Jenny Bathurst: "So many reasons to be sad or apprehensive about the ending of summer"

Jenny is studying journalism at the University of Brighton.

"With August now firmly behind us and Autumn fast approaching, the majority of us have waved goodbye to holidays and trips away and are preparing to bury our heads into textbooks and laptops once again. When brainstorming for this article I Googled the term ‘post-holiday blues’ to source an official definition, however it appears to have a rather more sombre meaning than I had always thought.

“Search results include depression support groups and anxiousness, and although I may not be experiencing these kind of thoughts and emotions, I can understand how many Brits may be able to relate during this time.

“I’m not going to pretend that I know nearly enough as I perhaps should about the cost of living crisis - maybe because selfishly I don’t want to know whilst I am at a stage in my life where I am not faced with every bill and household responsibility. But what is certainly evident is that there is a big problem, which it seems could be avoided with the correct leadership and knowledge. Tips and advice such as having a hot shower at your local gym or even not flushing the toilet after every use have been circulating the internet, many followed by comments expressing sadness that this is the world we live in.

“It makes complete sense for anyone who is faced with extravagant bills to dread returning home from a holiday where there is space to not only relax in a different environment but to charge your phone without fear of using up too much power and paying mightily for it.

“Closing the book on summer was tricky for me also, although not in the same way and certainly not to the same extent. Chronic illness prohibits me from being able to do much activity at all without having to lay down to regain a steady heart rate and continuing on. When the sun is shining and there are benches or grass around this isn’t a problem, despite the fact that a trip around town can take twice as long when factoring in all the stopping and starting.

“However, when the rain is pouring and the temperature is freezing (which, let’s be honest, will probably make up for 90% of the next few months) then I am pretty confined to my home.

“There are so many reasons to be sad or apprehensive about the ending of summer, but trusting that there are new things to be grateful for everyday and mercies we don’t even know about yet will spur me on until I am next sweating all over and complaining about the heatwave.”