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View Full Version : someone help me!!



newuser12345
03-21-2011, 03:30 PM
Hi, I've never posted on one of these forums before but I've been feeling really lost recently and needed some advice.

I am a high school student who is going to college to become an professional actor. I was accepted to a BFA training program that will focus completely on becoming a professional. That is why my issue is so concerning to me.

Last summer at camp where I had a lot of anxiety making friends, I was told a couple of times that I was squinting one of my eyes in conversation - kind of like a lazy eye I guess. Like my eyelid would just droop over one of my eyes and I wouldn't notice it at all. This might sound weird - but I feel like at camp I had a LOT of trouble for the first time in my life making eye contact with people. I felt like I had forgotten how to make eye contact and was doing something wrong. This was probably the reason for my eye drooping.

Recently, however, I have become extremely aware of my eye because I want to prevent it from drooping ever again. Ever since, it has been a big source of anxiety for me (in the past, before camp, I've been obsessed with things like how dry/sticky my lips are and how they look). This feels so weird to be writing about, but it has really been bothering me. Now, in conversation with other people and rarely in private, my face feels very stiff and sometimes it feels like one side of my face might be twitching or one eye might be squinting but I can't be sure because I never noticed it when I was originally squinting one eye. I no longer have trouble making eye contact, but now I feel TERRIBLY anxious that I am twitching my eye even though I can't feel it. How can I know if I have a twitch or not??! Sometimes I feel my face subtly twitch when I laugh really hard or talk to someone intimidating. What do you think?

Should I see a psychiatrist? Therapist? Doctor? What do I do? It's high stakes because I want to be an actor and can't have this problem as a professional!!

Help me!!

Beachgirl
03-28-2011, 08:07 PM
The more you think about it the more likely it is to happen; a self-fulfilling prophecy. I personally would not go to a psychiatrist as tey will likely just medicate you and it may cover up your current problem but I think you'd be better off getting cbt therapy and learning how to cope with anxiety over the long haul. I used to be on meds until I learned how to use CBT and the TEA form exercise and I can tell you it is very empowering and not a crutch like meds were.