Helpful advice for Packers and Steelers fans

From the New York Times: A Home Treatment Kit for Super Bowl Suffering

Therapists in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are prepared. Most have seen plenty of people who suffer from what could be called Football Attention Neurosis (F.A.N.), in their practices, in their living rooms, and sometimes in the mirror.

The causes of those attacks are very specific to the fan’s team, experts said. A patient with an attachment to, for instance, the Green Bay Packers may be especially symptomatic if he or she sees the team’s quarterback running unprotected with the ball, especially if that quarterback has suffered previous concussions. The same patient might also suffer heart palpitations “whenever the Packers go out to receive a punt,” said Bradley C. Riemann, director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center and cognitive-behavioral therapy services at Rogers Hospital in Oconomowoc, Wis., who has tickets to the Super Bowl and often travels to follow the Packers.

The article provides several helpful treatment guidelines. My coping strategy is self-medication, and plenty of it.