Summer Stress and Anxiety- and What to Do About It

Summer is traditionally thought of as a break. Time to yourself. No homework, teachers, coaches. No stress.

But for many it is all that- but it also brings levels of stress and anxiety and even sadness, for a number of reasons. 

Today we will explore some of those reasons that summer can actually be a time that brings with it some stress- and what you can do about it!

First, what are some of the reasons you might experience stress, anxiety, and even a little depression in the summer? Let’s dive in.

Summer Stressors

Family.

You love them, but they drive you nuts sometimes. Or maybe you really don’t have a great home life, and it’s hard to have more time at home. Maybe your parents put more responsibility on you at home or to help with younger siblings. 

Family vacations can be a great time to make memories and explore new places, but they are not without stress. Strange sleeping arrangements, tiring travel, and upended schedules can make for cranky and irritable family members, and stress for you.

Friendships.

In the summer friendships often shift, especially if you don’t drive or don’t have activities that cause you to spend time together like sports or a job. 

You might even be in a position where you don’t really get to connect with anyone you usually stay connected to during the school year, and find that you are lonely and feeling left out. 

Or you have the ability to stay connected, at least over phone or social, and see that your friends are out together… and you never got the invite. 

Lack of structure leading to sadness or anxiety.

For some, the exact thing that we love about summer can actually lead to stress, anxiety, and even sadness.

Many of us do better with structured sleep, meals, and busy-ness. Feeling aimless, sleeping more or sleeping on a strange or inconsistent schedule, eating at different or all hours… all of these can interfere with your mood and even with your body chemistry! 

Academic stress.

For many, academic stress doesn’t go away in the summer. You may have to retake a class, or you may be taking a class to get caught up or even to get ahead- or in the hopes that it will be easier in the summer than in the school year.

Or you may feel that you should be working on SAT or ACT prep, working on your college essays, or even working on your college search. 

Financial stress. 

You may need to make your own spending money, make money to pay for gas or your own car, or even be called upon to help your family financially. Or maybe you know that the cost of college will be on you, and so you are working as hard as you can to save as much as you can.

And what if, on top of all of that, you can’t find a job you love, or a job at all? Or you can, but it doesn’t pay enough to help you get ahead? 

Tips to manage your summer stress, anxiety, or sadness

As always, any tips we offer are meant to be taken only as they work for you! Pick what works, leave what doesn’t! 

Also, in an upcoming post we will be talking about how to strike a work/fun balance over the summer.

But for now, here are a few quick tips for when your summer isn’t going as well as you’d like, or you just hit a rough patch.

Try to create some sort of schedule.

Absolutely, get all the sleep you need! Definitely get all the sleep you need.

But once you’re fully rested, and if you struggle with feeling aimless, try to create some structure to your days.

Of course it has to feel like it works for you personally, but many of us do better emotionally with a rhythm to our days.

You might think about where to add in a workout, creating a relatively low-key to-do list for your week, or even building out your weekly schedule starting with what you’re looking forward to, then adding in the stuff you want to accomplish like work, family chores, or workouts. 

Be willing to reach out to friends- especially those you know you can count on.

As we’ve talked about in previous posts about friendship, you don’t have to be “popular” to be happy. For many of us, one or two true friends you know will always be authentic and there for you can make all the difference. 

If you feel like you have someone like that, reach out to them. It often helps to reach out with something you’d like to do and invite them to join you. Rather than saying, “want to hang out sometime?” try “I have been wanting to check out the new water park, would you want to go with me on Thursday?” Make it easy for them to say yes! 

Consider volunteering.

Often the best way to feel better is to feel like you are doing something meaningful and helping others. Think about what you love and see if there’s a way to donate your time doing it. 

Love kids? Maybe you can help with a local vacation bible school. 

Love books? See if the library needs volunteers.

Love dogs? Call your local animal shelter and find out if they need dog walkers or cat snugglers!

Move a bit. Ideally outdoors.

Of course you already know that movement is good for your mental health. It can be in the form of a good sweaty workout, but it doesn’t have to be. Anytime you get your blood flowing and your body moving, you give yourself the chance to clear your head.

You can try a pickup basketball game, hitting the local gym, or just lace up and head outside for a walk! 

This list is by no means exhaustive, and as promised, we’ll be exploring how to make the most of your summer and take care of your mental health in the process in future posts.

Oh! And if you’re local to the north side of Indy, consider attending one of our Ready to Hope Club activities! These are all meant to just be a chance to get out of the house, do something fun, and maybe make a new friend or connect with an old one!

Find out more about those here!

And as always, our workshops are a wonderful opportunity to build your mental wellness toolbox and build meaningful connections and a support network.

Find out more about workshops by signing up for emails! We’ll keep you posted!