As 2015 comes to a close, so does another con season. Sure, depending on your fandom there is no doubt a con happening any weekend of the year. Still, the big ones; San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic Con, MegaCon, Toronto Comic Con, C2E2, Gencon, plus many more have come and gone. Those who have attended a convention know that a con weekend is not a vacation but an adventure that can leave the individual feeling drained and feeling like their tank is on empty. This is what is known as post con syndrome.
Post con syndrome is nothing new to anyone who has attended a convention. What people may not be aware of is there is more than one type of post-con syndrome. Luckily there are some very easy solutions to cure themselves of these afflictions. The following is ten syndromes an individual can experience after a convention and ways to remedy each of them.
1. Con funk
While attending a convention the expression “con funk” refers to the terrible smell that comes from too many people being in a closed area at one time. After the convention though Con Funk refers to the depression because you miss your convention chums and the vibe that the con seems to radiate. You feel drained and wish you could just snap your fingers and be back at the con with everyone.
Remedy: Get a group gathering together of your geeky buddies. A good game night will help ease the burden of con funk and reminiscing about the weekend will help.
2. Con plague
Con plague is a term which means the same thing at and after the convention. Its when you come down with an illness at the event and are finding yourself inadvertently affecting others. Once home you will have to find a way to cure yourself of the con plague in a timely fashion or risk it affecting your everyday life.
Remedy: Get some rest and drink some fluids. If your symptoms don’t go away after a few days you may want to consult your healthcare provider. (NOTE: Monkeys Fighting Robots is not a recommended medical alternative. It’s only a geek news website and should be treated as such.)
3. Buyer’s remorse
You return home with the treasure you obtained at the convention, check Amazon, eBay, or another online store and immediately realize that you have overpaid for the item in question. You will be immediately filled with a feeling of buyer’s remorse and the new addition to your collection may feel a little more special because of it.
Remedy: This one is more of a preparatory for next time. Look up the item you are planning to hunt down at the convention and see what a is a good price to pay for the item. If you have a smartphone or if your friend has one then you will have the ability to look up the price while at the convention and avoid Buyer’s Remorse entirely.
4. Con fatigue
The weekend was draining, and no one will be quick to argue with you. You are tapped out and will now need to deal with a bunch of other daily errands and chores which are crying out for you to finish. You begin to wish there were health packs in life you could just touch and instantly feel better.
Remedy: Rest. You will just have to face the facts, you are tired and will have to rest. Whatever can be pushed off for another day will have to be. You need to gather your strength so you can face whatever challenges come towards you in the future. Skip game night, say no to the invitation to the movies, and just grab a good night’s sleep. Your body will thank you for it.
5. Con Drama
Despite the best efforts to avoid drama, if two people are alone with each long enough they will find a way to drive each other crazy. Unfortunately, at a convention there is a possibility of getting on a lot of individuals’ bad sides. Everything from cosplay rivalry, to poor rooming at the hotel, or generosity being taken too far can result in drama which will follow you home and find a way to integrate into your daily life. Con drama is one of the major reasons why people don’t come back from conventions with fond memories.
Remedy: Hopefully you are not an individual who thrives on drama and is doing your best to try and extinguish the tension before it gets any worse. To rectify this situation, you have no choice but to face it head on. Apologize to those you have wronged and let others know they have hurt you. Once a real line of dialogue has been opened things will resolve themselves in a much quicker fashion than if you had left the problems build without proper attention.
6. Con love
You have found the perfect person you have been looking for. They are everything you hoped. Unfortunately, they live on the other side of the state (or in some cases, country). You want nothing more than to see them again but they haven’t returned your call/friend request/text message in an amount of time which has made you start to panic. Have they found someone else? What did I do wrong?
Remedy: An entire separate article dedicated to this topic is possible (it may be as well depending on the feedback this one receives) so this topic won’t be covered as extensively as it could. The fact is that if you want your new relationship to work you are going to have to give it time, energy, and above all PATIENCE. Just like you, the individual is just getting home from a con and dealing with a bunch of stuff taking place all at once. Give them some time to gather themselves and then see where the relationship goes. Don’t get too clingy all at once or you may drive them off.
7. Buyers folly
The opposite of Buyer’s remorse. Instead of seizing the moment and grabbing an item which looked intriguing at the moment, you decided to pass it over and check the rest of the dealer room out before coming back. When you return it is too late and the item is gone. Bonus pain will occur if you return home and discover that the item in question is extremely rare.
Remedy: Preparation is once again your friend. Take the time to look into what you really want to add to your collection. Know what is a fair price for it and know that sometimes you have no choice but to grab an item on the first glance without being cautious and seeing if another vendor has it for a cheaper price.
8. Con connection overload
Who did you meet over the weekend? A photographer who took some great pictures of you? Someone you want to work on a project with in the future? People who live near you and love the same thing you do? Now you have all these contacts you begin worry you won’t be able to communicate with them properly.
Remedy: Take the time to call, message, and reply to every contact you successfully made over the weekend. Add their information to your contact list and make sure to let them know who you are, where you met, and what you were discussing. It was a long weekend, they may need a refresher but don’t take it as insult. Con weekends are over in the blink of an eye. Despite having fun we often forget all that happened. That’s why people take as many photos as possible.
9. The unpacking
Unpacking is properly one of the most difficult post con syndromes any fan has to deal with, and everyone goes through it. While packing for the convention, the thrill of everything you are going to see and experience is driving you to get everything together. Afterward though you are tired, drained, and can easily put it off for a solid week before you even think, “Yeah, I’ll get to it tomorrow.” Despite your rampant procrastination, the unpacking must take place.
Remedy: Just suck it up buttercup and do it. The sooner you get the car unpacked, your clothes and gear out of suitcases and into the laundry, the sooner you can get back to enjoying other geeky subjects. Put your headphones on and enjoy some music while you finally break down and put everything back in its proper place.
10. The return to normality
The convention itself is an atmosphere which is hard to duplicate and leaves a lasting impression on the attendee. Afterward, the world seems much less magical, and you find yourself surrounded by those who can’t begin to fathom the joy and enlightenment you experienced over the weekend.
Remedy:Time to call in a friend for backup. When normality has started to set in, its time to get a hold of your geeky friends and talk about everything you enjoyed at the con. If your friend didn’t go then take the time to tell them what they missed in a nice way (meaning don’t rub it in their face) and see if you can’t t help them plan for a convention of their own.
There you have it. Ten common post-con syndromes and remedies to cure them. Do you have your own remedy for a post-con syndrome? Post it in the comments and help others get over the scourge that follows a convention weekend.
