Mental Health Awareness Week: Clubs & Festivals

The prospect of clubs & festivals re-opening is an exciting thought, but for some it might be a bit more complicated. After over year of being told to keep your distance, being a hot, sticky club could seem quite overwhelming.

It’s important to acknowledge how you’re feeling. It’s okay to feel anxious or overwhelmed. These emotions are a completely normal response to the unpredictable year we have all had.

When clubs & festivals return, anxiety may be increased due to many factors – being in a loud and packed environment, losing friends in the crowd or having consumed alcohol or other drugs. Situations that felt quite normal 18 months ago might now feel quite alien, and the emotional mind may take over. It’s really important to look out for ourselves and our friends, but if things become too much there are things you can do to help.

Calming Exercises

When in distress, often the first thing we feel is a change in our breathing, this technique works to regulate this.

• Begin by breathing in for a count of 3
• Hold this breath for a count of 1
• Repeat until your breathing has regulated – you can use different counts but be sure to breathe out for longer than you breathe in! You can also hold a hand on your belly and one on your chest to ground yourself into your breathing. 

Using your senses

Using your senses (otherwise known as the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Technique) is another tool to keep you calm in a stressful situation.

To do this technique look around the room and try and pick out:

• 5 things you can see
• 4 things you can hear
• 3 things you can touch (and touch them, noticing the textures and sensation on your skin)
• 2 things you can smell
• and then take 1 slow, deep breath.

When encouraging a friend to do this make them describe each of these to you to help them fully engage in the technique. 

Be supportive

If you are with a friend who is displaying signs of emotional distress or panic stay calm and try and help them with some of these techniques:

• Reassure you friend and validate their feelings with compassion. It is okay to feel anxious and a panic attack will pass.
• Offer positive coping statements such as “you are safe right now, this feeling of panic will pass and I am here for you”. 

It is also important to look after yourselves and others following these events: check in on friends, eat well and get plenty of rest. If you are worried about your mental health then talk to someone you trust or contact a support service, such as Samaritans, the Crisis Service or this NHS information page.

This blog was written by our volunteer, Becky Saunders.