If you are a person who loves summer and feel energised by it, chances are that in September you start feeling the end of summer blues. As the weather starts to change and the summer season draws to a close, you may start to feel some sadness and a sense of gloom. The routine is bound to change, especially if you are those around you e.g. your children have to get back to school. The days get shorter as it gets darker much earlier which may limit some of the activities that you used to do in summer. Whilst you may wish for summer to last forever, unless you move a tropical country, inevitably it will end. The following are a few tips that can help you deal with the transition of bidding summer farewell.
What about winter – Whilst winter may not be your favourite season, if you dig deep enough you will find something special about every season. Winter can be a time to take a step back from all the activities that summer brings along and take more time for yourself, some self-care. When it’s cold, it can be nice to stay at home with a warm drink, comfortable clothes and snuggle up on the couch watching an interesting series or movie.
Sports time – If you like to watch sports tournaments and leagues, the end of summer is usually the time when certain sports resumes. You can attend physical events to watch some live action or else meet with some friends to watch sports together. Besides watching, you can also get into practising sports yourself. With the summer heat being over, it makes it much more doable to get into a routine of engaging in a sports or workouts. You may also find more events such as races to participate in during winter.
The outdoors – Just because summer is over it doesn’t mean that you have to lock yourself up at home and not go out. If you feel a bit more adventurous you may still want to swim in winter especially before the colder months set in. You can also change the outdoor activities that used to do in summer to trekking, hiking, picnics or camping. In winter the outdoors can still be enjoyed, just get creative.
Refurbishment – Summer might not be the best season to keep you motivated to do things around the house. This could include clearing out your wardrobe, doing some maintenance, rearranging what you have and decluttering. You may want to do some small changes such as moving around some furniture, paint a new wall or place some candles with a more wintery smell.
Something new – Take the opportunity of the new season to try something new, something you wouldn’t usually go for. In this way you can be excited and have something to look forward to even though your favourite season is coming to an end.
If you think that you can benefit from professional support on this issue you can reach out here.
Dr Marilyn Muscat is registered as an Educational Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council in the United Kingdom where she trained. She works with children, adolescents and their families to understand more about educational, social and emotional well-being concerns that they have and to help them improve upon their difficulties. She can be contacted on marilyn@willingness.com.mt or call us on 79291817.