Kevin Sussman: Weighted Blankets, Actor Anxiety & the Science of Sobbing
Mayim Bialik's Breakdown
Mayim Bialik
4.8 • 5.9K Ratings
🗓️ 27 July 2021
⏱️ 77 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kevin Sussman (actor, writer, comedian, The Big Bang Theory) discusses his anxiety surrounding performing and reveals his process for tricking his brain into redirecting anxious thoughts. Mayim and Kevin reminisce about their shared experiences on the set of The Big Bang Theory and examine the differences between Kevin and his character, "Stuart Bloom." Kevin shares the advice George Clooney and Gary Shandling gave to him about combating anxiety and the body mechanics of the Alexander Technique he uses to manage habitual physical tension. Mayim breaks down the physiological symptoms and evolutionary advantages of anxiety, the science and cultural aspects of crying, and ways to avoid the trap of rumination. They discuss the benefits and side effects of anxiety medication and natural coping methods, and Mayim ends the episode with advice for managing anxiety when trying to fall asleep in the latest installment of Ask Mayim Anything.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The irony in life, I think, is that when you are repressing physically emotions, whatever |
| 0:12.0 | it is, love, pain, fear, anxiety, rather than being fully open to them, it's actually |
| 0:21.5 | more excruciating. |
| 0:22.5 | Hi, I'm Ayam Viallik and welcome to my breakdown. |
| 0:26.3 | This is the place that we break down, the things that make us break down. |
| 0:36.3 | Today, we're going to be breaking down. |
| 0:46.3 | I don't want to call it performance anxiety because I think that evokes... |
| 0:53.1 | Being in the bedroom. |
| 0:57.6 | Stage fright also doesn't seem to sum it up. |
| 1:00.8 | Not the right terminology. |
| 1:02.4 | Today we're going to be breaking down anxiety of the actor variety, actor anxiety. |
| 1:10.0 | Not only for actors though. |
| 1:11.6 | But it's not only for actors, that's true. |
| 1:14.2 | We're going to be speaking with an actor and writer who I really, really like very much |
| 1:19.4 | and we work together on Big Bang Theory for about a decade. |
| 1:23.6 | Kevin Sussman is with us, kind of known to be a very anxious kind of character in the |
| 1:30.8 | characters he plays. |
| 1:32.6 | We get to talk a little bit about what his anxiety looks like as a performer and also how |
| 1:37.6 | the anxiety that he's experienced as a human has impacted his career, his acting and also |
| 1:44.7 | ways that he's kind of harness that for better mental health. |
| 1:48.3 | We also get into habitual physical tension, which is exciting. |
| 1:51.8 | Speaking of habitual physical tension, I'd like to introduce you to Jonathan Cohen. |
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