Most people I know have a form of Seasonal Affective Disorder in the winter. Not me, summer is my idea of purgatory. I writhe with sadness during the months of June, July, August and half of September.
It wasn't until after years of counseling that I realized my annual sadness is related specifically to these months deemed as hell to me. Weird, I know - hating summer and the heat, but look at me. I'm a fair-skinned, red-headed, leg-chafing, sweat-monster. It happens.
Additionally, I gain the most amount of weight (during the year) during these months. I lose in the other seasons. Also, my attention span goes from awesome multitasker to barely there stupor.
In my years of counseling, I've learned to ahem, ...tolerate, these 100+ days with proactive techniques:
1. Enjoying the early mornings, late nights.
2. Marvel in my surroundings: This is especially easy in Durham as everything is green, lush, in-bloom and Mother Nature's little creatures are everywhere.
3. Accepting the philosophy that all good things come to those who wait. In this case, fall is my reward. My favorite time of the year. It's funny that love and hate really are a thin line (day) away.
4. Forcing myself to enjoy the bounty of local farmers so I may retrain my brain that good things come out of summer - like gorgeous vegis and flowers.
5. Moved to a state where summer days are not typically over 100 degrees for long spells of time.
6. Staying inside when possible. When it isn't, visiting the ocean, a place where the heat is tolerable and slightly required.
7. Sleeping - a lot. My grumpiness is much easier when I am rested. There's no need to fuel that pissed-off fire.
8. Accepting that it is okay to not enjoy this time of year and as long as I am not upsetting others (too much) then it is okay to be me - the summer-hating woman that I am.
9. My biggest coping mechanism in all things related to things I don't enjoy is to put it into perspective with the saying of "only (fill in the blank) more days and it is over." Realizing that I can do/tolerate anything in (fill in the blank) days puts things into perspective. Keeping my eyes on (distracting myself with) the prize is my best tool for fighting my blues.
10. Shopping. Yep, there I said it. Retail therapy isn't always a bad thing.
Now that I can cope, I can get busy curing cancer or writing a book...on September 15.
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