Fighting the mid-year blues

As the month of July blows away with the Southerly winds, I find myself as uninspired and unenergetic as the winter sun. The last two months of the cold season during the partial-lockdown status have left me drained and without motivation.

As I look forward to the upcoming months, I do not feel better about the change of circumstances as August and September are undoubtedly the longest and dullest months of the year. Without hope for having days that are out of the ordinary, I find myself in the midst of burnout or the mid-year blues as I call it.

Mid-year blues are not unlike the mid-month blues. They come during the second half of the year, where there is nothing exciting to look forward to or upcoming before the Christmas season. For some reason or another, the days and months around this time of the year seem to drag at a snail’s pace.

Moreover, with the Kenyan ‘winter’, the weather plays a big role in shaping our perception. Some parts of the country are receiving heavy rains, others are struggling with freezing temperatures. And in Mombasa, residents are struggling to walk the streets due to heavy gusts of wind.

That means the weather does not help much in terms of elevating moods or promoting outdoor activities. People find themselves forced to stay indoors and are forced to keep the same routines for two to three months.

With no public holiday in sight, most people find themselves in a continuous loop of repetition and dullness like an endless terrifyingly dull Groundhog Day. Repetition, or schedule, contributes largely to burnout. This is a state of physical, emotional and mental fatigue. Burnout makes one feel overwhelmed, drained and uninspired to continue with daily routines.

Weather is just one of the factors that heighten the feeling of burnout, but several causes can contribute to the feeling of burnout. Stress from work or personal life can lead to it. Doing the same things repeatedly can lead one into detesting their routine and reason for waking up.

Like me, if you think you are suffering from the mid-year blues, here are some symptoms to look out for: fatigue, lack of motivation or morale, withdrawal and increased negativity. Burnouts are easy to overcome, but if left unattended, they can lead to severe depression.

If you feel like you are suffering from the condition, it is important to address the situation quickly before it builds up into something more. To rejuvenate, one must first remove themselves from their usual environment. Take a step back; assess your environment and identify the things that make you crave a change. By stepping away from our situations, we are able to have a third-person perspective on what could be the cause of our blues.

Another way of getting rid of the blues is to take a break. Whether it be at work or in your personal matters, take a break from the normal routine. Play hooky, get pampered, play a sport or do something fun. The activity should be a reinvigorating one that is based on your likes or desires.

Taking a break does not necessarily mean taking a vacation or an expensive day off. It could just be a day where you lay around in your pajamas all day, binge-watching shows and thinking of nothing else. I, for one, am a big believer in the Italian phrase dolce far niente, which translates to the sweetness of doing nothing. Perhaps we could also borrow from the Italian lifestyle and have three-hour long lunch breaks, complete with a siesta.