the sudden crash in confidence and self-esteem experienced by students once they have stopped winning awards/scholarships/prizes/yearbook superlatives and are forced to enter the harsh real world. Sylvia Plath had a particularly bad case in college, which led to her first suicide attempt. Less severe cases include your friend's mom who insists on wearing short skirts despite the varicose veins on her thighs and still brings up when drunk that she used to be Homecoming Queen.