Summer Holiday
Summer Holidays are greatly anticipated. Time in the sun, with loved ones, family and friends, or perhaps you are not able to afford to go away. The Christmas break is well recognised for being stressful. But there is less recognition of how stressful summer holidays can be. There is already the stress for families with kids over the long school break coping with occupying their time.

But leaving your home to spend time with your partner, family and friends can be very stressful.
Two weeks away: the equivalent of four and half bank holiday weekends, over three Easter weekends, or two long Christmas breaks. There is not a lot of recognition of the stressful summer break. In a strange land, strange accommodation, and eating habits: away from the distractions of work, hobbies, cinema, friends, family or the shed.
No wonder people want to come home and separate.
The weight of work culture with people working more and more for less increases the pressure put on recovery time. The concept of TGIF  invented in the industrial age, city breaks, spas, high risk sports sex, drugs and rock’n’roll all to counteract the obsessive world of work.

So no distractions and forced to spend exclusive time with people you are not used to spending time with! No wonder the cracks in a relationship kept in the dark by the normal routine, are revealed into the light by long summer breaks. A time to talk about the quality (or lack of it) rather than quantity of your life. A time to talk about unrealised dreams and plans made last year in the space of a long summer break. A time to realise that the person you are, or who you are with is not enough, or simply your life is not enough.
Summer Holiday

Copyright Adrian Scott North London Counsellor Blog 2014
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Disclaimer: This weblog is the view of the writer and for general information only.
This article is designed to provoke argument and critique.