The 5 Ways Improv Helps With Anxiety
When anxiety and fear
Have a grip that feels severe
Add improv to the mix
For helpful skills and tricks
To make the present appear
This April kicks off our third offering of Improv for Anxiety at The Rozzie Square Theater. Playing at the intersection of performing arts and mental health is so powerful, but we understandably get a lot of curiosity-meets-confusion about how the class works!
After all, the very last place most people experiencing high anxiety want to be is an improv class. And that makes total sense: performing in front of others with no opportunity for preparation is describing hell for many anxious people. Why on earth would anyone put themselves in a situation where the likelihood of all those humiliation-laden 'what ifs' actually coming true feels so high?
Coach Sarah Filman for Improv For Anxiety at The Rozzie Square Theater
Here's why: Because our ability to handle uncertainty and failure and our confidence in our ability to handle both can grow, given the right conditions.
And when it grows in the context of an improv class, it naturally grows in the context of your broader life, because our lives and relationships are also not scripted. Everything we do is essentially improvised, albeit not always with a physical stage and a suggestion of "banana." But we're often on informal stages, like when we're speaking up in a meeting or initiating a difficult conversation with someone we care about. So yes, without getting too dramatic,✨ Life is Improv. ✨
The 5 Ways Improv Helps With Anxiety
Improvisers at ComedySportz practice making mistakes and growing their resiliency every week
So what is it about improv specifically that helps catalyze this growth for the anxious mind? You…
Get reps in for making mistakes and living to tell the tale
Practice releasing control over the outcome and seeing what new possibilities emerge from the group when that happens
Outrun the overthinking & what ifs by defaulting to action
Experience how multiple things can be true at once (e.g. fear and excitement) and use that to add nuance to what the unknown can mean.
Learn to listen, observe, and build with such presence that it brings your focus out of the future or past and into the present.
And you do so in a full body, experiential way through structured games and activities that on the surface are quite simple. Science has our back that improv is good for anxiety, too! The Science of Happiness Podcast episode called 'How Improv Makes You More Confident and Less Anxious' is a great resource to learn more.
What is less simple, though, is the "given the right conditions" part. A culture of psychological safety needs to be created and sustained for people to feel willing to take the risk to engage. Here are a few of the key ways we approach building that culture within the group.
Make space to connect and share life experiences. Anxiety can often get us “in our heads” and as a result, we can feel isolated and alone in our struggles. Connecting and sharing with a group of others who also identify as experiencing anxiety quickly builds trust.
Ask how people actually feel about activities, and validate those feelings! If someone hates the activity or feels really stressed during it, that is just as valid a response as someone who loved every second of it. Powerful learning is possible from any reaction.
Ritualize celebrating and moving on from mistakes during games. At The Rozzie Square Theater, that's an enthusiastic, collective "Awooga!" while everyone kicks their legs into the circle.
Actively look for things to be grateful for and delighted by. At the end of each class we use the GLAD framework to guide that reflection. The framework has you name something you are Grateful for, Learned, Accomplished, and were Delighted by.
You may have gotten to this point and be thinking to yourself...wouldn't anyone benefit from this? Yes! Regardless of your experience with anxiety, both the growth that can be catalyzed through improv, and the benefits of an intentionally built culture apply. But by working specifically with folks who experience high levels of anxiety, collaborating with a licensed psychiatrist to tailor the curriculum, and eliminating the expectation of performance, we are able to create an experience optimized for people with anxiety.
Ready to join us this Spring? Learn more, hear from past students, and register here!
-Sarah Filman, Coach for Improv for Anxiety
About “Improv For Anxiety”
Dates: Mondays in April (April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29)
Time: 7p - 9p
Cost: $250
In this 5-week course, you'll play, laugh, and learn new creative strategies and communication skills in a nurturing environment with others who identify with experiencing anxiety in their lives. Improv comedy is a collaborative art form that celebrates mistakes! Each week we'll play improv games and engage in exercises that de-emphasize fears of imperfection and rejection by celebrating and finding joy in the attempt. This class is capped at 12 students. Students must be 18+ years of age and out of high school.
Important note: The curriculum for this course was designed with the input of Dr. Shereen Morse, a licensed psychiatrist specializing in working with people with OCD and anxiety, however, this class is not an appropriate substitute for therapy and is not taught by a licensed therapist. It is not intended to treat or diagnose.
About Sarah Filman
Sarah Filman (she/her) is a leadership coach, team development facilitator, and improv comedian. An improviser since 2018, she has been a proud performer with ComedySportz first with Seattle and now Boston. Sarah has a passion for not only performing but creating safe, supportive spaces where others can grow. Her work has grown to produce workshops such as Intro to Improv, Improv for Anxiety, and Leading with an Improv Mindset to students, professionals, and leaders. Before becoming an improviser, Sarah spent 20 years honing her skills as a tap dancer, aiming to 'Make 'Em Laugh' like Donald O'Connor.
