Twisted Frequency Harm Reduction Series – Article 1: Physical Harm Reduction

This article series discusses how the different factors of a festival environment can impact your body in mind in different ways from everyday life. We want to use our platform to make sure that everyone has the tools to keep themselves safe and happy in a festival environment! This article introduces the series and offers us some festival-specific physical harm reduction tips.

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You and your mates have got your tickets, you’ve planned out your campsite and meals, you are all absolutely amping and you cannot wait to head out for an incredible five day experience in the magical Golden Bay. Thanks to your awesome organisational skills, you’ve got all of the big prep-work checked off – yehaawww!


BUT that’s not all there is to consider – we reckon it’s probably also worth taking a few minutes to make sure you’re prepared for the physical and psychological realities of spending 5 days in a consciousness-expanding festival environment in the outdoors!


We understand better than most how easy it is in a festival atmosphere to get a little over-excited and believe you’re close to invincible, and we really care about keeping everyone safe and happy.


We’ve learned that the best way to minimise your chances of running into physical or mental trouble is to make sure that you and your friends all have the knowledge to party smart, so we’re here offering up a few pieces of festival wisdom, if you care to read through ‘em!


Physical Harm Reduction

We want you to get the absolute most out of your time with us – we want you healthy, happy, social, hydrated, cool, well-fed, and well-rested (not necessarily in that order)! Looking after yourself is crucial to making the most of your time at Twisted – and we guarantee that the better you feel, the better time you’ll have :-)


So – the first piece of advice we would offer for an optimum Twisted experience is to communicate with your friends and your camp crew. They are there to party with you and support you, so let them know where you’re going, how you’re feeling, what kind of state you’re in, and if you feel like you need a break or a bit of downtime with someone. If you all let each other know how you’re doing and what you’re getting up to, you’ll be able to offer the best support and have a rager of a time together.


It’s also an awesome (and friendly!) idea to introduce yourself to your camp neighbours. Chances are you’ll have a whole bunch in common, and we’re all part of one big friendly family at Twisted – let’s keep it growing!


Secondly – listen to your body, and recognise when it is time to chill out and take a break. Throwing down wildly for hours on end is great, but is also pretty hard work on your body, and has the potential to result in dehydration or heat exhaustion if you’re not careful. Please stay suuuper mindful of your body temperature if you’re partying hard, and make sure you and your crew take breaks to cool down regularly.


Thirdly, stay hydrated! (Sorry – you knew it was coming!) This one totally ties in to the last point too – dehydration and heat exhaustion are very un-fun experiences, and you’re likely to be at an increased risk of both while in a festival environment. Most of the help festival medical teams offer is to combat heat exhaustion or dehydration. So keep your drink bottle on you at all times! and please do remember to drink water regularly to keep yourself hydrated.


And lastly, pro tip number four – give your body what it needs! Making sure you’re getting proper sleep and nutrition is your numero uno way to make sure you have a consistently awesome time over the course of the full five days, and that you don’t crash and burn out early!


We totally recognise how exciting all of our awesome offerings are, and that you don’t want to miss out on a single thing, but humans maintain a healthy equilibrium through the nutrients and vitamins we get from food and proper sleep. It is definitely still possible to have fun without pushing your body too hard, so please do be mindful of the ways in which your partying is affecting your body, and make sure you’re giving it what it needs to keep your stamina up for five days of incredible times :-)

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