Do You Experience "Day After" Effects?

[SweetpinNH]

I came home yesterday after spending a week visiting my parents who live 1,500 miles away. It was the first time I have visited them since my dad went into a nursing home two years ago. It was also the first time I've visited my family since diagnosed with PTSD.

My PTSD was not caused by anyone in my family, but I was still anxious about seeing them as many of them did not know what I have been going through the last few months. When I arrived on Monday I was having an anxiety attack that lasted from late afternoon until I went to bed that night. The rest of the week I was OK although I was tense and not as relaxed as I should have been.

When I have spent time with people (other than DH, DS and DIL), especially if the visit lasted longer than a few hours, the next day I feel exhausted, achy and have no energy. That is how I feel today despite sleeping for 10 hours last night.

Do you experience this "day after" effect? I assume it's my body's way of recuperating from the anxiety. It's a bummer to experience it because I have so much to do, but I can't seem to get out of bed to do any of it.

 

[Marlene]

The day after my anixety and whatever accompanying symptoms happen I feel like a rung out dishrag. Think of it this way...your muscles tighten up, your whole body is on alert, heartbeat and respiration are higher with anixety. And when you have it over an extended period of time, it's very draining on your energy reserves. And being in new situations brings on the anxiety. Nature of this particular beast.

Will it happen in new situations? Yes, it will. But as you keep going and making yourself get into new situations it will lessen. Learning to deal with your anixety (with breathing and grounding technicques) helps a lot.

Don't hold yourself back to try and keep your symptoms in check. Then you're just not living your life. You're just existing. It's tough, but worth it.

Lisa

 

[UmightKnowMe]

I definately have that. I usually sleep way late the day after therapy...and if I have to be out in public or something it just wipes me out. It takes so much to be 'out' and 'on' all day...so many things to pay attention to and be ready for. So many things that are unexpected. It takes a lot out of me. I think thats why I never really did good with a job...I couldnt work a full time week without having to call in sick.

 

[Leda]

Today is a "day after" for me. Yesterday I went to the dentist for the first time in years, and it really drained me. I addition to that, my eldest daugther called and said that she needed to come home to mum with her son because her apartement had been burgled and her husband is on a buisness trip.

Now my muscles are aching, and I feel like I´ve been running a marathon. And I know that the only thing I can do is to give my body the rest it requires. One thing my therapist has been trying to teach me, is to listen to what my body is trying to tell me.

:-) Anne

 

[nic]

I get VERY tired after a panic attack is finally over. Of course, it also may have something to do with the handful of Ativan I take during the height of the anxiety.

 

[moog]

Sounds like you react the same way I do. I am very sensitive to any stimulation both good and bad. I have after effects that can last for a couple of hours to weeks, depending on how long I was in the situation. It feels almost like a really bad hangover and sometimes mixed in with a whole body muscle ache, as if I was in a fight with multiple people all night.

It is all about learning your limits, educating those around you about what you are going through and being assertive to tell them when you have had enough. Good stimulation can be the harder one to judge because you feel good and don't notice the effects. Once you start to understand your limits both good and bad; it's easier to work your schedule around it. I'm still working on it and it's tough.

If you are seeing a therapist, ask them about it and they can help you with different ways of working through it.

:smile: Good luck and I hope this helped.

 

[SweetpinNH]

The toughest part of the week was I didn't have a chance to "unwind" and "turn off." I stayed at my mom's apartment which meant I had to be "on" all the time. Because my mom has enough of her own health issues I didn't want to tell her I needed some time alone.

I only took two Xanax the entire week. One on Monday night before I went to bed and one yesterday before I got on the plane to come home. I was afraid to take more because I didn't want to be too loopy and tired all week.

I'm glad I only stayed three full days. I don't think I could have handled another day.

 

[UmightKnowMe]

Boy do I know about THAT! The constant stress of being "on" all the time and not feeling comfortable asking for some 'me' time during visits home. I had to deal with that a few months ago and it was NOT easy lemme tell ya. I was SO relieved when it was time to come back to MY home. And it wasn't that anything bad happened or I was triggered or anything like that...it was like you said...just too much, too long. It takes too much effort. Welcome home eh? :)

 

[2quilt]

I feel that same way. In two week I have to spend a few days with my inlaws, who dislike me, before we fly to Turkey for a vacation, then we stop in again with my inlaws after Turkey before we fly back home to the southwest US. The stress of the strained relationship with the inlaws has already got me not sleeping, crying, depressed, and I know that I will be rung out like hell even before I get the east coast. I understand exactly how you feel.

I will not be alone with my husband at his folks' house unless we are asleep. And whenever the inlaws visit us here, I have to make up excuses to get alone time by myself so I can calm myself down.

I even made up a lie about how a friend wanted me to come over and spend the night at her house to care for her dying cat. The inlaws bought it, hook line and sinker. I guess they needed a break from me too, so we didn't miss each other one bit.

This vacation will require a vacation (for me) but my FIL dearly loves his son.

I am told by doctors to manage my stress better if I want to live longer. I have no idea how to manage it, lessen it, control it. I feel that I have no control over my stress; it is automatic, like breathing for me: how the hell am I supposed to stop breathing just by deciding to do so?

What can we do about this?

 

[ladybug08]

I am worn out when I use...noticed use to sleep over my parents. The last time I spent the night, I was so hypervilegent that my sleep suffered, and I was totally drained for days afterwards. Now, I do not sleep over my parents house... at all. I have limited contact with them too. I feel so much better.

When I am stressed, I am very drained, I do not sleep well at all, but I am working on that at this moment.

 

[SweetpinNH]

And it wasn't that anything bad happened or I was triggered or anything like that...it was like you said...just too much, too long. It takes too much effort. Welcome home eh? :)

That's exactly how I feel about this past trip. Nothing bad happened. I had a great time seeing my mom and dad. But I was over stimulated the entire trip. I loved coming home on Friday night.

2quilt, I don't have the answer on reducing stress. My approach is to understand what may stress me out and try to enter the situation with an open mind.

ladybug08, I was hypervigilant when sleeping. I didn't sleep well and that's probably why I slept for 10 hours on Friday night and was lethargic yesterday. Today I'm feeling much better. Although it's raining and I have to go to the grocery store.

 

[katapuss]

yes I definitely need recoup time. I get so tired and feel like I have no energy. I also get tension in my heart area which takes time to go.