Millions of football fans will experience withdrawal symptoms now that the Super Bowl and football season is over. When an individual experiences pleasurable activity, such as watching a football game, dopamine is released in the nucleus accumbens region of the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (brain chemical) related to the brain’s pleasure centers.
However, the individual is left feeling deprived once the pleasurable activity ends. This feeling of depravation is similar to what a smoker feels when deprived of a cigarette. However, unlike cigarettes, there is not a quick fix for the football fan.
Dr. Angelos Halaris, psychiatrist at Loyola University Health system, and a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and medical director of Adult Psychiatry at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, said:
“When the football season is over and there’s no other game on the schedule for months, you’re stuck, so you go through withdrawal. For hardcore fans, the feeling can be similar to post-holiday blues.”
Halaris offers tips on how to deal with football withdrawal symptoms:
- Talk to your friend or spouse about your feelings of withdrawal and letdown.
- Watch football on recordings or YouTube, in gradually diminishing amounts.
- Do not self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, although the experience can be unpleasant, withdrawal from football is not serious enough to require antidepressants or other medications.
- “You’re just going to have to basically tough it out until football starts up again,” explained Halaris.
Written by Grace Rattue