Summertime Sadness 2.0

😎 How to fight back against seasonal gloom this summer

A happy place from last summer—Bryant Park in NYC. A place to escape the madness of the city.

“Sometimes it's better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness.”—Terry Pratchett

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I can feel summertime sadness coming on, and I’m arming myself to fight back.

Two feelings have started gnawing at my soul.

1. The first stirrings of summertime sadness.

2. Unsettling climate change anxiety.

Yay! Seasonal affective disorder plus anxiety about the world ending. Superb. The normally upbeat Seasonalist has taken a bit of a downward spiral. Before this continues further, I need to arm myself with a plan.

While this is a happy place to land, the Seasonalist suffers from a seasonal affective disorder like much of the world—except during the summer months due to my Texas location (winter is kinda awesome here). Adapting some wise words from writer Terry Pratchett, I’ve chosen seasonal living as my raison d’être because life is better if you choose to be “amazed about everything.” So let’s level up this summer and choose to be amazed about a sweaty hot summer. I’m not going down without a fight.

5 Ways to Battle Summertime Sadness

1. Cold showers at night, by candlelight.

2. Swimming/floating weekly.

3. Go to the movie theater weekly.

4. Go out for an ice cream cone weekly. Bonus points for trying new places.

5. Find an older television show with at least 3 seasons to slowly watch all summer long. 2024 candidates: Northern Exposure and Suits. In the past, I have watched Poldark, New Girl, and Kim’s