Anxiety and the Artist

03/30/2026

I'm so excited to announce our first Anxiety and the Artist workshop:

From Stuck to Started. 🎉

This one is for the creatives. The ones with a project they care about deeply but life — work, family, obligations — keeps getting in the way. You haven't forgotten about it. You just haven't found the path forward. Yet.

Over six weeks, we'll meet once a week for two hours via Zoom and I'll help you:
✅ Break your project into real, measurable goals
✅ Work through what's been keeping you stuck
✅ Tap into resources and my perspective as a director and producer

Two time options, because life is complicated:
📅 Mondays at 10:30am ET — great for those on a theater/Broadway schedule
📅 Thursdays at 8pm ET — perfect for parents and those with daytime commitments

We start April 13. Class size is limited.

💰 $300 — or $250 if you register by April 3rd!

Interested? Drop a comment, send me a DM, or shoot me an email at [email protected]

I'd love to tell you more. 💛

02/05/2026

In this podcast season of Anxiety & the Artist’s final episode, I’m chatting with executive coach and former theater director Gina Rattan (.room.io) about presence under pressure, the pitfalls of striving for “perfection,” and how anxiety manifests when you care deeply about your work.

We discuss:
⏩ Performance anxiety and the fear of judgment
⏩ The concept that presence is developed, not innate
⏩ Effective tools for the nervous system that truly make a difference
⏩ Reframing anxiety to avoid viewing it as a personal failure

If you’re a professional actor, a business executive, or a high-achieving artist, this episode is for you.

If you’ve ever found yourself saying “What if I blow it?” before a meeting, audition, presentation, or creative risk… you’ll want to tune in to this season finale.

🎧 Listen for free wherever you get your podcasts

📻 Executive Presence, Leadership Under Pressure, self-talk, performance anxiety, Mental Health For Creatives, mental skills for artists, audition anxiety, self-compassion, burnout prevention, Artists And Anxiety, High Achievers, confidence under pressure, performing artists, creative anxiety, artist mental health

01/30/2026

🎭✨ Final episode of the season is live!

What do Broadway actors, Fortune 500 executives, and high-achieving creatives all have in common?
Performance anxiety when the stakes are high.

This week on Anxiety & the Artist, I’m talking with executive coach and former theater director Gina Rattan about presence under pressure, why “perfect” is a trap, and how anxiety actually shows up when you care deeply about your work.

We talk about:
• Performance anxiety and fear of judgment
• Why presence is built, not born
• Practical nervous system tools that actually work
• How to stop treating anxiety like a personal failure

If you’ve ever thought “What if I blow it?” before a meeting, audition, presentation, or creative risk… this one’s for you.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts for free

01/14/2026

If you’re an actor, dancer, musician, performing artist, or creative navigating high-pressure environments, auditions, or burnout, this conversation is for you.

🤔 What if the voice in your head isn’t the enemy, but a skill you can train? Turn negative thoughts around with the phrase, “I’m having the thought that...” before completing the troubling thought swirling in your head

In this episode of the Anxiety And The Artist Podcast, I’m joined by Antonette Cohen (), a performance psychology consultant and former Broadway performer, this week to talk about how self-talk shapes confidence, focus, and performance under pressure.
We explore practical mental skills for artists, why self-compassion actually improves performance, and how to build sustainable excellence without relying on shame or “tough love.”

🎧 Listen for free wherever you get your podcasts

📻 artist mental health, sustainable excellence, performance psychology, performance anxiety, self-compassion, burnout prevention, confidence under pressure, creative anxiety, mental skills for artists, audition anxiety

01/14/2026

🎙️ New Episode

What if the voice in your head isn’t the enemy, but a skill you can train?

Performance anxiety, negative self-talk, and burnout don’t mean you’re broken. They mean you’re human.

In this episode, I’m joined by Antonette Cohen, performance psychology consultant and former Broadway performer, to talk about how self-talk shapes confidence, focus, and performance under pressure. We explore practical mental skills for artists, why self-compassion actually improves performance, and how to build sustainable excellence without relying on shame or “tough love.”

If you’re an actor, dancer, musician, or creative navigating high-pressure environments, auditions, or burnout, this conversation is for you.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts for free.

Keywords: performance psychology, self-talk, performance anxiety, mental skills for artists, audition anxiety, self-compassion, burnout prevention, confidence under pressure, performing artists, creative anxiety, artist mental health, sustainable excellence

12/26/2025

Thank you for making 2025 such a wonderful year for our podcast. You are what keeps Anxiety And The Artist going. We could not do it without you.

Oscar and I would like to remind you that you can support us by
🎧 sharing your favorite episode with a friend
🎧 sending us a donation on
🎧 reposting or sharing our posts on socials
🎧 leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform

We’ve got exciting plans for 2026 (did someone say an app & a workbook?!?! 👀) and we can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been working on for you.

🎙️ creativity podcast, mental health podcast, podcast dogs, anxiety help, actor podcast

12/24/2025

However you celebrate, I hope you’re surrounded with love, care, calm, and a dash of whimsy ✨

Have a magnificent holiday season!

