Can EDM Culture Be Toxic For Mental Health?

✨ Wellness in the Wavelength Episode 10 ✨

This week, we’re having an honest conversation about the darker side of EDM culture and how it can sometimes take a toll on mental health. While the scene can bring connection, freedom, and unforgettable experiences, it can also create spaces where burnout, emotional exhaustion, comparison, and unhealthy coping habits quietly become normalized. 

We also talk about how constantly chasing the next festival, party, or “high” can start to affect emotional well-being, and why it’s so important to keep mental health part of the conversation in EDM spaces. There’s also a real look at the pressure to always seem happy, energized, and carefree, even when people might be struggling underneath it all.

Another important part of this conversation is remembering that while we can care about people and show up for each other, we are not responsible for carrying everyone else’s mental health. Setting boundaries matters, and protecting your own well-being is not selfish, it’s necessary. 

At the end of the day, this is about finding balance, protecting your energy, and reminding each other that taking care of your mental health matters just as much as the music itself. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

What's up, Pockies, Kat and Paige here? We are on episode number 10, which is really dope. And it is mental health awareness month. So it's even more special to us because the whole purpose of our health and wellness pillar, which is behind this amazing podcast we've been able to launch, is us just wanting to prioritize the mental health and well-being of everybody in our community and outside of our community as well. That's the whole point of that pillar and the whole point of this podcast. So it's really cool. This is our 10th episode, and this is a month that we're raising even more awareness for mental health.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Yeah. And so to kick things off, I just wanted to start by talking about harm reduction in the scene because oftentimes we go to these festivals, we go to these shows to get this release. And sometimes we like to indulge a little bit, but also just noticing why we're indulging, noticing why we're showing up to a show and taking the time to truly understand ourselves. I feel like is yes, we can have harm reduction and have conversations about substances, but at the same time, I feel like it's so important to understand like where you currently are and asking yourself in the present moment, how am I doing? What's going on in my world? Are you just indulging because it's what everybody else is doing around you? Are you indulging because there's you've had a really bad day? And I know I've been there, Kat, I'm sure you've been there. And obviously, indulging in substances is not, it's not the end of the world, but also it's just taking a look at the lens of like, why am I doing this? What is this doing for me? And how can I balance it in myself and not take it to the next level? Because I feel like oftentimes in the scene where there's a lot of people that are going down like flies around us and becoming more prevalent in the scene. I've heard so many horror stories, and it's just so important that we take this time to not only just look into ourselves, but also look at our friends. Asking your friends how they're doing, what's going on, checking in with them at the show, outside of the show, simply by sending a text. Those are actual ways that we can create harm reduction in our lives outside of just looking at how substances work together and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

