Iyashikei's Guide to Conventions: Part 4 - Con Recovery

The convention's over. You're sitting at home, back in the real world. Your muscles are sore from walking and carrying bags full of con loot. Depending on your luck, you might be coming down with Con Plague, and depending on your finances, you might be strapped for cash after all the figures, wallscrolls, and manga you bought.

When so many things are drained after the con, how do you recover and return to normalcy?

1.       Sleep

Don't be afraid to go to bed early and wake up late (When circumstances allow, of course). Many of us lose sleep at conventions, whether due to late-night parrying or sheer excitement. This weakens the body and not only leaves it susceptible to illness, but can create a lethargy that the mind feeds off of and turns into depression.

2.       Eat

Nobody would be surprised if I said that fast food restaurants make a big profit during conventions. It just makes sense. Congoers are rarely concerned about eating healthily. Most of us want something quick and convenient, with cheap being a bonus. As a result, a lot of us don't eat very well when at-con, so it's important to keep your body's strength up with proper food.

3.       Put your con goodies to use

Find space for your new figures, reorganize your shelf to fit your new DVDs, and play that rare PlayStation game you managed to score. These things were made, sold, and bought for a purpose, after all. Besides, no doubt you were low-key waiting all con to open up all those boxes.

4.       Be lazy

Your muscles are sore, so they need some rest. Take it easy and don't over-exert yourself.

5.       Be active

Your muscles being sore is no reason to completely veg out, however. Don't be afraid to move around. The idea is to ease yourself back into a normal pattern of movement.

6.       Offload

Fully unpack your stuff as soon as you get the chance so you can bring your space back to normal. Your environment dictates your mindset, so the sooner your surroundings are familiar, the sooner your brain will shift out of “post-con” mode and back into “real world” mode.

Conventions are ridiculously fun and, for many of us, are the highest points in otherwise dull lives. As a result, the return to the ordinary world can be a jarring transition. That will probably never change, but there are ways to soften the blow, and it's important to understand that, while perhaps unpleasant, the transition back to the real world is a necessary one, so any measures taken to soften the impact are worth it.

---