Curing an Emotional Hangover: What Happens When the Big Event is Done

A few days ago you crushed your PR. You wore that medal proudly all day around town. You didn’t even mind the ache of your calves as you devoured the best burger you’d ever tasted.

The high of the event.

So why, a few days later are you foggy headed, can’t quite focus and even your stomach feels a little bit off…did someone spike your electrolytes?!

Turns out it may be the little talked about emotional hangover.

Big events from vacations to weddings to marathons cause a spike in adrenaline and other feel good hormones, heighten emotions, involve a few too many “unclean foods”, tons of time around others…then they end and we’re left to come down off the stimulation high.

After a weekend of feeling lit up like a Las Vegas casino, normal can feel like the power chord is unplugged.

Normal is kind of wonderful in my book. I love being at home with David. I love running in my neighborhood, sleeping in my bed, eating my food…still it takes a minute to reboot.

EVENT RECOVERY PLAN

Whether it’s a big race, wedding, long awaited vacation, new baby or other momentous moment, emotional hangovers happen to nearly everyone, here’s what you can do about it.

1. AM Food Routine
Starting my day with a high protein, veggie packed meal ensures I end up eating well all day. My sugar intake is lower stabilizing mood swings and it’s easier to eat only to satisfy hunger. After big events, your normal routine is broken and starting the day with a cookie {my own childhood habit} or a muffin on the go, becomes too easy…which leads to more sugar, mood spikes, etc.

2. Just Breathe
Don’t let the idea of meditation stress you out, just think of it has taking a few moments any time during the day to breathe. Meditation is a powerful centering tool for me when practiced consistently. During travel and events, my schedule often pushes this to the side or that’s my excuse, but really it only takes 4 minutes to do one of Bex’s great series. {Tips for beginning mediation.}

3. Stop over correcting
I now recognize when feeling off center, my list making brain shifts into overdrive with ideas for what to change, instead of simply pausing and recognizing my body needs a moment to settle back in to a rhythm. Rather than trying to change my life {which is pretty dang great}, post event I’ll focus on the small daily tasks and feel a sense of accomplishment at getting things done.

Feeling down after a big event? It's not just you! Recover from an emotional hangover Share on X

4. Jam Out
Turning on the radio sounds so simple, but whoooosh…the emotional release. For years, I belted out tunes in my own private Chrysler studio on the way to work, but now I work from home forgetting to ever turn it on. Podcasts are my go to for running because I love that they make me think…now post event, I’ll focus on the music. Allowing it to stir up memories…or inspire a dance party {no heels required} in the living room.

5. Get Bendy
Recently I’ve noticed the strangest thing happens each time I do yoga…I find myself repeating over and over “thank you”.  Maybe it’s because my mind is ready to slow down by the time I retreat to yoga, but this is different than what I feel when running. Running turns on my creative juices, gets me fired up and allows me to solve life. Sometimes you don’t need to solve it, as much as you just need to be.

Running is clearly my go to every day love my life activity {nope not a sentence} because it makes me joyful in ways that are hard to express…but now I’m finding a new way of getting centered thanks to some great yogi’s.

PRE-EVENT PREPARATION

After years of frequent travel, I’ve found a few key things done in advance help with returning to calm atmosphere rather than the “uggh I never should have left”. Don’t let your post race high (or perhaps low) throw you for a loop and dive bomb your mojo.

Try putting these tips in to action and let’s be honest, sometimes just knowing it’s coming is powerful!

• Plan ahead – Do as much work as possible in advance for the week of return. It’s bad enough you may not feel like working, but being overwhelmed usually just means getting behind.
• Extra day off – Planning for a day off upon return allows time for catching up on all those to do’s like meal prepping, laundry, email without a deadline pressure. – Some people may find the opposite to work! Jumping right back in immediately means no extra time needed to psych yourself up.
• Use the energy – Feed off the great energy from the event! Instead of coming home overwhelmed with ideas or things to do, ride the emotional high to get even more done with a smile.
• Relaxation Kit – Have a relaxation tool kit. Yup, your epsom salt bath, a go to massage person, a good book. Sometimes the transition back to daily life is rough because we go from total relaxation to GOOOOO. Build in a little slowness for the next week and us it to savor the memories.
• Next Goal – When it comes to runners, we love having a goal. So if your post race malaise continues, it might be time to set your sights on a new goal!

Now I see that this feeling is probably a lot of what caused my recent  analysis paralysis situation and apparently I need to find a 10 step process as fool-proof as my post marathon plan.

When was your last emotional hangover?

What did you do to feel better?

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