After tonight,many people will suffer from what is called (queue  the dramatic music)

FOOTBALL WITHDRAW SYNDROME  (FWS)

YES it's Real ! Now you can call in sick.

A psychiatrist describes the effects this has on the brain, and offers tips on how fans can cope.

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The Urban Dictionary defines Football Withdraw Syndrome (FWS) as the following:.

1. The agonizing mental process of accepting that football season is finally over.
This serious mental disorder afflicts millions of Americans every year, usually in the second week of February. Effective therapy is not available until the following August, at the earliest.

2.  A crisis in the national spirit that is mitigated (only slightly) by the arrival of March Madness -- the NCAA basketball tournament.

3.  The realization that life as we know it has ended, at least for six torturously long months.

4.  Proof that Arena Football will never take the place of the real thing.

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There is Help
According to Loyola University Medical Center Dr. Angelos Halaris

When the pleasurable activity ends, the person is left with a feeling of depravation. It's similar to what a smoker feels when deprived of a cigarette -- except there's no quick fix like a cigarette for the football fan.

"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," Halaris said.

For hardcore fans, the feeling can be similar to post-holiday blues, Halaris said.

Halaris offers these tips for fans who suddenly have to face months without football:

1. Don't go cold turkey. Watch football on YouTube, or on recordings, in gradually diminishing amounts.

2. Share your feelings of withdrawal and letdown with a friend or spouse.

3. While it can be unpleasant, football withdrawal is not serious enough to require antidepressants or other medications. And do not self medicate with drugs or alcohol.

4.  Most important, buck up. "You're just going to have to basically tough it out until football starts up again," Halaris said.

Halaris is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and medical director of Adult Psychiatry at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Read the full artical here

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