After a tough election loss, the normal aspects of closing out a political campaign —picking up signs, moving out of offices and filling out campaign finance forms —sometimes take a back seat to recovering emotionally from the demands of a campaign.

Aaron Krasnow, associate director of Counseling and Consultation on the Tempe campus, said it’s normal to feel a little bit of a let down after a big election.

“People have talked about the post-Super Bowl blues,” Krasnow said. “The post-election blues manifests itself in people’s lives in a general state of feeling down.”

A recovery period is essential after experiencing something that drains you emotionally and physically, such as this year’s election, said Sam Richard, youth volunteer coordinator for Dan Saban, who unsuccessfully tried to unseat Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the Nov. 4 election. Richard said he worked hard for a candidate that he believes in.

“This campaign was very polarizing,” said Richard, a nonprofit leadership and management junior. “It felt like a vote for one guy was a big old ‘f--- you’ for the other guy.”

Because of the pressures of the election, he said he scheduled a three-day trip to the Santa Rita Abbey in southern Arizona. Every six months, he said he tries to take a two-day refresher trip. He added an extra day this time around and scheduled the trip after the election because he said he knew he would need the time to recuperate.

“I scheduled the trip because whether we won or lost, I knew it was going to be a hard-fought campaign. We worked hard for all the votes we got,” Richard said. “I planed this trip because, aside from my full-time schedule and the organizations I’m involved with, I knew the campaign would take a toll.”

He said he’s turning off his cell phone after he passes through Tucson, and he’ll spend a monastic weekend in silence and reflection. He will spend the weekend reading, writing, refining his personal mission statement and re-evaluating his goals.

“Hopefully I’m going to come out of this weekend refreshed and rejuvenated and positive about our county,” Richard said.

Krasnow said Richard’s method of recouping after the election is healthy. Sometimes people get focused on an event like an election as an end in itself, Krasnow said. Balance is important, he said.

“That’s great if politics is important to you, but it’s also important to focus on other things,” Krasnow said. “People probably care about the election because they care about politics. What caused them to care about the election in the first place is still going to be there after the election.”

Rebecca Schneider, the overnight supervisor at Hayden Library, lost her bid to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake in Congressional District 6 to on Nov 4. She said she was very disappointed with the outcome but not crushed. Schneider said she’ll be getting back on the political horse next year. In the meantime, she’ll be singing karaoke with her campaign volunteers on Friday. It’s a chance for her to unwind, she said.

“I am taking a little time off to breathe, but I want to have a much bigger head start on things next time around,” Schneider said. “This election was quite the learning process.”

Reach the reporter at philip.haldiman@asu.edu.