Post-event processing refers to how you might rehash social situations after the fact.
Here’s how to handle it, per psychologists.
Your Low-Stress Guide to Leveling-Up Your Bedtime Routine
Are You Burnt Out or Depressed?
What will we talk about?
Will I say something awkward… or, will someone else?
These situations tend to elevate our expectations of ourselves, such that we can rarely meet them.
clinical psychologist and co-founder of Waterloo CBT Clinic
What tends to trigger post-event processing?
In short, any social setting can lead to post-event processing.
Studies have shownthat it occurs after both interactions like conversations and performance tasks like speeches, says Dr. Gavric.
Enter: first dates, job interviews, work presentations, meeting your partners parents, and the like.
These are situations where your social role is essentially on the line, he says.
The stakes are higher because these events are infrequent, and theres importance to the relationships remaining intact.
What are the potential consequences of overanalyzing a social situation after the fact?
7 pointers for keeping post-event processing at bay, according to psychologists
1.
But, singular interactions dont usually have this kind of weight, he says.
clinical psychologist and co-founder of Waterloo CBT Clinic
Instead of thinking, What mistakes did I make?
or Whats wrong with me?
or What are all the negative consequences of this?
youre exploring the situation almost like a third party.
As in, Huh, that was interesting.
Im surprised that it went that way.
And I wonder what might have led to that, he says.
The idea is that youre entering a more reflective mode, rather than an evaluative one.
And this kind of self-reflection can spare you from the harmful thought spiral thats typical ofclassic rumination.
Sharing these social experiences with others is what allows for and creates shared humanity.
…
Got it, you’ve been added to our email list.
