I Got That Summertime Sadness
Remember how in Is Therapy Uncool For The Summer? I wrote about reprioritization? In this context, I was referring to the type of reprioritization that can come up in the summer months where a person may find themselves focusing less on the usual stress of the year, less on the hot therapy topics of the winter months, and more on enjoying the events and burgeoning community of summer.
We might also refer to this as compartmentalization, which is essentially the ability to separate out different thoughts, emotions, experiences, etc. in order to ensure that one area doesn’t impact or influence others.
So, where I might skip out on a session with my therapist because I want to go to the beach instead of process my troubles, if I can compartmentalize I put those troubles and the thoughts and emotions that come along with it away in my mind and focus on the experience I’m having at the beach, without the troubles coming in and ruining the day for me!
While that’s all well and good for some, for others (and maybe you reading this right now) the summer can offer unique mental health challenges.
While some of those some things that I referred to in Is Therapy Uncool For The Summer? like routine change, vacations, time spent with different people, or in different environments can be the benefits of summer, they can also represent pretty significant changes all at once, and in turn the introduction of brand new stressors into a person’s life.
You might find yourself questioning why you are feeling sad while navigating all of these summer phenomena, pushing up against the assumption that you should be enjoying these changes.
What’s really important to recognize here is that change can be hard. Honestly, we are often quite programmed to reject change whether it is change that is supposed to be “good” or not.
It’s also worth remembering that summer often comes with a lot of expectations. We’re surrounded by messages telling us this is the season to be happy, spontaneous, social, productive, adventurous, and making memories. When our internal experience doesn’t match that picture, it’s easy to wonder what’s wrong with us.
But there doesn’t actually have to be anything wrong, and it doesn’t mean that you’re doing summer “wrong” – it just means that you are a human being who experiences a whole array of emotions (which I would be remiss to not mention is a very good thing).
Paying attention to what you might actually need in this season will help in a big way. Maybe you need more structure or routine, perhaps you need to boundary set for yourself, or say no to some of those events that you are being invited out to. What capacity do you have, and where is your energy going?
Be curious with yourself instead of judgemental.
Finally, give yourself permission to acknowledge that two things can be true at once. Maybe there are some positive aspects and exciting things about the summer, and maybe you are still experiencing some sadness.
Appreciation of joy and acknowledgement of difficulty are not mutually exclusive.
P.S. Here’s the link for THIS ear worm: https://youtu.be/TdrL3QxjyVw?si=jhWoSyDSBtFuk0TP 😉
