What is post event depression?

Answer 1

In my experience, post event depression is that period of time after a major work event where all the adrenaline washes away and you are left with long, lethargic days with no deadlines and a mess of paperwork to clean up - and no desire to do anything about it.

I work with major sporting events, which take years to prepare. Here is my most recent event experience: With about 6 months to go there is a noticeable pickup in the work tempo. The occasional late night sneaks in, as do nightly checking of emails and bringing reports home to read. With about 3 months to go it ramps up even more and your friends forget who you are and you treat your home like a hotel - coming and going at strange hours and expecting beds to be made and dinners produced in your absence. Communication with your loved ones exist through scribbled notes on the back of envelopes.

In the final weeks before a major event, your phone could (and will!) ring 24/7, the word 'urgent' takes on new meaning, you wake up at 2.14am with things racing through your head and the days are ticking down too quickly. Multi-tasking is an art form you have mastered. Finally, the event is upon you, whether you're ready or not! Hopefully the planning has paid off and you move into trouble shooting mode. The event culminates with hugs, new facebook friends and a celebratory drink or seven.

The day after a major event, you make it to the office as there will still be things to follow up on. The bump out and pack up process begins. The adrenaline is still going, though starting to slow. Sleep gradually grows from 4 hours to 6 hours a night. You might have a comatose 14 hours sleep one day in the week following. And then it hits you… post event depression.

The participants have gone, most of the temporary staff have gone, equipment is packed away and you are left with boxes of leftover stuff your not sure what to do with. Emails slow, the phones stop ringing and no one comes through the front door. Devoid of deadlines or meetings your days stretch out into nothingness. The idea of constructing a post-event report is daunting. You procrastinate. You wonder how you ever got 76 important things done in one day, when you are now struggling to finalise a simple email. The same box of stuff is still sitting next to your desk two months later and you don't care.

But then one day, life begins to filter in again. You have lunch with an old colleague who reminds you how good the event was. The website gets an overhaul and looks new again. A sponsor wants to meet you to start planning. Your 'to do list' starts to have some meaningful tasks. Before you know it, you're excited by work again. Things move along and suddenly there is 6 months to go and the hype starts all over again.

You need supportive family and friends who cope with the cycle of events. It is not a normal 9-5 industry. The highs are so wonderful and the lows are so tedious. But, in my opinion, the highs are worth every second!