Post-Gig Depression?

[Bassic Playing]

Does anyone else get this?

It seems like ever time I play a gig, I go the through the gig feeling great, and finish happy as anything. Afterwards however, when I get home, I feel really down. It's pretty odd.

 

[TwoRivers]

Maybe just from the adrenaline dump if you get really nervous/anxious about gigs?

 

[Lee H]

the depression is caused by an alcohol deficiency...

 

[elgecko]

All good drugs have a subsequent comedown.

 

[Bassic Playing]

the depression is caused by an alcohol deficiency...

Definitely not the case

 

[MatticusMania]

All good drugs have a subsequent comedown.

I have found this is only true of bad drugs, IME.

After a gig I find myself restless, but no depression.

 

[musicman666]

Alcohol is a depressent......drink more to numb the depression, that helps!

 

[nojj]

I'm usually just tired after a gig.

 

[fenderphil]

I remember hearing billy Joel speak of this before. He said its very odd to the psyche being On stage and having the emotion of thousands of people singing along with you, then getting offstage, and sitting in a car alone to go to a hotel room alone.

It's not uncommon, just have to deal with it.

 

[Marial]

I used to, but not anymore.

 

[kevteop]

It's probably a crash from the adrenaline high, it would be pretty normal if you get very excited while gigging.

 

[JaamE]

All good drugs have a subsequent comedown.

Yup, same reason i feel let down if practice gets cancelled... i want my fix

 

[Floyd Eye]

Half the time I barely manage to make it home after a gig. Usually the next day we load back into the practice pad. Then I get depressed. lol

 

[JaamE]

I remember hearing billy Joel speak of this before. He said its very odd to the psyche being On stage and having the emotion of thousands of people singing along with you, then getting offstage, and sitting in a car alone to go to a hotel room alone.

Interesting...for me as an empath it's exhausting to be exposed to a lot of people, and music intensifies feelings and then people leak and i absorb too much. But it would be even more so if it was my own music, because while i don't write music, the poems and stories that i do write are oftentimes a part of my soul.

 

[carl h.]

When I was single, a long run of a show would leave me a bit unsettled at the end of the run. Habits are hard to break and when the change is forced on you it can put you out of sorts.

When the gigs take you away from your life, the story changes. I'm generally OK with a gig ending or even being canceled because I get to be with my family instead of driving to perform for strangers.

 

[squish]

We've been preparing for our debut as a tribute band for over six months. We've been promoting the crap out of it, practicing tons, getting props and clothes, very hyped in general. I'm in three other gigging bands (been playing out regularly with them) but i can tell when this one is done (this Saturday) I'm going to suffer major gig hangover. We actually talked about putting this tribute gig together ten years ago, so that adds to the "what now" factor.

 

[two fingers]

Peanut butter! For whatever reason, unless I have been drinking afterwards (which is really rare) I just want to get home and eat some really crunchy peanut butter in wheat crackers. Other than that, I feel fine.

I would say that you probably still get nervous at gigs. You are probably just coming down from an adrenaline rush. Just go to bed. It will be fine in the morning (afternoon) when you wake up.

 

[LM Bass]

When a gig is going really well, I have superpowers. I can hear more, I'm interacting, I'm executing at a high level, I'm feeling the groove etc. Then I have to take off my cape, put away the laser vision, and schlep my gear home. It's a let down and I have gotten used to it.
If there was no difference between gigging and regular life, I don't think I would love playing like I do.
Laurence

 

[GKon]

I get down after a good show too, because I miss the excitement and the "high" from playing mysic in front of a crowd. I would also attribute it to adrenaline low, as other have pointed out.
The next day though, I usually am very excited again to prep for our next gig.

 

[boombloom]

Does anyone else get this?

It seems like ever time I play a gig, I go the through the gig feeling great, and finish happy as anything. Afterwards however, when I get home, I feel really down. It's pretty odd.

Music and gigs are escapes from the rest of life. You feel down when you get home. How are things at home? Yes--I am a psychotherapist.