Losing confidence
Something that gets forgotten all too often is that the practical effects of a health problem can be magnified by losing ones confidence.
Yesterday Dame Maggie Smith was quoted as saying It leaves you so flattened. I’m not sure I could go back to theatre work, although film work is more tiring. I’m frightened to work in theatre now. I feel very uncertain. I haven’t done it for a while.
My mum, 82, broke her wrist 10 days ago and has coped very well with it… but although she’s of that generation who grew up with bombs falling on them and getting on with things, the ‘give-up-its-impossible’ demon is getting a say.
These made me think that although when these sorts of things happen we know there’s likely to be various amounts of frustration, anger, disappointment and other emotional fall-out we may not be so clued-up to basic confidence.1 For example somebody might postpone a holiday whilst awaiting ‘results of tests’. The possibility of actual trouble is being turned into actual trouble.
The challenge is to work out how to be a confidence coach. It’s one of those things like giving advice. I expect there are techniques2 but this is all new to me.
- There may be a name for this. If not I’ll call it The Fox effect and be done with it.
- Be warned! The obvious ones may be temporary and have a backlash.
