Summer Anxiety & Burnout: The Manic Energy of Alaskan Summers (and How to Find Your Calm)
Summer Anxiety & Burnout: The Manic Energy of Alaskan Summers (and How to Find Your Calm)
I love summer in Alaska. It’s hands-down my favorite season. After the long, dark winters, summer feels like a breath of fresh air—saturated with sunlight, wildflowers, and a sense of urgency to make the most of it.
But if I’m honest, I sometimes notice a quiet anxiety and guilt creeping in. Am I fishing enough? Hiking enough? Camping enough? Gathering enough berries? Living enough?
The endless daylight and short season can leave us caught in a push-pull: the manic energy to do it all and the subtle burnout that follows.
🌿 Why Summer Anxiety & Burnout Happen
In Alaska, summer is short and intense. There’s an unspoken pressure to soak up every ounce of daylight, every opportunity for adventure, because winter will come again.
For many, summer is filled with camping, berry-picking, fishing, and long days spent outdoors. For others, it’s a season of hard, steady work—families in fish camps working to put away native foods, honoring traditions that sustain them through the long winters. These efforts are beautiful and necessary, but they can also be demanding on the body and mind.
Whether your summer is spent adventuring, gathering, or working tirelessly to provide for the months ahead, it’s easy for our nervous systems to become overwhelmed. Constant activity, overstimulation, and irregular sleep rhythms add up. Instead of feeling refreshed, we may find ourselves:
Restless or keyed up (anxious energy)
Guilty for saying no—or not doing “enough”
Physically and emotionally depleted (burnout)
Disconnected from the joy summer is supposed to bring
5 Ways to Reset Before Fall
The good news? You can care for yourself and your nervous system without giving up what you love about summer.
🌱 1. Slow Your Mornings (or Evenings)
Start or end the day with 10 minutes of quiet. Sip your coffee outside, read a few pages of a book, or simply breathe deeply. Let your body register that it’s safe to rest.
🌱 2. Redefine “Enough"
Gently remind yourself: I don’t have to do it all to enjoy summer. Notice small joys—like sitting in the evening light with a warm drink, gathering a few wildflowers, or laughing with a friend—and let them count.
🌱 3. Practice Mindfulness
Instead of feeling anxious that the days are flying by, try anchoring yourself in the present moment. Pause and ask: What am I seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling right now? Breathe it in fully. You may also anchor to a memory, a sense of peace, or appreciation for this exact moment.
🌱 4. Prioritize Sleep
Even with the midnight sun, protect your sleep. Use blackout curtains, a sleep mask, or a wind-down ritual to signal your body it’s time to rest.
🌱 5. Practice Saying No (Kindly)
You don’t have to attend every barbecue or hike every weekend. Listen to your body’s cues. Resting is not wasting summer—it’s savoring it in a different way.
💛 A Gentle Reminder
Loving summer doesn’t mean you have to keep up the manic pace. Your nervous system deserves space to breathe, just like you do.
As the fireweed reaches full bloom, it quietly communicates what we often try to ignore: summer is moving toward its close. Instead of rushing to fit in one more hike or fishing trip, maybe this is an invitation to pause.
Take a breath. Notice the light on the water, the sound of wind in the trees, or the laughter of someone you love. Let this moment anchor you, not in the pressure to do more, but in the quiet joy of simply being here.
💛 And to my friends, family, and communities all across Alaska: sending love and prayers for a successful subsistence season for the rest of the summer. May your work be fruitful, your bodies supported, and your spirits sustained.
This season can be joyful and restful. Give yourself permission to experience both.