4 ms·

I'm somewhat skeptical of these results. I'm a member of an (amateur) improv group. When I improvise, I often feel more nervous because I'm thinking about sever

by 333c 8y ago

I'm somewhat skeptical of these results. I'm a member of an (amateur) improv group. When I improvise, I often feel more nervous because I'm thinking about several things at once: acting, supporting my partner, finding the "game" of a scene. In this way, I can get "stuck" in my head much more than I would in everyday life. While it certainly feels great to have a good show or practice, it can feel pretty crappy to have a show that goes poorly. If I had problems with anxiety, I'm not sure that improv would help.

zck 8y ago
I imagine the idea is not to necessarily make these kids completely comfortable with doing improv, but use some of the improv skills in their daily life. So if they're able to do improv in front of a class, giving a speech might not feel as bad as it did before their improv experience. Or they might be able to go to the beach when before they were too anxious about being seen in a bathing suit. Kind of an exposure therapy, but where the exposure isn't directly the situation they're anxious about.
josephg 8y ago
I’ve been taking improv classes for most of this year and I disagree with your conclusion. You don’t heal from anxiety by hiding from anything scary. You get better by doing things you feel anxious about (and then not dying). And as for presence - if you’re getting stuck in your head while on stage, it becomes much harder to listen and be present to your scene partner and the needs of the scene. In my experience there’s a limit to how good your scenes can be if you’re in your head about them. Improv for me has helped my mental health in lots of tiny ways - I’ve gotten better at visibly failing. I’ve gotten better at expressing negative emotion and I’ve gotten a lot more present. I feel like improv theatre is a microcosm of normal struggles; a lot of the long term issues that we face come up in improv too. And on stage you get the chance to face those demons in a safe, supportive environment surrounded by friends. Being in your head is exactly this sort of developmental challenge. Your improv will (long term) get better if you get out of your head with it and instead be more present and intuitive. And that’s really important in regular life too. For people who struggle with that, what a perfect place to practice. Personally I highly recommend doing some improv classes to anyone smart and creative who wants to push themselves and grow. It’s hard in the best way.
porpoisely 8y ago
I was wondering the same thing myself. I'm sure improvisation classes help some, but I suspect it also causes or exacerbates anxieties in others. I for one do not have an anxiety problem in my day to day life. But having to take an improvisation class would cause anxiety and exacerbate it. If anything, I think team sports or video games does a far better job of reducing anxieties in teens than anything. Though it can also cause anxiety. There isn't a silver bullet for any human condition since humans are a diverse group.
jaabe 8y ago
When you have anxiety your normal mode of being is similar to what you feel while doing improv. Probably even worse. You’re nervous, your thoughts are racing away, you have no internal focus or time to think about the actual situation, because you’re too busy worrying what everyone else is thinking. I mean, that’s a normal train ride for me, and it’s not like you even have to talk to other people on the train. It’s also why practice works. The point isn’t to stop being nervous, it’s to stop being terrified. I’m not sure improv is really better than focus groups designed specifically for people with with anxiety, but I can certainly see it being useful. As you might’ve guessed I have anxiety. In my teens I literally couldn’t talk to people I didn’t know. I’d get red in the face and panic myself into being unable of speaking. Thanks to practice I’m now capable of doing stuff like: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lk-4AFOw0tI https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lk-4AFOw0tI without feeling fear. I’m still working on my anxiety though, and part of my therapy is actually being part of a toastmaster group, because the only way to shred the fear,is to experience social situations. Especially ones that give you feedback on your performance, because it shows you, that you really have no clue what other people are thinking, and that what they think about you is mostly positive.

by 333c 8y ago

zck 8y ago

I imagine the idea is not to necessarily make these kids completely comfortable with doing improv, but use some of the improv skills in their daily life. So if they're able to do improv in front of a class, giving a speech might not feel as bad as it did before their improv experience. Or they might be able to go to the beach when before they were too anxious about being seen in a bathing suit. Kind of an exposure therapy, but where the exposure isn't directly the situation they're anxious about.

josephg 8y ago

I’ve been taking improv classes for most of this year and I disagree with your conclusion. You don’t heal from anxiety by hiding from anything scary. You get better by doing things you feel anxious about (and then not dying). And as for presence - if you’re getting stuck in your head while on stage, it becomes much harder to listen and be present to your scene partner and the needs of the scene. In my experience there’s a limit to how good your scenes can be if you’re in your head about them. Improv for me has helped my mental health in lots of tiny ways - I’ve gotten better at visibly failing. I’ve gotten better at expressing negative emotion and I’ve gotten a lot more present. I feel like improv theatre is a microcosm of normal struggles; a lot of the long term issues that we face come up in improv too. And on stage you get the chance to face those demons in a safe, supportive environment surrounded by friends. Being in your head is exactly this sort of developmental challenge. Your improv will (long term) get better if you get out of your head with it and instead be more present and intuitive. And that’s really important in regular life too. For people who struggle with that, what a perfect place to practice. Personally I highly recommend doing some improv classes to anyone smart and creative who wants to push themselves and grow. It’s hard in the best way.

porpoisely 8y ago

I was wondering the same thing myself. I'm sure improvisation classes help some, but I suspect it also causes or exacerbates anxieties in others. I for one do not have an anxiety problem in my day to day life. But having to take an improvisation class would cause anxiety and exacerbate it. If anything, I think team sports or video games does a far better job of reducing anxieties in teens than anything. Though it can also cause anxiety. There isn't a silver bullet for any human condition since humans are a diverse group.

jaabe 8y ago

When you have anxiety your normal mode of being is similar to what you feel while doing improv. Probably even worse. You’re nervous, your thoughts are racing away, you have no internal focus or time to think about the actual situation, because you’re too busy worrying what everyone else is thinking. I mean, that’s a normal train ride for me, and it’s not like you even have to talk to other people on the train. It’s also why practice works. The point isn’t to stop being nervous, it’s to stop being terrified. I’m not sure improv is really better than focus groups designed specifically for people with with anxiety, but I can certainly see it being useful. As you might’ve guessed I have anxiety. In my teens I literally couldn’t talk to people I didn’t know. I’d get red in the face and panic myself into being unable of speaking. Thanks to practice I’m now capable of doing stuff like: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lk-4AFOw0tI https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lk-4AFOw0tI without feeling fear. I’m still working on my anxiety though, and part of my therapy is actually being part of a toastmaster group, because the only way to shred the fear,is to experience social situations. Especially ones that give you feedback on your performance, because it shows you, that you really have no clue what other people are thinking, and that what they think about you is mostly positive.