I’m not a psychologist, or work in any sort of profession involving mental health. I do however believe in talking candidly about this stuff, and reducing the stigma that clouds the topic of mental health. In the last few years of attending cons, I have discovered some trips and tricks that help ease my own anxiety. Hopefully these tips can help some people ease their own, and prevent uncomfortable situations, and possible panic attacks!
Pre Con
Avoid con crunch as much as possible. The cosplay community has this strange toxic view that if you aren’t making something new for every possible con, then you must be doing something wrong. About a year and a half ago I allowed myself to throw that idea out the window. Personally I would rather take my time and work on something slowly, rather than rush it, and have to re do half of it come the end of the convention. If I don’t think a costume is going to get done in time, I step away from it and focus my energy on other things.
Plan as early as possible what costumes to bring. As I’ve started traveling more for conventions, I realized what does and doesn’t work for me when it comes to costumes. I like to know what I am bringing roughly 2-3 weeks before a large con. This gives me time to do an inventory of what I need to pack, look over my costumes, and make sure I have time to do any repairs that might be needed that I’ve forgotten about.
Pack as early as possible. Generally speaking, I usually start packing 2 weeks before I have to leave for a con. I slowly start putting things together in a suitcase in the weeks to come. This mostly is due to the fact that I am an anxious person and I feel the need to be well prepared. Everything doesn’t get packed this early. I set aside my travel sized toiletries in and empty suitcase, find my cosplay emergency kits. This way I am not running around the day before I fly somewhere and can’t find my dry shampoo or something silly like that. I also create myself packing lists in my bullet journal for any trips I go to. This allows me to look back on past trips when creating a new list, remembering the things I needed.
Look over the schedule, highlight what you want to do. This has become less and less important to me over the years. If you are someone big on panels though, look over the schedule, figure out what you want to do. My scheduling routine before cons tends to be just go over what fan meetups I will be attending, and look over if there is an celebrity signings I want to attend. My bullet journal is a great help for me to keep track of what I am doing, when.
Con Time
Stay hydrated and eat. Okay yes, this is in every freaking con survival guide. Like most people I know, I personally find that my mental health goes down if I get hungry. I am more antsy, and tied with the crowds, that can be a bad formula. I often have some larabars and cranberry juice that hides away in my pack or pockets for a quick pick me up if lines for food are too long.
Allow yourself to be flexible. You have you schedule in front of you. It’s 2:45 and that line up for whatever celebrity signing you just attended ended up being way longer that you anticipated. The panel you wanted to attend starts at 3pm on the other side of the center. Take a moment and decided whether it’s worth the stress to run to the other side in time for the panel. It’s okay if things don’t always go according to plan, and allow yourself to know that sometimes that happens.
Go outside and get some fresh air. If it isn’t the middle of the winter, I usually go outside a lot during cons. I can still run into people and talk to them, but the fresh air, and lighter crowds tend to give my brain a break that it needs. If a convention center has doors along the entire building, I often skip walking from one hall to the other inside, and will just give myself the 5-10 minute walk outside.
Step away from stressful situations. It seems that cosplay chill rooms, and quiet rooms are becoming more and more popular at conventions. If you need to recharge your mental batteries then take advantage of these resources. If the con you are attending doesn’t have something like this, find yourself a quiet hallway to sit in. Walking a couple blocks away and have lunch or coffee in a local establishment can also do a lot for clearing your brain when you are overwhelmed.
Leave the con. There are no hard rules that you need to stay there the entire day. Unless I’ve worked a con, I don’t think I have ever stayed from open to close. If you are an introvert and know you have dinner with a large crowd later, leave a couple hours early to sit in your hotel and recharge. Feeling a bit over stimulated, just leave the convention to spend some time away from the crowds. If you can afford it, staying at hotels near the convention is over nice for being able to leave and get some quiet time, with the option on returning to the center if you feel up to it later.
Post Con Hotel Time
Stay with people you know. I know that cosplayers tend to cram as many as people into a hotel room to save money. If you are going to do this you better make sure these are all people you enjoy and get you. There was one year that we had 3 people sleeping on a bed, 2 on the pull out couch and one on the floor. Lucky for us we all really enjoyed each other’s company and understood when someone just needed some time alone.
Converse with your roommates. Complain about those long lines, or how that stuck up mom bumped into your costume. Did they eat really good food truck food? Obviously if you are more introverted then this might not be the thing for you. I find before I retire for the night, catching up with my buds from the day helps me relax.
