![]() ![]() You might need additional support to treat clinical depression. You might experience letdown for a couple of days or a week or two, but if it lasts more than two weeks - especially if you’re feeling depressed mostly every day and losing interest in regular activities - talk to your doctor. Sometimes we learn the most from the things we didn’t achieve." Know when to get help "It’s OK to grieve, but you pick yourself back up and you keep trying. "That can be devastating, but try to remember the journey and what you learned along the way," she said. If you spent months training for a marathon and then aren’t able to make it to the finish line, that can lead to an even bigger letdown. Unfortunately, we don’t always achieve the success we’re striving for. Don’t give up if it doesn’t go as planned Athletes can focus on the next race, and someone who just had a wedding could start thinking about the honeymoon or one-year anniversary." At the same time, Mirgain advises waiting until the letdown lifts before making any major life decisions or changes. “When I come back from vacation, I have my next travel destination chosen. “I’m a big fan of repurposing and thinking about what’s next,” she said. “Even though it’s done, you still have the memory.” Set a new goal “Remembering and savoring the event, whether it’s through photos or telling people about it, can help keep the experience alive,” she says. If you just got back from an amazing vacation or another special event, share your photos and memories with interested family and friends. Get more sleep and pay attention to what your body needs.” Savor the memories “That quiet time to rest and recharge is important. Everything in nature has a rest period, and in some ways that letdown is like a dormant period that allows you to reboot before whatever the new goal is,” she said. “The letdown is like a recalibration of a set point, and there’s actually a value to it. “Social support is one of the most important buffers against depression,” Mirgain said. If you just got married, invite your family to stick around for a few days. If you’re an athlete, connect with your training buddies to talk about how you’re feeling or what challenge you might try next. “Everyone gathers at the wedding or your friends show up at a race to support you and say 'Good luck,' 'Good job,’ and suddenly you’re not getting that positive reinforcement anymore." After the big event, thank people for their support or reach out in other ways. “Sometimes your social community rallies around you with a big event,” Mirgain said. Isolation can exacerbate your emotional funk. “Try not to catastrophize or get caught up in it.” Tap into your social network “If you can accept the letdown for what it is, it tends to pass much more quickly,” she said. How long the post-event blues linger can vary depending on how big the event was, how much energy you invested in prepping for it, and how well you prepared for the letdown. "It’s always good to have more than one thing that defines who we are," she said. “Get your crash pads out, so to speak." Try to avoid tunnel vision by keeping up other activities and hobbies even as you focus on the big event. “If you can recognize the letdown, you can plan for it," she said. So how can you prevent and counter the letdown effect? Mirgain shared these tips: Mentally prepare “There can be a void before life rushes in,” she said. ![]() After she finally reached the summit and returned home, she felt a bit lost. When Mirgain decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, she trained for months, climbing stairs with weighted backpacks and focusing on nutrition, stretching, sleep, yoga and daily meditation where she visualized herself on the mountaintop. "Sometimes people feel like, ‘When I get married, when I finish the Ironman, when I get the 'A' on the exam, I’ll be happy.’ When people have that expectation, it can lead to disappointment.”Įven psychologists are susceptible to the letdown effect. “When you think about these larger events, they’re like a hub in a wheel: There’s a way your life orients around it, and then when you remove it, there is a hole,” Mirgain said. In extreme cases, it can even trigger clinical depression. That crash could lead you to feel physically fatigued, emotionally depleted, sad, listless, empty or questioning your purpose in life. The higher the accomplishment, the bigger the crash.” ![]() “And if people aren’t prepared for it, it can be a crash. “You have this mobilization of inner energies to take action on something big, and afterward you think you’ll be exhilarated because you accomplished it, but you could have this letdown instead,” said UW Health psychologist Shilagh A. ![]() Welcome to a common phenomenon known as the letdown effect. ![]()
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