How long does it take you to recuperate after a social event

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from physical exhaustion, only a day or two. From emotional exhaustion? A week. Minimum. Longer if it was unpleasent.

Matthew

It usually takes me a day or two to recuperate. Maybe 3-4 if I've had to spend a few days in a row really socializing a lot, since it's a lot more draining.

I don't know if anyone else is like this (and please tell me if you are or aren't), but it feels like I have a limited amount of energy to expend on or tolerance for the busy world around me as if it's in a well that I'm drawing from. Once it gets close to being empty, the more I don't feel like talking and I develop a headache and an upset stomach. If I overdraw from that well, which basically means I'm running on empty, then I feel like I need to get out NOW and run for the nearest spot that's quiet and alone, usually a restroom, so I can recuperate at least enough to get home. For me, various factors can affect how much is being drawn from the well: socializing, being in large groups, stressful situations, loud and chaotic places, etc.

The kicker is that the amount that's drawn always varies from day to day and I can never accurately predict how much a certain activity or event will take. I can tell when I'm running close to empty, but that's it. And usually it hits me all of a sudden right before I'm about to run on empty, rather than gradually, though a few times I was able to see it coming during the activity or event.

Is anyone else like this?

For me, if it is a day at school, I need an hour or two. After three intense days, I become largely antisocial for the next two or three.

To de-stress, I listen to music with headphones and read. This works best when I am by myself as I do so. If I don't have enough time for the music, snatching some reading time helps, but not as efficiently.

Depends sometimes a day sometimes a week sometimes a year

I take every Sunday off, and that seems to keep things in control.

Usually a good night's sleep is enough for me to recover.

About a day if it went OK. If it was a disaster, it can be years without fully recuperating.

There might be a correlation between the longer you take off to recuperate, the harder it is to go back.

It depends.


TheSunAlsoRises

It depends what I'm doing and how long I'm doing it for. Also, how over-stimulated I get. I always need my alone time everyday though.

On average, a couple of days. If I burn out completely, it can be weeks, but that's mostly because things start to snowball and other stressors (messy apartment, disorganized schedule, irregular sleep pattern) start to compound the problem of the initial burnout.

Ideally, I'd socialize about once a week, but I'm being forced to do so more often than that right now.

It depends on the duration of the event itself. It's usually proportionate to the length of time I'm involved in the situation. If I'm in a conversation for a few minutes, it might take me a half-hour or so to recharge. If I've been at a family party or gathering for a few hours, it takes a few hours to recover. If I go out camping with family for a few days, it takes me several days after the event is over to fully recover. And of course, I usually have several hours of alone time every day. I'm usually on the computer or listening to music.

It depends what you mean by "recuperate". Physically, it doesn't take me any time at all, mentally, sometimes I never recover, especially if things went very badly. I still sit thinking about social events that went very badly for me a long time afterwards, for instance I went to visit some relatives I hadn't seen in about ten years, that was about three months ago now, and I still sit thinking about what someone meant by a comment they made, or if I said something offensive, or something like that, especially because I don't think it went too well, and I don't think they liked me much. I don't really get over these things, but maybe it's just me?