This image was lost some time after publication.

Feeling a bit blue this afternoon? Perhaps a little anxious or depressed, even though the presidential candidate you supported ended up winning? You're not alone. Psychologists are predicting that many people "will find a hole in their lives and time on their hands" now that the election is over and they no longer have a reason to spend hours every day monitoring political coverage on TV and obsessing over the latest poll numbers. It's not unlike what little kids experience the day after Christmas, or what happens when a junkie stops taking drugs, expert say. (Well, except for the fact you're not going to be spending the next three days vomiting into a plastic bucket.) So what's an Obama-obsessed New Yorker to do?

You could always commiserate with co-workers, since chances are they're going through the same thing, too. You could try gloat to your Republican friends (if you have any). Slate has another recommendation: Just find a substitute obsession like the economy, which should give you months and months of twists and turns to keep you sufficiently anxious. Plus following the economy will allow to continue looking a pretty charts and graphs!

Or you could just be thankful the race is over and all those election-induced anxiety attacks and heart problems are a thing of the past. For the next four years, at least.


Getting Over Sarah Palin [The Morning News]
The Post-Election Blues [NYT/Well]
No More Palin, No More Polls [Slate]