I think too, it's some there's obviously amazing news that you can hear well after a festival. And one of them is harm reduction never had to step in. That's something good that it that you want to hear that that harm reduction didn't have to step in. But part of the reason why harm reduction has become so prevalent is because of things going on where people are overindulging or and are ending up in these situations. And having harm reduction is an amazing thing and having the education on that because obviously we can't control people's actions, right? We're all adults and we want to do what we want to do and we're gonna do what we want to do. But it's also harm reduction is also a response to the reality of drug abuse and substantive abuse, right? Because truly, in the perfect world, we wouldn't need harm reduction because nobody's overindulging and nobody's ending up in these situations, and or nobody could is getting drugged by people or things like that. It's not always someone overindulging, and sometimes people getting being victims to other people's poor behavior. We're definitely not saying that every instance is that harm reduction is always a reactive thing to people purposefully and overindulging. There's definitely shitty people out there that put sh people in shitty positions without their knowledge. Really, again, harm reduction is a response to the fact that the prevalence exists of people overindulging in drugs and alcohol. And I think that's again, going back to what I said, of course, amazing news at the end is we didn't have, we didn't have to step in. I'm not a part of harm reduction, but by we harm reduction have to step in, and there was no crazy medic needs from overindulgence and things like that. That's where I think there has to be this link of self-awareness too, of wait, why is outside of just that general knowledge to be able to help people even outside of the scene? Because obviously there's a drug epidemic going on in general, but within our community, it's also a response thing. And I think there needs to be some awareness of yes, we're uplifting harm reduction, harm reduction is needed and amazing, but like, why is it becoming more popular? And it's becoming more and more popular and becoming more and more talked about because it's having to be utilized more to, which is a reaction to typically overindulgence. Again, not always the case, but that's something that I don't think we really think about. And I think we celebrate harm reduction, which is amazing and it should be celebrated. And harm reduction has to have saved many lives. I have friends that work in harm reduction or own harm reduction companies, and I respect them so much and they're doing amazing things, but I don't know that we ever really talk about like why we're seeing this increase in this happening. And I think it's a really fine line because when and even in the comment section, you guys can tell us too. It's like these are just thoughts I have, and I don't have the answers to them. But it's like, when to when does harm reduction turn into enablement? And that's a like when does it that to me is this crazy concept. And again, you guys, I don't know the answer, I don't know the answer to because I know harm reduction is needed, but I also am like of course we would never get do away with it. It's but it's also is it if we don't talk about both sides of that coin of yes, it's needed, but also why, I feel like that's where it becomes this risk of enabling people. And I know that's why a lot of times sometimes you won't see harm reduction even at shows and stuff, because it is a liability once certain venues or promoters do have it there, that if something does happen, it's basically being like, we knew people were gonna do drugs, so that's why we had this here. And so it's like, I know that's why some people do shy away from having it present and things. And again, I'm no expert on this. This is just education I've learned from my experience in the scene and things that I've heard talked about. But it does raise the question of are we truly talking though, about like why? Yes, celebrate it, but then also we have to talk about the other side of the coin.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that also comes to the value of radical responsibility, right? And being responsible for not only ourselves, but the people around us and taking noticing like how our friends are doing and noticing what it what's the vibe going on, how are the people next to us? Like, how is how are they doing? Do they need help? And more often not than not, I feel like we always want to check on our friends and stuff, but it's like, how are we actually doing?

SPEAKER_00 7:00

Yeah, how are we actually doing, and then also what are the boundaries within that? Because I think when you have a community mindset, which I know you definitely have, Paige, and it's something that we relate on. Everyone we've had on this podcast has been that way. Many people in our electrical community and beyond have that mindset. However, it's also only the person can want to save themselves as well for there to be sustainable change. And I think that sometimes it's difficult because we do end up in these situations where we are checking up on our friends and we want them to do better, but and we could see a better future for them. And we try and we try and we try. But then it's also at the cost of our own mental health, trying to get them to a better place and not that we're perfect or anybody's perfect, but when you see and you're checking in, it's like, what does that path kind of look like supporting someone? And what are the boundaries within that? Because you can definitely lose yourself and having the mentality that you can save someone and they definitely need to want to save themselves, and you and it is totally not selfish to also understand that you don't want to lose yourself trying to save someone else because saving someone else is an illusion.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Yeah, and also to say I think that it's okay to be a little bit selfish. I think that it's okay to put yourself first in those situations because oftentimes, and especially in my own, since we're talking about harm reduction and this substance use can become a codependent relationship. And when we look at codependency from that lens, and then we look at how that translates into the relationships that we have in our own lives and how even in our friendships and our relationships, how is that codependency leaking into those different aspects? Like we have to take that responsibility to take care of ourselves because if we're constantly leaning one way on other person and leaning here and leaning there, we're never creating a solid foundation in ourselves. And when we create that solid foundation of taking care of ourselves, making sure we're fed, drinking water, moving our bodies, not just at the festival and dancing, which is a feral, awesome way to do that, but at the same time, just making sure that you are putting yourself first because you cannot give from an empty cup. And I think that that's so important to just remember because I feel like oftentimes in this scene, and I see it so many, so much, the most loving souls are in this scene, and they all just want to give and they want to give, and then you find that you've given all that you can and there's nothing left for yourself. So then you turn burnout, and then you almost you can some people not all, but some people throw a resentment to not having enough for themselves because they gave it all away and setting those boundaries for yourself because the boundaries are not so much for other people rules to follow, but they're just boundaries that you have for yourself of what you are and are not willing to engage with or things that you don't want to have around you. And I think that it's so important to just look in and reflect, especially during this month, of what that looks like, what your boundaries are, what you can and can't do, and only doing what however much that you can and still leaving enough for yourself. And I know we I brought it up in one of our first few episodes with that 70% rule that's found in Tai Chi. And I just I love using it all the time because it's like you can give 70%, but make sure you're giving that 30% back to yourself because you always have to have that little amount.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

