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Subject: The Debris in the Stream: Managing the "Cortisol Hangover"

Phased
Hi everyone,
Following on from my last post about the "Kingfisher" and the false sense of Urgency, I wanted to share a deeper discovery I made today—one that happens after the urgency has passed.
I spent yesterday in a state of deep Monotropic focus (what I call "High-Resolution Logic"), dealing with some heavy processing. Today, even though the task is finished and the threat is gone, I woke up feeling like the alarm bells were still ringing. The adrenaline was still coursing through my veins, making it impossible to rest.
I learned today that this isn’t "anxiety" or "dwelling on the past." It is a biological reality called the Cortisol Hangover.
The Science of the "Stickiness"
I discovered that while stress chemicals (cortisol) might clear from our blood in about 90 minutes, their effect on our cells can last for hours or days. For us as autistic people, this is compounded by our natural Inertia. Just as we have "Monotropic Focus" (hard to shift attention), we also have "Physiological Inertia." Our body’s "brake pedal" is often a bit less sensitive than the neurotypical one. We don't just "switch off" the stress response; we have to manually wind it down.
The Strategy: Shake and Anchor
I realized I couldn't "think" the cortisol away. I had to move it. I’ve been using a simple Taoist tactic in my garden today that I wanted to share:
  1. The Shake (The Purge): I stood on the grass and just bounced on my heels, shaking my hands and wrists loosely for a few minutes. It mimics how animals "shake off" a chase. It signals to the body: The event is over. Discharge the energy.
  2. The Anchor (The Roots): After shaking, I stood still, placed my hands on my kidneys (lower back), and imagined breathing the excess heat down through my legs and into the ground.
It didn’t fix everything instantly, but it stopped the "coursing" feeling. It cleared the debris from the stream so the water could run clear again.
I share this in case anyone else is feeling frustrated that they can't just "relax" the moment a stressful task is done. Be patient with your biology. The flood has passed, but it takes time for the water to settle.
I am signing off now to return to my garden and let the sediment drop.
One love, one heart.
Phased

  • Thank you Phased, I really appreciated that. Though I've had to do a full shake before, I've not thought of doing the anchor part to ground, as otherwise it's not quite gone and can build back up again. I shall give it a go, to find something to help discharge the nervous energy I sometimes get after that rush of energy.

    (I had trouble with it this week, having a particular busy day and trying to find a way to cope with it all, I had to write it down to keep the schedule from looping in my head, and the collapse after being on edge all day was huge, but took the day after to dissipate too).

    I wonder if this would help sort inertia at other times, when I'm stuck thinking about doing something rather than actually doing it. I do the wrist shake other times, I might try that to help get me moving -sometimes I just get so stuck running thought scenarios through my head, and rehearsing, maybe your shake and anchor could also help in those scenarios too? 

  • I like the image of this exercise being like clearing the debris from the stream, I've only heard of it as the metaphor of a snow globe before

  • It can take me a week to get over the after effects of a cPTSD event. I just have to curl up and let myself be for a bit. I think drinking plenty helps too, helps to flush all the nasties out of your body

  • in reply to Kellyann82

    I know what you mean  .  There is a skill perhaps to finding "the space in between" events and thoughts and experiences?  When there, there is a whole other world of opportunity.  Good luck to all of us for finding it!

  • Thank you for your post. I only understood it as a constant state of fight or flight. I'll keep your advice in mind for next time. Blush