Yikes. I'm having a rough day to be honest, in terms of anxiety.
Being manic depressive my anxiety levels are constantly changing, and I also have a slight speech problem which leads to episodes of stuttering. Today at work I had one of these and stuttered a lot during a conversation with a customer, and they laughed at me. As a result I'm super anxious now and I keep stuttering because the anxiety can make it worse! AAAAAGH
Take deep breaths buddy, if anything you can't blame yourself for that! It's the guy that's definitely rude for laughing! I for one find stuttering a charming thing, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one 
there's no reason to be anxious about that particular issue, it's part who you are and it makes you all the more likeable
I very rarely vent on the internet but lately my mind and body have been so tired. I've already shared bit bit of my financial situation and opened commissions but the waiting is becoming too much, much less facing the fact that there's a number of people trying to pull through the summer months.
I'm just worn out having so little food and even toiletries. I think what bugs me more is the service companies in the state i'm living in. power company is the only one in the state and barely anything has been done over their overinflated bills. then the phone/internet company up and says our bills supposed to change from the rate we've had for years and slapping on another thirty bucks because "the low price was only for the first twelve months". yet i don't even recall a year going by? i don't even want to have to watch either company pull something about reconnecting any services because they seem to love piling it on.
that's like i could tell i was 'tipping the scales' after barely sleeping and really i just wish i knew how to just not be stressed about it even though i keep trying to be the "positive one" about things. honestly wanna smack my head in a wall cuz i feel stupid but i just wanna be useful for once in my life
Hi Vi. I am sorry you are going through this. I know is a hard situation, but don`t give up on yourself. You are a skilled and talented artist. Talent and profit are not neccesarilly things that come together because business and art are different skills.
The good news are that, like any skill, it can be learned.
About the money situation....do you have a full time or a part time job?. If you don`t maybe searching one for a while until you stabilize financially can help.
And about commissions. The advice i can give you to selling stuff in general, is that you should know what kind of people need/want your product/service.
Here are some ideas:
1-Novel writers with novels where your art style fits. Some of them can`t draw and want some cool illustration of their OC.
2-People who want to give a gift to someone Maybe for a romantic letter?
3-People who want a design for a tatoo they are gonna get.
There can be more kind of people who needs or wants comissions, of course.
Seek the sites where you can find these people.
I will not tell you to lower your prices. But you can make "promotional packs" , for example, a "book cover pack" could be a full body character plus background. It would be like a small discount that only applies if they buy the pack. (something like 10% cheaper for the whole thing)
Wish you the best and hope you solve your money situation.
I don't know if I'm allowed to ask for support with my life problems, but anyways yesterday my mom kept saying she's worried she has to go to the hospital again and she keeps coughing today.
last December, I posted videos on tumblr of when they took my mom to the ambulance, I was really scared and sad.
it was really scary when my mom had respiratory failure in the hospital and she couldn't pronounce her name right, and they were gonna.. well I don't understand, but put her on something where she's stuck in one room for the rest of her life. But then they got her name and she was able to return home.
I hope my mom will be ok.
I'm very anxious and depressed and lonely lately! Drama happened a year and a few months ago, and it made me lose my closest friends. Its so hard for me to make new friends. I have a social worker that takes me places, but I'm not sure where to go to socialize with people.
@Friendly_Crocodile Thanks. One time I called a suicide hotline and I thought it'd be private. But later on, my parents found out (I guess the program I'm in found out about it and told my parents maybe, I'm not sure actually) and they told me that it's embarrassing to them and they tell me not to call them again because it just embarrasses them.
Rejection is hard when you put your all into something sigh, like in just a few words someone can make me feel like the past 3 years I've dedicated to comics has been worthless (3 years man does time fly by). I'm running out of options the older I get. Not only that, it's hard to not take things personally and wonder if I've messed up in more ways than one. Like I've been analyzing every word and comment trying to see if I've done something to make them not like me. Haaaaaaaa I need the webcomic gods to throw me a bone (and some money lolol I desperately need time but so poor).
But yeah I just needed to bitch somewhere since this frustration is eating me up inside, and no one believes that I can do anything with comics that's worthwhile. Granted I have so many comics and art that has never been published because I hate it all. Like I know I know I need to get over myself and just post the damn shit, but my ego is all I got. My social life is next to nothing, my career is nonexistent, and now even my comics are worthless. If my younger self could see how much of a parasite and trash of society I've become she'd probably would have just killed herself.
To anyone who has moved forward in achieving success with their webcomics or art, what's it like? How does it feel? If you struggled with frustration and anxiety, did it go away? Do people admire you? Can you tell people confidently what you do for a living? How does it feel to read positive comments from your fans? I'm not even jealous at this point, my spirit will get crushed if I keep comparing myself to others. I just want you to paint a pretty picture for me of what my future could look like if I don't give up.
Don't give up! I remember you, you're the amazing artist who drew my Demon and his flaming friend, that drawing was so awesome! I showed it to the friend who drew the original one (since I can't even make a proper stick figure) and she was completely WOWed. Your art is good!
Life can be hard, insecurities and anxiety can be real big obstacles, but the most important is to NOT GIVE UP!
I decided to become a full-time writer after working for years on jobs that just got me deeper and deeper into depression. And I did. I proofread for people, I publish on Tapas, and even though I have yet to make real money, I got a couple of comissions for fanfics that were really fun to make.
I teamed up with an amazing illustrator on a children's book and a comic project that are slowly but surely getting out, and I work my head off to try and promote my stuff.