I was hoping you'd bring that up again. I was just thinking about that from our early first episode. So I'm happy you brought that full circle in our 10th episode. Yeah, and and truly you are you also are your community. You are the people in your circle, and it can be difficult because you can, and I've seen it before where you people might think that they're on this high horse of awareness within the people that are like abusing things and be like, Well, I'm the leader that's gonna lead them all to being saved in some way, and they're all gonna do better. But usually you still are very vulnerable to going down at the ship, honestly. And it may not be in a huge way or as comparison, but I think that I've seen that before in circles where it's you have this idea that I'm doing a little better, I'm not doing as much, I'm not this or that, and they're all doing it, so it's like I'm a I'm like the best example in this friend group, but it's but you're still your company that you keep. And I don't mean that you should cut off all of your friends and I get it, but you can also outgrow. And and that doesn't mean you don't love them or you don't want to stay connected in some way. But but typically, if you are in a circle of people that are like normalizing behaviors and you're trying to grow out of that, it is gonna be really hard to sustainably do that at yourself because the company around you isn't really gonna be producing an environment or layout for you to become better. And that's where you it can feel lonely. And I don't know, I feel like Paige, you and I have talked about this before. Maybe it's with other friends that I have who like that can feel very lonely when you decide that you want to shift your surrounding and/or shift your friend circles to people that better serve the version of trying to become. And and in this scene in particular, it can be difficult because you have so many shared memories, right? And you're like, wait, but I don't wanna. It's but two things can exist. You can still look back on those memories and love them while also knowing that you have to create an environment and be around folks that are complementary to the version of you that you want to be, and vice versa, right? Because we're always learning from each other. So even in a new space or new group of people, you're not going into that just trying to learn from them. There's probably stuff you offer you can offer them too. But I see that oftentimes, and it's really hard because in these festival and music environments, you do just feel so connected and you create really unique and funny memories, and it can feel like, why should I let all of that go? Or now I feel lonely. I feel like I don't have anyone. And I went from 15 friends to two friends, and it's but if those two friends are like not super shallow friendships and they're deep and they're pouring into the version of yourself that you want to be able to be proud of in the coming years, that's truly okay. And it's not even you looking at those other people and thinking negative thoughts about them. You don't have to have beef with them or anything, but you're allowed to change if you want to grow. And that I think would inspire those people more than having this blind loyalty that is also at a cost to you and your mental health.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Yeah. And I just want to circle back on kind of what you were saying, Kat, because I feel like I've noticed that there's a lot of DJs and a lot of people who just have to end up up and leaving the scene because they are like, my mental health is not okay, and I need to put myself first. And I'm going down this sober journey because I need it. And they find themselves that they can't even interact in the scene, they can't even go to shows, they can't even DJ at shows, knowing the mass majority of the vices that are there. And even I see more and more people creating and leaning to sober events and sober communities that still have EDM music. And I love to see that so much because you're not only just creating a container for the music to be the healing element rather than relying on the all of these substances that have healing like qualities to them and can be, but it's also just taking a look at our community and being like, what are we doing here? Are is our community truly a place? And are we building it to be a place where everybody is accepted here, or are we only allowing a certain kind of person to be present here? And obviously, people will take whatever steps that they need for their own healing and growth. But I just it makes me sad to see that a lot of people have to opt out of the community itself just because of the healing journey that they are on, because they can't be around certain things and behaviors and substances. And it just makes me sad a little bit because I know that many of us are here for the music because it heals us, because it's something that we listen to when we're on a drive down a country road with the windows and it's literally everything for us, and it's just coming back to that root and the reason why we listen to this music and allowing that to be the healing. And I think that just all of us taking a step to look at ourselves and how we show up, and we don't always have to be perfect, right? We don't need to show up and be like, I'm great, I'm happy, I'm sharing love. We can come to these spaces and places and be exactly as we are and be accepted to be that, and we can feel those things, but we don't have to opt to just alienating our feelings from that. And I just really, even with just the topic of mental health awareness month, I just want us to leave a community note of like, how can we come into this community and make it a better place and leave people with good interactions and take care of one another and come back to plur because that's what it's all about.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

