break time: Diet Cig
Break Time is a feature on TGE that explores how those in the music industry practice self-care. For this edition, we’re excited to welcome Alex Luciano of Diet Cig. The band’s new album, Do You Wonder About Me?, iI out tomorrow, May 1.
photo: Emily Dubin
The Grey Estates: When it comes to the term self-care, what does this mean to you? And how do you practice it?
Alex of Diet Cig: Self-care means de-stressing, allowing myself time to zone out of the big picture in my brain and focus on grounding myself to the current moment. I don’t really meditate or do yoga or anything, but a big way I practice this kind of self-care is being present in something physical, whether it’s reading a book or cooking a meal or making a craft. Food has been extra comforting right now and cooking for myself and others has been big for me lately. I typically rock climb a lot too (haven’t been able to since being quarantined unfortunately) and that was a really important self-care routine for me. When you’re on the wall or belaying someone there’s really not room for other intrusive thoughts to come in and stress you out, you need to focus and get into a rhythm which I find really soothing.
As far as making time for self-care, do you find that you need to put away your phone? How do you make the most of this time for yourself? Is there a time when you prefer to practice self-care?
Haha yes, my phone needs to certainly go AWAY when I’m trying to practice self-care. I have a hard time with this sometimes, especially now when most of my social interaction and validation comes through being on apps with people. I feel like being on my phone always registers as work to my brain, even if I’m just scrolling to kill time. I prioritize doing stuff for self-care that makes it hard to use my phone, like taking baths or rock climbing or cooking. I wish I had a schedule of when I hunker down to do something for myself but it’s often when I’ve reached a point where I am losing it and need to do something grounding to feel human again.
How do you make time for it as a performer, especially when you’re on the road?
Two big forms of self-care for me on the road are taking baths when I can and showering daily, it’s like the only time I feel like I get to be consistently alone. I also really love the ritual of putting my makeup on before the show. I like to make sure I have time to pull a look together, its another one of those things that requires focus and a lil zen moment, liquid eyeliner is no joke!! You can’t be distracted or looking at your phone while you apply it I’ll tell you that.
What advice would you give someone who is looking to start a self-care practice? Why is it important, and how do they find something that works for them? What advice would you give a musician specifically, as far as starting a self-care routine and sticking to it?
I feel like I would just say to find the thing that feels good to you and make it a part of the routine. It doesn't have to be something like face masks or taking baths, it just has to be something that you do for YOU. It’s worth committing to yourself, to promising you’re going to be the one to make time for whatever it is that brings you peace. It can be whatever you need it to be.
In addition to self-care, what other ways do you try and prioritize your mental health?
A big thing I’ve been trying to do it set boundaries between work and non work activities. A lot of what we do when we’re not on tour is centered around emails and social media and it’s really easy to never log off. This makes me feel so burnt out and then I feel like I can’t keep up with everything. I’ve been trying to set times where I’m logged in and times where I’m not so I can give my all to both work and non work stuff instead of feeling spread thin between both. This has been helping my mental health a lot!
What’s one way that you really try and relax? Walk us through a Diet Cig wind down?
Lately, I’ve been making a huge, elaborate meal to wind down. It should be stressful but somehow it isn’t? So I’ll put down my phone, scooch into the kitchen, and examine what I’ve got in my fridge and pantry. I won’t use a recipe, I find it soothing to just riff with familiar ingredients and flavors. I’ll put on a playlist, turn my brain off, and just focus on chopping the ingredients, using my senses to know when things are ready. Using all 5 senses to come up with a great meal is very grounding and makes me feel super present and alive. I’ll sit down at the table, eat my meal, and then crawl into bed to read a book-- sometimes I like reading technical nonfiction stuff like recipes and climbing guides to wind down, the lack of narrative and plot allows my brain to just slip into autopilot, absorbing new things I can store away for next time. If I’m lucky I’ll get so into it I’ll forget to look at my phone for a while. That’s the ideal.