Result? We got a table at a convention in January.
It's only the beginning, but it's a dream come true, and it only came true because I didn't give up.
I still suffer from depression, anxiety, PTSD and social phobia, that didn't disappear, but it got a teeny bit better. And I have found out that some people like what I do.
So, please, keep doing these amazing things you do, stand a bit straighter because ONLY YOU can make them. ONLY YOU can write your story. ONLY YOU could draw my character in this way, AND I LOVED IT.
DO. NOT. GIVE. UP. I believe in you, mate
Thank you for the kind words, means a lot haha! I'm not giving up but maaannn the sacrifices we make for our dreams huh. Nice to know someone believes in me
I just retyped paragraph after paragraph of word barf and deleting it, because there's so much going on in my head, and decided to just go with this: can depression have a "relapse"?
unfortunately it is possible to have a depression relapse.
This can happen for different reasons, like hormonal changes, stopping a treatment beforehand, traumatic and/or emotionally draining events.
It could also be a temporal situation getting you worried.
If the feeling persists or comes back again, make sure you check out with a profesional and to tell the people you trust.
I hope is not a relapse 
If you need to talk about it, count on me Dawg
If whatever underlying cause(s) that caused the depression previously are still present, then of course it can happen. Or it can happen again due to new causes.
For whatever it's worth I'm here and wishing you the best 
I feel really depressed since the beginning of the year... I enjoy nothing, feel very unhappy and do nothing really useful.
Last year I've managed to work for a several months as a programmer, to qualify for the very prestige internship for summer 2019, to pass complicated exams, to come up with math paper idea for PhD school and to start the comics, of course... this year I do almost nothing besides drinking and accumulate debt on the credit card. I'm trying to do something about the health and studying, but not succeeding very much.
When I draw comics (still slowly and poorly) and talk with people here, it helps me feel better a bit, but unfortunately don't solve my life problems. 
I feel life as a... constant struggles now.
Ok, I gathered myself so I don't type random depressive stuff that doesn't make any sense
A bit of background: last year around March, my closest friend at the time stopped being there for me. This was when I got depression, and he was the only person I could trust. So when he started ghosting me/ignoring me I didn't have anywhere to go so I sort of slipped into this cycle where I would become extremely depressed for a couple of hours, and become tired for the rest of the day. I was basically 100% lost and overwhelmed with sadness and suicidal thoughts.
Anyway, I blocked him, found a new friend, got a therapist, and for the next couple of months, I started recovering and poured all my trust into my new friend. And I was fine for the most part - I would occasionally get really depressed for a week or two, but it wasn't like crying-myself-to-sleep-all-the-time severe. So whatever. Usually I'm in a pretty good mood. But lately, this new friend of mine started doing exactly the same thing as what my previous friend did (the one I blocked). You know, ignoring in real life, disappearing when I try to text her (way too many times) - I realized I was always the one to start the conversation, and I was always either met with dry-ass responses or her completely disappearing for the rest of the day. So I stopped starting conversations and it's been 2 days since she's talked to me. This seems clingy, but for reference, we used to talk a LOT. At least once a day. And suddenly it just kind of stopped and she's become pretty cold. I never realized how much I relied on her, and now I can feel myself slipping back into that depressive cycle again.
Anything I'm missing? How do I become a strong independent woman :^)
Is there anyway you can open a conversation where she can explain if there's anything you're doing that might be annoying her? Sounds like there's an issue but she's probably too scared to say anything for fear of repercussion. Those sorta talks are hard to have, but you never lose friends if they know they can tell you stuff without you getting upset. I don't mean it in a way to pin blame on you, just that it's a possibility. Could also just be wanting space, make sure to dial down the communication for now. (Though don't just assume this is the case, you really need to ask her what's going on if you can.)
I also thought this was the case, everyone needs their space now and then. But I mean she seems to get along well enough with her other friends. I talked to her irl the other day and it was the most awkward, uncomfortable experience because MAN she wanted to get out of the conversation. It was like I was some sort of burden to her. It doesn't help that I'm practically the height of a hobbit and I started feeling like I was her annoying little sister. I went away and she immediately started giggling with her other friends. SIGH! It really doesn't feel great. Because right then I knew that it was a problem with me. 
Yeah, I messaged her an hour ago to see if she wants to talk. There's a pretty big chance she'll just ignore me for the rest of the day, though. Then I'd be really lost.
I don't get it.. I don't get why this keeps happening to me, I just want friends I can talk to... That's all I want!!!!
the best thing to do right now is to distract yourself with something else to do in the meantime.
If she doesn`t answer, is not the end of the world. You are a fun, intelligent and kind person, so you can make friends if you meet some people.
Another possibility is that she is trying to hang out with her other group of friends, but they dont know you yet. And she has trouble telling you for some awkward teenager reason.
I have a friend in school, but i couldn`t get him to join my other group of friends from school until they befriended him. Sometimes we got a chance to talk during lunchtime.
Maybe if you befriend some of her friends (if that is an option and if you get along) you could hang out with them.
Anyway, communication is key, so is important to see if you can talk to her in private/phone/whatever so she can explain what is going on.
Hope everything works for the best. Also, you are not alone, you have some friends here
We are here for you Dawg! If there's any time you need to talk, about anything, or need advice or support, we're right here behind our screen ready to give you all the virtual ice cream in the world
As for that friend, I don't know how old you guys are but this sounds like teenager behavior...
