Whether or not you had been elated for the Philadelphia Eagles’ win or crushed that the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs had been unable to three-peat at Super Bowl LIX, all soccer followers can unite in a way of shared unhappiness this week as actuality units in that the soccer season is now over. And, whereas some individuals could mock your low moods, there’s a really actual cause why not having the ability to watch recent soccer is inflicting soccer withdrawal. Luckily, there are coping methods!
Dr Angelos Halaris, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry at Loyola Medical Faculty. Again in 2016, Dr Halaris provided up some sage recommendation to make sense of the collective grief shared by football-less followers, and his phrases are nonetheless as apt at present as they had been virtually ten years in the past. “When the soccer season is over and there’s no different recreation on the schedule for months, you’re caught, so that you undergo withdrawal,” he explained.
Apparently, there are medical causes for our distress as a result of actions that we discover pleasurable, like watching a recreation, can stimulate the neurotransmitters in our mind, releasing dopamine and bringing us emotions of contentment. However on the flip facet, when this pleasurable exercise is over, we really feel disadvantaged in the identical method {that a} smoker or alcohol drinker would possibly really feel empty with out one other hit.
![Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) on the sidelines watching the Chiefs lose to Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans](https://i0.wp.com/www.muscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Kansas-City-Chiefs-defensive-tackle-Chris-Jones-95-on-the-sidelines-watching-the-Chiefs-lose-to-Philadelphia-Eagles-in-Super-Bowl-LIX-in-New-Orleans.jpg?quality=86&strip=all)
The right way to Cope With Soccer Withdrawal
Dr Halaris likened the sensation of getting no soccer as being just like the post-holiday blues, however luckily, he provided some suggestions for making it to the brand new season with out an excessive amount of heartache:
Don’t go chilly turkey
Watch soccer re-runs in step by step diminishing quantities
Share your emotions
Discuss to a buddy or accomplice about how you are feeling
Don’t self-medicate with medication or alcohol
Whereas disagreeable, soccer withdrawal shouldn’t be critical sufficient to require antidepressants or different drugs.
Whereas considerably tongue-in-cheek, the above methods could possibly be the distinction between feeling utterly depressed and finding a way forward. In fact, you may all the time get exterior and even contain a buddy for a throw and catch session as a result of bodily exercise is a sure-fire solution to get these endorphins flowing once more. However except for the aforementioned methods, “You’re simply going to must principally powerful it out till soccer begins up once more,” mentioned Halaris. We’re counting down the times.