Disillusionment

dis·il·lu·sion  (ds-lzhn)

tr.v. dis·il·lu·sioned, dis·il·lu·sion·ing, dis·il·lu·sions

To free or deprive of illusion.

n.

1. The act of disenchanting.

2. The condition or fact of being disenchanted.

Disillusionment 

burst [someone’s] bubble To disabuse; to open someone’s eyes; to shatter someone’s illusions; also pop or break [someone’s] bubble and to prick or put a pin in [someone’s] balloon. This expression refers to the fragile nature of both soap bubbles and human illusions.

cut the ground from under See RUINATION.

everything tastes of porridge An expression used to inject a note of reality into our daydreams. The point is that no matter how grandiose our schemes or how successful our self-delusions, the taste of porridge or the reality of our domestic affairs will always be there to impinge on our fantasies. Porridge, formerly a staple in every household, is a most appropriate symbol of the practical, basic nature of home life.

pull the rug out from under See RUINATION.

disillusionment

noun disenchantment, disappointment, disillusion, enlightenment, rude awakening, lost innocence There is a general sense of disillusionment with the government.

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Today I was disillusioned.  There is no other way to put it.  It kicked me in the gut and I went from challenged, but optimistic to disillusioned in one second flat.  I felt like an inflated tire pierced by a guided missile, losing all my air in one swift gush.  I was poised to leap from one precipice to the other, sure I would meet with success, when someone handed me a tape measure- aka, "reality", and I stood dumbfounded, teetering on the edge with nowhere to go.  The rug was pulled. I had a rude awakening.  

 (I wonder how many more analogies I can come up with?)

In other words, it was not a good moment.

I will update this post when I recover.
====================================================== 2018:  Evidently I recovered.