These last few weeks have been a bit better. I feel that my routines have helped me to get back on track with my productivity and motivation. Plus, both of my online courses ended a few weeks ago, which has given me more free time. This has been a nice change of pace. It is hard to believe that I will be back in school in just over a month! This summer sure has flown by! Unfortunately, summers and nonverbal learning disability definitely comes with a few challenges!
Overview of Summers and Nonverbal Learning Disability
While I’m sure we all look forward to summer break to some degree, it can cause some undue stress and anxiety for some. Summers and nonverbal learning disability can be really hard. When I was younger, I remember there were several years where I dreaded going back to school. As I’ve gotten older, however, I have begun to accept it and in many cases, look forward to it. Until this year, I didn’t always look forward to going back to school.
However, I have really grown since last summer. I can see it in myself, such as through my anxiety level and the way I am feeling about going back to school. I’m going to miss my quiet and relaxing days with nothing on the calendar, but I am looking forward to having more structure back in my days. Plus, each day I am back at school, is one step closer to being totally done!!!
Pros of Summers and Nonverbal Learning Disability
- Time to rest up and recharge — After being “on” all school year and having to put on a brave face and “shield up,” the summer gives us NLD’ers a chance to take off all that armor off and rest up before putting it all back on for the school year. It takes extra work for people with nonverbal learning disorder to be in social situations as it’s a lot of work for us to have to figure out people’s nonverbal social cues. During the summer, we are able to just be home and not have to worry about it quite as much. For me, home is my safe place. It’s a place where I don’t have to worry about picking up on those nonverbal social cues. I can kind of just keep to myself and recover from the school year.
- Devote time to doing the things I love — Like all of us, we get really busy during the school year. The summer is a chance to do things that we may have skipped over during the school year. For example, I love reading, however, during the school year I don’t have quite as much time to do this as I would like because of so many homework assignments and other commitments. During the summer, I am able to read a bit more. I love reading because it is solitary in nature. I can do it on my own. And in many ways, it is an escape from my busy life and allows me to rest in a different way, than if I were to scroll my phone.
- A chance to fully turn your brain off — By being home in my safe place, I feel like I can allow myself to fully turn my brain off in a way that I can’t when I’m at school. It also allows me to process the previous school year, and then get ready for the upcoming one. Similar to the first bullet point, this one allows me to turn my brain off and rest and recharge from a busy year!
- A good time to explore new things — Because I get so busy during the year, I get really worn out. The summer is a good chance to try new things, such as a new food or to explore new places.
- A time to reflect and plan for the upcoming year — A lot of the times, I can’t fully process everything that happened during the school year, so the summer also gives me a time to pause and think back on what went well and what might not have gone as I would have liked. Then, I can take this knowledge and create a plan to have an even better school year the next year and create goals that are attainable!!
Cons of Summer and Nonverbal Learning Disability
- Change in schedule and routine — During the school year, I tend to have a very set schedule and routine that I like to follow. People with nonverbal learning disability often times find comfort from routines and don’t do so well when there’s a change. That said, during the summer I obviously don’t have the same routines as during the school year. And as a result, my mental health can sometimes suffer. However, I have begun to create some routines that have been helping me to feel that same consistency as during the school year.
- Lack of social contact — I have always struggled with making friends and connecting with people. During the school year, I at least see people in classes, at clubs, etc. However, during the summer, I don’t always see people or connect on a regular basis. Often times I feel even lonelier during the summer as a result. I will say though, my summer job has been helping to fulfill that longing for connection. It has helped to keep me socially engaged and involved with people.
- Start and stop — Similar to a change in schedule and routine, one of my biggest struggles with the summer, is that it is very start and stop. In other words, I have my routines in school. But during summer, things come to a bit of a screeching halt, and I get out of practice. And then when the fall semester rolls around, my anxiety tends to pick back up again as I have to get used to attending classes again and being in that environment.
- Too much down time — The school year is very busy and hectic, so I am always super glad for summer to be able to rest up and recharge. However, because I am often very tired from the school year, I don’t force myself to do a lot of extra things besides going to work, which often times leads to a whole bunch of downtime. In the summer I have a hard time balancing downtimes with keeping myself active and engaged.
- Not enough stimulation — Similar to too much downtime, I often times don’t have a ton of stimulation and don’t keep myself as engaged as I could or should. This often times makes the re-entry to school that much harder. I often times avoid stimulation because of how exhausted I can get from it. However, I feel that a little bit of stimulation is a really good thing as it will help me when school starts again.
Ways I’m Helping Myself This Summer
I am in a much better place this summer because I’m working to stay engaged. And I have taken measures to not let my mental health suffer. However, I have really had to work at this and it hasn’t always been easy. Here are five ways that I’ve been helping myself this summer in preparation to have an amazing junior year!!
- Following several routines — I love and cherish my morning routine! It allows me to have a quiet and slow start to the day. And while each day turns out to be a bit different, and that’s great, I at least have some sort of routines in my day in the morning and evening.
- Staying engaged at work — I have been making a strong effort to connect with people at work. This has helped me not feel as lonely. I even accepted an invitation to go out to dinner with my co-workers a few weeks ago. This is something I never would have done a few years ago. I’m proud of myself for going and I had a great time!! I love the relationships that I am building with the people I work with.
- Being careful about what I eat — In the last twelve months, I have really begun to realize the impact that food has on me. In order to feel my best, I have been really careful to minimize my sugar intake. I have also been inviting dairy since it doesn’t usually sit well in my stomach. I have found that when food makes me feel gross, it increases my anxiety. Cutting out certain foods is a pretty simple fix to helping me to feel my best!
- Exercising and hydrating — I have not always been great about exercising, however, I have been working really hard to build it into my daily routines. Exercising has helped me to regain my health and help me to feel my best. I have also been working really hard to drink more water, which is easier when I exercise! This has helped my energy and the look of my skin!! Not everyday is as easy as I would like it to be, however, I’m working to notice and celebrate my small wins!!
- Listening to my body — While I’m working towards several goals in different areas of my life, and I really want to achieve them, I have also learned that I need to listen to my body. I have had some really good days this summer, but other days have been a struggle. There have been several days where I just need to have a slow day stay in pjs. If I push myself too hard, I find that it often times backfires, and I wind up even more tired than before. One quiet day of rest is important every once in a while for everyone.
Endnote
This summer is flying by and I am so grateful that it has been a good one!! I have loved working and getting to know the people I work with even better. In many ways, I don’t want to leave my job, but I know I will be grateful to be back at school.
This summer has been one of my favorites to date! I have kept myself socially engaged and stimulated, I have stayed in touch with people from school, and I have created several routines to help me in my days.
If you’re someone who struggles with summer break and all the changes that come with not being in school everyday, I highly recommend that you create several routines. It will at least give you a bit of consistency in your days. I also recommend you find a few ways to stimulate yourself each week. This could be going out to dinner, shopping at the mall, connecting with a friend, etc. This will help get you back into the practice before school starts!
Summers and nonverbal learning disability is no joke. There are many really hard days where I am stressed, anxious, and cranky. And that’s okay. I just have to remind myself to take a deep breath and regroup for a few minutes before moving on with my day.
I would love to know how you help yourself during the summer, especially as school begins in another few short weeks! Be sure to come and find me on Instagram to let me know!
Until next week, friend!