Safe Break: Surviving Develop:Brighton with 7 event self-care tips

With Develop:Brighton on the horizon, here’s 7 self-care tips to help keep yourself (and others) safe this event season.

Let’s talk self-care essentials! We’re going to start with the very basics of keeping yourself healthy and happy during an event, because while these essential considerations seem obvious now, when you’re in the thick of it, it’s often these steps that get skipped.

📢 Do you want to join us at Develop:Brighton? Sign up for our Safe Break Mixer, to learn more about event best practices for good mental health and wellbeing.

💧 Staying hydrated is your top priority

Even mild dehydration can cause headaches, fatigue and negatively impact your memory – which is less than ideal when trying to remember people’s names.

🥪 Don’t skip meals

It’s easy to forgo fuelling up when you’re busy meeting new people, attending talks and roundtables, and finding your way from one meeting room to the next. Why not schedule a meeting in a cafe, and enjoy some brunch with your business contacts? If you’re really pushed for time, make sure you have some snacks in your bag.

✋ Allow yourself regular breaks

You will thank yourself in the long run. You’re going to be up on your feet a lot. People wearing fitness watches will know what we mean, you will do a lot of steps during Develop:Brighton – so give your body time to rest when you can.

🚶 Move for wellness

Why not go for a gentle walk along the seafront? Fresh air is a huge consideration at conferences – often, venues are packed with people, and the air quality suffers for it. Poor air quality increases your chances of developing a headache, or feeling tired faster. Consider stretching out your tired muscles, to feel a bit more refreshed.

💭 Make time to self regulate

What do we mean by this? Often, people think of self-regulation in regards to sensory input or feeling overwhelmed – a common experience for neurodivergent people. But making time for self-regulation benefits everyone! It’s the chance to sit with your emotions, figure out how you’re feeling, identify any needs and address them, without the pressure of doing all that on the go. Giving yourself five minutes to sit and think between meetings can help set you up for better social experiences and positive outcomes.

🙅 Set healthy boundaries for you

There is an immense pressure (especially when you’ve spent a lot of money to go to an event) to make the absolute most out of your time there. This can quickly lead into burnout territory. You are allowed to say “no” to events or activities that you feel will drain your energy. You are allowed to leave functions where you’re getting overwhelmed. You don’t have to drink alcohol, and you certainly do not need to justify that choice to others.

😴 Prioritise your sleep

A spontaneous afterparty might sound tempting, or you might feel like it’s another networking opportunity you don’t want to miss, but sleep hygiene is essential for your wellbeing. A poor night of sleep will negatively impact your memory, concentration, and overall enjoyment of the event. It can already be challenging to sleep well in a new environment, don’t make it harder!

🎒 Build your Wellbeing Toolkit

When packing your bag for an industry event, you want to prioritise essentials that help you do all of the above – hydrate, fuel up, self-regulate! But you also want to ensure you don’t overpack, because this is a bag you’re going to be carrying around all day. So, customise your own wellbeing toolkit based on your own needs (use the Develop:Brighton inspired list below for ideas).

• Refillable water bottle
• Lightweight snacks (e.g. granola/protein bar, trail mix)
• Fidget toys/stress ball etc.
• Hygiene products (e.g. deodorant, hand sanitizer)
• Skin care (sunscreen, lip balm)
• Earplugs, noise cancelling headphones, etc.
• Portable hand fan
• Decant your purse/wallet for lightweight option
• Meds/pain killers
• Portable phone charger

Choosing the right bag can help reduce stress at events too! Having a small pouch for your smaller essential items (e.g. hand sanitizer, lip balm, fidget toy) which can be transferred between bags can help avoid panic searching through your tote bag. Consider how comfortable the bag will be for use throughout the day – is it heavy on your shoulders, are the straps comfortable, is it secure?

📅 Safe Break: A Safe In Our World Mixer

Ease yourself into Develop:Brighton with Safe In Our World’s mixer, Safe Break, where we’ll be sharing best practices around event and conference self-care. Join us for some journaling activities (straight out of our Sidekick mental health journal), coffee and treats.

When: 11am – 2pm BST
Where: Project Nile House

Our whole team is coming, so it’s an ideal opportunity to meet the people behind our charity, and discuss how you can level up mental health in your workplace, achieve a healthy work life balance, and help us reduce mental health stigma across the global games industry.

Tickets are £5, which goes directly to supporting our charity. We recognise that cost of admission may be a barrier to some event goers, so please do reach out to us if this applies to you – email hello@safeinourworld.com for support.

🔗 Secure your spot – book now!

Ticket price in TicketSource is set to £5 minimum as a recommended donation, but you are welcome to donate more. All proceeds from ticket sales for this event will go towards Safe In Our World’s mission to support mental health in the games industry and wider communities. If you choose to donate more, additional donations can be used to give individuals experiencing financial difficulty the opportunity to attend this event free of charge.