Reprogramming Your Brain, On-Set Safety & A Trick to Stop Crying with Trish Spears

The Sauce

In the creative arts industry, the mental and emotional toll on artists can be immense. This is where Trish Spears, the "mind mechanic," comes in.

In this episode, Trish explains how most of our limiting beliefs are just old programs installed before the age of seven and how, through techniques like NLP and hypnotherapy, we can rewrite them to achieve our best.

She discusses the crucial need for on-set mental health support—from script assessment to post-production—to ensure actors can safely navigate traumatic scenes, embody difficult characters, and leave the work at work.

Takeaways

• Most of our unconscious programming is installed by the age of seven, and our brain runs these old programs automatically when under stress.
• You can begin to reprogram your brain by interrupting negative thoughts and focusing on the pictures and words associated with what you do want to happen.
• A simple way to challenge a limiting belief is to ask, "What if you could?" which forces your brain to create a new picture of possibility.
• Trish has developed a process for actors to "enrol" into a character by stepping into an avatar and "derolling" at the end of the day by hanging the "costume" up, creating a healthy separation between self and character.
• Producers should ideally engage a mental health coordinator at the script-reading phase to conduct a risk assessment, which makes the entire production process safer and easier.
• A simple trick to stop overwhelming feelings or crying is to keep your head straight and look up as if into your own eyebrows; this takes you out of your feeling (kinesthetic) state and into your visual processing state.

Chapters

00:00 - Introducing Trish Spears: The Mind Mechanic
04:20 - The Motivation Behind Mentally Strong Productions
10:41 - How to Decompress After Playing a Heavy Role
15:45 - The Two Most Important Things: The Words and Pictures in Your Mind
24:39 - Supporting Actors with Lived Experience on Set
37:31 - The Ideal Time for Productions to Bring in a Mental Health Coordinator
45:26 - An Actionable Tip to Stop Overwhelming Feelings

Connect with Trish:

• Website: https://www.mentallystrongproductions.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trish-spears-79717120a/
• Book Recommendation: Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza

Trish Spears is an internationally board-certified trainer of NLP and hypnotherapy who provides mental health and welfare services to the creative arts industry through her company, Mentally Strong Productions.

Connect with Steph and Al:

Chicken and Chips Casting:

• Website: https://www.chickenandchips.com.au/
• Instagram: @chickenandchipscasting
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chickenandchipscasting/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chicken-and-chips-casting/

Stephanie Pringle:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-pringle-3578a442/

Alison Fowler (Al):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-fowler-1a05845a/

Stephanie Pringle and Alison Fowler are the founders of Chicken and Chips Casting, a Sydney-based agency focused on driving diversity and creating opportunities for fresh talent in Australia's film and television industry.