Written by Daniel Rinaldi, LMHC

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Coming home from tour is harder than most people think. You go from a life where every day has purpose, deadlines, adrenaline, and a built-in team — to a world that suddenly feels slower, quieter, and less defined. You don’t have a call time. There’s no show to prep for. No one needs you in the same way.

That shift can mess with your head. You spend weeks or months in a high-stress, high-connection environment, then you’re dropped into normal life and expected to just “rest.” But your brain and body are still wired for motion. You’re used to solving problems on the fly, staying alert, running on caffeine and chaos. The silence feels wrong.

A lot of people mistake that feeling for depression or burnout — and sometimes it is. But often, it’s just your nervous system coming down from a long stretch of survival mode. You’ve been hyper-focused, hyper-social, and hyper-stimulated. Coming home means learning how to slow down again, and that takes time.