What is improv? Well is it creating scenes on the spot, with no prep. But how does that help mental health? Well, intrusive thoughts are hard to get away from. However, one thing to do is to fill your mind with some happy thoughts. And creating makes us happy. So creating characters, scenarios and relationships is a great way to replace a thought spiral with something creative and new. You say the first thing that is in your head in improv. So the person in your scene is now your mom and you are heading to the moon in a punch-a-buggy. When you create scenes with the first thing in your head (without judgement) you are able to create something new. And when your mind is creating and thinking different thoughts, it is much harder to have thoughts that can sabotage you (like hey I am not creative, or I am too introverted or I can't think on the spot). Improv is creating and accepting. Two really important aspects of mental health.
