Coping skills.

[OmahaAudio]

How do you cope with the pressure, the long days, the travel, the exhaustion, the headphones, the hearing fatigue, the harness, the diet, the grind.

1) It's better than saying, "Do you want fries with that?"

2) Take notes, write a book, retire on the proceeds.

3) "Pressure" is trying to support a family of five on $2 a day in a third world country

4) "The diet" is not having enough to eat, not having too much of the wrong things to eat.

5) "Travel"? Most of the 6 billion people in the world have never traveled, and will never travel, more than 100 Km from the place where they were born.

6) "Exhaustion" is having to walk 10 miles round trip to be able to bring home potable (or nearly) water to your family (see item 3)

And yes, I was educated by Jesuits, but I've grown since then...

[AndyB]

In some way or another, I find myself generally agreeing with everything posted here about how to cope. Personally, the way I see it is that its just like playing in that band I played in up and down the east coast for 6 years, except I get paid for this! Even when the band was just making gas money and sometimes sleeping in the van, I appreciated that the gig took me to places I might never have visited otherwise. I played a gig in middle North Carolina and we met a guy who told us that he had never left that town. It wasn't even a medium sized town...I felt sorry for him, that he had missed out on so much experience. My second honeymoon was a trip up the coast and back which was entirely based upon the various cool little places I had found in my band travels. I look forward to a similar level of experience as a mic swinger now!

[jason porter]

When I have had my fill of running around chasing sound bites, I just stop working for a few days, maybe a week. Catch up on some movies & books, spend time with friends and family...what I call "human stuff"

After a few days of that, I want back into the game. I love it.

[Mixalot]

And you have been doing this kind of work full time for how long Mixalot?

Just because I'm not as experienced or working as much as others doesn't mean I can't love it when I get gigs, even if I'm not a full-timer. You were a new guy once weren't you? Jeez.

[Johnny Karlsson]

Ok, you love what you do, that makes it easy for you. That's good. Good for you. Im happy for you. Thanks for chiming in with that. Here's a lolipop.

If picking on the new guy makes you feel better, good for you, here's two lollipops.

Seriously tho, perhaps you should pick another line of work if it makes you so miserable...

[Josh Tucker]

I find that there are two places that I can always count on to make me feel better; the gym and the bar.

I picked up a few personal training sessions last year to try and alleviate some back issues that had come up during a reality gig. I've found that just a couple hours a week at the gym, doing shoulder and back exercises, has made it a lot easier and more comfortable to do long days with a bag rig. It also makes me feel a whole lot better about the crappy food that I'm occasionally forced to eat on set.

[Tom Maloney]

When I see people going a little crazy on set when things take a turn for the worse

I just tell them take a deep breath and I say " it's not like we are trying to land the space shuttle here"

Meaning we get another chance at this no matter what went wrong,camera,lights,sound,talent....

Those people on the shuttle only get one chance, we get to do as many takes as we need.

Tom

[jason porter]

I landed the Space Shuttle...simulator, in Houston. It was easy

When I see people going a little crazy on set when things take a turn for the worse

I just tell them take a deep breath and I say " it's not like we are trying to land the space shuttle here"

Meaning we get another chance at this no matter what went wrong,camera,lights,sound,talent....

Those people on the shuttle only get one chance, we get to do as many takes as we need.

Tom

[atheisticmystic]

Ok, you love what you do, that makes it easy for you. That's good. Good for you. Im happy for you. Thanks for chiming in with that. Here's a lolipop.

This is why I wrote what I wrote initially...I smelled troll and/or "fishy" all over that OP and handle.

Mirrortwo?

Come on...

[Johnny Karlsson]

Yep Steven, that's why I said what I said earlier too.

When asking a question here and the friendly people on this board offer advise, at least show some respect,

Experienced or not - nobody should need to take a shitty attitude from a whiny little bitch, who doesn't have the balls to post with a real name.

[MiRrorTwo]

Seriously though, I thank every one who posted tangible and actual coping strategies and experiences, very helpful reminders for all of us. As for the rest, well, your posts speak for themselves.

[Jesse Flaitz]

As for the rest, well, your posts speak for themselves.

As do yours haha.

[Marc Wielage]

I agree with many of the comments above. I find the little things help in coping: having comfortable shoes; having headphones that aren't too fatiguing over a long period of time; taking a break every so often; remembering to stay hydrated, especially in the summer -- my doctor advised me, "don't wait until you're thirsty to get a drink!".

If my ears are really killing me after a shoot, I find I can get to sleep a lot faster listening to pink noise with iPod earbuds, at a low level. Very restful. A rock band buddy of mine who has "Tinnitus up to 12" tells me he uses sound effects tracks of gentle rain or ocean waves, but I haven't tried that yet.

The good things on most shoots always outweigh the bad for me. If nothing else, learning from your mistakes, learning from new situations, and meeting new people are all positive experiences, plus going to places you might never otherwise experience. (The paycheck helps as well.)