[mdUzAMbG]

Hey, Stormsy. Sorry to hear you're having a tough time.

I'm actually also an American, early twenties, raised christian (became atheist), and amateur musician.

I think the above two posts have a lot of good advice. It's also important to remember buddhism is a very long-term kind of thing. For years I thought I made absolutely no progress. Only very recently have I been able to look back and see the changes I've made.

In addition, everybody is only human and nobody expects anything more. Getting rid of attachment is incredibly difficult, but ultimately worth it. If there are things in your life you are attached to, that is perfectly normal for somebody of our age and experience range. I think what really messes us up where attachment is involved is when we grasp and panic about things.

And, as one musician to another...remember that you don't do it for fame. You do it for the love of doing it. And nothing can happen in life that will fully take away your ability to play or write music in some form.

Lastly, I always felt that focusing on yourself is what comes first. You work on yourself and, once you are ready, move onto becoming compassionate and helpful for others. You can't help others until you help yourself. It isn't selfish, it's realistic.

I'm by no means an expert, but hopefully some of that helped you. A lot of it helped me at some point or another.