Addiction in the Spotlight

Being conscious of our mood, thoughts and emotions is important because if we are not careful, the overwhelming effects of stress can have a negative toll on us. And this is particularly important for performing artistes.

Treating stress effectively is one of the best ways to living a healthy life, and the earlier this is realized, the better.

Performing artistes have a lot to deal with because their practice requires the public to judge and if it is great, they are compensated for it. Hence, performing artistes are usually under a lot of pressure to perform optimally to remain in the favor of their fans.

To begin with, performing artistes need to know the right time to recharge their batteries. They need to understand that it is vital to give their art some break, on some occasions. It is not bad staying away from the keyboard or the music studio for three days because you want to relax.

You need to understand that there are other aspects of your life that need good attention, and neglecting them might result in unpleasant surprises in the future.

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Recharging your batteries is one of the best ways to get your body and brain back into a great shape that would even make your career profound.

In addition, performing artistes need to take their diet seriously. A good diet is important for the performing artiste to deal with stress, and it is a much better option than relying on processed foods that have too much fats and sugar content.

Performing artistes need to know that dealing with stress is not done effectively with alcohol and drugs. As a matter of fact, the effects that drugs and alcohol come with are short-lived and in due time, the individual would request more of those substances.

To wrap it up, performing artistes need to take their exercise routines seriously, because it is one of the major ways to keep their bodies in great shape and build a good immune system.

Performing artistes are people who have chosen this career path which is correctly viewed as a path for a creative.

So, because they are doing what they love, you can expect that they would spend countless hours trying to perfect their act.

Now, bearing in mind that no one is invincible, there are times when performing artistes would need to take a break and refresh themselves.

Taking a break from work is important in order to give you a fresh new perspective on your career, and it is important to do this on a regular basis.

One essential tip that performing artistes need to integrate into their career, is maintaining a healthy diet.

They should make sure that they eat on a regular basis. They should also take more of fruits than snack in between meals. Also, water is very important, and it is necessary to remain hydrated by taking lots of water.

Another tip is to ensure their batteries are recharged. One way to achieve this is to make sure they catch enough sleep.

On a daily basis, a performing act should sleep between 7-8hours per day. There should also be times when they take breaks from their phone.

Closely related to this, is by ensuring that they exercise regularly. This is one feature that performing acts have not factored into their schedule.

Regular exercise helps you to release endorphins. This would help you deal effectively with stress and ensure you have a better sleep.

It is also best to keep away from substances like alcohol, coffee and hard drugs. The last thing a performing artiste needs is being addicted to any of these and even more.

Once addiction sets in, it would be difficult to restore the individual’s health to normalcy.

To wrap it up, it is important that from time to time, you find something entirely different to do other than anything related to your job as a performer.

So, even though you love acting, it is essential to take your mind off it at some point.

Only few people can identify with the kind of lifestyle that performing artistes live. What they basically do for a living is to get on stage, and perform, thereby keeping the audience either amused or entertained.

Achieving this is usually herculean and this is why they spend countless hours rehearsing so that their performance can come out as projected.

Performing artistes live lives that are very challenging. Often times, they have to deal with mental health problems like anxiety, depression and the likes.

As a matter of fact, it is correct to say that, they are the set of people who are more prone to mental health problems than a good number of other people.

Usually, performing artistes encounter addiction during the course of seeking ways to handle stress and stage fright. It is not easy having to face a large crowd of people and entertain them.

Therefore, some performing artistes would take some substances that would help them achieve this. Based on studies, performing artistes are addicted to drugs and alcohol most of the times.

One of the ways of preventing performing artistes from being addicted, is to integrate the counseling factor into their industry.

This set of people would not readily open up to their family and friends concerning what they are facing. So, they would readily keep to themselves or receive ill-advice from fellow acts.

However, once there is a counseling unit is in place, it would come in handy for their overall mental health treatment. They would be able to thrive effectively in their career without any hindrances.

Another way is getting the audience to appreciate performing acts even if their presentation is not really top-notch.

Performing acts are usually faced with lots of criticisms, and this makes it impossible for some of them to remain afloat. They need all the support they can get so that they can thrive to do better.

Performing acts are advised that when it looks like they are struggling with their mental health, they should reach out for help from the right quarters.

