Podcast Summary
The Challenges of Live Performances: Early Starts, Long Waits, and Unexpected Injuries: Despite the excitement of live performances, they come with challenges like early starts, long waits, and unexpected injuries. Performers must manage their energy and prioritize their engagements wisely in a surplus gig market.
Performing live can be an exhilarating experience, but it also comes with its challenges. The podcast host, despite loving the time spent on stage, shared that the entire day of a gig involves early starts, long hours of waiting, and late finishes, leading to sleep deprivation. He also shared an unexpected incident where he injured himself while getting distracted by an Alsatian in a parked car. Despite the hectic schedule and the minor injury, the host is looking forward to his last gig of the year and using the rest of the year to focus on writing and preparing his podcast. The industry's recovery from the pandemic has led to a surplus of gigs, making it challenging for performers to choose their engagements wisely. The host's experience highlights the intense adrenaline rush of performing and the toll it can take on one's physical and mental well-being.
Encountering the Unexplained: Fear, Curiosity, and Seeking Help: Through unexpected experiences, we may feel fear or curiosity, but seeking resources and help can lead to understanding and growth.
Our experiences, even those that may seem strange or surreal, can be clarified and understood with the right tools and perspective. The speaker recounted an encounter with a large dog that seemed to be driving a car, followed by a belief that he had seen a UFO. However, upon using an astronomy app to identify the bright object in the sky, he discovered it was actually Jupiter. Despite the initial excitement and fear, the speaker learned to calm himself down and acknowledge the impact of the pandemic on his mental health, leading him to seek therapy for the first time in over a decade. The encounter served as a reminder of the importance of staying grounded and using resources to make sense of our perceptions.
Emotional distress from pandemic leads to heightened anxiety and fear: Prolonged emotional dysregulation from pandemic requires professional help for effective coping strategies and emotional regulation techniques.
The pandemic has caused significant emotional distress and dysregulation for many people, leading to a prolonged state of heightened anxiety and fear. This emotional dysregulation can impact daily life, making it difficult to cope with regular stressors and respond critically instead of reactively. The speaker, who has experienced these challenges, notes that their previous self-help tools are no longer effective and they now require professional help from a talk therapist to learn emotional regulation techniques and rediscover a sense of calm and joy.
Exploring Unconscious Beliefs with a Therapist: Seeking therapy to uncover hidden beliefs causing emotional distress, therapist creates a safe space for growth, reactive emotions mask deeper pain, therapy provides healing and growth.
The speaker is seeking professional help from a therapist to identify and address deeply rooted, unconscious beliefs that are causing emotional distress and hindering their personal growth. These beliefs, which relate to themselves, others, and the future, are beyond their awareness due to their painful nature. The speaker acknowledges the importance of therapy in unearthing these blind spots and improving their mental health, as their self-esteem is low due to two and a half years of poor mental health. The therapist's role is not only to guide the speaker in discovering these blind spots but also to create a safe and trusting therapeutic alliance. The speaker's reactive emotions, such as anxiety and anger, are protective mechanisms that mask deeper, painful feelings of fear or shame. These emotions are often misdirected towards seemingly insignificant triggers, and the therapist's role is to help the speaker understand the root cause of these reactions. The speaker is looking forward to the therapeutic process and believes it will provide the healing and growth they have been seeking.
Personal growth through therapy: Therapy offers a safe, confidential space to address underlying emotional issues and build a supportive relationship with a mental health professional, enhancing self-help practices for comprehensive mental health management.
Even with consistent self-help practices, seeking professional therapy can provide essential support for mental health management. The speaker shares their personal experience of feeling emotionally unregulated and unable to fully access their emotions despite using various self-help methods. They describe therapy as a refreshing experience, akin to stepping out of a shower, and acknowledge the importance of addressing underlying issues rather than merely coping with symptoms. The speaker emphasizes the confidentiality and non-judgmental nature of therapy, highlighting the importance of the therapeutic alliance built on empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard. Overall, the speaker encourages the value of seeking professional help in addition to self-help practices for effective mental health management.
Exploring emotions in a safe environment through therapy: Therapy offers a unique space for individuals to authentically explore emotions and experiences, fostering personal growth through the therapeutic alliance and safety it provides.
