Can acting help with SA?

[DanielLewis]

I'm taking acting classes starting January of next year. There's this school of theatre arts nearby that offers free classes so I thought why not give it a try. I've never shown an interest in acting and never actually tried it, but I'm open to any new experiences now. If anything it might help my confidence and help me to express my emotions more openly since acting requires you to express a lot of emotions (even though it's fake). Another problem I have with SA is expressing emotions like laughter with people. It's hard for me to find anything funny anymore when I'm around people and I know that's a bad thing. I'm not actually going to be in any plays, but just acting out characters in a class setting. I'm a little nervous because I remember just having to get up in front of my class to act something out and I was awkward in nervous. My mindset is a little better now though to where I'm just like f##k it, I'm going to learn and try something new. It will help me grow.

Anyone else taking acting classes? Do you think this will help with SA?

 

[Zooman]

I think it's a terrible idea, but good luck.

 

[lucifersam]

I think it possibly could. I took an acting class a long time ago in middle school, but my SA wasn't that bad yet. What I felt helped me a lot more was in high school, I had to do lots of presentations. My school would have you do a presentation for pretty much every project, like it could have easily been 4 or 5 presentations a semester, every semester. I don't really have a problem with public speaking like most people with SA seem to, and I think that stuff in school helped a lot. (I have plenty of problems with other things of course...)

I think one of the things that made the presentations easier was that it was very structured... if you didn't have it written out word-for-word what to say, you would at least have an outline of the topic or some Powerpoint slides to guide you through the stuff. So there wasn't as much focus on myself, my personality, anything like that. Less chance to think, or overthink, or mess things up, since it was all planned out in advance.

Stuff like this might be useful in the sense that it's like exposure therapy... exposing yourself to people. (But not like, indecent exposure obvs.) But it might only be useful in very specific scenarios like public speaking.

 

[Xervello]

I'm taking acting classes starting January of next year. There's this school of theatre arts nearby that offers free classes so I thought why not give it a try. I've never shown an interest in acting and never actually tried it, but I'm open to any new experiences now. If anything it might help my confidence and help me to express my emotions more openly since acting requires you to express a lot of emotions (even though it's fake). Another problem I have with SA is expressing emotions like laughter with people. It's hard for me to find anything funny anymore when I'm around people and I know that's a bad thing. I'm not actually going to be in any plays, but just acting out characters in a class setting. I'm a little nervous because I remember just having to get up in front of my class to act something out and I was awkward in nervous. My mindset is a little better now though to where I'm just like f##k it, I'm going to learn and try something new. It will help me grow.

Anyone else taking acting classes? Do you think this will help with SA?

Sounds like a good idea. Kudos on trying something new and taking a chance. :thumbup:

One question though, why do you not find anything funny when around people? Do you mean that people bore you, that you're self-conscious about laughing in front of others or that nothing seems to make you laugh even when alone?

 

[DanielLewis]

Sounds like a good idea. Kudos on trying something new and taking a chance. :thumbup:

One question though, why do you not find anything funny when around people? Do you mean that people bore you, that you're self-conscious about laughing in front of others or that nothing seems to make you laugh even when alone?

I'm not self-conscious about laughing in front of people. I don't know if it's because I'm self-conscious in general, but I don't seem to find anything funny anymore. Like nothing genuinely gets me to naturally laugh. Instead I would have to fake it and that doesn't work. I mean, sometimes I'll find something funny on TV I'm watching and laugh alone but that's hardly ever, and I don't watch much TV at all. So, there's really not much laughter at all in my life and I know that's bad. I can't remember the last time I genuinely laughed with someone. I think it's because I have no friends and I've been so secluded and serious for a few years now and, as a result, I just can't seem to find humor anymore in things. Nothing seems to get me to laugh naturally without having to force or fake it.

People tell me I need to lighten up sometimes because I'm probably too serious all the time. Thing is, I want to lighten up, have fun, and laugh but I can't seem to do it. Long-term insomnia and depression about my life has really taken a toll on me emotionally and mentally. I'm trying to recover, but it's an emotional and mental battle everyday trying to be positive and happy when I feel so disconnected from everyone. The only thing that keeps me going is hope for a better day....hope that I will achieve what I want in life.

 

[DanielLewis]

I think it's a terrible idea, but good luck.

Why? I'm slightly concerned because I heard someone say it can actually make SA worse, but I think that only depends on the mindset I have going into it. It's possible I might be socially awkward and shy like I have been now when I'm there. As long as I don't beat myself up over it and have a positive attitude about it, no matter what happens, I don't see how it could make SA worse. As long as it can't make SA worse, then there's no harm in giving it a try. At the very least I'm going to broaden my experiences and learn something new, which is useful for becoming a more interesting person who has more to talk about and more to relate to people with.

 

[nicole1]

Try it and see. It may work for you.

 

[Zooman]

Why? I'm slightly concerned because I heard someone say it can actually make SA worse, but I think that only depends on the mindset I have going into it. It's possible I might be socially awkward and shy like I have been now when I'm there. As long as I don't beat myself up over it and have a positive attitude about it, no matter what happens, I don't see how it could make SA worse. As long as it can't make SA worse, then there's no harm in giving it a try. At the very least I'm going to broaden my experiences and learn something new, which is useful for becoming a more interesting person who has more to talk about and more to relate to people with.

Acting is hard even for most normal people without SA. Acting is all about showing emotions that are fake and you just admitted to not being any good at it. I just think you are trying to grab the bull by the horns and i don't want you to become too stressed out if things become embarrassing or awkward. At the same time though, if you have a good attitude about this then maybe it is worth a try. You did say you don't have any real interest in acting and it is just a free class, so maybe the lack of seriousness will help to lessen your anxiety and loosen you up. The variables are too far and in between, i guess in the end i was just speaking for myself because i think it would be a terrible idea for someone like me. But just cuz we have SA doesn't mean we are exactly the same person so i could be totally wrong. I hope you prove me wrong. Btw, if you go to these classes we need updates man!