Hi guys!My name is Ilena and even if I'm i'm new in this forum i've already read all the posts cause i found them very interesting, it's very hard to find good forum on acting like this on the net, so I'm writing this post in the hope that i could get some suggests about a personal problem..
I'm studying acting not to become a professional actress (at the moment), but al a tool for overcome some psychological blocks that affect my life since my childhood:I've always been a shy and introverted girl, due to the fact that my father was very violent with me and my mother, and i've growing up watching my life pass away with all the opportunities and experience that i wasn't brave enough to take.
However now i feel stronger and free so i've decided that it's time to take back the control of my life.
I've alawys dream about having a charismatic personality and now it's evena a kind of necessity cause soon i'll start to work as a representative of a pharmaceutical company so i'll need a strong set of behaviors if i wanna sell.
This is way from some month i've started to study and apply archetype techniques, from checkov to bennett's article, in order to slowly change my primary personality, or at least be able to arouse an energetic character at will, but i've found some resistance inside myself..maybe you could help my to find the answer at some questions:

1) In front of several people, especially with guys that i like and authoritative persons, i feel very stiffled and selfconscious, something that i could describe like an amorphous sensation in the top of my head, and it's very hard to maintain and comunicate the energy of the archetype.The problem is a lack of real life practice or not enough private exercise?
2)I exercise with archetype improvisation in front of a mirror or few close friends 2 hours a day, it's enough? (Adler say we should live with the character several hours a day but i don't now how much)
3)Sometimes i feel like i couldn't improvise thinghs to say at the speed of a very charismatic person, it could be a real impression (this mean i've to take an improv class) or when you really feel the energy of the archetype the words come out without effort?

If you reply even only at one of this questions i'll be grate to you forever :P
Thanx!!!!

Honestly, Ilenia?

I think you'd do best to do some martial arts to address the issues you're mentioning. Learn - physically, unintellectually - to bring energy all the way up from the base of your spine and focus it.

Acting-wise, you might at least audit a Meisner class (if you can find one near you in Italy).

That is also a great way to learn to accept and respect your own impulses. Without over-thinking it, which I fear is what the archetype work might be doing for you at this point.

Hopefully someone can give you more precise answers in terms of the archetype work. But the things you're addressing have other solutions (in America, therapy would be one, though I know Europeans don't quite take to that as we do here.)

Have you tried therapy. A lot of my acting professors always explain that acting is like therapy. Furthermore, if I understand you correctly you are basically trying to play the role of the confident person and thus become confident? I think that's dangerous, even actors who play certain characters never fully become that person. They imitate them, but it's still acting not Multiple Personality Disorder lol. No, all jokes aside I think that talk or cognitive behavior therapy that puts you in uncomfortable situations and shows you how to deal with them will work best. I myself have had some experiences with therapy :/ some good, some not so good. I had some social anxiety, not necessarily in social situations but sometimes. Anyway, my doctor put me on Lexapro with is an antidepressant, it certainly made me a lot more confident. It got to the point where I didn't give a F*** what anyone thought. Interestingly this did help my acting. But you are not trying to become an actor correct? Besides you don't want to rely on medication for the rest of your life, and there are A LOT of side effects. Sorry I just rambled but I think therapy would help you more b/c therapy deals with you, YOUR PROBLEMS AND YOUR PAST. Archetype work from my understanding of it deals with the portrayal of other people.

Best of luck

Sorry I just read my post and I had anxiety that was more internal vs social anxiety.

Also, free writing is really helpful. I know a lot of people who really believe in it. There's a great book called The Artists Way by Julia Cameron which explains how you can use writing to "unblock" yourself. I really believe this works. If you want to know how to do the free writing just post something under my comment and I'll explain it so you don't have to buy the book