By Kenneth W. Christian, Ph.D. Three fears lead directly to underachievement: fear of failure, fear of success, and fear of making a mistake. Any of these fears can paralyze initiative. When all three are working, initiative grinds to a halt. How many of these fears plague you? Usually, we experience some of each. If even [...]
A research news article reports, “The amygdala is known to be involved in social anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and obsessions and compulsions, and is now being linked with separation anxiety and general anxiety.” // Excerpt from lyrics (based on Emily Dickinson) in video: Fearing – by The Amygdaloids While I was fearing it came But with [...]
Karen Moncrieff, after working for years as an actor, became a screenwriter. In a magazine article, she notes “Writing felt so comfortable in a way that acting never really did. With writing, I was using all parts of myself, all of my skills.” She said, “I let my emotions and feelings be my guide. I [...]
Stephen A. Diamond is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist, and author of the book Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity. In our podcast interview, Dr. Diamond talks about actors who have shown a dark and violent side, such as Christian Bale (“Batman”), and how therapy helps people [...]
“I want to be the most famous writer alive and the greatest writer ever.” T. Coraghessan Boyle. In her chapter “The Personalities of Creative Writers” of the book The Psychology of Creative Writing, Jane Piirto notes “Ambition and its doppelganger, envy, are not unknown among writers… “Writers need ambition, as do other creative producers, but [...]
In the Harry Potter books and films, the main characters are often threatened by evil forces, in the form of both human and not so human entities such as Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). Author J.K. Rowling says, “I feel very strongly that there is a move to sanitise literature because we’re trying to protect children, [...]
Many talented actors and other performers experience “jitters” – which can be helpful up to a point – or outright anxiety such as stage fright – which is not so helpful. Both Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth of “The King’s Speech” have talked about suffering from it (see the article Celebrities with anxiety and [...]
“Fear is good. We view fear as a disease. It’s not a disease.” Psychologist Robert Maurer “I don’t do anything anymore that feels safe. If it doesn’t scare the crap out of you, then you’re not doing the right thing.” Sandra Bullock Fear is a simple label for a variety of experiences from mild discomfort [...]
When I was a child, and even through graduate school, I thought people were going to find out I was a fraud. I thought other talented people were doing better, achieving more and having more fun doing it, and I still tend to compare myself unfavorably with others on a daily basis. In her book, Emotional Intensity [...]
Many actors, musicians and other entertainers report they experience stage fright, but making a speech or public presentation can also produce so much performance anxiety you aren’t able to express your personality and creative ideas as well as you could without the fear, in more control of your emotions. Or you don’t even attempt something [...]
Why do we experience troubling, disrupting, and often self-limiting, emotions? For example, probably most of us experience anxiety to some degree, at some times. But it isn’t the same as being afraid of something tangible like falling from a thrill ride. Or is it? Morty Lefkoe explains, “An emotion is the experiential, chemical, and neuro-physiological [...]
The internal vision I have of my novel seems so superior to what I’ve actually written that I’m often paralyzed into inaction. I took about a year off from working on it – that sounds so much better than saying I just couldn’t face it. Now I’m back in the fray and struggling with the [...]
When I was acting, I had recurring nightmares of being in unknown plays without a clue of my role, and paralyzing real-life panic right before the curtain came up. Many talented musicians, actors, speakers and others experience performance anxiety, often called stage fright. A new study shows that biofeedback can be highly effective in decreasing [...]
In her article, How To Stop Being So Hard On Yourself, excerpted below, expert on highly sensitive living Jenna Avery explains why sensitive people are so self-critical, and how we can stop: Every time I work with a fellow sensitive soul, it seems like we always bump into some kind of fear or limiting belief [...]
In his post Getting Rid of Beliefs is Not Enough (on his blog), Morty Lefkoe explains how classical conditioning can work against our emotional stability. How Associations Early In Life Cause Negative Emotions Later In Life Very often we are plagued by repeated negative feelings in our life, such as fear, anger, guilt, anxiety, and [...]
“If it’s worth doing it’s worth doing well.” Sounds good, but does the pressure to do something ‘right’ or ‘well’ stimulate us to experiment and grow? As an invention, it doesn’t exactly qualify for a patent, but the energy and wit that inspired the tongue in cheek electric pencil in the photo is evidence of [...]
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Site author: Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, is a writer and researcher on the psychology of creative expression and personal growth, especially for high ability adults. He is publisher of the Talent Development Resources series of sites.
