Summer doldrums - summer camp

Camping Magazine, May, 2002 by Bruce Muchnick

It's the first staff meeting after visiting day, or perhaps in the fifth week of camp after groups of campers have cycled out and new campers have arrived. While you see pockets of animated conversation here and there, the mood in the room is quiet and subdued. You see many staff members leaning on each other's shoulders for support. Boatin Dridock, looking disheveled and wearing sunglasses, shuffles into the room, stumbles, and then collapses into an empty chair.

If Boatin were wearing a body mike, you might hear him mumble, 'Oh no! Another one of these boring evening staff meetings, and I'm late again. All we do is go over stupid details. Meanwhile, I'm worn out. I can't deal with these kids!"

Boatin whispers almost inaudibly to Barney Awl sitting next to him, "Let's get out of here and spend the night grabbing some brews. We don't need to listen to this stuff." He hesitates and then adds. "Yeah, I smell. I haven't had time to do laundry in two weeks, This job is exhausting!"

To Nancie Drew sitting on the other side of him, Boatin mutters, "You know, this is definitely not what I expected. They misled me. We have no privacy; not enough time off; and the food's lousy. I can't sleep; my co-counselor is no help at all. I'm dreading going back to school -- something I can't stop thinking about. In any event, three more weeks, and I'm outa here!"

Boatin has demonstrated for us some of the classic signs and symptoms of the "summer doldrums." Can we find evidence of this condition elsewhere around camp?

A few days later, you are out and about conducting one of your regularly scheduled walk-abouts. You stop by the health center. Your nurse, June Gayle, who is usually calm and reassuring, seems agitated and short tempered. June complains about being overworked and not having enough down time -- largely attributable to campers and counselors who come into the center whenever they want. She tells you that she feels isolated, not really part of the camp community, and that no one really understands her job.

Later, during the same walk-about, you stop by one of the cabins and find campers sprawled out on their beds or, perhaps, you walk past the pavilion and find kids aimlessly milling about. Several campers are surprisingly rude and testy when you attempt to engage them in conversation. They stubbornly refuse to go off to their next activity, claiming that it's boring -- not fun. Besides, they complain, the instructor, Leigh Marvyn spends the entire period putting them through repetitive, impossibly difficult drills while barking at them like a drill sergeant. Two campers are scuffling with each other off to one side. There are no counselors in sight.

Signs and Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of the summer doldrums can be organized into at least five clusters -- sleeping, health, appearance and behavior, self-focus, and relationships. Many of the characteristics and behaviors listed below were generated by participants at several summer doldrums workshops and from my conversations with Linda Ebner Erceg, RN., M.S., executive director, Association of Camp Nurses, about emotional health markers in the camp community.

Sleeping

* Complains about not getting enough rest

* Finds opportunities to sleep whenever possible (e.g., the "disappearing act")

* Falls asleep with difficulty (e.g., "My mind's churning. I can't turn it off.")

* Gets up in the morning with difficulty (e.g., sleeping through lineup/breakfast)

* Stays up very late to work on projects or to socialize

Health

* Reports illnesses and injuries more often (notable increase in)

* Lacks energy, enthusiasm, and spontaneity

* Experiences "compassion fatigue"

* Can't relax

* Loses appetite or eats excessively

Appearance/Behavior

* Appears to be in a daze, lacks focus, becomes forgetful, apathetic

* Acts especially watchful, defensive, critical of others

* Lapses into carelessness with safety issues and with respect to one's self (e.g., grooming, hygiene, skipping! late for meals, meetings, activities)

* Exercises poor judgment, violates policies and rules

* Acts short tempered, expresses anger inappropriately

* Lacks ability to solve problems and to cope with disappointments, blames others, becomes defensive

Self-Focus

* Spends time intensively planning or worrying about how to spend their time after the summer season.

* Makes personal phone calls, writes letters, and fills out applications more often

* Interacts less with campers or cabin mates and lacks consideration for others

* Makes frequent comparisons between one's personal experiences in the previous summers and the present camp season

* Focuses on the next time off and/or returns to camp preoccupied with the insufficiency of time away from camp

Relationships

* Gives less of their time to campers who need more attention

* Experiences conflicts between campers and staff and between groups of campers or staff and the camp's leadership

* Gossips or makes backbiting comments

* Feels entrapped in a relationship or isolated from one's peers and/or community