Your Version of Summer Joy Is Enough
Disclaimers:
Land Acknowledgment: We live and work on the unseated territories of the Wahpekute and Chumash peoples, we pay respects to their elders past and present. We encourage folks to explore the ancestral lands they live and work on, and to learn about the Native communities that live there, the treaties that have been broken. If folks feel called, we encourage them to consider taking actions to support Native communities, reparations, and land back movements (see other resources at the end for more info).
A note on language: The language in the DSM, including the use of the word disorder (D in acronym), some find this harmful, while others prefer the language “disorder.” When this language is used, it is because, as mental health professionals, we need to use this same language when referring to “diagnoses” in the DSM. In addition some Autistics find the use of the level system helpful in identifying the level of support needed, while others view it as an overly simplistic way of defining something that’s fluid, and may feel it’s harmful and minimizing. The beauty is that each individual gets to choose what language feels validating and affirming to them. Inspired by Dr. Jennifer Mullan, we use the term, “therapy participant” rather than “client” or “patient,” as we work toward decolonizing therapy.
Educational Purposes: The information presented here is for educational purposes, and not meant to diagnose, treat or cure medical conditions or challenges, including neurodivergence (including mental health challenges), or physical health.
Your Version of Summer Joy Is Enough
Summer comes with a script.
You're supposed to love the beach. To soak up the sun. To say yes to every barbecue, every festival, every pool party. To be spontaneous, social, carefree.
But what if you’re not any of those things?
What if summer doesn’t make you feel light and energized, but overwhelmed and disconnected?
If you're neurodivergent, that pressure to enjoy summer the "right" way can be alienating—especially when your version of joy looks totally different. Maybe your joy is indoors. Maybe it’s quiet. Maybe it’s highly specific or beautifully repetitive.
Here’s the truth: your version of summer joy is enough.
Joy Doesn’t Have
to
Be Loud or Social
There’s this idea that summer joy needs to be high-energy: music blaring, groups laughing, sunlight everywhere. But joy for you might be…
Watching a thunderstorm roll in while curled up with your pet.
Listening to the same playlist on repeat because it feels safe.
Here’s some of our favorites:
Have one you love? leave it in the comments and we’ll add it!
Playing your favorite game with headphones on and the curtains drawn.
We love:Have a game you love playing? Share it in the comments!
Walking alone at dusk when it’s cool, quiet, and empty.
Your joy doesn't have to be loud to be real. It doesn’t have to involve people, travel, or leaving the house. It only has to feel good to you.
Special Interests Are a Summer Superpower
Let’s talk about hyperfocus and special interests—the way so many neurodivergent people find deep joy in exploring something intensely.
Summer can give you space to dive headfirst into the things you love most. Whether it’s:
Creating art based on a fictional universe
Researching beetles or the culinary anthropology
Building Minecraft or SIMS worlds for hours
Organizing your books, your rocks, your beads, your brain
That’s genuine, focused, sparkly joy. It doesn’t need to be justified, explained, or made into a productivity project.
Rest Is Joy, Too
Joy isn’t just excitement—it’s also ease. Safety. Calm.
You are allowed to rest, even when everyone else seems to be out and about. You’re allowed to do less, move slower, say no.
In fact, rest might be one of the most radical and beautiful joys you can claim—especially in a culture that tells neurodivergent people to “keep up” all the time.
So if your best summer day is one where you stay in your comfort clothes, stim freely, and don’t talk to anyone unless you want to? That’s valid and that’s joy.
There’s No
Right Way
to Feel Good
You are not broken for not loving the beach.
You are not weird for choosing quiet over chaos.
You are not failing because the “fun” things don’t feel fun to you. The world may tell you that summer joy looks a certain way—but it doesn’t.
It looks like your joy.
Joy is not a one-size-fits-all emotion. It’s not something you have to prove or perform. It’s deeply personal—and often deeply sensory, too.
Your version of summer joy is not just “good enough.”
It’s right. It’s worthy. It’s yours.
So let yourself feel joy in whatever way your body and brain allow. Paint it. Repeat it. Name it. Celebrate it. Even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else.