What I think an interesting task too we could give our listeners as well is I don't need to name drop, but there's been enough artists that have left the scene temporarily or shared their personal stories, whether they left temporarily and came back or actively shared their story while they were trying to grow their brands and their craft and their projects, who have openly talked about it and how now they feel better than ever. I think there's something to be said in challenging our listeners to reflect on some of those artists because those are some of the same artists that you're going to go see and should also inspire you beyond the music. Beyond it's I have one in my head, and it's I don't think it matters because his story has been so public. But Grizz, for example, right? Grizz took so much time off to focus on himself, which were obvious reasons. He shared why. And he came back and he looks amazing, he sounds amazing, and it's like there's people in the crowd still doing the things that I'm sure he was doing that were killing him. And there's no reflection on like, why did he do maybe we should not just be inspired by the his music, but inspired by his story. And I feel like that's where maybe our listeners can think of some other artists that have been public and take note of wait a minute, I support their music. Yeah, I support their music, I support their project. Maybe I should look at their blueprint, right? Maybe like the full support too is and not in copy paste. You can't have balance in life, you need to go to an extreme and complete sobriety isn't for everyone. Some people do want to have a nice cocktail here and there, yada yada. But there's so much more to be learned from some of these artists, and even pe people that aren't artists just in the scene that are like influencers or work behind the scenes that have shared their stories. Where it's let's reflect on that and be like, wait a minute, I'm here in the crowd, so happy this person is back and cheering and completely disassociating from what actually took them away from it. And actually thinking about that and thinking about how maybe you can reflect on it in regards to your own life and like how you can do better in that way because we are so happy when they return and completely forget why they left. When the reason they left wasn't because, more often than not, because they were just like, you know what? I just want to take up a different hobby. It's like they're for they're like, I really now want to be a pickleball professional. That's typically not like the reason. It's for true mental health things that are relatable to the fans and to other people. And I think if we look at that blueprint and to tap into that the same way we do into the music, that can also inspire us first just being like, whoa, they're back, and then totally forget about why they left. Like and doing all the things that actually probably caused them to have to separate themselves. Because a point that you made, Paige, and I just want to reiterate is it is hard for people in the scene when they are becoming sober or they're not, or everyone's her body journey looks different, or what that means to them, but it is hard to exist and it can become hard in those spaces because we have normalized so many things that really are not healthy and should not be normalized. And just because you're in an echo chamber and everybody's I just did this or I just did this sometimes, and this is this, we've all been there. I know every excuse in the book. I do. I I know you know every excuse, and it's hard when you're in that position. But if you are in an echo chamber, it's gonna be hard to get better. And I just think, especially this month, and especially just with the increasing numbers of suicides and increasing numbers of people with depression and anxiety and insomnia, there is no better time than right now to take a step back and accept everything. And also, how we're creating spaces for people to still feel comfortable and they no longer want to normalize behaviors that should not be normalized just because that's how it is in the industry. And if you're listening to this and not watching, I'm putting this in quotations because I'm tired of hearing that. I'm tired of hearing that's just how the industry is. No, that's how the industry is enabled. Things can change. It's very the industry is a hard one, but let's stop normalizing things and take care of ourselves. Yes, that's my little rant there.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Let's take being a whook off of the pedestal that it's become because it's really not a good look.

SPEAKER_00 20:50

It's right now, it's literally I don't know when that became. I'm so sorry for any listeners. We're not trying to offend you. Feel free to roast us in the comments if you feel offended. But I promise you that's not our intention. But a whook is not something to aspire to be. I'm so sorry. It is not, and this is coming from someone who, like, when I look at some pictures of myself 10 years ago when that shows it is it's not something to aspire to be. And it's not something as well, and I want to say this we're not hating, we're not hating, there's nothing wrong. But let's be so for real, and that's the point of this podcast. A book is not something you should aspire for or feel like you want to maintain at a high level. I'm just gonna, like I said, roast us in the comments if you want, but yeah, this is what it is, and we have this podcast to keep it real. But we hope that you guys enjoyed this episode of just Paige and me yapping. All right, everyone. Thank you. We'll be back with a new episode 11 in a couple weeks, but that is a wrap hockey's out.