Addiction is known to be a psychological disorder which is no respecter of persons, status, colour and the likes. Addiction is commonly known to be an obsessive attraction which makes one drawn to a particular activity, irrespective of the fact that the outcome could either be good or bad.

These activities can be carried out without the individual being addicted to them. However, it gets worse when it becomes a habit.

Taking a look at performing artists, they are public individuals who perform on stage or probably media platforms.

While they are displaying their talents and skills, there is this major goal to showcase their emotions and feelings, while giving their audience the best of entertainment.

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There are a good number of reasons why performing artists get addicted, one of which is, the desire to be known.

Everyone loves attention, and it is very normal for us humans. Artists are most likely to link up with the big guns in the society, and there is this innate desire to get to the top, hence, they would be keen on stepping up their game.

Most artists usually do not feel at ease when they are performing. Hence, they would take drugs before going on stage, so that their performance can be enhanced. This is done in a bid to provide satisfaction to the requirements of the industry.

In addition to this, there is always the desire to get famous and rich. No one desires poverty, as everyone would like to be in places of leadership and power as well. Hence, it can be said that the performance of an artist is a huge determinant in whether he would get rich quick or not.

Also, some performing artists do not have confidence in themselves. At times, there is this huge pressure which comes on them when they are in front of a large crowd. Hence, they would take certain substances which would help to boost their confidence, and also step-up their performance as well.

When there is a constant reason for performing artists to remain addicted, they would continue taking those substances and indulging in those acts, and eventually get addicted to them.

Creativity can be quite beneficial as it is oftentimes used in that of addiction recovery. Yet even so, the need to obtain creativity—after it has slipped away, out of reach—can bring about a whole new problem, centered around substance abuse. In turn, this may cause one to place blame on creativity, or the creator himself/herself, rather than looking at the reason behind/for his/her addiction. The biggest consequence of this is that, creativity can pose as an advantage—or a disadvantage—depending on whether or not the creator holds creativity, or whether creativity holds the creator.

First and foremost are the advantages that come through creativity, which can help performing artists who are struggling with addiction rediscover their passion in a healthy—drug and alcohol free—way. For, it is through the performing arts (which is defined as, “forms of creative activity that are performed in front of an audience, such as drama, music, and dance”) that one can better express—what they are not yet ready to verbalize—through various approaches such as; art therapy, music therapy, etc.

Art therapy is “a form of psychotherapy involving the encouragement of free self-expression through painting, drawing, or modeling, used as a remedial activity or an aid to diagnosis”, while music therapy is “the prescribed use of music to restore, maintain, and improve emotional, physical, physiological, and spiritual health and well-being”. It is through these two therapeutic exercises, among a number of others, that performers—and/or addicts as a whole—can be restored to their former selves, as each helps them to process their feelings in a healthy way.

In contrast, creativity can also pose as a disadvantage if the creator begins to let it rule their life to the point of addiction. For, he/she may begin to grow frustrated by the inability to express what he/she is feeling efficiently, and may become even more upset if he/she has little to no inspiration. In response to such, he/she then finds himself/herself using because he/she finds that he/she likes the way it makes him/her feel, and in turn lets his/her addiction to creativity create an outlet to addiction in other areas of his/her life.

In conclusion, creativity is what the the creator makes it to be. It can either become one’s downfall if he/she begins to crave it after it has gone astray—and in place of such begins to use. Or, it can be used as a healthy outlet for anyone who is able to see it as such—without addiction to obstruct his/her view. That’s why individuals who find themselves—and/or feel as though—they are falling into addiction, must seek help, so that they may not only rediscover their creativity, but rediscover themselves. For oftentimes, what lies deep beneath the surface of the person who is struggling serves as the root of addiction, rather than creativity itself.

Life as a professional stage performer is a grueling one. A professional stage performer may be a dancer, an actor, a magician, a musician, a singer or any other kind of performance artist. The performing arts are known for being highly competitive and difficult to make a living at, which is part of the reason that performing artists are known for their struggles with addiction. The performance arts are a professional field that carry a higher rate of addiction problems than most other fields. In theory, this is because of the natural sensitivity and experimental nature of artists, the professional pressures that performing artists face and the emotional strain that the industry and the artistic process put on a performer.

