A term I recently came across is Post-Dramatic Stress Disorder (PDSD). It describes the lasting effects actors can experience after becoming deeply immersed in a role—effects that can include difficulty separating from the character and adopting the character’s habits for weeks, months, or even years after production has ended.
One method used to address this is de-roling, a technique designed to help actors shed their characters and return to their core selves. As described in the Feldenkrais Guild:
“Typical de-roling practices combine psychological methods along with physical rituals, like talking to one’s character and telling it to remain in the theatre while taking off the costume and hanging it up. Although such a ritual can help an actor depart from the fictionalized world, it may not fully calm their nervous system and release unwanted emotional states.” — Feldenkrais Guild
I’d like to point out that while I reference this source to provide context on the concept of “de-roling,” further investigation into the Feldenkrais Guild itself reveals a lack of solid evidence supporting its methods, along with a controversial history of reported abuse. For me, this raised an important question about whether the practice of “de-roling” an actor is always ethical. As Fictionkin, we recognize that while our identities can sometimes be accompanied by significant distress, the identity itself isn’t inherently the problem. So what happens if an actor unknowingly awakens to their Fictionkin identity through a role? In that case, would the process of “de-roling” actually be harmful?
This isn’t to imply that the fictionkin experience is inherently a disorder—quite the opposite. However, the way actors experience fictional identity tends to be more widely acknowledged and accepted. This presents a compelling point of comparison for Fictionkin. Even when an actor’s connection to a character is dismissed as “just a role,” there’s plenty of evidence demonstrating how psychologically deep and lasting that embodiment can be.