How long does it take for someone who has been scared to recover

People who are scared usually need several minutes to several hours to recover, and the actual time is influenced by various factors such as the degree of fright, personal psychological qualities, environmental support, past experiences, and coping styles.

1. Scare level

Mild fright, such as sudden sounds or brief visual stimuli, usually subsides on its own within a few minutes. At this time, the sympathetic nervous system in the human body is less excited, with only physiological reactions such as increased heart rate and brief muscle tension. These can be relieved by deep breathing or shifting attention. If encountering major traumatic events such as car accidents, violent attacks, etc., the recovery period may be extended to several weeks or even longer, and such fright is often accompanied by sustained increased alertness and flashback symptoms.

2. Personal Psychological Quality

Individuals with high psychological resilience tend to recover relatively quickly and typically possess good emotional regulation and cognitive restructuring abilities. Children and individuals with neurotic personality traits have a longer recovery time. The former have weaker emotional regulation abilities due to underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, while the latter are prone to overinterpreting stimuli. Long term mindfulness training can accelerate recovery by rapidly activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

3. Environmental Support

Immediate emotional support from family and friends can shorten recovery time, while physical contact such as hugs and soothing can promote oxytocin secretion. When in a secure environment, the brain's limbic system threat assessment will be more quickly deactivated. On the contrary, continuous exposure to stressors can significantly prolong the recovery period, for example, victims of workplace bullying may experience chronic stress reactions if they do not leave their original environment.

4. Previous experiences

Those who have similar startle experiences and successfully cope with them recover faster, and the brain will invoke past effective coping patterns for regulation. People who lack sufficient psychological security during childhood often recover slowly and develop overly sensitive threat monitoring systems. When patients with post-traumatic stress disorder experience new fright, the recovery period may be several times longer than that of the general population.

5. Coping Strategies

Professional methods such as grounding techniques and progressive muscle relaxation can accelerate recovery, which can directly affect the autonomic nervous system. Negative coping strategies such as excessive alcohol use or avoidance behavior can prolong the recovery process and may evolve into maladaptive coping patterns. Timely cognitive reassessment, such as attributing events to uncontrollable accidents, can lead to faster recovery than those who repeatedly blame themselves.

It is recommended to immediately transfer to a safe environment after being startled, regulate the balance of the autonomic nervous system through abdominal breathing, and drink warm water to help alleviate the feeling of tightness in the throat. During the recovery period, avoid contact with stimulating information and engage in mild aerobic exercise to promote endorphin secretion. If physical symptoms such as palpitations and insomnia persist for more than 24 hours, or if persistent avoidance behavior occurs, it is recommended to seek professional psychological support. Parents should be aware that their children may exhibit degenerative behavior after being frightened, and can use game therapy to help with emotional expression. Long term unresolved stress reactions should consider the possibility of post-traumatic stress disorder and, if necessary, undergo systematic psychological assessment.