Let's talk about Emotional Hangovers..

If you've had one, you'll know what I mean. Maybe you didn't have the words to describe it, but you know how it feels. After big events, milestones, accomplishments etc, when your emotions have been running high, whether you have felt happy or sad, there is frequently a crash afterwards. You wake up the day after everything has come to its' conclusion and you feel like you've been run over by a truck. You are exhausted, your eyes feel swollen, your joints are sore and you have a headache. Now if you had too many cocktails the night before, this may be an alcohol induced hangover, but if not, then you my friend are suffering from an Emotional Hangover.

This past week was the last week of school for my kids, and it was basically a week full of parties, celebrations and awards. This was our family's last week at this school forever, since they are both attending a brand new school in the Fall. Given that our six years there have been very full and that I have been extremely active in many areas of volunteer efforts there, we were closing an important and meaningful chapter in our lives. I was excited because it was supposed to be an easy week of fun and I didn't have any responsibilities other than baking some treats for parties.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the cakewalk I was expecting.
Several wonderful parents and staff were contacting me because there were some unexpected staffing changes that were throwing people for a loop and we were trying to figure out how we could help.  In addition, I received a really unpleasant email from someone bringing up past issues for our family that had long since been resolved. All of that sucked. Trying to keep my cool and not overreact emotionally was NOT EASY. Having all of this going down while processing the end of our time at our beloved school and deal with the emotions of having my babies embarking on a new chapter in their lives was exhausting. It really was a roller coaster: happy, sad, defeated, angry, excited, really freaking pissed, proud, exhilarated, liberated. Perfect storm for an emotional hangover.

I woke up Saturday morning and felt like someone had beat me in my sleep. It has taken me a couple of days to stabilize my emotions and even today I'm still really exhausted. But from experience I know that this too shall pass. I've had to experience and honor each emotion as it came and try to learn from it. Our bodies and minds, physical and emotional states are intertwined and part of our whole selves. You can't expect to feel something in one area and not feel it in another.

So the next time you find yourself suffering from an emotional hangover, know that you aren't alone. Go for a walk, read a good book, hydrate, rest. You'll eventually balance out and then you can really reflect on what life lessons came out of your experience.