Summer blues in Denmark: How weather and social media comparisons impact holiday mood
Are you sitting in a summer house with your family in Denmark, disheartened by the rain? Or do you frequently feel like everyone else is having more fun than you when scrolling through social media? If you do, you’re not alone. As summer approaches, many Danes are on vacation. However, it can be challenging to maintain a positive mood when the weather or holiday doesn’t turn out as expected.
Some people are affected by the weather, and many are also influenced by how those around them spend their holidays. This primarily stems from our tendency to set high expectations and compare ourselves with others, explains Neela Maria Sris, director of psychology house Encounter and an external lecturer in psychology at the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University.
“We often assume that holidays automatically bring relaxation and joy for everyone. But we’re all different, and there are many who don’t thrive, even in summer,” she says.
It’s crucial to distinguish between those who suffer from depression and those who simply don’t feel as happy as they anticipated. This is not necessarily dependent on the weather, but rather how one handles such situations.
“Bad weather is just bad weather. And two different people can react to it differently,” Sris explains. One person might think, “Darn, all my plans are ruined, I can’t do anything, so I’ll just watch Netflix.”
One thing that can trigger negative thoughts about one’s own summer is comparison, Sris states. For some, this manifests as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) – a sense of missing out on something.
“It can be thoughts that arise when logging on to social media and seeing what others are doing with their time, and experiencing a thousand things during the summer vacation,” she says.
Sris advises trying to focus on one’s own needs. Do you actually need to be around people all the time, or do you prefer some alone time to relax?
“I often ask people to ask themselves if they really want to live the life that they think in a split second is better than their own. My experience is that the answer is always no,” says Sris.
According to Sris, bad weather doesn’t necessarily mean that individuals suffering from FOMO over the summer will feel better. They will simply find other things to compare themselves with.