Life on the road has highs and lows. When the lights go down, the emotional costs set in — long hours, inconsistent sleep, separation from loved ones, and even loneliness.
If you’re struggling, you’re not alone. Music professionals’ mental health has become a critical concern, and many prominent artists have spoken publicly about their mental health. One study of international touring musicians showed that nearly 40% of respondents demonstrated high scores for suicidality and 50% showed elevated risk for clinical depression. About 11% of MusiCares 2025 Wellness in Music survey respondents reported suicidal ideation in the past year — more than double the U.S. general population.
Despite those stats, struggling while on the road is not inevitable. There are proven strategies you can use to address your mental health concerns, and it’s crucial that you take them seriously. Here’s how you can start improving your mental well-being so you show up on tour as your best self.
How Touring Can Take a Toll on Mental Health
Touring offers financial security for some, but it’s merely a way to make ends meet for others. Combine that with a lack of job security, the stress of living gig to gig, and long separations from home and it’s no surprise that touring professionals are struggling. A Soundcheck survey of Canadian music industry professionals showed that 81% of respondents felt that their work environment was not good for their mental health and only 10% agreed their leaders support mental health in the workplace. Nearly 80% said that financial stress affects their mental health, and only 6% felt a sense of job security.
Financial stressors are particularly pertinent due to rising costs of living and touring. Nearly 8 in 10 music professionals are unable to pay bills on music alone, and many attribute their depression or anxiety to finances, according to the MusiCares 2025 Wellness in Music survey.
Common mental health struggles on tour include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Financial stress
- Loneliness
- Homesickness
- Strained relationships
- Sleep deprivation
- Burnout
- Substance use problems
- Suicidal thoughts
If you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, you’re not alone and help is available 24/7. Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for immediate support or text HOME to 741-741 to reach trained counselors at Crisis Text Line.
How to Protect Your Health and Relationships on Tour
According to the Soundcheck survey of Canadian touring professionals, 85% of respondents want to learn more about managing their own mental health and 95% want education on how to help their peers. Touring music professionals who have been there before emphasize the need to plan ahead and prioritize well-being over work. Here’s how you can do that.
Pack Reminders of Home
Many performers include soothing reminders of home among their touring essentials. From a favorite mug to candies from childhood, the items can bring back warm memories and make you feel connected to your community and culture.
Start Off on the Same Page
Before you leave, communicate clearly with loved ones to limit the risk of misunderstandings, disappointment, or resentment. Some topics to discuss include:
- Realistic expectations about your availability
- How often you want to check in via text, phone calls, or other forms of communication
- Little rituals that could help you feel connected, such as “good morning” and “good night” texts
- Reunion plans to look forward to together
Connect Frequently
A study on maintaining long-distance relationships through communication apps such as Whats App, texting, and Instagram showed that coping with the emotional challenges of distance, including insecurities and feelings of disconnection, involves active communication, transparency, and reassurance. A few ways to stay in touch:
- Share mundane details of your day to feel more involved in each other’s lives.
- Send voice memos for meaningful conversations across time zones.
- Schedule video chats to share special places or just feel at home together.
- Use group chats to stay in touch with friends.
- Send postcards, letters, or souvenirs throughout the tour.
Most importantly, be open about your feelings and listen deeply. If you feel guilty about being on tour while your partner juggles children, for instance, don’t keep it to yourself. Confiding in each other can help you feel closer and ease burdens.
Practice Flexible Self-Care
Constant travel can make self-care difficult, so adopt habits you can practice anywhere. For instance:
- Simplify nutrition by having your favorite healthy staples on hand to nourish yourself when possible.
- Adopt travel-friendly workouts with free apps to stay on track, such as Boostcamp for bodyweight exercises, Nike Training Club for running, or AllTrails to find local hikes.
- Protect sleep by cutting caffeine by sundown, wearing sound-blocking headphones and sleep masks, and taking cat naps when you can to catch up on sleep.
Ground Yourself
With constantly changing surroundings, it’s common to feel unmoored. Research shows that mindfulness can mediate stress and depression associated with suicidality in touring musicians. You can stay present with simple daily routines, such as:
- A morning mindful meditation
- A screen-free lunch to give your mind a break
- A visualization exercise using apps such as Calm or Insight Timer
- Gentle stretching or yoga to regulate your nervous system
Quick Stress-Coping Skills
Knowing what to do when your stress increases is essential. Try some of these coping skills that can be used anywhere at any time:
- 4-7-8 breathing: Slow breathing can help you regulate your cortisol levels and work through stress or symptoms of a panic attack. Here’s how it works:
- Inhale through your nose for a slow count of four
- Hold for a count of seven
- Exhale through your mouth for a count of eight
- Repeat twice
- Try a hand massage: We carry a lot of stress and tension in our hands. Massage the base of the muscle under your thumb for one minute, and then switch hands. It’s an instant stress reliever.
- Progressive muscle relaxation: This tension reliever pairs slow breathing with squeezing and releasing one large muscle group (hands and arms, feet and legs, abs, neck and shoulders, and face) at a time. Squeeze as you inhale and hold, and then slowly release as you exhale.
- Apply ice: Holding an ice pack on your wrists, sucking on an ice cube, and drinking ice-cold water all cue your nervous system to take a beat and calm down.
- Phone a friend: Nothing beats a good venting session with a supportive voice on the other end of the line.
- Take a brisk walk: A 10-minute walk at a brisk pace can help you release stress and other negative emotions while you process your feelings at the same time.
Build Connections With Your Tour Family
Although you miss your loved ones at home, the people you’re traveling with can become an important support system. Use the following tips to strengthen those relationships:
- Share with them what you need to support your health and relationships, and encourage them to do the same. You can set your own norms and culture together, and advocate for each other if necessary.
- Create preshow or post-show rituals together.
- Normalize conversations about mental health struggles by sharing your own and asking others how they really feel.
Strong relationships with bandmates and crew members can help protect your mental health, persist with your music goals, and ease loneliness.
How to Ease Back Into Home Life Post-Tour
Once a tour is over, it’s common to experience a “crash” or adjustment period as you get back into the swing of home life. It’s important to prioritize self-care and your mental health to make the transition easier for you.
Try these strategies if you’re having trouble adjusting:
- Establish or reestablish a daily routine.
- Create a sleep hygiene routine to restore restful and consistent sleep.
- Put schedule blocks into your calendar so you have specific tasks to address at certain times throughout the day.
- Set clear boundaries around time demands. It’s common to feel like everyone wants to see you at once, but you can spread out your social visits to reduce feeling overwhelmed.
- Reconnect with friends and family you missed during the tour.
- Find time to exercise and make healthy eating a priority.
- Ease back into work and/or home responsibilities.
It’s also important to acknowledge that your return home is also a change in routine for your support network. Communication is key as you all navigate this adjustment period.
Coping on the Road
If you’re experiencing problems with your mental health, including suicidal ideation, or relationships on the road, support is available.
- Find affordable mental health and recovery services through MusiCares by calling 800-687-4227 or emailing [email protected].
- Sign up for free virtual support groups here.
- Download the MusiCares Resilience on the Road toolkit for resources to help you and your tour-mates thrive on the road.
- Seek crisis support by calling or texting 988 or opening a chat at 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741-741 to connect with a trained counselor at Crisis Text Line.