Improvly Speaking

Letting Go of My Need for Alcohol, Thanks to Improv and Conquering My Fear of Public Speaking

• Season 1 • Episode 25

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One day, my solo episodes won't be considered special solo episodes because I will do them more and will be putting out more solo episodes than just 2-3 times a year. For now though, here is another special solo episode about my experience with alcohol and how I feel like I don't need it much anymore. 

Thanks to improv and overcoming my fear of public speaking, I am not nervous anymore to go up on stage or be put "on the spot" in a social situation. In fact, I thrive in it now! I used to think I needed alcohol to get me through networking events, social situations, and even performing in improv shows. In my mind, I needed alcohol to make me a more exciting, lively, fun, and lovable person. Now I realize I can be that exciting, lively, fun, lovable person all on my own - without the use of alcohol or other substances. 

In this episode, I share some examples of times where I used alcohol to get me through a grad school presentation and  improv show, and (spoiler alert) alcohol didn't help or make the performance better. In fact, it put me in my head more and heightened my nerves because I am not using other tools - like breathing or meditation/mindfulness - to calm the nerves. 

It's taken me a while to get to this realization, but I am proud that I have come to it now. I recorded this one on a whim after a lovely night of hanging out with my improv team and not needing a single drop of alcohol to have a great time.  

Hope you find it helpful! Feel free to reach out if anything resonates about this topic. 😊

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Dayna Gowan

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