Week 6 of Summer: 7/24 - 7/30/2016
Summer is supposed to be a time of NO STRESS, chillaxin', and worldly adventure. However, that's just not always the case. Sometimes, it's hard to relax and plans get all crazy. Also, some people get the Summer blues. There's no guarantee we get to be happy just because it's Summer. We all face seasons of sadness, it's often cornered off to Seasonal-Affective's winter months, but the struggle of being bummed out in July is definitely real.
The important thing here is - not the season, not the world, not your parents, not your boss - No one changes you but you. Keep faith and keep moving. As you shift, everything else shifts too - and even if they're shifts of the smallest size, it matters.
For instance - my anxiety always takes place at night. Falling asleep, being in the right temperature, the perfect position, no upsetting noises, dark, calm - I NEED all those conditions, plus more to fall asleep. I have adapted a bit, but it's still an ordeal, believe me. However, back when I was first noticing this difficulty, I had no coping skills. I still get flustered, upset, restless, and sometimes irate when anxiety and difficulty falling asleep consumes me. The process of learning how to cope with my sleep-anxiety, especially during insufficient-air-conditioning DC Summers, has been a years-long process, I am still working on. However my first idea was -
I slept the other way. I put my head at the foot of the bed and psyched myself out and often, it helped me fall asleep. "Silly Amy, you're not supposed to sleep this way, this is ridiculous," and the offset was usually just enough to cut through "I AM IN BED I HAVE TO BE SLEEPING" and lull me to sleep. This is not to say this will work for anyone else, it is to say - the littlest, most ridiculous sounding trick just might help.
Do you have something you struggle with in the Summer? Do you feel more lonely? More burned out (and not just by the sun)? - If Summer blues happen to you, just know you're not alone. Always reach out - on tumblr, a therapy app, IRL, or even to me.
Just try one small different thing and maybe you won't see or feel anything different in that moment - but - with repetition comes mastery and things will move, everything passes with time, and your feelings will always shift. I'm not saying anxiety and depression are simple. What I'm saying is that once you're aware, you can chip away at the problem and be less consumed by it, because, isn't that really all we want. There are no magic cures for anything, so we can work together on indulging in the miraculous yet slow-moving satisfaction of progress.
Take care.
x/Amy