All artists are experimental and sensitive due to their creative, artistic nature. These characteristics are necessary to the artistic process. However, they also create mental complications for many performing artists. Their experimental nature may lure them into using an addictive substance or perpetrating an addictive behavior, and their sensitive nature may cause them to alter their identity around it and become psychologically dependent on it. This can be a dangerous combination that leads to a gripping and long-lasting addiction.

Professional stage performing is a highly underrated profession. The competition is brutal and the expectations are unending. Many professional stage performers find their industry extremely stressful because it does not offer reliable work and the wages can be completely unregulated. This stress often amounts to experimenting with addictive behaviors and substances as a way of escaping, and an addiction begins.

The demands of stage performance are incredibly intense. Performers put their bodies, talents, vocal chords, emotions and more through the ringer to deliver a worthwhile performance to an audience. These are skills that most other professionals cannot understand. Performers are very emotionally and soulfully connected to their work, and the rise and fall of emotional victories and defeats can leave a performer yearning for escape into addiction. If you or someone in your life is a performing artist who struggles with addiction, do not hesitate to seek help as quickly as possible.

Professional performance artists live a lifestyle that few people can comprehend. For a living, performance artists get on a stage in front of an audience and dance, act, sing or do a number of other performative talents for the audience’s entertainment, amusement and enlightenment. Preparation for these performances includes grueling rehearsals and many hours spent at practice and memorization. The work is hard, the wages are often sporadic and inconsistent and the performance schedule often involves travel. This is why the number of performing artists who are thriving is considerably low. Performance artists lead very challenging lives, with hardships that include mental disorders, stage fright and rootlessness.

Mental disorders that affect performance artists may include depression, anxiety, addiction and more. Artists in general are more prone to mental disorders than people in other vocations because their craft requires sensitivity, empathy and emotional depth. The performing arts are one of the most high intensity art forms because they are live, so they frequently make performance artists high strung and susceptible to breakdowns, which are symptoms of an anxiety disorder. It is strange to think of a performance artist with stage fright, but it is a very common form of anxiety that performance artists deal with. Many performance artists also resort to addiction in an attempt to self medicate, and make themselves much worse off. All of these things and more can cause debilitating depression.  When depression sits in, the performers must seek alternatives with a luxury rehab depression centers, Toronto.

The rootlessness of a profession in the performing arts can have negative effects on a performer’s mental and physical health as well. A number of live shows travel around specific regional areas and the performers that tour with it may not see their homes for weeks or even months. Many performers work for a local venue and have the luxury of staying in one place, but many become absorbed by life on the road. This can lead to disorders and addiction as well because it leaves a person separated from their support system, routines and familiar surroundings.

Performance artists face a number of challenges that other working professionals have never been exposed to. The performing arts require the sensitivity it takes to envision and execute a quality performance, yet they also require the thick skin it takes to endure unkind audiences, grueling rehearsal schedules and a traveling lifestyle. Many performance artists cannot handle the pressures of life on stage and succumb to addiction while trying and failing to cope in a healthy way. Mental health professionals are aware that life as a performing artists is particularly hard on a person’s mental health. Because of this, there are addiction treatment programs designed specifically for performance artists.

In an inpatient rehabilitation center that offers programs specifically for performance artists, the first step of treatment will be a complete detoxification for those who have been abusing a substance. A person needs their bodily chemistry to be balanced and healthy in order to face the challenges of addiction treatment. Detoxes are medically supervised to prevent clients from entering into dangerous withdrawal symptoms without medical support.

The psychological treatment that takes place in an inpatient rehab that is tailored to the performance artist’s mentality will cover matters like performance anxiety, stage fright, identity crisis’ and travel lifestyles. It is not uncommon for the counselors and facilitators to have past experience on the stage and know from experience what kind of hardships a performance artist faces. The treatment material in residential rehab will consist of exercises, readings and workbooks, along with individual and group counseling. Therapeutic activities are also offered, such as yoga and nature walks, and diet and exercise is part of the regimen as well.

When the residential period is over, clients will be out in the world again but not alone, as support services continue even once the program is over. Clients will have access to the counselors they worked with during treatment and will be plugged into a network of support groups, meetings, sponsors and other addiction treatment services. If you or someone you know is a performance artist struggling with addiction, drug and alcoholism rehab centers could be the answer to the problem.