WGA and SAG-AFTRA Mental Health Photo Illustrations
Illustrated by Israel G. Vargas.Amanda Edwards/Getty Images; Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images; Allee Macon/AFP/Getty Images; Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
anxiety. anger. Frustration. As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes continue, people in Hollywood are feeling everything. ‘Strikes are tough on everyone,’ says writer-producer Joe Henderson THR. “It’s a strange time. There’s a mixture of feeling empowered to fight for what we deserve and believe in, and a sense of helplessness that the value we’ve created isn’t recognized. Sometimes I’m depressed, other times I’m inspired, and that’s the challenge.”
Psychotherapists who work primarily with Hollywood clients say their patients feel anxious and triggered during work breaks. “What happens when a person is exposed to a lot of stress in this way is that there is a primitive defense mechanism that we call projection. “There’s a lot of responsibility. It’s the studio’s fault, or it’s the actors’ fault.”
Therapists say many of their clients now feel helpless, caught in a barrage of low-ranking staff and low-level employees at their companies on strike. The financial pressure is real, and the Entertainment Community Fund (see page 34) has seen a surge in requests for financial assistance during the strike. But therapists say creatives in particular are energized by feeling ignored and disrespected by studios.
“The way I see it, everyone comes to Hollywood for parents who approve,” says Denise Palumbo, an author and psychotherapist who specializes in creative issues. “What do you think [the strikes] It has become clear to many of my patients that Hollywood is trying to put creatives in the child role and the industry itself in the parent role, but that’s not the role. Ta. This is the role of employers and employees, and employees have rights. ”
These perceptions have led many to rebuild perceptions of how studios treat their employees. “It’s just frustrating that the people we thought of as studio partners, the CEOs of these companies, seem reluctant to share the fruits of our labor with us. That’s right,” said Rob Forman, Universal Lot Coordinator and WGA West LGBTQ+ Co-Chair. Committee. “It’s made people rethink our relationship with studios and look at the little things we’ve gone through over the past decade as the primacy of streaming has taken over. It was relationship business, it was an abusive relationship.”
According to therapists, this reassessment and significant financial fears caused a surge in anxiety, catastrophic situations, situational depression, and symptoms of OCD. Creative people feel unfettered and displaced. “You lose your identity, you lose your sense of what to do with yourself,” says Philip Pearce, a licensed clinical psychologist in Beverly Hills.
But there are ways to cope and even grow during a strike, according to mental health experts. “The way to survive as a creative person in a capitalist market is to have a very good and positive relationship with your skill set,” says Palumbo. “Love should be between you and your creative endeavours, between you and your skill sets. There should be love there.”
During the strike, writer-showrunner Monica Owusu-Breen tried to reconnect with what drew her into storytelling in the first place before the Hollywood business took over. “I’ve been trying to find her joy in writing again,” she says. “I write things that may or may not sell. ”
Bloom also recommends using this time to reassess what you want out of your life, with Hollywood projects on hold. “Now is the time to rebuild yourself,” he says.
In a city often marked by cockiness and hype, mental health professionals believe this is a time for self-care, honesty, and honesty. “Be vulnerable in your support system,” says Bloom. “If you have a need, whether it’s financial or emotional, let people know.”
Many creators also feel that picketing has made them feel useful and involved. “They saw their friends on the picket line,” Blume said. “They made a commitment to do something together. It was solidarity.”
But with the WGA strike past 100 days, fatigue is adding to the stress, Forman said. “I’m out on the picket line and making adjustments. There are moments when I’m just tired,” he says. video game. Whatever your unique stress-relieving coping mechanism is. ”
While the problem is likely to deepen as the strike drags on, therapists have expressed their admiration for their clients for striking during this difficult time. “They are [have] There are financial concerns, creative concerns, but most of all I am touched by the sense of solidarity that writers and actors feel,” says Palumbo. “And for people, it’s something that everyone feels is very worthy of a strike. I’m proud of them for that.”
Lesley Goldberg contributed to this report.
This article first appeared in the August 16th issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.
