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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
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  • 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? 

  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing
    Hi Cinnabar_wing (and everyone),
    You have hit the nail on the head with that question about using movement to "start" rather than just "finish."
    I was actually sitting here this morning, staring at a piece of work I knew I needed to do (some heavy analysis of my past), and I physically couldn't start. I wasn't tired; I was Stuck. I was doing exactly what you described—"running thought scenarios through my head and rehearsing."
    I realised that my "Inertia" wasn't a lack of energy. It was a Log Jam. The stream was flowing so fast with worries and "what-ifs" that the logs had piled up and blocked the flow. I was "revving in neutral"—high anxiety, zero movement.
    I took the advice about movement, but instead of the "Shake," I clipped the leads on the dogs and went for a walk.
    The Result: It worked. The rhythm of walking and the focus on "grounding" my feet on the earth acted like a release valve. It pulled me out of the "Rehearsal Loop" in my head and back into my body. It broke the "Freeze" state just enough for me to come back, sit down, and finally start the task.
    So, to answer your question: Yes. I think physical movement works for the Start just as well as the Finish.
    • Post-Event: We move to shake off the dust so we can rest.
    • Pre-Event: We move to shake off the rust so we can begin.

    Thank you for the insight—it helped me understand what got me moving today.

    A Note on "The Spin":
    I also wanted to mention a second technique from my martial arts background, but with a caution.
    Sometimes, we get stuck because we are running too many perspectives (the "Spinning Top" effect). In that state, trying to "think about it differently" just makes us spin faster.
    If walking isn't possible, I sometimes use a "Physical Pivot" (turning my body or changing my seat to face a different wall).
    • The Logic: I don't try to think of a new angle. I just move my physical axis.
    • The Effect: It forces my inner ear to reset my balance. It interrupts the mental loop because the brain has to focus on the physical turn. It breaks the "Target Lock" on the worry, even if just for a second.
    Phased
Reply
  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing
    Hi Cinnabar_wing (and everyone),
    You have hit the nail on the head with that question about using movement to "start" rather than just "finish."
    I was actually sitting here this morning, staring at a piece of work I knew I needed to do (some heavy analysis of my past), and I physically couldn't start. I wasn't tired; I was Stuck. I was doing exactly what you described—"running thought scenarios through my head and rehearsing."
    I realised that my "Inertia" wasn't a lack of energy. It was a Log Jam. The stream was flowing so fast with worries and "what-ifs" that the logs had piled up and blocked the flow. I was "revving in neutral"—high anxiety, zero movement.
    I took the advice about movement, but instead of the "Shake," I clipped the leads on the dogs and went for a walk.
    The Result: It worked. The rhythm of walking and the focus on "grounding" my feet on the earth acted like a release valve. It pulled me out of the "Rehearsal Loop" in my head and back into my body. It broke the "Freeze" state just enough for me to come back, sit down, and finally start the task.
    So, to answer your question: Yes. I think physical movement works for the Start just as well as the Finish.
    • Post-Event: We move to shake off the dust so we can rest.
    • Pre-Event: We move to shake off the rust so we can begin.

    Thank you for the insight—it helped me understand what got me moving today.

    A Note on "The Spin":
    I also wanted to mention a second technique from my martial arts background, but with a caution.
    Sometimes, we get stuck because we are running too many perspectives (the "Spinning Top" effect). In that state, trying to "think about it differently" just makes us spin faster.
    If walking isn't possible, I sometimes use a "Physical Pivot" (turning my body or changing my seat to face a different wall).
    • The Logic: I don't try to think of a new angle. I just move my physical axis.
    • The Effect: It forces my inner ear to reset my balance. It interrupts the mental loop because the brain has to focus on the physical turn. It breaks the "Target Lock" on the worry, even if just for a second.
    Phased
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