I would like to start off this blog by stating that post-festival blues are understandable and the good thing is that it’s only a temporary experience.
During the festival individual’s feel exonerated of any labels which are put upon them in the ‘real world’. Inhibitions are down and people are befriending one another in which an individual’s identity is not important as there is one common purpose – to have fun. Since there is a real sense of acceptance of one another, people are focused on having a good time and enjoying their favourite artists amongst thousands of other like-minded individuals. It’s a place in which individuals can be whoever they would like to be without anyone critiquing you. Moving from a festival back to real life in which one faces work, social groups, people having expectations of others and yourself and routine can be difficult to re-adjust to for the first couple of days. In order to help facilitate the post-festival blues be mindful of the following activities to help you re-adjust to your day-to-day life:
Plan a day or two off work after the festival
This will help you to take your time to re-adjust without having a sudden transition which might elicit different overwhelming emotions such as anxiety and fatigue.
Drink Water, Eat & Rest
It is important to eat a couple of good meals after the festival as nutrition was definitely not a priority at the festival. Nurturing your body with food and plentiful amounts of water will aid your body as it will provide the necessary calories and fluids to help rejuvenate one’s energy levels.
Hygiene
It is advisable to wash up all your clothes and take a long bath in order to wash away any remnants from the festival. This will help the individual to re-energise and feel fresh to pick up where one left off in their day-to-day lives.
Social Support
Reach out to close friends and process the festival experience with them. One should discuss how the festival left him feeling in order to verbalise how one is feeling helps the individual relax. Once something is verbalised the hope is that it is reciprocated with words of support from those close to the individual.
Exercise
It is recommended that some light exercise is done after a festival once physiological needs are met in order to help one to reorient to one’s normal routine. Taking a jog close to where one lives and some light stretching exercises are recommended in order to help ground the individual to his day-to-day life. This includes cars, people commuting, other people exercising, and the different sounds of the neighbourhood amongst others.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/growing-friendships/201409/post-adrenaline-blues
Karl Grech is a counsellor. He offers counselling to both individuals and couples within Willingness. He can be contacted on karl@willingness.com.mt or call us on 79291817.