The Weight of the Seasons
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Seasonal lethargy, the summer blues, and changing lifestyles
People react, either consciously or unconsciously, to what is happening around them. These reactions vary according to personality. However, there are times when large numbers of people find themselves in a similar state of mind. Recently, I’ve noticed that many of my friends are reading less and aren’t writing with the same enthusiasm as before. Instead, they are choosing to distract themselves rather than setting aside time for other enjoyable activities. I’m one of them, of course. I don’t know if I’m experiencing this more than anyone else or if it's just my imagination. Such abandonment, procrastination and lack of motivation can arise at any time. I’ve given it some thought. Let’s discuss the reasons behind it.
Naturally, I first approached the subject from a personal perspective. As reading and writing are an integral part of my daily life, they take centre stage in this phase. Looking back at my reading pace at the start of the year, I realise that I can now only manage to finish one or two books a month. Either I put off writing for days on end, or I struggle to finish what I start. I can’t do these things with any enthusiasm, and I'm not satisfied with the end result. Writers in particular refer to this situation as “writer's block”, but you can decide for yourselves whether this is a distinct phenomenon or simply a convenient label for a lack of motivation.
In two articles published in September and November 2023, I examined this topic from different angles. This time, I will start from the same point but explore the issue in more detail. The main factor I referred to was the effect of the seasons on people, as I felt at the time.
When I wrote those articles, I mentioned a state of mind known as the “winter blues”. This condition can begin in late autumn or during the winter months, manifesting as feelings of withdrawal, solitude, and listlessness. Personally, winter is my favourite season, and I love the anticipation of the New Year. However, I suppose the longing for sunshine can eventually get the better of me. This is, on the whole, a perfectly understandable situation. Being in a constantly gloomy environment can weigh heavily on our spirits. It can make us more pessimistic, weigh down our thoughts and reduce our desire to do things.
Unfortunately, this can also happen during the summer months. Just when everything seems to be going well, the sun suddenly doesn't seem as bright and the silence becomes oppressive. We gradually lose touch with the things we wanted to do. Books waiting to be read and tidy desks start to gather dust.
We understand the winter issue, but why does summer bring with it a similar lack of enthusiasm?
I suppose there are many factors at play that we don't really take into account. As far as I’m concerned, we are fragile creatures. Minor environmental changes can affect our mood and behaviour without us realising it. The strange thing is that we don't react to the same conditions in the same way every day. This uncertainty makes the situation even more unnerving and can leave us feeling helpless.
The issue here is not nostalgia for times when people felt at ease, such as during the holidays, nor nostalgia for the past. I am not suggesting that this feeling is entirely seasonal. I am simply using the changing of the seasons as a starting point to help us understand the issue. While the factors I mentioned may not affect everyone to the same degree, they can evoke similar feelings in many people during the same periods. Although the timing and intensity of the seasons vary depending on geography, I believe these effects resonate with large groups of people. Therefore, my starting point is not merely pessimism stemming from my own character. I am also taking into account the role played by shared external factors, such as the seasons, in our state of mind.
Let us return to the question, “Why do we experience this in summer?”
The first reason may be that summer does not necessarily evoke positive associations for everyone. If someone is stuck in an environment they dislike for months on end, they may grow weary of the season itself and the associated activities. For some people, it is autumn or winter that brings peace, rather than summer.
Personally, I cannot say that I approach summer with any great enthusiasm. In fact, I would even say that I detest it. It offers me nothing positive. If it's a question of light, spring provides more than enough of that. There are flowers and birdsong, and a sense that life is moving forward. The only benefit of summer, as far as I’m concerned, is that it makes life easier for solar panels. Spending months in an atmosphere that fails to evoke positive feelings yet demands adaptation is stressful in itself.
Moreover, it’s not just about sweating. Just as winter slows us down with darkness, summer wears us out with heat. We sleep to rest, yet wake up feeling hardly refreshed after hot nights. Then we mistake our inability to concentrate for mere listlessness. As a result, we may experience sleep disruption, which plays a vital role in maintaining the body’s natural balance. It is just as natural for a body that hasn’t had enough sleep to react with fatigue and listlessness as it is for a hungry body. We all know this. This can lead to fatigue, lethargy, and a general lack of motivation. A sense of lethargy can quickly overwhelm a person.
