Having been groomed for performing from an early age, he believed that was all he could do. Yet he knew that he wasn’t happy onstage. Despite being directed to be expressive and free, he often felt self-conscious and constrained. It didn’t help that his mother’s love seemed to hinge upon his success.
In New York, away from his family, he began to imagine other possibilities. Within the safe and supportive environment of therapy, he explored aspects of himself that had nothing to do with theater—things that had been undervalued previously. With the therapist’s encouragement, he began to discover his own voice and identify his own desires. Eventually he found the courage to put his performing career on pause—and to tell his mother he was doing so.
In addition to talk therapy, Levi also had a few sessions of EMDR, which helped him process some of the more traumatic moments of his childhood. The cumulative effect of these sessions was a sense of freedom and possibility. He no longer felt so constrained by his past.
About a year into therapy, Levi opted to leave behind his career in the theater entirely. He went through a period of mourning because there were aspects of performing that he had truly enjoyed. But ultimately he found the courage and confidence to change course and find an authentic life that he could call his own.
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