5 Ways that Improv Training Helped Me Cope with Social Anxiety

Before we dive into this post, it needs to be stated at the top: I am not a licensed therapist, nor do I have any training or certification to diagnose mental health disorders. If you currently suffer from anxiety, depression, or other conditions, please contact qualified professionals who may assist you.

And now for my next admission: I am someone who suffers from social anxiety disorder. Once I’ve built trust with new friends I tend to reveal this and the reactions are typically positive (as opposed to dismissive). Most say some variation of, “I would’ve never guessed that about you” or “You seem to hide it well!” The truth is I'm not hiding anything at all. If you’re a fellow sufferer of social anxiety, then you know it never isn’t with you and it can be the reason for avoiding connection and interaction. So what is my secret for how to cope with social anxiety? I impart a lot of what I learned in my improv classes as a mechanism. 

What is Social Anxiety?

Again:  I am not a licensed therapist, nor do I have any training or certification to diagnose mental health disorders. The information I’m about to share is from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and I implore you to do more research or talk to qualified professionals. 

The NIMH states that social anxiety disorder is the exhibition of “symptoms of anxiety or fear in situations where they may be scrutinized, evaluated, or judged by others, such as speaking in public, meeting new people, dating, being on a job interview, answering a question in class, or having to talk to a cashier in a store.” Some of the treatments the NIMH suggests for managing social anxiety include psychotherapy, medication, and support groups. I wholly advocate for these treatments, as they may be incredibly helpful to you. 

Once you’ve established a routine of treatment, you may be ready to take the next step, which is to ingratiate yourself into a community. Here is where improv classes come into focus. 

Can Improv Classes Assist in Managing Social Anxiety?

I fully accept and confront my social anxiety. It’s something I work with, rather than against. If I were to fight it, then it only gets worse (at least in my experience.) I never force myself to do anything and I never try to outrun my social anxiety. I live my life and I know it’s a part of me. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to sign up for my first improv class back in 2017 in Austin, Texas. I immediately fell in love with the way it unlocked mental doors for me. Being funny is merely a byproduct of improv classes. Here are some of the ways that improv training inadvertently helped me cope with my social anxiety: 

1. Being present

I’m your classic brand of overthinker. I become indecisive and then I begin to fill with dread. The reason? Because I weighed outcomes too heavily more than appreciating the experience in front of me. Improv showed me how to slow everything down around me so that I can be present and very much in the moment. It helped to rein in what I assumed the near future to hold and allowed me to live in the moment where I was, who I was with, and what I was doing. In short, I learned to "stop and smell the roses". 

2. Reinforced positivity

One of the fundamental tenets of improv is “Yes, and”. It’s easy to laugh at this concept as it is associated with the tropes of what improv is, but when you strip it down and truly apply it, you’ll see that it melts away cynicism and pessimism (two philosophies I was too familiar with when I was younger). I do believe in something called “toxic positivity”, but I see that more as a defense mechanism rooted in denial than I do with “Yes, and”. Being positive, to me, means being grateful–for those you are with, for where you are, and for what you have, instead of what you don't have. I learned this on a deeper level via my improv classes. It helped cure the moments of dread that I so often constructed for myself on account of my social anxiety.

3. Having meaningful conversations with people

I’m an introvert. I know this about myself. I’m not a shy person, necessarily, but I am not the best when it comes to small talk with individuals or in group hangs. I tend to gravitate towards one person and hold a conversation with them. Improv classes helped to sharpen my engagement and listening skills, which in turn helped to manage my anxiety. Social anxiety tends to induce a fear of judgment from others, but after extensive improv training, I was able to rise above that issue and see it for what it was. I was able to put that fear of judgment aside in favor of wanting to know more about someone, which is something that is helpful in your scenes, as much as it is in real life!

4. Acknowledging my emotions

True, improv is grounds to cater to your inner child, to be silly, and to give yourself permission to explore the ridiculous side of reality. However, the road to that is often paved with emotional choices by your characters. Those choices help to acknowledge the spectrum of emotions available for you to choose–joyful, fearful, eager, even anxious. When you have the ability to choose an emotion, you have the ability to acknowledge an emotion. When it comes to coping with social anxiety, there’s extreme strength in peeling away the layers to face what you’re feeling. I can confidently say I was able to do this much easier once I moved through my improv training. 

5. Taught me to ask “What’s the worst that could happen?”

There are a lot of catchy phrases and statements you’ll hear from your teachers in your improv classes. “Follow the Fear” and “Don’t Think” and “Let the Funny Find You” are a few examples. The thing you never hear, but that you inadvertently learn is, “What’s the worst that could happen?” This isn’t a license to be edgy or inappropriate, so much as it is an empowerment to just go. Your teammate starts a scene by waddling around as a penguin, join them! What’s the worst that could happen? And this can be applied to managing social anxiety. Someone invites you to a dinner party or a movie or a coffee nearby. Socially, what’s the worst that could happen? The answer is very little. Improv showed me the value of joining in with nothing to lose, which can easily translate to handling instances where my social anxiety is trying to grab a hold of me.

For more information & resources on dealing with social anxiety, consult mental health professionals or visit The Anxiety & Depression Association of America or the National Institute of Mental Health.

For information on my improv workshops & coaching, contact me directly and let’s discuss!