You’re tired, cranky and you really have a hankering for some Canadian bacon.

What’s happening?

It seems you’ve come down with a case of the “Lost Election Blues.”

You stayed up all night Tuesday huddled in the warm glow of your television – with your fingers crossed and a bizarre four-leaf clover and rabbit food creation – and now you have … nothing.

It doesn’t matter whom you were rooting for; whether or not you really believed Clay Campbell had the right stuff, or if you were absolutely gung-ho for Kerry’s campaign.

Heck, maybe you even thought Nader really had this cards right this time (Hey, miracles happen, right?). No matter the size of your district or your margin of defeat, the art of accepting a loss is a lost one.

Losing can be a really hard thing to handle when it comes to elections like this.

After all, with all the time you put into supporting your candidate, it’s like you lost right with them. And chances are, you were not preparing yourself for such a letdown.

“When you spend so much time involved in a campaign, you just don’t allow yourself to think about [that candidate losing],” said senior history major Andrew Nelms, who ended up losing his race for a DeKalb County Board District 6 seat.

By being caught off guard, dealing with the situation can become that much more difficult – especially with all of the “winners” doing happy dances around you. So how should you come to terms with what may seem to some as four more bleak and tumultuous years? Well, for starters, you need to get your perspectives straight.

“Losing can be a sad, disappointing experience,” said Republican Joe Weigand, who lost his primary race for 70th District State Representative to eventual State Rep. winner Bob Pritchard in March. “But to dwell in those emotions would be a choice I would encourage others to avoid.”

Weigand said investing so much time and passion into a campaign inevitably leads to some disappointment.

“My 6-year-old daughter who campaigned so hard, walking in parades and visiting with me at doorsteps, was greatly disappointed by the loss in March,” Weigand said.

Weigand consoled her by telling her that “Sometimes, losing is what happens on your way to winning” and commented that “Even though I lost the election, I was a winner, because I stood up for my beliefs and gave Republican voters a choice. I made hundreds of new friends in the process.”

If you believe that, you probably can stop reading right now.

But if giving it your best shot isn’t enough, if you’re still clinging desperately to your George W. Bush voodoo doll, if last night you went online to look up how much it actually would cost to skip town to Canada, well … it may very well be time for you to talk to a counselor.

NIU counselors are available to students at their offices in the Campus Life Building, and should you find yourself pining for the sweet comfort of our neighbors up north, you really should stop in to see them.

According to NIU’s Counseling and Student Development Center, any time you feel that you are overreacting to something in your environment, it’s best to talk with someone about your feelings.

So, take a deep breath, make a beeline toward the first friend/blog/counselor/unknowing bystander you see and proceed to rant. Rant to your little heart’s content, until you can rant no more. Doesn’t that make you feel better? Now, your only problem is how you are going to get the money back for those Canadian Airway tickets ..