Anxiety Attack Before a Gig What Can You Do MR MRS DJ?

0:00 Do you ever get anxious before a gig?

Right, so I'm outside and it is really, really cold and I've got a t-shirt on and I'm actually freezing my nuts off here which may seem a little bit stupid but it's actually part of the video because... God blimey! Now, do you ever get anxious before a gig? Do you ever get worried? Do you ever have that rumbly gut feeling? Do you ever feel as though you need a big shit because you're just... Chit scared about going to the gig, about working. Do you get apprehensive the week before your event? Do you start to worry the night before? You can't sleep. Your mind is going over like, have I got the right kit? Have I forgotten this? Have I forgotten that? Are they going to like me? Am I going to do a good job? Am I going to get there? Is there going to be a problem?

You know these are panic attacks, these are anxiety attacks and it does happen. Now I don't get all of those but having been a DJ for God knows how long you'd probably think I've seen it all, I've done it all and for me now any gig is easy and you know I just turn up and I do my thing and everything falls into place. Well if the truth be known before every single gig I myself get anxious. I'm anxious. I'm concerned. I'm worried. Is it going to be... People are going to be happy. Now, I would prefer to be like that and I'm happy to be like that instead of being big-headed and thinking, yeah, it's just going to be easy, fine. Because when you have... And I'm always telling people to be confident. You need to be confident. It's great to be self-confident. But when ego takes over,

2:28 Don't be scared about being anxious

And when you're a bit too boisterous and a bit too big-headed, that's when things can start to go wrong. On the other hand, if you do get anxious and you do get a little bit concerned, then you're more likely to make note of your surroundings and you're more in tune with the possibility of something going wrong. So to be anxious is an attribute. It's great. Don't be scared about being anxious. Don't be scared about being worried because it proves that your mind is ready for the fight or flight because many, many years ago this is potentially what saved you. That thought about the hair sticking up on the back of your neck and going I shouldn't be here and you run away and great because you could have got trodden by an elephant or something.

Yeah, here. I'm sure there's loads of elephants. So, before every gig, have you ever tried meditating? Now, you're probably thinking, oh my God, here he goes. He's going to start doing Hare Krishna shit. I'm not saying Hare Krishna shit. I'm just using that as a term, even though that isn't really shit, if you get what I mean. But let's go back during the war many, many years ago. If you, you know, 50, 60, 70, 100 years ago, if you saw someone running, you'd probably be saying to them, who are you running away from? And if they then, they said to you, well I'm just running to keep fit, you'd have thought they were an idiot because probably no one did it then or very few people did it. Yet nowadays when we see people running up and down the road, we don't think twice because we know they are trying to keep fit, keep their body fit.

3:59 Meditation is about having a blank energy arou

What has been going on for many years is people keep their mind fit and they do that by meditation, by relaxation. Now I would like you if you do get anxiety attacks to start meditating because what this will do, this will keep your mind fit because your mind is active all the time even when you sleep your minds active. Now I can't give you I don't know enough about meditation to start telling you what to do. All I can explain is that I think you should start looking online and consider taking up meditation because it will help your mind to relax. Meditation is about having a blank energy around you, about thinking about nothingness. And again if you think about nothing then your mind then is able to relax.

And by definition, it will help you in many ways. It's bound to, isn't it? So if you do get anxious, then take a meditation. And if you do get anxious, you're not alone. I do. Every single gig, whether it be a small, tiny function down the road for 20 people or a big event for 2 or 3 thousand people. I will always get anxious because I'm ready. I'm ready for anything that can happen. Now, I hope that's been help. Practice and enjoy. Thank you.

This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.