Wellness

Prevue Exclusive: Janice Cardinale on PES and How to Recover Emotional Health

April 10, 2024

Post Event Stress is Endemic for Planners, says Janice Cardinale of Event Minds Matter. How can you recover?

Feeling like your wellness tank is empty after a meeting ends? You’re not alone, says Janice Cardinale, Founder of Cardinale Creative and Event Minds Matter, a community of meeting professionals who are amplifying the industry’s conversation on mental health and wellness.

Cardinale is also a featured speaker at Prevue’s upcoming Meet Well Summit August 7-9. We recently caught up with her to learn more about post event stress(PES) and how planners can bounce back.

Prevue: What is post-event stress disorder?
Cardinale: Post Event Stress, better known as PES, is real. It’s the new buzz word for today’s event professionals who feel the aftereffects of long hours, client expectations and not prioritizing boundaries. It is well known that event industry professionals run on adrenalin, rarely giving their bodies an opportunity to recover from one event before executing another. Event professionals are notorious for working tirelessly threading the fabric of the event together, ensuring that all expectations are met with perfection. They put their clients first and pay less attention to what their minds and bodies are telling them. This is PES.

Prevue: In what ways does PES manifest?
Cardinale: Bad behaviors range from organizing countless hours of details to lack of sleep combined with poor eating habits to fitness routines that hit a dead-end in preparation for the big day. Your body does not know how to fight off the dramatic changes that you’re putting it through. This leads to anxiety and often to debilitating burnout. Our minds and bodies are not built to endure a path of poor health choices.

Prevue: Are today’s generation of meeting planners increasingly susceptible to PES?
Cardinale: They absolutely are—based on habits that have become learned behaviors and are part of their training when they first join the industry. Many believe that working all hours without proper time off between events comes with the turf. They are not taught boundaries and workplaces do not create brave spaces within the organization to have conversations about expectations, safety and trust. This sets a precedent for unhealthy habits.

How to recover from PES

Cardinale’s top 5 tips:
•Give yourself permission to celebrate your accomplishments. Pat yourself on the shoulder and celebrate.
•Disconnect from electronics and social media. Allow your mind to reset. Sleep and nutrition are extremely important.
•Take the time you have earned off to give yourself an opportunity to recover. Use this time to nurture yourself with whatever comforts you.
•Pamper yourself—with that massage, manicure/pedicure or other wellness treatment that you envisioned while you were working so hard.
•Engage in meditation and/or mindfulness practices. Relaxation exercises can improve your state of mind and outlook on life. Research shows that meditation may help you feel calmer.