Episode 403: Energy Vampires!

Energy Vampires in the Acting Industry

Not everyone around you wants you to be emotionally healthy.

That is not paranoia. That is a pattern worth recognizing. Because some people feed off insecurity, confusion, desperation, and approval seeking. And as artists, as actors especially, we are emotionally open. We are sensitive. That sensitivity is gorgeous for art. But it is dangerous without discernment.

What to Start Noticing How do you feel around the people in your life? Around the people in this industry? Is your confidence being destabilized? Are you ignoring red flags because an opportunity feels important?

I experienced teachers in my own training who made me feel emotionally dependent on them. If I did a good scene, they liked me. If I did not, they did not. That is not teaching. That is manipulation. And then there is the breadcrumb thing, leading you along, creating confusion, keeping you uncertain so you keep coming back.

Also worth watching out for: actors who constantly compete or undermine. Friends who are always dumping emotionally. We all need someone to unload to sometimes. But if that is the entire relationship, that is a true energy vampire.

Chaos Is Not the Same as Alignment Here is something I want you to understand about this industry. Chaos gets very normalized at drama schools, on sets, in groups of actors. And what happens is our nervous system can mistake that intensity for alignment. It is really intense so it must be good.

Maybe not.

When things are calm, clear, curious, confident, that is when real art gets made. Creativity depends on your emotional safety. Protecting your energy is not selfishness. It is career maintenance.

Outsourcing Your Self-Worth I have watched actors hand their emotional authority to agents, coaches, teachers, social media. And as a coach, when an actor asks me what I think, unless it is about a specific business question, I want to know what they think. A good mentor does not hunt for their student. They teach their student how to hunt so that when they separate, the student can thrive.

Healthy coaches empower and clarify. They build your confidence and teach you how to build it yourself. Manipulative people create dependency and chronic inadequacy. Spot those people in your life. Say less around them. Listen more. Pay attention to how your body feels after every interaction.

Do you feel calmer and clearer? Or more anxious and contracted?