Take some time by yourself. If your hotel room is cramped, leave. I like hotels with 24 hour pools. Con folk tend to be hiding in their rooms in the morning until they leave for con, leaving the pool empty for an early morning dip. I’ve also stowed away in hotel lobbies on couches with some headphones and a podcast. If leaving your room isn’t an option, pop in some headphones, sit on your bed, play a game.
Do whatever self care ritual you have. For years painting my nails was a huge self care thing. Skin care and listening to podcasts are more so my leaning now a days. You can incorporate your roommates if you wish. At Emerald City Comic Con last year, my friend and I threw on some sheet masks, and matching reading socks while watching some of the MBMBAM show.
Lastly for any leg of your convention, surround yourself with people who get you. Whether it's a partner who will walk to a coffee shop 3 blocks away for quiet time together, or the best friend sit in the hotel bar after the con eating sweet potato fries with you without saying a thing to each other.
You can support this blog by shopping through the affiliate links in this post!
Con Time
Stay hydrated and eat. Okay yes, this is in every freaking con survival guide. Like most people I know, I personally find that my mental health goes down if I get hungry. I am more antsy, and tied with the crowds, that can be a bad formula. I often have some larabars and cranberry juice that hides away in my pack or pockets for a quick pick me up if lines for food are too long.
Allow yourself to be flexible. You have you schedule in front of you. It’s 2:45 and that line up for whatever celebrity signing you just attended ended up being way longer that you anticipated. The panel you wanted to attend starts at 3pm on the other side of the center. Take a moment and decided whether it’s worth the stress to run to the other side in time for the panel. It’s okay if things don’t always go according to plan, and allow yourself to know that sometimes that happens.
Go outside and get some fresh air. If it isn’t the middle of the winter, I usually go outside a lot during cons. I can still run into people and talk to them, but the fresh air, and lighter crowds tend to give my brain a break that it needs. If a convention center has doors along the entire building, I often skip walking from one hall to the other inside, and will just give myself the 5-10 minute walk outside.
Step away from stressful situations. It seems that cosplay chill rooms, and quiet rooms are becoming more and more popular at conventions. If you need to recharge your mental batteries then take advantage of these resources. If the con you are attending doesn’t have something like this, find yourself a quiet hallway to sit in. Walking a couple blocks away and have lunch or coffee in a local establishment can also do a lot for clearing your brain when you are overwhelmed.
Leave the con. There are no hard rules that you need to stay there the entire day. Unless I’ve worked a con, I don’t think I have ever stayed from open to close. If you are an introvert and know you have dinner with a large crowd later, leave a couple hours early to sit in your hotel and recharge. Feeling a bit over stimulated, just leave the convention to spend some time away from the crowds. If you can afford it, staying at hotels near the convention is over nice for being able to leave and get some quiet time, with the option on returning to the center if you feel up to it later.
Post Con Hotel Time
Stay with people you know. I know that cosplayers tend to cram as many as people into a hotel room to save money. If you are going to do this you better make sure these are all people you enjoy and get you. There was one year that we had 3 people sleeping on a bed, 2 on the pull out couch and one on the floor. Lucky for us we all really enjoyed each other’s company and understood when someone just needed some time alone.
Converse with your roommates. Complain about those long lines, or how that stuck up mom bumped into your costume. Did they eat really good food truck food? Obviously if you are more introverted then this might not be the thing for you. I find before I retire for the night, catching up with my buds from the day helps me relax.
Take some time by yourself. If your hotel room is cramped, leave. I like hotels with 24 hour pools. Con folk tend to be hiding in their rooms in the morning until they leave for con, leaving the pool empty for an early morning dip. I’ve also stowed away in hotel lobbies on couches with some headphones and a podcast. If leaving your room isn’t an option, pop in some headphones, sit on your bed, play a game.
Do whatever self care ritual you have. For years painting my nails was a huge self care thing. Skin care and listening to podcasts are more so my leaning now a days. You can incorporate your roommates if you wish. At Emerald City Comic Con last year, my friend and I threw on some sheet masks, and matching reading socks while watching some of the MBMBAM show.
Lastly for any leg of your convention, surround yourself with people who get you. Whether it's a partner who will walk to a coffee shop 3 blocks away for quiet time together, or the best friend sit in the hotel bar after the con eating sweet potato fries with you without saying a thing to each other.
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You can support this blog by shopping through the affiliate links in this post!
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