Improv and Anxiety
“Improv helps us step into the unknown. The brain hates uncertainty so is constantly looking to take control. ”
On a daily basis I’m present in body, but my mind is elsewhere. Staying present is difficult and for most of us it’s a Herculean task to stay present for any significant length of time.
Techniques learnt from Improvisation have strengthened my ability to stay focused and present, which in turn has helped eased my anxiety.
My world has always been filled with worry – past, present and future. I get caught up in my head about all sorts of scenarios of what people thought of me, what might happen to me, even just worrying if my dog will always like me. Are his daily stares ones of love or are they just because he knows I feed him roast chicken. Who knows? All I truly know is I love him and I hope he reads this one-day so he can truly respect and love me back.
Herein lies the anxiety: I’m aware my mind is wandering and I begin to worry that I am missing out on what is happening in the here and now.
This kaleidoscope of wandering and worry has been a part of my lens on the world for as long as I can remember.
Year 3. My teacher told my parents that I couldn’t focus, I didn’t listen and I wasn’t trying my best. The result? Detention. The truth was that in class my mind threw me curve balls every second. I’d watch my teacher talk but couldn’t focus. Most days I was simply hoping my shoelaces didn’t come loose because I couldn’t tie my laces and didn’t want to get picked on for it.
Year 7. I remember thinking just before lunchtime what people would think of me if my dad had made me boiled egg salad cream sandwiches again for my lunch (It’s a great sandwich). I’d sit in class and think of ways I could hide the smell from friends when opening my lunchbox because they were as bad as Chris Gau’s on stage farts.
Today. I go to the pub to meet friends. What am I going to say? What will people think if I’m late? What if I get there and everyone else is late and I’m standing alone? Do they really want me to go or did they just invite me to be polite?
Before I go, I get up early (so people don’t think I’m lazy), I workout (so I have positive endorphins), I take a multivitamin (so I know my brain is functioning well), I eat my five a day (to counteract the beer I’m about to drink), I meditate (to relax my mind and help me focus) and so on. This is all to stop me having negative perceptions of myself and to calm my anxiety.
When I don’t have the energy for all of this, I decline the invite. Or I used to. Now I use techniques learnt from mindfulness, attention training and importantly, for this article, improv, to help me walk out the door.
SO WHAT?
You might be reading this and relate to some of the points I’ve mentioned. That’s normal; we all have a level of anxiety and everyone worries on a day-to-day basis.A recent study at Penn State University had participants write down their specific worries for ten days when they noticed they were worrying and the average person reported three to four testable worries per day. 91% of worries turned out to be false alarms. The remaining 9% of worries that did come true, the outcome was better than expected about a third of the time.
But what if you could add to your toolbox of techniques something new, fun and innovative that might just help you in your day-to-day life?
Anxiety is an emotion that’s simply informing us that this ‘thing’ and or event is important and you should focus your attention towards it. It could be a driving test, a speech, an interview or (like now) writing about your personal experiences with anxiety.
Add COVID. We’re more anxious than ever. Our minds are naturally designed to dislike uncertainty so it’s no surprise that anxiety scores for adults have increased to their highest level since April. 63% said they felt stressed or anxious, 64% said they felt worried about the future. 36% of adults said they had high anxiety levels, according to the Office for National Statistics. This uncertainty is also affecting some people who had good mental health and no anxiety previously.
USING IMPROV TECHNIQUES
Improv can help you be more present and focused. It’s a world where no matter what you say or do, everyone is supportive. Someone always has your back.
Tools include: eye contact, communication, active listening, thinking on our feet, how to “yes, and…”
Improv will teach you how to stay present and in the moment. In a class, you’ll learn how to connect with others through eye contact, communicate beyond words, you’ll actively listen, quieten your mind and leave your troubles and worries behind. All while having a lot of fun!
The best part? You and the group you’re with will all feel anxious together. And you’ll all support each other through that anxiety and beyond to a place of supportive trust. You’ll learn to treat your anxiety not as an enemy but as a trusted friend!
More than this, improv helps us step into the unknown. The brain hates uncertainty so is constantly looking to take control.
In conversation, we tend to listen to respond, not listen to understand. Improv redirects this, we have to listen to understand because if you don’t you cannot build on what has been said; you will struggle to ‘yes, and…’. With a group of individuals all working together, letting their minds flow free on one another, we are constantly encountering the unknown – we literally don’t know what will happen next and what we do say, not matter what or if you feel you have ‘made a mistake’, it will be accepted fully.
In a COVID world, we could all do with a bit more fun in our lives. Interacting with a room full of strangers, with a script that is yet to be written, throwing sounds at each other and never knowing what’s next may fill you with anxiety. Me too. But it’s nothing you can prepare for, nothing you can pre-empt, nothing you can get yourself tied up about beforehand so you have no choice but to be present and be open. And in doing so you transcend all that worry and anxiety, you laugh, you smile and you’ll probably learn that all the negativity and criticism you’ve received from others through life the person who is giving you the most is probably you!
… Plus, if you’re doing it online you won’t need to wear shoes so you’ll have no worries about having to tie your own shoelaces.
If you feel like you could do with some improv in your life - Check out the upcoming FA Online Taster Classes here
Ryan Dench is a Director at The Free Association
