Anxiety and the Artist

26/12/2025

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

24/12/2025

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

19/12/2025

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

17/12/2025

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.

10/12/2025

“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

26/11/2025

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

19/11/2025

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.

08/11/2025

New Episode of Anxiety and the Artist 🎧

What does it really mean to cultivate resilience—not just as an artist, but as a human being?

In this week’s episode, I sit down with Michelle Loucadoux and Kristin Deiss, co-founders of Danscend, to talk about how dancers can strengthen their mental wellness alongside their technique.

Born out of the pandemic, Danscend was created to fill a gap in the dance world: accessible tools and education to support the mental health of artists. Michelle and Kristin share how their own experiences—injury, reinvention, parenthood, and career pivots—led them to build a platform for lasting resilience and authentic growth.

If you’ve ever questioned how to stay grounded when your creative identity shifts, this conversation is for you.

🎧 Listen to Resilience and Reinvention with Danscend Founders Michelle Loucadoux and Kristin Deiss wherever you get your podcasts for free.

Danscend

12/10/2025

"Whether you feel like it or not, whether you're ready or not, whether you have a lot of time or resources or not, writing one line, reading one page, moving for five minutes, that process, you said you like the word juiciness. When I think about holding half of an orange and squeezing just a little bit, a little bit of juice comes out. Just squeeze a little bit, a little bit of juice comes out. You do not have to have 18 oranges in a professional juicer."

This week on Anxiety and the Artist, choreographer & educator Alexandra Beller joins me to talk about:

🎨 Rediscovering your creative juiciness

🌀 Moving through the slough of stuckness

🛠️ Practical tools to keep your artistic process alive

27/09/2025

✨ Feeling uninspired? You’re not alone.

This week on Anxiety and the Artist, choreographer & educator Alexandra Beller joins me to talk about:

🎨 Rediscovering your creative juiciness

🌀 Moving through the slough of stuckness

🛠️ Practical tools to keep your artistic process alive

Available wherever you get your podcasts for free!

11/09/2025

I'm so excited for this new season and I hope you check out this new episode with Jim!

💊 In this episode, Allison welcomes Managing Director of Health Services at the Entertainment Community Fund, Jim Bracchitta.

🩻 They discuss Jim’s transition from performing to advocacy, the breadth of services offered by the Entertainment Community Fund, and how artists can access affordable health insurance, mental health resources, and other vital support.

🩺 Jim also breaks down how recent healthcare legislation may impact coverage, and why showing up at the polls matters for the future of healthcare.

❤️ Whether you’re a performer, technician, or creative professional, this conversation offers practical guidance, a dose of reassurance, and a reminder that support is out there.

🎧 Available for download wherever you get your podcasts for free!

❤️ Love an episode? Share it in your Insta stories!

19/07/2025

🎙️✨ We’ve got exciting news: our podcast is now accepting donations!

If you’ve been enjoying the show and want to help us keep producing thoughtful, ad-free episodes, this is your chance to pitch in. 💛

We’re proud to be 100% listener-supported—that means no commercials, no corporate influence, just real conversations made possible by YOU.

Your support helps us:
👉 Create more episodes
👉 Cover production costs
👉 Stay independent and ad-free

Whether it’s a one-time gift or ongoing support, every dollar helps us keep the mics on and the stories flowing.

Ready to support the pod?
➡️ coff.ee/anxietyandtheartist

Thank you for being part of this community. We truly couldn’t do this without you. 🙏

We are 100% listener supported. Your donations help us produce more episodes and keeps the podcast commercial free.