What is the meaning of the Tuesday dip?

You have probably heard of the term ‘the Tuesday dip’. But what exactly is the meaning of the Tuesday dip? After you have been to a festival, party, or rave and you have used the drug XTC there, it is very common and recognizable that in the days after you feel nauseous, depressed, irritated, unfocused, and empty inside. For example, if you have to go to school or work, you really dread it. But why do most people suffer from the dip on Tuesday?

Why do I feel so rough after a festival, party, or rave?

When you have used the substance MDMA that is contained in an XTC pill, you get a huge serotonin boost at that moment. You feel happy, cheerful, energetic, and you feel like moving or dancing. Your serotonin system is also called your happiness hormone. It is of course not strange that your serotonin system needs to recover after an amazing weekend, because you literally have depleted your happiness hormone. This can lead to a depressed feeling that can sometimes last for weeks, this varies per person. After the substance MDMA has worn off in your body, complaints such as irritations, difficulty concentrating, nausea, lack of energy, and other negative side effects can occur. Your body is therefore sending you signals that you have a serotonin deficiency. This requires time and rest to fully recover.

Are you now curious why the dip got the name 'Tuesday dip' and what makes a Tuesday dip worse? Then read our blog where we explain everything, really everything, you need to know about the Tuesday dip: 'what is a Tuesday dip or XTC dip?'

Why does the dip usually only come on a Tuesday?

There is still no clear explanation for the Tuesday dip, but there are suspicions why this hits most people so hard on a Tuesday, says the Trimbos Institute. Your brain wants to replenish your serotonin system as quickly as possible, but the brain must know that there is literally a deficiency. The nerve cells that have to transmit these signals are probably overfatigued due to the use of MDMA. This means that your serotonin deficiency is only discovered by the brain a few days later. Your body is always looking for balance, as is your brain. When you have an abundance of serotonin, your brain tries to balance this by turning off some nerve cells. Hence, the remaining nerve cells (which have to transmit signals of a serotonin deficiency) become overfatigued.

Another explanation for the Tuesday dip is the lack of dopamine in the brain after using, for example, XTC. It could be that your body only realizes that you have a serotonin deficiency after the amount of dopamine has been replenished. Replenishing dopamine can take a few days, on average two. This could be a reason why you can feel the real dip on Tuesday when you have had a festival, rave, or party on Saturday. Of course, it varies per person. One of my friends suffers a lot the day after a party, and another on Monday or Tuesday. I am curious about your experience! You can let us know by leaving a message under the blog.

For these two theories, no real evidence has yet been found. The Trimbos Institute bases the explanations mainly on the many studies done on drugs, combined with logical reasoning.