Love from the entire Anxiety And The Artist Podcast team

🥂 New Years Eve, Christmas party, Holiday party, Hanukkah Celebration, Advent Calendar, artistic podcast

12/19/2025

In the midst of wanting to wish everybody happy holidays, I also wanted to hop on here and just acknowledge the yuckiness going on in the world right now and remind & encourage everyone to stay strong, find the light, connect with other people. If you’re in a place where you can create, create. We’ll get through this.

Happy holidays. ❤️

🎧 Creative Career, Creative Soul, artistic heart, authenticity for artists, performer podcast, creative wellness, holiday season

12/17/2025

Artists often process collective trauma through both body and imagination. The reminders below aren’t about turning pain into output. They’re about protecting your inner resources, honoring your feelings, and allowing creativity to return when it’s ready.

✨ Talk About It: Art thrives on connection, not isolation.
Share what you’re carrying with someone who can listen without fixing. Being witnessed eases the weight & reminds you you’re not alone.

✨ Strive for Balance: Artists see everything.
Pain can dominate the frame when the world feels overwhelming. Gently widen the lens to include what steadies or nourishes you. Balance supports clarity, not denial.

✨ Turn It Off: Your creative system needs boundaries.
Limit news and social media intake. Constant exposure can flood the imagination & nervous system. Stepping back protects your capacity to create and live.

✨ Honor Your Feelings: Your response is part of the process.
Shock, fatigue, numbness, or agitation may show up before words do. These are human reactions, not creative failure.

✨ Take Care of Yourself: Sustain the instrument.
Eat regularly.
Rest deeply.
Move your body.
Avoid numbing what needs attention. Routine can become a quiet source of stability.

✨ Help Where You Can: Creation is an act of agency.
Helping, organizing, or making something meaningful can restore direction. Small gestures still carry weight.

✨ If You’re Grieving: Grief reshapes creativity.
It may slow you down or change your voice for a while. Survivor’s guilt is common. So are waves. Let the work & the healing move at their own pace.

🧠 Learn More: Evidence-based guidance
These coping tips are informed by resources from the American Psychological Association () on responding to trauma and mass violence. For deeper context, visit APA.org.

☎️ If You Need Immediate Support: You deserve help right now.
• In the U.S., call or text 988 for the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline
• Call 911 in an emergency
• Reach out to a trusted person if you’re not safe alone
🤍 Support is not a failure. It’s a response.

🎧 Stay Connected with Anxiety and the Artist
A podcast exploring artists’ relationship with anxiety, creativity, & care.

12/10/2025

“I am a solution to someone’s problem, and they won’t know that unless I put myself out there.” Hilary Sutton

It’s a practical reminder for anyone who avoids self-promotion because it feels awkward or self-focused. Visibility isn’t vanity; it’s clarity. If people don’t know what you do, they can’t hire you, collaborate with you, or recommend you.

This episode with .sutton digs into:
• building a personal brand without oversharing
• defining your boundaries online
• why creatives often under-communicate their value
• how small habits support sustainable visibility

🎙 visibility, value, personal branding, creative career

11/26/2025

Why Social Anxiety Hits Creatives So Hard

If you’ve ever walked into a rehearsal, audition, or networking event and felt your whole body tightening before you even said a word… this episode is for you.

This week, I talk with creative business coach Kevin Urban about the quiet panic so many artists carry into rooms where they’re supposed to shine. We get into what social anxiety actually is, why it shows up in creative spaces, and how to navigate it without performing your way through every conversation.

In this conversation:
• What triggers social anxiety for artists 😬
• Why your nervous system misfires around “being seen”
• How misalignment amplifies anxiety
• Small shifts that make social situations feel less threatening
• Showing up as yourself instead of your “audition version”

If social situations drain you more than the work itself, you’re not alone. And you don’t have to white-knuckle your way through it.

Listen now—link in bio.
Social Anxiety, Creative Anxiety, Artist Anxiety, Creative Wellness, Creative Mindset, Mental Health For Creatives

11/19/2025

New Episode!

🎙️Social Anxiety, Second Acts & Authenticity with Kevin Urban

✨This week, I’m joined by coach and “Possibleist” Kevin Urban for a grounded, eye-opening conversation about what social anxiety looks like for creatives, and why so many artists feel a disconnect between who they are and who they think they should be.

✨We dig into identity, misalignment, reinvention, and how to walk into a room without slipping into performance mode. If you’ve ever arrived at a networking event and instantly wanted to evaporate, this one’s for you.

In this episode:
• Social anxiety for creatives 😬
• Reinventing yourself in midlife 🔁
• Authenticity in the arts 🎭
• Creative confidence & identity 🧩
• Navigating social spaces without the “on” switch 💬
• Why alignment makes everything easier 🌿

🎧 Link in bio.

🎙️ Available wherever you get your podcasts for free!

Keywords:
social anxiety, creative anxiety, artist anxiety, authenticity for artists, creative reinvention, midlife transition for creatives, Kevin Urban, Allison Sheff, the Possibleist, creative coaching, networking tips for artists, performance nerves, imposter syndrome for artists, creative career transitions, confidence for creatives

Podcast exploring the relationship between artists and anxiety, offering insight and inspiration. Hosted by director, Allison Sheff.