Another factor to consider is that summer is traditionally a time for being active. Just think about it. In winter, it’s perfectly normal to curl up under a blanket at home. After all, that’s what anyone who is cold wants to do. It’s common to watch the rain through the window. There’s hardly any foot traffic on the streets. The tranquillity is broken only by strong winds and the branches they blow around. And we find this rather enjoyable.
In summer, however, the opposite is true: staying indoors is almost unbearable. As is the nature of the world, people tend to take their holidays during this season. It's considered the ideal time to head to the seaside, spend time outdoors, and take long holidays. Making the most of the sun is also high on the list of things to do in summer. In other words, there's a constant urge to be outside, to go somewhere different and to do things you wouldn't normally do. These things are almost seen as obligations. Those who cannot or do not want to do these things may feel as though they are lagging behind their peers. They may feel deficient in some way. Yet this is not true; the workings of the human mind are strange.
I suppose Lana Del Rey wasn’t entirely wrong when she named her song “Summertime Sadness”.
Although “summer” and “sadness” may seem mutually exclusive, they are not such a contradiction when you consider that the sun affects everyone differently.
As the days grow longer and the nights shorter, our perceptions change. Although this change does not happen all at once, it eventually makes us feel as though we are transitioning to a new rhythm of life. In other words, the fact that there is sunlight from morning until evening makes us feel as though we should get up early and stay productive until late at night. Now, let's consider the opposite scenario. In winter, it is more normal to get up late or go to bed early. This is not seen as strange. In this situation, people do not expect more of themselves. After all, “bedtime” has arrived. In short, our expectations of ourselves change with the seasons. This also reshapes our expectations of how much we should produce and consume. From the books we read and the films we watch to the texts we write and our daily chores, we expect more of ourselves.
We can certainly observe the same thing in our routines. This change affects many aspects of our daily lives, including work and school hours, as well as our personal production and consumption habits. Consequently, we assume that we will have more time in the summer. However, when the other drawbacks I mentioned become apparent, the “extra” time ceases to be of much benefit. Consequently, although we have more time, we feel as though we have achieved less.
Finally, I’d like to add this thought: when we consider how prolonged periods of daylight or darkness in the polar regions, or high temperatures in hot climates affect daily life, we realise that constant atmospheric conditions do not necessarily bring peace of mind.
I realise I’ve talked at length about summer. The reason, as I’ve mentioned, is that I don't have a particularly good relationship with it. However, fundamentally, the issue is less about the season itself and more about its effect on a person. This negative state of mind can begin during transitional periods, such as spring, and become more pronounced during the summer or winter months.
In other words, perhaps the real issue is spending a long time in a single season. Although we divide the year into three-month periods, nature does not operate with such clear boundaries. This is because the seasons overlap, weather events occur outside the norm and the weather can take us by surprise. Just as everyone’s attention span is different, spending a long time in one season can affect our usual state of mind.
We know that change is inevitable, especially when it comes to the human spirit. We cannot alter the seasons. Perhaps that is why the beauty of a scene does not lie in its permanence, but in the knowledge that it will one day end. A few days of sunshine can lift our spirits, but if it is sunny every day for weeks on end, we eventually stop noticing. Perhaps we need not only beauty, but also that inevitable change. When the air, light and expectations remain the same, the season can feel stagnant rather than serene.
This is why I don't think it's right to be too hard on ourselves during such times. There may be more than one reason why we can't bring ourselves to open a book or sit down in front of a blank page, or why we spend hours idling instead of enjoying our favourite pastimes. Moreover, not all of these reasons are directly related to us. Sometimes the issue is not the activity itself, but the fact that the current season makes us feel as if we should behave differently. We tend to think that we should be outgoing and cheerful in summer, and quiet and introverted in winter. Yet a person’s state of mind does not change in sync with the calendar. Before we count certain days' failures as personal shortcomings, we should consider factors such as the weather, our sleep patterns, any disruptions to our routine and the expectations of those around us.
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