An „emotional hangover“ describes a state of exhaustion after intense, emotional experiences or unexpected experiences. However, this phenomenon can be triggered in very different ways. Either by positive or also by negative experiences.
What is an „emotional hangover“? Meaning, explanation, definition
For example, it can happen that you feel „hungover“ after a day where a big, emotional event took place. Likewise, this phenomenon can also be caused after a happy wedding as well as after a painful breakup. This means that the maximum emotional capacity was exhausted the day before. It is quite insignificant whether these are emotions of joy, anger or sadness. Accordingly, it can happen that one feels tired and battered the day after the experience.
The phenomenon of emotional hangover can also occur after a vacation with your partner or family, because on the previous days you were not alone and permanently experienced new and exciting things. The difference from the classic hangover lies solely in the cause, although the symptoms are quite similar. Symptoms such as rapid irritability, fatigue and difficulty concentrating can occur. But also physical phenomena, such as abdominal pain or headache can be triggered by it. It also varies how pronounced the emotional hangover is or how long it lasts. People who are more introverted suffer more often from the „emotional hangover“.
So if you wake up in the morning with half-wet, reddened and half-crusted eyes and alcohol consumption the day before can be ruled out, you are suffering from an „Emotional Hangover“. The sobriety of life alone has caused this phenomenon.
Symptoms and causes of the „emotional hangover“
An „Emotional Hangover“ is spoken of when one wakes up in the morning after an emotionally upsetting day and has symptoms similar to those after a night of drinking. Symptoms such as headaches or muscle aches may then occur. In addition, it is also not impossible that the usual accompanying symptoms such as irritability, exhaustion or nausea may occur. However, the „emotional hangover“ does not primarily affect the body.
Being emotionally hungover means a reaction of the body to the human-usual sin of the previous day. It was just too much. In everyday life, we go through many states of mind characterized by negative and positive emotions. Our „I“ permanently withstands these „waves“. However, if we are hit by too big a wave of emotions, it can take a day for the body to pick itself up again emotionally.
There are various reasons for an emotional hangover. For example, a relationship ending brings many negative emotions such as sadness, grief or even anger. No matter who initiated these emotions, they can be traumatic for the body and leave an emotional hangover as a result. Beautiful events such as birthdays or weddings, where many people come together at once, can be emotionally draining on the body and leave it tired the next day. Likewise, the death of a loved one can lead to an emotional hangover. This is due to the poignant and debilitating emotions that accompany the loss of someone. Bad news about a loved one or even about oneself can also be both frightening and overwhelming. That’s why bad news can also lead to an emotional hangover.
How can you prevent an „emotional hangover“?
If you know about yourself that you often feel bad the next day after emotional events, it makes sense to create your own „safe space.“ This means that it makes sense to have a place to retreat to when the emotions of the world just get to be too much. This „safe space“ can be either your favorite chair, the bench in the park, or a specific room.
However, you can also agree on some sort of code with your closest friends to prevent the emotional hangover. For example, in the course of the evening of a big party, you can disappear for a few minutes or leave early. Only your circle of friends will then know that you left early because you don’t want to be groggy the next morning and not because you didn’t have fun.
Also, a helpful tip can be to write everything down to better deal with these feelings. You can write down the emotions that accompanied you the day before and what triggered them. Once you see what you wrote down on a piece of paper, it is much easier to distance yourself from it. For the next time, you then know exactly which activities caused the emotional hangover.