Therapy provides a unique and safe environment for individuals to explore emotions and experiences that may be too painful or threatening in everyday life. The therapeutic alliance between the therapist and client is crucial in creating this sense of safety, allowing for authenticity and exploration. This relationship can sometimes lead to transference, where clients project emotions onto their therapists. The goal is to eventually be able to experience these emotions outside of the therapy room. The safety and authenticity found in therapy are not typically present in everyday life, making it a valuable tool for personal growth and exploration.
Patronage model supports creator's independence and authenticity: Listeners' support allows creators to stay independent, authentic, and free from advertiser influence.
The podcast creator's ability to deliver consistent high-quality content is supported by listeners through a patronage model on Patreon. This model allows the creator to remain independent and uninfluenced by advertisers, ensuring authenticity and freedom in content creation. However, the creator's unique experiences, such as dealing with a large social media presence and the emotional impact of public notoriety, can be isolating and challenging, making support and understanding from others crucial. Despite the perceived glamour of notoriety, the reality can be overwhelming and strange, and it's essential to acknowledge and address the emotional aspects of being in the public eye.
Living with hate and harassment online: Twenty years of online presence brings praise and hatred, Twitter is a hostile place for artists, negative reactions can have significant impact, and coping mechanisms are necessary.
Maintaining a high-profile Internet presence for 20 years comes with both praise and hatred, and the hatred can be harder to ignore due to its potential reach and impact. The speaker, an independent artist, shared his experience of being harassed, abused, and bullied daily, despite having millions of followers on various social media platforms. He emphasized that Twitter, in particular, is a hostile place where hatred is rewarded, and even small provocations can lead to a significant number of negative reactions. The speaker's fear of social rejection, which he had worked on in therapy before gaining notoriety, became a reality as he saw tweets with thousands of likes criticizing him and his work. He concluded by highlighting the importance of understanding that this is his lived reality and the need to learn to cope with the negative reactions while continuing to pursue his career.
Dealing with toxicity on social media: Even normal people can cause immense harm through their words on social media, leading to extreme social rejection and painful stress. Empathy and understanding the impact of our words are crucial in the digital age.
Social media, particularly for individuals with large followings, can be a toxic environment leading to extreme social rejection and painful stress. The speaker, who has dealt with this for 20 years, shared how they have to block and report hundreds of accounts daily due to hateful comments. They emphasized that even normal people, not just trolls, can cause immense harm through their words. The human brain processes extreme social rejection as real physical pain, and the speaker has had to develop a thick exterior to cope. They also mentioned that the small minority of individuals who actively try to harm others through social media deserve societal scrutiny. Despite the negativity, the speaker acknowledged that most people on social media are just seeking attention and aren't intentionally trying to harm. Overall, the speaker's experience highlights the importance of empathy and understanding the impact of our words on others in the digital age.
Maintaining Authenticity on Social Media for Public Figures: Stay true to oneself, acknowledge online criticism, recognize parasocial relationships, and find support on Instagram.
Maintaining a personal brand and authentic voice on social media is crucial for public figures and creators, as it forms a significant part of their career and identity. The speaker, who has spent 20 years in the industry, emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself, acknowledging the emotional impact of online criticism, and recognizing the parasocial nature of relationships with public figures. The speaker also highlights the importance of understanding that apathy and hatred towards a public figure can stem from personal insecurities and feelings of threat. Instagram, with its normal and supportive community, is a source of grounding and sanity for the speaker amidst the intense online attention.
Instagram offers a more authentic and connective experience: Instagram's real-life friends and absence of performative interactions lead to meaningful conversations and learning opportunities, fostering a sense of community and human connection
Instagram provides a more authentic and connective experience compared to other social media platforms due to the presence of real-life friends and the absence of performative interactions. The speaker values the normalcy and directness of interactions on Instagram, which often lead to meaningful conversations and learning opportunities. The sense of community and human connection on Instagram makes the speaker feel appreciated and glad to be creating content for such a lovely audience. Despite the uncertainties and potential challenges, the speaker looks forward to continuing to engage with the Instagram community and potentially welcoming a very special guest on the podcast. Overall, Instagram offers a more heartfelt and engaging experience that brings people closer together.
