Summer Blues: 7 Tips to Care for Your Mental Health During Summer Break
Summer 2024 is here! With all the excitement, relief, and burn out (let’s be real) from the previous school year, the idea of sleeping in until 4pm, eating chips for lunch Monday through Thursday, and playing video games until your eyes blissfully burn from forgetting to blink, summer break…ah yes…it couldn’t come fast enough.
And then…
Maybe a few weeks into your chips diet, you start to feel kind of…meh.
When was the last time you saw the sun? Is it June or July? When did you last talk to your friends? And when did you last…eat a vegetable…?
For many young people, whether you’re a high school, college, or graduate school student, summer break can quickly become a difficult time for mental health.
Summer Blues…
Many young people can quickly experience a decline in mental health during the summer due to isolation, self-criticism, and forgetting to engage in self-care.
Isolation
There may be periods of time that are already planned out, like a vacation with your family, or your friend’s birthday one weekend, but there may be long stretches of time when there’s nothing planned. That’s when summer break becomes very lonely, causing you to go into a spiral of sadness. You begin to feel detached from your friends and family, and possibly feel even more shy and awkward trying to reach out to them. This is also particularly difficult if you have limited transportation and technology, such as no access to a personal car, phone or laptop.
Although it is perfectly normal to enjoy your alone time (hello introverts!) and learn how to be with yourself in peace, it may be helpful to consider what your balance of socialization can look like.
The “I Should” Voice Gets Louder
When you’re stuck in a room by yourself with limited human interaction, you may fall victim to your negative inner voice that criticizes you, puts you down, and makes you feel terrible. You may begin to criticize yourself by saying “I should be doing [Insert highly ambitious activity]”, “I should be studying Spanish and becoming bilingual”, “I should be working out”, “I should be planning my next 5 years”. Your insecurities can also feel more prominent, and you may find yourself criticizing even the smallest things about yourself.
Self Care Who?
Summer Time Mush…
…Time becomes mushy. Monday mushes into Friday. Morning mushes into 4pm. Everything feels the same...
Have you heard? The heat in Southern California doesn’t just melt your ice cream, it can also melt Time itself. Summer time becomes…mushy. Monday mushes into Friday. Morning mushes into 4pm. Everything feels the same. Because of this mush, your self care can become a routine of scattered hygiene practices and “naps” that crossover to full on bedtime.
The drastic change from having a set schedule or lots of activities during the school year to hardly anything during the summer can be difficult to adjust to. Reorienting yourself to the change can become difficult and self care almost seems to fly out the window.
7 Tips to Help You Manage Your Summer Blues
You can manage the Summer Blues by finding a balance between intentional relaxation, routine, and activity in a way that feels right for you.
First let’s normalize that summer break does not have to consist of record breaking discoveries or productivity levels similar to how you function during the school year. You don’t have to pressure yourself into reading 10 books a day or learning 5 different languages. In other words, yes, you can relax without guilt tripping yourself. Summer can simply be a time for you to gently take care of yourself. Yes, go on your family vacations. Enjoy some good food. Take naps. All of it. Balance is the key.
Regardless of whether you have a summer job, internship, summer class, camps, or have family vacation scheduled, you can still benefit from these tips to help when you’re feeling the Summer Blues.
Make an Intentional, Consistent Routine
Consistency > Motivation
Try to develop a routine! Remember that while school provided structure to your daily activities during the academic year, it’s not the only place that can help you define how to find purpose for your time. Everyone’s schedule will look different depending on many factors, such as who you live with and where you live, your responsibilities to family members, or work, your own health needs, and your available physical space. Do what works for you.
A routine can help you feel more purposeful and intentional about your day. :As you develop your routine, remember that focusing on consistency rather than motivation can help you stick to your routine. You will still reap some benefits if you stay consistent even when you lack motivation.
2. Prioritize Your Sleep Hygiene
I know this one can be hard! Consider that sleep is one of the basic needs and foundations to physical health, and that physical health is tied to mental health. Creating healthy sleep habits while you are young can help you create a healthier lifestyle over the long run. Sleep also affects your mood, energy levels, and how you function throughout your day.
Tip: Try incorporating some of these sleep practices provided by The American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
3. Enjoy Some Sun!
Yes! Stepping outside to see the sun can benefit your mental health!
Research suggests that low levels of Vitamin D may be linked to higher levels of depression.
Some research also showed that an increase in sun exposure and engaging in behavioral activation helped to effectively decrease depression. As long as it is safe to do so, try scheduling consistent time for you to go on a walk outside or engage in any outdoor activity. This can be a simple protective factor against depressive symptoms and improve your mood. Be sure to be mindful of other safety factors, such as heat waves and safe areas to walk or engage in activities.
Tip: Try planning your walks during times when the sun is not at its peak (between 10am-4pm).
4. Be Mindful of Your Free Time
Yes, you can play video games, watch a few episodes of your favorite reality TV show, or read your favorite Manga without feeling guilty. Try to be mindful of the time that you allow yourself to engage in these activities. Respect the time slot you’re giving yourself so that you don’t fall into an 8 hour frenzy of just doing that one activity. Oftentimes, falling into daily marathons of one activity can lead to forgetting to take care of your needs. Being more intentional about your free time can help you feel less guilty engaging in the activity while also prioritizing your needs.
5. Engage in Intentional, Purposeful Activities
This can look like engaging in activity that helps you feel purposeful, support a healthy lifestyle, or simply helps you feel more centered. Remember those goals you set for yourself during New Years? Let’s check on those, shall we? Did you want to go to the gym more often? Let’s keep that going. Did you want to learn more about finance? Great, try to be mindful about having time to do that.
If you haven’t already created a vision board or reflected on your goals, then now might be a good time to do so! Checking in with yourself can help center yourself and gain some inspiration.
6. Get Social
Sometimes responding to the group chat isn’t enough to help you with feelings of isolation. Summer can be an opportunity to develop close friendships and even make new ones. Make some time with your friends to go out, check on each other, video chat, and try to follow through on plans to hang out.
Tip: Try checking your local organizations, such as your local YMCA, or your City’s parks and recreation to see what activities are available. You can meet new people volunteering too!
7. Focus on Self Discovery and Healing
Summer can be a great time for you to learn more about yourself and really hone in to developing your coping skills or heal from past trauma. Engaging in therapy during your slower months can allow you more time to process what you worked on in session and practice skills in between sessions. Additionally, by strengthening your relationship with yourself during these summer months, you can feel more centered as you enter your Fall semester.
Therapy during your slower months
…can allow you more time to process what you worked on in session and practice skills in between session.
