Intro post

I’ve been struggling with mental health symptoms for a very long time. I’m 20, about to be 21 and I have lost many interests to depression. I used to love birds, playing and writing music, and art of all mediums. I still enjoy art, it just isn’t as cathartic as it used to be. I’m trying to find my ”voice” as an artist. I struggle to be open with people in my life, so maybe this is a good place to start. Some likes of mine are: heavy music (ask me questions!), digital art, colored pencil drawing, cats, and I really like writing music on occasion. I’m new here so hopefully this helps me learn to talk.

Welcome 🤗

Hi @Daybreak444 Great to have you onboard. This is a good place to be able to share your thoughts and emotions with other people who will understand.
I LOVE cats. 🐈‍⬛ I have just one of my own, but she is very special. She has quite a character and likes to let me know exactly what it is she wants. I also enjoy going to cat cafes. Lovely places to share a coffee, piece of cake and cat cuddles.
Not sure about music. You mentioned heavy music and said to ask questions. So…… what type of heavy music do you like or listen to?

Hello and welcome!

I'm sorry you've lost so many interests to depression.
I hope SF will help.

Do you mean something heavy about the sound (eg, heavy metal), or do you mean music with serious lyrics, or something else?
I like cats too

Welcome to SF. Remember we're here for you.

Glad to see you on the forum and welcome. I hope that you will continue to post getting to know the place and people here. I am another who likes music, cats and birds. This is a good place for you to belong.

It really depends on the day some days it's get scared, other days it's seeyouspacecowboy, but I have other more eclectic stuff in my Playlists too.

Glad to know the bird thing isn't a just me thing. I don't have an official autism diagnosis but everyone around me tells me I need to be looked at for it, and one of my special instrests as a kid was birds!

Lots of different stuff! DGD, Seeyouspacecowboy..., get scared, polyphia, hail the sun, ect. I also have a special baby princess. She is the light of my life and keeps me going on bad days

A bit of both really

Hello and welcome. I have also lost interest in my hobbies. I have been a performing musician when younger. I gave it up to become a professional alcoholic. Or at least a full time one. I am sober now, but haven’t been able to start practicing again. I want to cover a few songs to record just for friends.

You mentioned trying to find your voice as an artist. I respect that; it shows you care about the authenticity of your creative efforts. I would suggest that you don’t find your voice, but it finds you.

Have you ever had the experience of playing a song, and you are so absorbed that eventually “you” don’t really exist and it’s just the music coming through your body and instrument? That’s your voice. Or maybe the music voicing itself through you, but it’s just semantics at that point.

Welcome @Daybreak444. I'm glad you found SF. Playing music is great, and visual art too. I hope you find a way to connect with the people you want in our life. It's hard to lose an art form that was helpful. I know the feeling. I was reading the other day from an artist who wrote that to produce art we need wisdom and facility in three important things: composition, and technique, and feeling.

It's a safe place here to talk and if you feel you make some mistakes in communication it's fine.

- s

Hi @Daybreak444 . Welcome to SF. Sorry you've been struggling with your mental health so much, though I'm glad you're still creating art a little. Keep doing it! And no pressure to do so at all, but if you feel like it you can share your art on SF too. As well as the "heavy music" you love in this thread for example, one of my favourite threads.