The life of a traveling artist is a unique one. Travel is an old tradition for artists, and a common way for them to build a name for themselves. Musicians and other performers in particular often tour as part of their profession. Many artists thoroughly enjoy the travel aspect of their craft. It is an opportunity to see places and meet people that would otherwise remain undiscovered. However, there is a dark side to the travel world for artists as well. A lifestyle of travel can promote instability, something a number of artists already have in abundance. The instability of the travel lifestyle can lead an artist down a path of addiction and mental disorder due to weakened coping abilities, which can have devastating ramifications on their lives and careers.Traveling Artists and Addiction
The life of a traveling artist is a unique one. Travel is an old tradition for artists, and a common way for them to build a name for themselves. Musicians and other performers in particular often tour as part of their profession. Many artists thoroughly enjoy the travel aspect of their craft. It is an opportunity to see places and meet people that would otherwise remain undiscovered. However, there is a dark side to the travel world for artists as well. A lifestyle of travel can promote instability, something a number of artists already have in abundance. The instability of the travel lifestyle can lead an artist down a path of addiction and mental disorder due to weakened coping abilities, which can have devastating ramifications on their lives and careers.A lifestyle of travel alone can spur a person toward addiction. Flight crew staff and pilots are known for falling into addictive behaviors more than other professions for this reason. To live in a constant state of travel is to live amid instability, which proves to be too much for some people. Traveling separates a person from their traditional support systems and puts them in unfamiliar environments with unfamiliar people. Some people with a particular taste for adventure thrive in this type of environment, while others suffer. This lifestyle can cause loneliness, depression, anxiety and a number of other mentally unhealthy qualities that lead to substance abuse and addiction in an attempt to cope.
The second part of the path to addiction for this lifestyle is that of being an artist. This is not to say that those who are artists are also addicts. Many artists have never taken an interest in addictive substances or behaviors. There is a trend among artists, however, to have more of an addictive personality than other professionals. This is common of many creative professions, as the high of pursuing a creative endeavor is similar to the high of indulging in an addiction, the difference being that one is healthy and one is not. Receiving addiction counseling and rehabilitation can be the best thing for this type of person.