INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Sexual performance anxiety manifests itself in a number of different ways. It's important to identify how the anxiety is affecting youboth physically and psychologicallybefore you can learn to deal with it. The most common signs of sexual performance anxiety include: Negative thoughts about love making, performance and being attractive to your partner. Constant mental images of previous failures. Shortness of breath and an inability to control your bodily sensations. Inability in men to experience an erection as a result of such thoughts and feelings, and thus withdrawal from sexual activity (erectile dysfunction). Lack of proper lubrication (among women). Constant, excessive worry about how your will perform. A constant cycle associated with not performing that further debilitates the performance. Certain prescription medications can reduce a patient's sex drive or ability to perform sexually. These include: antidepressants (especially in the select serotonin reuptake inhibitor class, or SSRI) such as clomipramine, Amoxapine, amitriptyline, isocarboxazid, phenelzine, tranylcypromine, and fluoxetine tranquilizers, such as thioridazine, fluphenazine, trifluoperazine, and chlorpromazine certain anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) medications, such as diazepam and alprazolam blood pressure medications, such as clonidine, labetalol, and methyldopa While anxiety about sexual performance can certainly be a factor in failure to perform or an inability to achieve orgasm, there could be underlying problems causing these problems. Hormone imbalances could cause problems. If your body is not producing adequate levels of hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, or progesterone, you may experience a decreased sex drive and an inability to enjoy sex. This can become especially problematic in older individuals. Talk to your doctor about having your hormone levels tested. Reduced blood flow can lead to reduced sexual pleasure and an inability to become aroused. Chronic health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and elevated blood pressure, could affect sexual arousal and pleasure. Mental illness, especially depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder, can significantly reduce a person's sex drive and ability to enjoy sex. ED typically manifests in a reduced sex drive and an inability to have or maintain an erection during sex, which could be mistaken for sexual performance anxiety. Approximately half of all American men over the age of 40 experience ED. There are many causes of erectile dysfunction, and it's important to talk to your doctor if you believe you are experiencing ED so that you can work out a treatment plan, including medication that can help you have and maintain an erection. Common causes include: damaged or blocked blood vessels nerve damage high cholesterol or blood pressure obesity low testosterone metabolic syndrome prostate problems, including swelling and cancer of the prostate The onset of menopause, which reduces the body's production of estrogen, can cause reduced sex drive and changes in mood that may be mistaken for sexual performance anxiety. Most women experience menopause some time between the ages of 48 and 55 years of age, although some women may experience menopause under the age of 40 (called premature menopause). Consult with your doctor if you believe your menopausal symptoms are affecting your sex life. Certain medications are available, including estrogen and testosterone therapy, that can improve sexual desire and allow patients to enjoy sex once again. Seeking professional help may allow you to let go of whatever anxieties you're experiencing. You can see a therapist individually or as a couple. A therapist may even help you to identify problems that you didn't know you had. This is why a professional perspective can be very useful. A therapist can give you a number of tips and techniques you can try to lessen your anxiety and improve your sexual performance. Some individuals may experience sexual anxiety because of psychological factors. CBT is the process through which a therapist can explore the traumatic past of the individual, working through how it affects the person and how to separate the person from the unpleasant feelings and emotions.

SUMMARY: Learn the signs of sexual performance anxiety. Learn whether your medications could be a factor. Talk to your doctor. Evaluate whether you have erectile dysfunction (ED). Evaluate whether you're going through menopause. See a sex therapist. Try cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: You'll need to show what you're capable of doing before you're hired to write anything. This means that you'll need a portfolio of your work. A portfolio should showcase your best pieces of work, and will usually be between 3-5 songs. If the songs have already been recorded, you should still include a copy of the written lyrics. You'll want to make sure that you can easily share your portfolio online by putting all of your song lyrics into a single PDF or Word document. You can use anything that you've written in your portfolio. It doesn't need to contain songs that you've already created for clients. Just be honest about your work experience when discussing your songs. Consider making a personal website to showcase your work to potential employers. Search around job sites and message boards to try and find any potential openings for a lyricist. Since most songwriting jobs can be completed at home, you won't need to worry about applying for specific jobs in your area. The most commonly-used job sites for freelance writers are FlexJobs, SolidGigs, Upwork, and Fiverr. Most freelance websites require you to create an online profile and upload a portfolio. Always upload a friendly picture of yourself to make you seem more personable! When looking at prospective jobs, consider whether you have the necessary time and level of expertise that the job is calling for. Pay close attention to each job posting's goal or required outcome, since that will tell you what you need to create. Once you apply, prospective employers will reach out and either hire you to work remotely or request additional information. When looking for opportunities, try searching by using keywords that relate to your specialty. For example, if you focus entirely on writing folk ballads, try entering "folk" or "love songs" in your searches. Working from home can be quite enjoyable, but make sure that you don't get distracted and take too long to complete your work! Payment is usually received through the platform that you got hired on, and most websites will either ask you to link a bank account or PayPal account to send you your earnings. Building strong relationships with your peers is a good way to get a head start on jobs for lyricists. Reach out to other songwriters on social media and connect with local writers by inviting them out for coffee or lunch. Many job opportunities can be found before they're even available to the public if a colleague tells you about it well in advance. Songwriting is a difficult field to get into if you don't have any experience. Don't get too down on yourself if you're struggling to find work immediately. Every lyricist started somewhere! If you're being turned down frequently, consider looking for opportunities that explicitly don't require experience in your field. Consider revising your portfolio if you aren't getting a lot of offers. It may be that you're choosing to show work that doesn't demonstrate your skills!

SUMMARY:
Create a portfolio of your work to show potential employers. Look for openings online to see what opportunities exist. Assess freelance writing opportunities to see if they're a good fit. Network with musicians and artists to find possible openings. Don't get discouraged if you're struggling to find work.