With football season just beginning to start, the fear of football ending soon is in the back of every fan’s mind. However, what happens when the clock hits 00:00 and the final play of the Super Bowl is over? Post football depression.
According to psychiatrist Dr. Angelos Halaris of Loyola University Medical Center, “when a person engages in pleasurable activity, such as watching a football game, a neurotransmitter called dopamine is released in a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens.”
So what this means is when football season ends for hard-core fans, the feeling becomes similar to post-holiday blues for holiday lovers. Halaris also describes it as when a smoker feels deprived of a cigarette after quitting. However, unlike people who smoke, there is no quick fix. Because of the lack of a quick fix, Halaris offers tips to help fans cope for the remainder of the year:
- Watch football, whether it be recordings or on YouTube, to avoid going cold turkey.
- Talk to a friend about how you’re are feeling because of the withdrawal.
- Do not self medicate with drugs or alcohol because the symptoms are not serious enough.
- The most important tip Halaris offers is to buck up. She says, “You’re just going to have to basically tough it out until football starts up again.”
So while the season has only begun, fans and players can start preparing now to avoid looking like this guy.
And while some people may not be sports fans, this can pertain to all different forms of entertainment. From post concert depression to when your favorite tv show airs for the, follow the steps Halaris offers to keep yourself from feeling the blues.
Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140130141225.htm