“We have all been pushed out of our comfort zones in so many ways.” – Psychotherapist Mihaela Ivan Holtz
Taking steps to stay safe during the physical, financial and mental health challenges of the coronavirus pandemic can bring up challenging emotions and evaluation of how we are living our lives.
Actor Anya Taylor-Joy thoughtfully comments on some of her experience in lockdown:
”I think it’s about understanding that every day is different and you just have to sail the waves of that particular day.
”Sometimes that can be a pressure to think ‘I am not allowed to feel sad because other people have it harder right now’. While you can be aware that you are in a very lucky position, a lot of people are really struggling right now.”
She emphasizes how important it is to take care of ourselves:
“It is essential, especially now when we are maybe spending so much time in our own heads, that we are gentle and understand that the world is going through a massive trauma — if you weren’t feeling that at all then you probably wouldn’t really be alive.
”If you do feel like s**t — and I have definitely had a couple of episodes — just look after yourself as best you can.
“Have a hot bath, do something that makes you really happy, curl up with a film that makes you feel a little more complete and just know that it will pass.”
[Anya Taylor-Joy had bad days in lockdown, BANG Showbiz 24/6/2020, posted on msn.com.]
(Photo: Anya Taylor-Joy in The Queen’s Gambit, Netflix.)
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Psychotherapist Mihaela Ivan Holtz helps creative people in TV/Film, performing and fine arts with “life struggles, depression, anxiety, creativity, relationships, PTSD, and addictions – to become their own best version.”
She notes in one of her articles that during these times, people can feel especially anxious about “showing up” to do the creative work they are so passionate about.
She writes:
We have all been pushed out of our comfort zones in 2020 in so many ways.
What was safe and comfortable before this year may be different now.
And things will continue to shift over the next months and, perhaps, for years to come.
The new worldwide challenges may cloud your ability to distinguish between what is “me” and what is “a reality that is threatening my well-being.”
You are not avoiding the world when there is a real threat to your well-being out there.
Instead, that’s a sign that you are being realistic and aware of what is happening during a global pandemic.
We’re talking about a different kind of avoidance that keeps you from going for what you need or what you want based on your own internal anxieties rather than as a response to a real external threat.
When you feel like you need to hide out and avoid the world and its challenges, but can’t pinpoint what makes you anxious, it’s a sign that you’re actually engaged in an inner emotional struggle rather than a legitimate fear about what is happening in the world.
- See much more in her article
How To Heal Anxiety and Step Out of Your Comfort Zone In a Safe, Healthy Way by Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT | EMDR.
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Related:
Embracing fear and discomfort as an artist
Nicole Kidman on fame, and actors as highly sensitive people
“Most actors are highly sensitive people, but you have this incredible scrutiny. You have to develop a thick skin, but you can’t have a thick skin in your work.” – Nicole Kidman
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Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) therapist and author Julie Bjelland provides courses and other resources to “Transform stress, anxiety, and overwhelm into a sense of calm.
She says “if we don’t know how to take care of ourselves in the right ways we are doing a disservice to the world by not showing up thriving.”
See more, including videos and an edition of her podcast, in article:
How To Thrive As A Highly Sensitive Person
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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