Why I Have the Post Festival Blues

Best festival yet, so why do I feel so bad when it’s over?

I just got home from one of the best bluegrass festivals in the nation — The Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS. I had a blast — probably the best experience in the 20 years I have attended. It was everything I hoped for, and even more.

So why do I feel like crap?

It is one of the highlights of the year for me. My world revolves around the third weekend of September. It also falls on my birthday, which is a bonus.

Yet, three days later at home, I feel like the world has ended. Life has no meaning or purpose. I can hardly get out of bed. I’ve long suffered from bouts of depression, but this one seems worse than most. The weather is perfect for hiking, an activity that I love. Yet I’m sitting in my basement and can’t even get dressed.

I am retired and don’t have a job to go to. Going back to work used to be a needed distraction from the letdown. Today there is no distraction from the painful letdown after such a tremendous high.

I am not alone in this. There are lots of psychological articles out there on post-event depression. I like studying mental health, and this always helps me out.

Running out of feel-good chemicals

A lot of it is chemical. You get lots of dopamine and other natural feel-good chemicals going on in your head when you are anticipating a big event. You may get even more during the event. When it’s over, those chemicals fade, and you don’t have any left in your tank. That’s a sure recipe for a dose of depression. It’s extra hard to manufacture them when your supplies are depleted. Even things that usually pick me up don’t in this situation.

It is the same thing with actors. They work a lot to prepare a production. There is lots of anticipation, building to an incredible high during the performance. Then it’s over, and the bottom falls out of one’s emotional health. I have felt that myself. I like acting, but could not live with the crash after the performance.

We will get to some coping strategies further down.

I don’t remember feeling this intense after previous festivals. Returning to work was part of that, but this year was different. Everything was so perfect this year; it seemed like a dream.

What actually happened

There is an elaborate process to getting set up for camping. Lots of people want prime spots, and there is competition between groups. I go as an individual, which makes it a little trickier. There is a lottery of sorts for the lineup. When they open the gates, it is a free-for-all. Everyone goes in and claims their spot as fast as possible. Lots of adrenaline there, but I got a great spot. I scouted the grounds the day before and landed exactly where I wanted to be.

I also ended up next to a group from Texas who took me in, and before the first day was done, I was part of their group. I enjoyed them so much that I have been invited to camp with them again next year.

Then there was my music. I have been taking my guitar playing more seriously for a couple of years. There is lots of jamming in the campgrounds, from beginners to experts. I saw some progress in myself and was reminded I have a long way to go.

I ran into a music instructor there who enjoyed helping me. He showed me things like holding the pick, strumming methods, and posture—mostly mechanical things that change how you play the music. I looked around at the festival, and all the greats were doing what he said.

I’m looking forward to putting all he showed me into practice and improving at guitar.

I always work at the festival too. It is a way of helping out, and pays for my ticket and most of my camping fees. That too went as well as it could have.

The weather was hot, with the occasional thunderstorm.

There isn’t anything I can find to complain about from this year’s festival.

That makes the post-event depression worse. I had all this buildup and anticipation. The event went as well as it possibly could have. Now there is nothing but emptiness.

*One of the musicians at the festival. Photo by James Jordan*

So what do you do with these feelings? From reading several articles, here are some tips I have gathered.

Embrace the feelings

Understand this is a normal reaction. Give yourself some grace. Your body, mind, and spirit need rest after a major event. Take the time off and rest if you can. It is not comfortable, but it will pass in due time. Usually, that time is not overly long.

Prepare

You can be aware that this is likely to happen, so prepare yourself. If you don’t have a natural distraction, create your own. Have something else to be involved in, or to get involved with as soon as the event ends. It should be something not as intense, but it could lessen the depth of the letdown.

Talk it out

Talk about the feelings with someone who will listen and try to understand. Having someone support you in this time can be very valuable.

Think about the good

You can take time to revisit what happened. Make journal entries. This can make it worse for some people, but it also helps others. Recalling the good things may ease the letdown. If there were bad things that didn’t go well, you could think of ways of improving them for next time.

Find another cause or goal

It may be a good idea to do this even before your event. Have something else in mind to look forward to or achieve. If you just got back from a vacation and feel low, start planning the next one. Think about another place you want to go and how to get there.

The Takeaway

A letdown is normal after a big event or after you achieve a major goal. The key is to accept the feelings and take the rest you need. It is a good idea to have something to fall back on, like the next goal or event, to get started on.