The Therapy Hangover: Why You Might Feel Worse Before You Feel Better
“Through mud and murky water, I bloom.”
The lotus flower doesn’t grow in clear water. It begins in mud and darkness, pushing slowly upward through murky water before it ever reaches the surface. Only after that effort does it meet the light and begin to bloom.
Emotional growth often works the same way. After a meaningful therapy session, things can feel heavier before they feel clearer. That in-between space isn’t typically a sign something is wrong. It’s often part of the process of rising toward insight, relief, and change.
If you’ve ever left a therapy session feeling emotionally drained, foggy, tender, or unusually tired, you’re not alone. Many people are surprised to find that therapy– something meant to help– can sometimes leave them feeling off afterward. This experience is often referred to as a therapy hangover, and while it can feel unsettling, it’s usually a normal and meaningful part of the therapeutic process.
What is a Therapy Hangover?
A therapy hangover is the emotional and physical after-effect that can follow a session where deeper work takes place. You might notice:
Emotional sensitivity or tearfulness
Fatigue or heaviness in your body
Mental fog or difficulty concentrating
A desire to withdraw or be quiet
Heightened emotions that linger for hours–or even a day or two
These reactions aren’t a sign that therapy isn’t working. In many cases, they signal the opposite.
Why Therapy Can Feel Hard After a Session
Therapy often involves more than talking about surface-level stress. It can include gently examining long-held beliefs about yourself, revisiting experiences you’ve learned to avoid, or noticing patterns that once kept you safe but may not longer serve you.
When those beliefs or patterns are challenged, your system has to recalibrate. New insights– even helpful ones– can feel disorienting at first. Add emotional release or vulnerability to the mix, and it’s understandable that your mind and nervous system might feel temporarily overwhelmed.
This integration process takes energy. Feeling tired or emotionally tender afterward is often your body’s way of saying something important just happened.
Is a Therapy Hangover a Sign of Progress?
Often, yes. While therapy shouldn’t leave you feeling consistently dysregulated or flooded, occasional post-session discomfort can indicate that meaningful work is taking place. Growth doesn’t always feel good in the moment–especially when it involves letting go of familiar ways of coping or seeing yourself in a new light.
That said, therapy is not meant to push you beyond your capacity. If post-session overwhelm happens frequently or feels unmanageable, it’s important to talk about it so sessions can be paced in a way that feels supportive and sustainable.
How to Care for Yourself After Therapy Sessions
Gentle self-care after a session can help your system settle and integrate what came up. This doesn’t need to be elaborate or performative–simple, familiar comforts often work best.
Helpful options may include:
Drinking water and eating a regular meal or snack to support your body.
Moving slowly afterward, such as taking a short walk or doing light stretching
Journaling or sitting quietly to let thoughts settle, without pressure to analyze them
Keeping the rest of the day emotionally lighter when possible
Resting, napping, or going to bed earlier if you feel depleted
Think of this time as allowing things to land, rather than trying to immediately “make sense” of everything.
When to Bring it into the Next Session
If you notice a therapy hangover that feels intense, lasts several days, or starts to feel discouraging, that’s important information to share. Therapy is collaborative, and your experience between sessions matters. Together, you and your therapist can adjust pacing, focus on grounding, or spend more time stabilizing before diving deeper.
A Gentle Reminder
Feeling tender after therapy doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It often means you’re listening more closely, loosening old patterns, and making room for change. And like most meaningful growth, that process deserves patience, care, and compassion.
