When we shut down…

Here on The Blog, we’ve talked a bunch about how performing requires an optimal level of arousal, an optimal of attention, energy, and alertness. We’ve discussed what happens when we have too much arousal and when we shake.

But what happens when our energy is low?

When we can’t seem to pay attention, or when we feel super spacey?

What happens when we have too little arousal?

Too little arousal or hypoarousal is when we have gone past our optimal level, past overwhelm, and into shutdown. This is a stress response where we immobilize as a way to protect ourselves. Also called the freeze response, hypoarousal can show up a bunch of different ways while performing, including feeling physically frozen in place.

We can also forget or blank on our lines even though we knew them 10 minutes ago. Or we could give up in the middle of the audition, feel super defeated. It can also look like feeling stuck or disconnected to a role that we adore doing.

Acting is all about connection, so it’s really hard on an artist when we feel disconnected from our work. Makes sense then that hypoarousal is where the shame and blame spiral lives. In fact, I know I’m in hypoarousal whenever I start calling myself a bad actor or harshly judging myself or my performance. It’s exhausting.

And it’s normal.

Hypoaroual is a normal stress response. It is normal to feel defeated, numb, or checked out when stressed. And performing is (and always will be) stressful! The response is not a pleasant experience, for sure, but it is normal. There is nothing wrong with us and there is nothing wrong with the response.

Cause there are times where hypoarousal has helped us! I know I’ve had auditions or contracts where I’ve shut down because of the way I was treated. Disconnecting helped me make it through those situations, and I’m sure it’s helped you as well.

So what can we do when we shut down?

Most artists train or are culturally conditioned to push through any stress response. When the stress increases, when the show must go on, we just got to throw more energy, more attention, and more of ourselves at the situation. This is really hard to do when we’re tapped out! Hypoarousal, surprisingly, uses up a lot of our energy, which is why it is so exhausting.

And sometimes even if we can push through, doing so can boomerang us back harder into the response, harder into shut down. If we’ve ever had to go home a lay down after a performance we barely made it through, that boomerang might be why.

Again this is normal.

Which means we can offer ourselves some compassion for having a natural stress response. Even though it doesn’t feel good, we can let ourselves off the hook a bit, especially those times when shutting down helped us make it through a tough situation.

Now I know that might not seem like much, but go with me here: How much energy do we spend on that shame and blame spiral? What if we could take some of that energy back?

How would our relationship to our work change?

As far as tools go, generally, when we are frozen, tools with small, slow, gentle movements are useful. I say this with a grain of salt as some of us may find that larger movements or other energizer tools may work better for us, especially if we’re only slightly in hypoarousal.

It really does depend on the person, the situation, the context. We can play around with different tools at different times to see what works best for us and when, building our awareness. Just be mindful of that boomerang effect, especially if the response is intense.

Lastly, I know that acting, especially in the commercial realm, values speed and quickness. This is why we need our tools to work fast and be super effective because we have limited time in the room, show, performance, etc. Remember though, hypoarousal is an energy drain.

It takes time to recover and even more time to repattern the response. And when we expect too much of ourselves too soon, that can throw us back onto the shame and blame spiral. Instead, we can learn how to recover as we go by focusing on smaller more frequent shifts over time.

If you’re curious to know more about how to build that awareness and recover as you go, click here for a free consult.