Admittedly, I’ve always been particularly pathetic in the heat, retreating to the shade every 15 minutes like a vampire to avoid heatstroke. It also didn’t help that I was on SSRIs for the best part of a decade, which can reduce your tolerance for high temperatures and make you more prone to exhaustion. Plus, literal cold take: I actually don’t mind winter. I totally get that sleet, flu, and seemingly eternal darkness isn’t for everyone, especially those with typical SAD, but wearing multiple layers, eating comfort food, and hiding away in bed makes me feel much warmer inside. I’m secretly a little happy that the solstice is here, meaning that we’re already spinning our way towards colder climes.
Maybe, for those of us with midsummer melancholia, the best solution is to simply ignore what other people get up to when the mercury rises. Enjoy what you can of the weather, when you can, without giving into the pressure to have “the best summer ever.” With this in mind, hopefully I can sit back, relax, and enjoy the sun come August. From a distance, in the sanctity of the shade, that is.