Surviving Naughty
A Three-Part Guide to Thriving Before, During, and After the World’s Largest Lifestyle Party
Part 3 - After Convention
Setting yourself up for success doesn’t just begin and end with the event itself- it carries through Naughty N’awlins, and it’s just as important to have a plan in place for your return home. Parties, conventions, festivals, and takeovers all have the three death knells that can kill your mood once you get home - Con Drop, Drop off, and Con Crud. Planning ahead can minimize their impact and leave you feeling less stressed if the feelings hit.
Avoiding “Con Drop”
After a big convention or even an amazing vacation, many people experience a “Con-Drop”. Being in a heightened state of anticipation, surrounded by like-minded people where you can live your Best Naughty Life as your most authentic self, is exhilarating! If you sustain this heightened state for 3 to 5 days, it’s a little difficult to adjust when reality hits again. It typically manifests as low motivation, high or difficult-to-control emotions, and excess fatigue two to three days after the event.
It’s important to process these feelings and deal with them. While this feeling is incredibly normal - healthy even - there is not always a convenient time for it. We know that a lot of our attendees return to their vanilla life pretty quickly after Naughty N’awlins. Setting aside more time to process feelings of con-drop after JUST being away for the event itself isn’t always doable for everyone, so there are some things you can do to lessen the severity of your con-drop.
Self Care is important
Self-care and positive self-talk are also important right after an event. Plan ahead and get some self-care items to have at home before you go, and make plans to be social with people from your “regular life” after Naughty N’awlins. Catch up on your sleep, get a massage, and take a little time off before jumping completely back into your “normal” life.
Avoiding “Drop Off”
Don’t leave all of Naughty in the past, though! Event Drop-off can increase the intensity of your con-drop. Drop-off - when your event excitement dies out and lies dormant- is incredibly preventable! As soon as the event ends, look for the Post-Event Survey. We want to hear from you about the event - all the good, bad, and in-between.
Naughty Members will be full of those returning simultaneously, and building a community is a great way to normalize the feelings and revel in shared experiences. Log in and share photos, check out other people’s photos, and avoid the “Drop Off” by remaining part of the community through your Naughty Membership, on Facebook groups, messaging apps (like Telegram, Discord, and Whatsapp, and by following friends you met at Naughty N’awlins on social media.
Take a minute to fill out the post-event survey, which helps us figure out how Naughty N’awlins should continue to evolve and be an event that is made for each of you. Set reminders to follow up with at least one couple, presenter, or vendor. Make sure to get involved on Naughty Members after N’awlins - build out your bio and pictures now so people can recognize your profile after they meet you!
Every year after Naughty N’awlins, groups become more like “missed connections,” and those connections can be cultivated into lasting friendships.
Avoiding the “Con-Crud”
Being in big gatherings of people has always been known to bring some sort of general sickness to a percentage of the attendees, often with varying symptoms. Coined “con-crud” - the mystery illness that comes on one to two weeks after the event - has a higher chance of happening at events where people play and swap more germs than at a regular business conference.
By far, the best way to avoid con-crud is prevention—by using hand sanitizer and good hand hygiene at the event, coupled with an immune-boosting supplement regimen before and during the event. Hopefully, you planned well and took care during the event to prevent you from catching “Con Crud,” but if you didn’t, there’s still hope for you.
Upon returning home, make an appointment to get tested if you played with others, or order your post-event workup from Shameless Care and do it all from your home! But if you feel poorly, get started with this regimen: -
Drink more water (dehydration), take an extra nap (fatigue/exhaustion)
Give rest and sleep a priority
If symptomatic, self-swab for common viruses like Influenza A or COVID-19.
If your symptoms persist, rule out the things we need a doctor to diagnose - common bacteria like Strep and other viruses
You may not need antibiotics, but it’s best to be sure. If you do have con-crud, not all hope is lost! Take extra good care of yourself, plan ahead, and make sure you have the cold and flu remedies you like before you go to N’awlins.
We want to see everyone living their Best Naughty Life in the ways that feel most authentic to them. If some of these tips don’t resonate with you, take what does and leave the rest. Naughty N’awlins is exactly what you make of it in every way.