone is a good fit for the basics. But I think usually people who aren't particularly good at the basics have other things they're better at that would impress people. You have lots of ability and experience for creative work. I feel like you could make assets for indie game companies or do your own smaller works while the bigger projects are still in the making (even if they are technically still small projects).
Tbh, people who do various volunteer work can be incredibly and surprisingly snobby as well. I honestly would say don't unless you really believe in the cause because you might have to ignore a bunch of a-holes while you're doing it. I've personally had to avoid the Christians in mental health spaces because they honestly just make it harder to get better. They're way more negative than they realize, even while they think they're being positive and uplifting. It's tiring to deal with their antics, especially when I see them going around and discouraging other people. I used to be one of them, so I kind of see their perspective, but I still think they need to cut it out because it's ironically harmful to the cause.
Of course, you can try a regular job. But I would prepare for disappointment if it were me since I've been there and done that, and people who work average jobs are just often not the people I get along with best. And having good working relationships is apparently important to most people, unfortunately, so I can't even just put up with their a-holery in order to work since they don't want me to (they want me to, but they don't want me to; they don't know what they want).
I've personally more or less given up on driving, but I'm afraid I probably don't have the proprioception for it. There's pretty good public transportation where I live, though, so it doesn't have to be a huge concern. There are dense cities where it's very common for people to travel most places on foot, so I don't feel terribly bad about it... Not being able to drive is just not always the most convenient way to live. Maybe someday I'll work up the bravery (and budget) and get a tiny car (since I figure a tiny car would be easier to control without crashing or running over stray cats or toddlers while also hopefully causing less damage if I do make a mistake, since I probably will. I mean, I still crash my cart at the grocery store. How am I not going to crash a car? ^_^'), but I'll wait and see for now.
Tbh, I am one of those people who complain about cartoon women having odd proportions (many of them are drawn by female artists as well), but I think Spryad has a pretty common body type, which I would probably refer to as a petite pair. I would say she has the most relatable body type of the three (the other two are fine as well), although there will be women who don't quite relate to the petite part, but no one is going to relate with everything, so. ^_^' I dunno. Also, if I notice the artist drawing equally ridiculous looking men, it tends not to get to me as much. You also can't please everyone, of course... Not that that matters.
Anyway, I'm sorry it looks like you haven't been feeling great for the last several years. I hope you have a turning point ahead for yourself like I just had recently. Seeking some type of medical treatment might not be the worst idea. Granted, it might not help at all either. ^_^' My experience is that often the professionals don't actually know how to help even when it's within the realm of possibility for them to do so. Talking to people who have the same condition and are trying to get better can help as well.
I just googled, and the google AI says the prognosis for AVPD is much better with treatment than without. So I would suggest that if treatment doesn't help, then either you got a therapist who's bad at their job, or AVPD might not have been your core problem to begin with, in which case you could think about other possibilities. Technically, psychology is a still developing field, so modern medicine could have the answers or not. It's a bit of a toss-up. I would think it could be worth giving a try, though. I don't know your reasons for hesitating, though.
Thanks for taking the time to write a long reply. Have we interacted before? I don't recognise the username.
Honestly, I'm expecting most volunteers whereever I go to be decades older than me, like with every other local group thing I've ever been to, which puts me off more than anything behaviour- or personality-related (such that I hadn't even considered what those aspects might be like). I also suspect I'd be an outcast at any job, which keeps me from taking the steps towards getting one. At this point I keep just hoping that rapid AI advancement might lead to major societal shifts that puts most people out of work so we have to collectively figure out the problem together instead of me figuring it out alone. But I've been hoping for AI cars - so then I don't have to learn how to drive, as I have similar concerns to you about my aptitude for it - for years now, and they've yet to manifest as promised, so... who knows. I'll need to look for *something* soon, though.
Re proportions, I suppose I've never really got the desire to see one's own body represented in fictional characters; I'd rather make and see male bodies UNlike my own less-than-ideal one, since art gives me the power to bring those into being, so why be limited by real-world restrictions? None of the male Dreamons have my body type. But then again, I never include self-inserts in any stories I write (these days), since seeing myself as an alien onlooker - rather than a participant - is so fundamental to my experience of reality.
We tend to pathologise and medicalise circumstance these days. Kind of like how someone might complain of terrible hunge pangs only to be told to take painkillers to numb the sensations, when the actual solution is to eat, which might not even be an option for them for whatever reason (poverty etc). My issues are primarily circumstantial, and the only real 'cure' would be to change those, which may or may not even be possible. I'll be trying to take steps in that direction rather than the medical one, at least.
It's my actual name that's connected to my email. I figured substack would prompt me to input a username, but it didn't, and... I don't really care anyway. ^_^ I was Laprilla on Alora Fane and Osila (I think) on FigHuner, although you probably don't remember that.
I think a lot of artists feel that way and prefer to create aesthetically pleasing images. But I figure different artists are gonna have different preferences based on what they kind of feel like their objective is as an artist in what they want to create. Personally, I like to create aesthetically pleasing art, but I've recently also wanted to create more... accurate to life art I guess you could say, which I'm definitely worse at.
But as for why it irks me to see unrealistic female drawings, it's generally because it gives me the sense of a meat-bag with no soul, and I don't want people to view women that way. ^_^' Also, I guess I like being represented a bit, and therefore I also want others to feel represented by my art. But I also appreciate art that looks like it was more focused on pure aesthetics.
If you don't think any kind of medical treatment or therapy would help you, that's understandable. Although to be honest, I think a lot of us felt the same way until we got ours. I will say that autists don't tend to have great treatment options for them, though, so they basically just have to cope, lean on loved ones, or get on some type of disability (if they can, although those requirements also seem pretty strict). In any case, I hope things get better or at least manageable for you. I'm likely to buy anything you make, by the way.