I’m obsessed with this podcast episode about mental health for actors.

She has done it again, friend.  

You need to listen to Audrey Moore’s latest episode of her podcast Audrey Helps Actors titled Radical Acceptance. 

I’ve been a fan of the Audrey Helps Actors podcast since the beginning. It was actually the very first podcast I recommended in the newsletter. If you don’t know it, it’s a podcast hosted by working actor Audrey Moore who describes it as a podcast that “helps actors help themselves”. ***If this is the first time you’re hearing about it, stop reading and subscribe here now. 

Audrey and I met when I asked her to be on a mental health panel at SAG-AFTRA, which I helped coordinate for the LA Next Gen Performers Committee. Mental health advocacy is something both Audrey and I are passionate about and I was thrilled when she said yes. I will admit, I totalllllly fangirled meeting her!

While there, Audrey met Leigh Hall, a former actor turned therapist, who I had also sought out as a panelist. Audrey interviewed Leigh for this week’s episode of her podcast and the interview is incredible. Truly. I’m not just saying that cause I played a small part in their meeting. The episode is called “Radical Acceptance” and you gotta listen! As someone who has done years of therapy, I still learned a lot and I am definitely going to listen again. 

So many of the themes of the episode ring true in my own life and the issues I see with actors allllll the time – fears of not booking, handling rejection when you are released from a pin, the constant agony over what to say to your family about your career, the financial stresses and the absolute exhaustion I see all too often.  

I also felt so SEEN. (Audrey has an uncanny knack for doing that.) It was like the timing of this episode fit so perfectly with my life right now. 

Funny enough, I spent much of 2021 toying with the idea of quitting acting and going back to school to become a therapist, just like Leigh did.

My therapist and I talked about it at great length and I even looked into a few different programs. Ultimately I’ve decided that it’s not the path for me (at least not right now), as I really love coaching actors and want to continue to grow Actors Rise, amongst other pursuits, but I have been slowly stepping back from my acting career over the past few months. 

For awhile, I felt insecure about the idea of not really acting while simultaneously coaching actors on their careers, but my husband likes to remind me, “the best coaches aren’t always the best players,” and by that, he doesn’t mean I’m a bad actor lol, but that I can be a great career coach and not be a professional working actor myself. I honestly am realizing that having less “skin in the game” can be beneficial to supporting other actors as well. 

And if you’ve been reading the newsletter for awhile now, you already know I’ve had one foot out the door of my career for a while now. I’ve talked openly here about my thoughts on quitting. 

I’ve realized that even though I gratefully have a stable financial, emotional and full life (as they talk about in the episode) – I am not enjoying the job of being an actor anymore. Most of the time I still enjoy acting when I do it for the pure fun of it, but I stopped looking forward to class (so I stopped taking it), and most of my self-tapes just feel like a massive inconvenience (though occasionally I still find creative joy in doing them). I have been slowly booking out more, turning down auditions and stepping away. 

And it feels GOOD. Scary, but good. I feel so much less pressure. I feel this sense of more freedom and as they say in the episode, “radical acceptance” for where I’m at with my journey. 

I’ve realized I still want to act sometimes. I want to produce my own work and collaborate with friends, but I don’t really want to audition much. Maybe at all soon.

I don’t want what I used to want.

I have been getting a steady stream of TV and film auditions (something I would have just about died for a few years ago) and I don’t want to do most of them. I’ve realized what I really want to do with my time is…

I want to grow Actors Rise. I want to help more actors find their way – whatever that looks like for them and their own personal values and goals *can’t wait for the Actors Rise membership launch in May*!! 

I want to do other creative things like launch a podcast with my childhood best friend. (it’s in the works. stay tuned for June!)

I want to do public speaking events about issues I really give a shit about like women’s rights, infertility and what it’s like to be a caregiver for a parent at a young age. 

I want to be a mom and work from home. 

I want to write more. Maybe a book or a one woman show – or both! 

What I am choosing is “radical acceptance” of the life I actually want to live.

This is NOT about me giving up or quitting. This is about me fighting for myself and what I actually want in my life. This is about no longer being a “good girl” and sticking it out cause I told everyone this was what I was going to do or cause I’ve “already gotten this far” or cause I’m insecure my clients will judge me if I’m not working professionally. It’s about finding more purpose and meaning in my day to day life. My acting career just isn’t fulfilling for ME anymore – and that 100% doesn’t mean it won’t be for you! 

So, yeah, this episode really resonated with me and I hope you’ll check it out. I promise it’s not all negative or just about quitting or anything like that. It’s about you finding peace and fulfillment on your own journey and being honest with yourself about what that looks like. 

As always, love hearing from you, so please drop me a line in the comments below.