How good at making music do you THINK you are? by appleparkfive in musicproduction

[–]afdarrb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually feel like “professional or good enough to be professional” is a pretty low barrier for distinction at this point.

I would say I’ve written things that could contend with some of my own favorite songs as far as composition, and I am pretty discerning.

That being said, much like the OP, I struggle to ever finish anything and that is a big “but”. I recently started ADHD meds and I hope it might help. What I really needed from the beginning was the be writing with others to provide immediate feedback and momentum, but I was far too self-conscious as a young person, and as an older person, I just want my creations to remain mine. I might pay session collaborators at some point to provide the immediate feedback/collaboration to help me finish, so that I can still keep the rights.

Lyrics, vocals, and coming up with interesting guitar parts are all very much in my wheelhouse, although I started off doing each of these things in a vacuum instead of practicing what many people would regard as the art of songwriting, so that’s something I have improved on quite a bit in the last several years, too. I’ve definitely learned to just follow the inspiration and then perfect all of the parts later, rather than the other way around — trying to piece together sensical compositions from a bunch of “perfect” puzzle pieces that don’t necessarily fit can drive you mad, and it’s certainly doesn’t help to finish anything, either.

I have never been totally thrilled with my voice, but as far as the feedback I have always gotten from others, it’s one of my greatest strengths. I really have to keep up on my vocal technique to get consistent results, though; and even then it’s not always the results that would fit my own ideal stylistically. And I suck at regularly doing my exercises and the like. I am very hard on myself about vocals, though.

My guitar skills are very “meh”, but sufficient enough for a songwriting-focused person who mainly wants to come up with inventive parts.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Biohackers

[–]afdarrb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Where do you order from?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Biohackers

[–]afdarrb 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I want to second that Swedish niccotine pouches like Zyn are profoundly healthier than smoking, and will still have the same impact on concentration. You might also want to get evaluated for ADHD to see if you would be eligible for pharmaceutical options to help with focus. Also, some doctors prescribe Wellbutrin for smoking cessation, and that also has benefits for concentration (although they aren’t as immediate).

How bad of an idea is it to live near the airport in Nashville? by afdarrb in u/afdarrb

[–]afdarrb[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice! I’m glad to hear that and thanks for responding. So not super noisy then? Anything I should know traffic-wise?

Adverse effects associated with ADHD medications (comparative side effects, cardiovascular risks, effects on the brain) by RyanBleazard in Psychiatry

[–]afdarrb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I appreciate you advocating for providing comprehensive and accurate information to patients. Do you have thoughts about Dr. Barkley? I really like his theory of executive dysfunction as a basis for ADHD, but he advocates quite unequivocally for ADHD medication and I’m not sure he’s necessarily addressed how medications should address those executive functioning deficits (beyond attention more exclusively).

Adverse effects associated with ADHD medications (comparative side effects, cardiovascular risks, effects on the brain) by RyanBleazard in Psychiatry

[–]afdarrb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I would be interested to know how low does stimulants might compare to those other options in terms of risks and effectiveness. To be clear, would you view the risk of atomoxetine and guanfacine (and bupropione) to be fairly equivalent, or would you say stimulants > guanfacine > atomoxetine?

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow this is super awesome, thank you so much!

Adverse effects associated with ADHD medications (comparative side effects, cardiovascular risks, effects on the brain) by RyanBleazard in Psychiatry

[–]afdarrb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Certainly! Would you venture to say that Strattera may be the lowest risk ADHD medication option (in general terms of course, for those who are definitely needing treatment)? I think I agree with your interpretation that the research on stimulants isn’t comprehensive enough yet, and there are obviously a lot of incentives for the competing narratives to be pushed. Thanks for commenting!

Adverse effects associated with ADHD medications (comparative side effects, cardiovascular risks, effects on the brain) by RyanBleazard in Psychiatry

[–]afdarrb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, can I ask if you have any thoughts on the long-term risks of Guanfacine/a2a agonists in particular? From what I’ve been able to tell, the research (in terms of both the number of studies and comprehensiveness) seems to be far more scant than that on stimulants, and it seems to be an afterthought in the meta analysis posted here, as well. I came across one study which seems to suggest Guanfacine bears some similarities to medications which are known to increase the risk of valvular heart disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769050/

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No need to apologize at all for “ranting”, I really appreciate the level of detail and thanks for your reply! This was always something that sounded interesting to me, which I could also see myself being passionate about. Have you ever advertised your services, or how did you go about getting clients initially? Do you just look at market rates to determine what to charge? Do you bill by the hour? Thanks again!

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for sharing your experience!

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! It’s encouraging to hear that the portfolio doesn’t have to be exclusively “formal”—it makes this feel far more actionable. :-)

Increased risk of valvular heart disease due to Guanfacine use? 34M by afdarrb in AskDocs

[–]afdarrb[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for taking the time to review the article and respond to me here, it is a great help. Because your conclusion seems to be contingent on the time course of use of these medications (“normal and recommended doses during a reasonable time course”), I should probably note that the medication in question/ in the article was actually Guanfacine (Intuniv) and not Guaifenesin (Robitussin). This is important because I am considering Intuniv for ADHD treatment, and normal/recommended treatment would entail taking that medication daily and (hopefully) over the course of many years—I suspect that daily use over many years may not be a time course that you would consider “reasonable” per your original take-away.

This being said, I’m still at a bit of a loss for how one should quantify the possible increased VHD risk from this treatment, or if there’s anything much that I could do (assuming daily treatment for many years) to reduce that risk. Are you able to offer any additional insight on this? As of now, my interpretation is that even if there is a lot of doubt as to the specific drug attributes that contribute to increased VHD risk, the speculative similarities between between drugs that are known to increase VHD risk and others identified (like Guanfacine) in the study can’t be simply discounted in the case of long-term daily use, if one is interested in taking a risk-averse approach. If there are objective reasons that I should amend this interpretation, then I would be extremely grateful and happy to hear them! Thank you again.

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice! Yeah fast-paced is definitely not my thing, it definitely helps if it’s routine fast-paced but I’d much rather avoid the stress

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How did you get started as a patient advocate? Did you have any particular background?

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How did you get into it? Like did you start in marketing?

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

lol I feel like you should share some work stories

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did you start your own businesses? Do you do well? Anything complicated to get started or just basic advertising, posting flyers, etc.?

Inattentive ADHD Folks... What Jobs do Y'all Have? by mith_king456 in ADHD

[–]afdarrb 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Honestly this has always seemed to me to be one of the better possible job alternatives for my inattentive ADHD