National Press
Self Magazine
 

Do major joy-making moments leave you feeling unexpectedly blue? You may be suffering from a ... HAPPINESS HANGOVER

You may not even realize how attached you've become; the buildup to a major event, whether two weeks or two years, can be so intense that it starts to feel second nature to identify yourself as the "bride-to-be" or the "newly promoted." The result is an overwhelming feeling of emptiness when the wedding has passed or the title has lost its luster.

That's your cue to acknowledge that you - and the choices you made - were the driving force behind your success. "People think, 'the experience made me feel good', not, 'my hard work created those feelings'", says psychologist Bill Crawford, Ph.D., author of All Stressed Up & Nowhere to Go! (Florence). It's easy to see how, with that mindset, once the rush of being promoted is gone or the glory of winning your first road race fades, you start to believe you're on a downhill slide. " Instead of thinking, 'Wow, that was the best time of my life, and now what?'", you need to think, "I am an adventurous person that makes experiences like that happen," Crawford says. You did it once - you can do it again.