POST THERAPY SELF-CARE
Guess what? Your therapist goes to therapy. I’ve recently started going to therapy again and I’ve started experiencing a familiar feeling that I hadn’t in a while. The post therapy hangover. What is that you ask? Well let’s talk about it.
After a therapy session, clients sometimes will report feeling exhausted afterwards.
This is a stark contrast to what people expect to feel after therapy. I’ll even have clients coming back to me saying, “I thought I was supposed to feel great after therapy, I feel like crap!”.
People will report feeling physically exhausted, emotionally depleted, needing space from others, it can vary depending on the person and the type of sessions that they had. When you think about it thought, this does make sense since therapy tends to bring up a lot of intense emotions and memories that we generally try very hard to avoid or push away.
Needing some recovery time after a difficult therapy session makes sense. I have started to create a bit of a routine for myself after therapy, and it is something I also recommend to my clients, especially after particularly tough sessions.
Here are some post-therapy self-care tips:
Grounding Exercise: Take a moment to engage your senses by mentally noting 5 things you see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things your can smell, and one thing you can taste. This can help to bring down the intensity of your thoughts and feelings when you are feeling really overwhelmed.
Journaling: take 15 minutes after your therapy session to write down what is coming up for you. Don’t worry about if it makes sense or not to others, this is just for you and a way to reflect on what came up for you during session. Writing things down can also be grounding and help you to connect back to the present moment.
Movement: Strong emotions can leave us feeling physically tense so getting some movement in can help to release that physical and emotional energy. It doesn’t need to be anything strenuous either. Some gentle stretching and simple yoga poses can help us to connect back to our bodies, or even going for a mindful walk.
Take a break: Make sure you don’t have an appointment or a commitment scheduled right after your therapy session. Schedule in some time to decompress, even just 30 minutes for yourself can be a meaningful amount of time to re-centre.
Treat yourself: Prepare a post-therapy treat for yourself prior to starting your session. It could be your favorite chocolate, tea, or even a small meal. Engage with your food mindfully and really savor the experience.
Laughter: After an emotionally challenging session, inviting in humor to lighten things up for yourself can help you to transition back into your day. Sometimes that means cracking jokes with a family member or friend, or watching a show or film that you know will get a laugh or two out of you.
