Chat Bar: A Safe spot when festivals start feeling too much
Festivals are usually colourful, vibrant and loud. Many of us book tickets well in advance and spend months full of excitement and pleasant anticipation until the day has come to dress up, dance and have fun. Some of us even travel around the globe to attend specific festivals.
Certified Events That Are Hosted By Malta
Malta hosts several festivals yearly, including well-known ones such as Glitch, Lost & Found Festival, Isle of MTV, Earth Garden and Summer Daze. Once a festival starts, we absorb all the impressions, enjoy and make memories as expected. Have you ever felt exhausted, uncomfortable or overwhelmed during a festival experience? We don’t usually prepare for such moments, as we don’t expect them to happen.
Certified Events That Are Hosted By Malta – Continued
The concept of creating safe spaces in festival locations is still relatively new. Willingness Chat Bar has been present at festivals in Malta since 2017; It is a safe space run by emotional support volunteers trained by the Willingness Team and supervised by mental health professionals. The Chat Bar Crew members act as an empathic ear.
Unexpected Moments During Festivals
Many people get very excited about specific festivals and spend weeks or even months preparing for this experience after investing in a ticket, only to arrive and not have their expectations met. Already feeling disappointed, other rather unexpected incidents can add up: bad weather, fighting with a friend/partner or a bad experience with drinking alcohol or taking drugs. All this can easily lead to feeling uncomfortable and overwhelmed.
Unexpected Moments During Festivals – Continued
Have you worked until the day before the festival, and suddenly, all the pressure falls off? Suppose this is combined with not drinking enough water in the highly stimulating festival environment, in the sun during the daytime, and dancing the night away. In that case, you may feel physically and emotionally exhausted and even experience a mental health episode.
What Are Certified Festival Goers Doing Now When At These Events
Let’s also remember that an increased number of festival goers nowadays take mental health medication. If the medication is mixed with alcohol, or is forgotten during or even stopped on purpose before the festival, for example, to take drugs, the body and mind might shut down at some point.
What Are Certified Festival Goers Doing Now When At These Events – Continued
Sometimes festival goers also experience a sense of isolation and loneliness in the crowd or get overwhelmed by the number of people around them in a limited space. Others might experience inappropriate touch or even sexual harassment in the crowd.
Chat Bar Offers A Safe Spot When Festivals Start Feeling Too Much
In this case, “Safe space” or “safe spot” describes a supportive environment for people seeking emotional support. It is a comfortable area, mostly in a tent, where people go for nonjudgmental chats away from whatever feels overwhelming.
Chat Bar Offers A Safe Spot When Festivals Start Feeling Too Much – Continued
Our Chat Bar Team attended 10 festivals, including TRIIP and the Gallagher Festival, offering support based on festival goers’ needs, free of judgment and helping them ground themselves so they can continue enjoying the festival. No therapeutic interventions are done, but any professional help will be taken seriously, and the individual in need will be guided towards the entities outside the festival area.
Conclusion
Contact the Willingness Chat Bar Crew anytime, whether you need a chat or wish to enjoy a hot tea.
If you think that you can benefit from professional support on this issue, you can reach out here.
Franziska Richter is a transcultural counsellor with the Willingness Team. She offers counselling sessions to individuals and couples. She is particularly interested in sexuality, relationship issues, trauma, and general mental health.
References
https://www.instagram.com/willingnessteam/reel/C8SgCZkO3zr
https://drugfoundation.org.nz/topics/workplaces-and-venues/events/safe-spaces-at-events
