*sigh*

its been a terrible week....found out my uncles dying of cancer as i speak...2 tumors one in the heart and one in the liver....my dad was thinking of quitting his job for good which means i may not be able to continue studying cos hes over worked and seriously stressed out..been like that for years actually...havent been coping with assignments myself and might need to retake a whole semester for one subject cos i failed it...oh and ive been having this pain in the groin area...went for a checkup turns out ive been pissing blood...going for ultrasound tomorrow to see what exactly is up...might require surgery...it all costs money and i just feel real bad for my dad...so ive been in this episode...thing is i myself have been hit with this writers block and i cant play as well when i record compared to me playing casually...ive come up with numerous riffs but i just cant seem to put words into them as effectively as i could before...its all just frustrating...i feel like im drifting in the middle of nowhere not knowing what to do or where to start...all i can do is ramble abt it to myself..i know...useless prick :o ...i do know i can ramble abt this to u guys cos its different...do u guys get that thing? the thing with not being able to play as well when u record compared to just chilling back and playing random stuff..its incredibly irritating...its like my fingers just freeze...hmm yea

/rant

Generally when you're in an increased state of anxiety... as you seem to be... normal things that you do such as casually playing guitar may become difficult when you add a stressor... such as adding the thought that when you're recording you can't mess up. Kind of like you may be putting a certain amount of pressure on yourself do to the anxiety and stress that you're feeling. I'm sorry to hear all that about your family and yourself...

The only thing i can think of is to sit back and take a few deep breaths and try to relax before you record. Maybe have a beer or something... haha.

Yeah, I get that... sorry to hear life's being so eventful for you dude...

What I do, is just record everything - seems to help back off the pressure. Some of it's crap - I can delete it... some is good, and I forget I'm recording so it's not so intense...

Just write man.... doesn't matter if it's crap, just keep doing it... It'll come back to you.... it always does...

its been a terrible week....found out my uncles dying of cancer as i speak...2 tumors one in the heart and one in the liver....

I had an uncle die a couple years ago from electrocution. It wasn't easy, but you know...

my dad was thinking of quitting his job for good which means i may not be able to continue studying cos hes over worked and seriously stressed out..been like that for years actually...havent been coping with assignments myself and might need to retake a whole semester for one subject cos i failed it...

That sucks dude...I have similar financial worries for school...I've got no idea how I'm gonna pay for my university...you'll figure out something.

oh and ive been having this pain in the groin area...went for a checkup turns out ive been pissing blood...going for ultrasound tomorrow to see what exactly is up...might require surgery...it all costs money and i just feel real bad for my dad...so ive been in this episode...

Wow...we don't have to pay for that here, but do you have insurance or anything? Think it's got anything to do with stress?

thing is i myself have been hit with this writers block and i cant play as well when i record compared to me playing casually...ive come up with numerous riffs but i just cant seem to put words into them as effectively as i could before...its all just frustrating...i feel like im drifting in the middle of nowhere not knowing what to do or where to start...

I was having this the other day. My advice is to learn a song. I decided to do that yesterday, and it just makes you excited to play again. Or...maybe take a short break from playing.

useless prick

No. ;)

Sorry if you just wanted to rant...ha...Hope the best for you and that everything works out. :)

thanks for the input guys...yea ive decided to givve it a rest for now...i do have insurance i guess..depends on how much the surgery wud cost (which isnt finalised yet) cud still cost a bomb as it doesnt cover it full...

Sorry things are going so rough man, I hope everything works out for you. You could always try writing songs that go with your mood, sometimes it's easier. Good luck with all of it, try not to stress yourself out too much.

My heart goes out to you Josh, I know how you must feel. Just remember that if you ever need to talk about it, you've always got your mates, and us at GT :). If I know you (in an internet kind of way ;)), you'll get through it just fine. I'll keep you in my prayers, man.

Sorry to hear about all that bud! My grandad has also been fighting with cancer for a while. Can't really relate to the pissing blood thing, but my hemmoroids have been pretty bad here lately, so I can kind of sympathize with you in that area :o. I've also got a lot of issues stored away in my head that cause me to constantly be on an emotional rollercoaster. I'm always running into writers block. I'll be real creative for a while, and then it's almost like I've forgot how to play the guitar. I'm also bad about tensing up, and worrying too much when I'm under the pressure of recording, or playing for someone, which usually causes me to play pretty sloppy. You just have to try to relax, and put all the pressure out of your mind, and realize that the "undo" button is your friend :D. Too bad there's not an undo button for the real world though :(

Man that's rough. Take it from me my friend tough times come and go. It's how you come out at the end that matters. I wish you and your family the best.

once again thanks guys...i just returned from the ultrasound and they found nth..so i dont know if i shud worry or be happy...they're sending me back to my doctor...oh well we'll see...cheered me up when i came home to a package...a zookie pick i bought ages ago when i was drunk online...i have no idea how to use it...well i do have some idea but takes time getting used to...but it makes me look cooler simply by putting it on my thumb so yeah..maybe its a sign...

i guess ive never been hit by such things in life before so its all kinda new to me and pretty full on...im sure ill get through it...time heals everything...

Just echoing what everyone else said. Tough times come and go Josh, hopefully this one will go by quickly. The best to you and your family

Sometimes you just have to put your life on hold - I had five courses of kemotherapy for leukemia almost a decade ago.
Your right - time heals.

Yep, sorry to hear of yer rough times there dude. And yes, going through that rut, on the spot choke, and near retardation of the fingers is common for us all. Just last night I was on my porch practicing a hard passage of a song, got it down repeatedly, then went inside to show my wife...totally choked, and for no good reason. It's not like I'm nervous to play for her. Same thing recording. But cut, drag, and paste helps a little there, if you're doing it digitally.

yea as of now ive decided to shift my attention to classical stuff...learn some new stuff, put my brain on hold for a while...i cant sit still im always in the need to do something woot....thank god for the guitar..i dont know what ill be doing without one...i cant even imagine...thanks heaps for the ideas guys...

Damn everybodys got problems, sometimes the world just sucks But then brighter days are a head just cant hardly wait for some good to happen

Sorry to hear that you've got some tough issues to deal with there man. Hang tough and allow it to wash over you.

I would offer you this quote regarding writers block:

"I always start with a clean piece of paper and a dirty mind..."

Patrick Dennis

*Works for me!* :)