How to block out burnout this summer

When the fireworks become nightly background noise and ice cream becomes a food group, summer is in full effect. Whether you enjoy your time out in the sun or prefer turning your a/c on blast, when summertime sets in it can be both unwaveringly exhausting and utterly refreshing all at once. It may be this continuation of emerging from Covid, finishing up school, having summer Fridays, or a combination, and you’re eager to kick-off your summer like you’ve just been unleashed. You may be driven by adventure or nostalgia and you’re seeking a kind of fulfillment that only comes around for three months out of the year. You’re a sponge just trying to soak it all up.

No matter what, we seem to always fall into summer like it’s this spell we’re locked into. We’re back to repeating traditions (especially with the greater opportunity to do so now with less restrictions)- corn on the cob, Spike Ball tournaments, and street fairs. Like anything though, when we fall, we trip and stumble and scrape our knees. In contrast, we also slip and slide with excitement and love. How do we catch ourselves from falling or, rather, how do we tell the difference between a “good for us” fall and one that’s not?

The “good for us” kind. When we say this, we don’t mean there are certain activities off limits (ok, maybe some) but rather, a limit we may want to set for ourselves. Especially with events over the past year, there’s a good chance there could be a stark contrast between your day-to-day then and day-to-day now. Reminding yourself that you can also burnout from “too much” summer may be the nudge you need to keep yourself from having an Alice in Wonderland moment.

Falling isn’t always a “bad” thing and we can often find a lot of joy in it. We may see ourselves as more spontaneous and capable. Summer has become synonymous with freedom and we find ourselves playing into this narrative. Tapping into this part of ourselves is sometimes fun and edgy. It’s like we’ve come out of our shell- like being an introvert in the winter and an extrovert in the summer.

Falling happens naturally and catching ourselves does, too. When we literally trip, our hands fling out in front of us to break our fall. Although it may not seem as effortless when we get wrapped up in the fun and excitement of summer, we can be mindful of when we may need a break- a night alone, a weekend without plans. Particularly if you start off in full force, you may run out of fuel quickly.

Stay Well,
Catherine at Revive