Resource Lab · Music & Mental Health
Substance Use and Recovery in the Music Industry
Music culture can make drinking and drug use feel ordinary. Recovery can make you feel like you are suddenly the person doing things differently. Neither experience has to define you.
Substance use can show up in a lot of different ways in music: after-show drinking, something to get through a long night, a way to quiet anxiety before a performance, something that helps you sleep after a tour day, or a habit that gradually became harder to control.
Not everyone who uses alcohol or other substances has a substance use disorder. The more useful question is what the substance is doing in your life now, whether you still feel in control of your choices, and what is happening around the use.
You also do not have to wait for a crisis, an arrest, a missed tour, or a medical emergency before talking to someone. You can start with a question.
Why this can get complicated in music
Music does not create substance problems by itself. But the environment can make certain patterns easier to start and harder to change. Research with working musicians has found that substance use can be normalized within music settings, while musicians may also use substances in response to stress, emotional difficulty, social pressure, or the demands of performing.
The schedule
Late nights, inconsistent sleep, long travel days, and stretches of intense work can make it harder to notice when a coping strategy is becoming a pattern.
The social environment
Drinking or using may be part of the room you work in. Saying no can sometimes feel like stepping outside the group.
The performance problem
A substance can become associated with confidence, energy, creativity, social ease, or the ability to get onstage. That can make changing your use feel much bigger than simply giving something up.
The comedown
The period after a show, tour, or major project can be its own challenge. Fatigue, adrenaline, loneliness, disappointment, or difficulty sleeping can all affect what happens next.
The pain problem
Physical pain, injuries, repetitive strain, and the demands of touring can become part of the picture too. Pain management and substance use can sometimes become intertwined.
The identity problem
If drinking or using has been part of your social life, creative life, or image for years, changing it can bring up questions that have nothing to do with the substance itself.
Maybe it is becoming a problem. How would you know?
There is no single moment when substance use officially becomes “bad enough.” Pay attention to changes in control, consequences, and the role the substance is playing in your life.
- You are using more often, more heavily, or for longer than you intended.
- You keep trying to cut back or stop and have trouble following through.
- You need the substance to get through a show, socialize, sleep, work, or feel normal.
- You are spending more money on it than you want to.
- Your use is affecting gigs, rehearsals, sessions, relationships, finances, or health.
- You are hiding how much you use or spending a lot of energy managing other people’s perceptions of it.
- You experience withdrawal symptoms or significant physical or emotional changes when you stop.
- People you trust have expressed concern, and you find yourself repeatedly explaining why they are wrong.
- You are continuing a pattern even though you know it is creating problems.
You do not have to diagnose yourself.
These questions are meant to help you notice a pattern, not label yourself. A medical or mental health professional can help you understand what is happening and what level of support makes sense.
Recovery does not have to look one particular way.
Some people want complete abstinence. Some begin by cutting back. Some use medication as part of treatment. Some find mutual-support meetings helpful. Some work primarily with a therapist or medical provider. Many people use several forms of support at once.
The important part is having an approach that is actually workable for your life. A recovery plan that ignores touring, late shows, your social world, your finances, or the people you work with may be difficult to maintain.
If you are trying to change your relationship with substances
You do not have to solve the entire problem at once. Start by getting specific about the situations where things tend to go sideways.
Find the pattern
When are you most likely to use? Before a show? Afterward? When you cannot sleep? When you are anxious? When everyone around you is doing it?
What is it doing for you?
Maybe it quiets your brain, makes social situations easier, takes the edge off, helps you feel confident, or gives you something to do when the night is over.
Replace the function
The replacement does not have to be perfect. It needs to give you another way to meet at least part of the need.
Think beyond “Will I use?”
A more useful plan can include where you will go after the show, who you will talk to, what you will do when you cannot sleep, how you will handle an offer, and what you will do if a difficult night turns into a difficult week.
When you are working in an environment where substances are everywhere
Recovery can be harder when the thing you are trying to change is part of your workplace. You may still be backstage, in clubs, at festivals, in studios, on buses, or around people who are drinking or using.
Know your pressure points
Think ahead about the specific moments that are hardest: load-out, hotel rooms, afterparties, long drives, bad shows, celebrations, or days when everyone else seems to be having more fun than you are.
Have an exit plan
You can decide in advance how you will leave a situation, where you can decompress, and who you can call when you need to get out of the room.
Tell the people who need to know
You do not owe your entire workplace an explanation. A few trusted people knowing what support looks like for you can make a real difference.
Make room for a different kind of backstage
A substance-free room, quiet corner, hotel routine, walk, meal, meeting, or phone call can give you somewhere to go when the usual routine is not working anymore.
If you are in recovery and going back on the road
Touring can disrupt the routines that make recovery easier. Before you leave, think through the parts of the trip that are most likely to challenge you.
A lapse is information, not a reason to disappear.
If you return to a substance after trying to stop, getting support quickly matters. You can look at what happened, what made the situation harder, and what needs to change before the next show or tour.
Harm reduction is part of the conversation too
Not everyone is ready or able to stop using a substance immediately. Harm reduction focuses on reducing the risks associated with substance use while keeping the door open to further change. Recent research with working musicians found that musicians saw a need for more harm-reduction knowledge and support within music settings.
If opioids may be involved, knowing how to recognize an overdose and having access to naloxone can save a life. SAMHSA recommends calling 911 immediately for a suspected opioid overdose and explains how naloxone can be used while emergency help is on the way.
If you are worried about someone else
You do not have to become their therapist, interventionist, or recovery manager. Start with what you have actually observed.
- Talk when the person is sober and there is enough time for an actual conversation.
- Describe specific things you have noticed rather than making a character judgment.
- Ask what they think is happening.
- Listen before immediately offering solutions.
- Offer one concrete form of help, such as finding a meeting, calling a provider, or helping them get home safely.
- Take immediate safety concerns seriously.
You can care about someone without taking responsibility for their recovery.
If their substance use is affecting your own safety, finances, work, housing, or relationships, your boundaries matter too.
Music-industry recovery resources
You do not have to figure out the music-specific part by yourself. These organizations provide different kinds of support for people working in music.
MusiCares · Addiction Recovery Support
Treatment assistance, recovery resources, support groups, and Safe Harbor Rooms for music professionals who are sober or sober-curious.
MusiCares · Support Groups
Complimentary virtual emotional and addiction-recovery support groups for music industry professionals.
SAMHSA · Treatment Options
Information about treatment for substance use disorders, including medication, counseling, and other approaches.
Alcoholics Anonymous
Peer-support meetings and resources for people who want to stop drinking.
Narcotics Anonymous
Peer-support meetings and resources for people seeking recovery from drug use.
SMART Recovery
A secular, science-informed approach with meetings and practical tools for changing substance-use behaviors.
When it is time to get more support
Consider reaching out to a healthcare or mental health professional if substance use is becoming difficult to control, affecting your work or relationships, creating health problems, or becoming the main way you manage stress, anxiety, sleep, pain, or emotions.
Substance use disorders are treatable, and treatment can involve therapy, medical care, medication, peer support, or a combination of approaches. You do not have to choose the entire path before making the first appointment.
If you are in immediate danger
For an overdose or other medical emergency, call 911. For a mental health crisis or thoughts of suicide, call or text 988. Music industry professionals can also contact Backline’s B-LINE crisis support at 855-254-6399 or text 254-639.
You can talk about this before it becomes a crisis.
Therapy can be a place to look at what substances are doing for you, what you want to change, and how to build support that actually fits your life in music.
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