this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
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I should be asleep but can't due to being in a high adrenaline situation (escalated roadrage, not fighting) couple hours ago. Was my first time in such situation so any tips for dealing with high adrenaline situations afterwards?

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[–] WhiteRice 66 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Believe it or not, Tetris. It’s an excellent distraction and supposedly lessens trauma.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tetris-shown-to-lessen-ptsd-and-flashbacks/

[–] hitwright 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Working out and cardio helps. Quadratic breathing also might help continuing (4 s breathing in, 4 s hold, 4 s breathing out, 4 s hold)

Edit: read again, it sounds like a high stress situation more than adrenaline. Accept the fact that you probably will have a bad night tonight. Don't force yourself to sleep for longer than an hour. Play video games. Enjoy some tea (or something stronger). If the internal voices seem to not stop you can try to leave the subject by talking as slow as you can.

It's natural for the brain to overanalyze what has happened. Allow it to accept it, it can take a while.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Quadratic breathing

This is what I do, works well for me.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Off topic but your profile pic cracked me up.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

lol, Thanks, seemed like a nice and easy joke.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

When remembering a stressful experience it's important not to get stuck in your thoughts.

Most people would be a bit shocked after what you've been through. Our brains tend to try to go over things a few times to get a grasp at what happened. Sometimes our thoughts become a movie of the stressful incident that plays on repeat in our thoughts. Try to think further. Remember how you got out of the situation, remember how you got home, remember how you had dinner, remember how you got to bed. And remember: You're okay, you're alright, this is all behind you, you did alright, and right now you're safe and fine.

Try to explicitly think this a few times. At the very least, this is a much more pleasant thought to get stuck on than "fuck, I'm in danger".

And if it helps: Either distract yourself or tell someone what happened. Both are okay. Just don't stop at the scary part when telling the tale, always think and tell about it to the point where you were safe again.

[–] Boozilla 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Box breathing can help. Inhale slowly for four seconds. Hold for four seconds. Exhale slowly for four seconds. Hold for four seconds. Repeat the cycle a few times.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Interestingly, I really did take this to heart after playing that game. I’ve modified it to 3 seconds for myself, but when I’ve been extra anxious and/or feeling a panic attack coming it’s helped tremendously.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

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Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I had similar situations alot back in my cashier time. I learned that i easily get into hypoglycemia after these. So eating something that fixes the sugar in your blood might help.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Do you know if it means anything if I get hypoglycemia often?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I am no doctor. But in my experience, healthy eating with much fibers helps with that. Anything with much sugar or much carbs like soft drinks or white bread make it worse. Its a really compex topic, so if you have problems with it go either to a doctor or google and Experiment by yourself, but watch out for potential scams like food supplements.

Good luck

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Once I've gotten myself out of the immediate situation I tend to sit down and shake for a while. My system always wants to do that when coming down off an adrenaline surge. After that I think through what happened and come to terms with it as best I can. Finally, I find a friend to talk with, get it out of my system, and move on to other things that are more interesting to talk about. If no one is available, I engage in some activity that I find relaxing (reading, watching a movie, walking in the woods, etc.).

[–] utopianfiat 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Drink a ton of water and try not to eat too much. You're metabolizing it and clearing metanephrine, that's how you feel better.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Music usually helps.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Physical exercise. Run, lift weights, whatever. That's what the adrenaline was designed to make happen, so make it happen and the energy will be exerted appropriately.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

This works best for me as well. Put the adrenaline to work for you.

[–] fubo 7 points 1 year ago

That situation is over. Whatever they did to you, or threatened to do, or whatever you did to them, or threatened to do, it's not happening now. You're in your home and you're safe. The door is locked. Your music, books, food, whatever, are here. Do other things. You notice that you're still upset about something that is not actually happening now. It's actually okay to just distract yourself.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Adrenaline dumps can be pretty jarring.

Personally, I have a drink, vape or eat some CBD, take a shower or even a bath afterwards. I'm a fan of epsom salt baths because they seem to help with soreness and some come with nice smells too. Might seem a little girly to some but anybody who judges someone for taking a nice bath is someone who has an opinion I don't care about lol.

If you can go for a walk or a bike ride that might help too, but not everything works for everyone: You might need to figure out what works for you. Meditation can help as well, but sometimes you just need some time to process things. Might have some fucky dreams for a bit too.

P.S. Relying on alcohol is a bad idea and I'm not a role model, probably skip the drink.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Does the alcohol do anything for you that the CBD does not?

[–] FartsWithAnAccent 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, gets me buzzed lol

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I tend to talk about it with my family or friends. Let the anger out, and feel understood. If its too much anger for just talking, I recommend physical activities, something to get you exhausted.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Two ways to deal with adrenaline: slowing its release and blocking its binding.

You can block its binding using drugs like propranolol, which is a beta blocker.

You can slow its release by sitting still, in a comfortable place, breathing in such a way that your exhalation is longer than your inhalation. Ideally, you make the exhalation as long as you possibly can. Keep that up for 10 minutes.

There are tons of other methods of lowering your physiological arousal:

  • Drink some warm milk
  • Stretch
  • Meditate
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

This might sound weird but a bowl of milk and sliced banana always calms me down and makes me sleepy

[–] Saraphim 4 points 1 year ago

I usually puke and then go to sleep for 4-6 hours. I’m sure this is not healthy, but you asked how I do compel not how I should. These other responses about Tetris and healthy coping mechanisms are much better than what I do.

[–] Jumper775 2 points 1 year ago

Blunt trauma

[–] ace_garp 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Free Mindfulness Project has many guided meditations which are free to use under Creative Commons.

Around 3-10mins each, recommended to lie down with headphones.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Same here. Waking up changed my life.

[–] Ya_Boy_Skinny_Penis 1 points 1 year ago

Mastebate.

Seriously, just masterbate.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Use the nervous energy to do something useful, or barring that take a walk, but if that’s likely to up my adrenaline even more, then I shower

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago

Drink. If its severe, drink more. I'm not saying this is a good idea, it's just what I personally do.