That dreaded time of tears, lost sleep, and tender burnt skin. You wish you could bring back time, maybe not change things of the past but have the opportunity to simply relive it. Thus, your thoughts are concentrated on one thing. What is the diagnosis to these feelings of misery and pure boredom? You guessed it: Post camp depression.
Your friends and family don't understand why you're not ecstatic to not be surrounded by bugs 24/7, how you're taking air conditioning for granted, and how you wish you could taste that lovely, undercooked camp food one more time. Their biggest question is how you can miss people that you only see for a limited time each year. They have no understanding of your condition. That's what I'm here for. To help us get through this together. Here's how to deal with PCD.
You know that feeling when you're thrilled to tell everyone all of your hilarious camp stories but when you get back no one finds it as entertaining as you? When you barely can get through the whole story without crying so much from laughter, it's disappointing when you can't even get a chuckle from your friends and family. When this happens, try to remember that they "just had to be there" so they can't find your memories as sweet as you do. And that's okay. They mean more to you for a reason.
Thinking of your memories with your camp friends, friends that could never be replaced, you can't help to miss their constant energy. However, this symptom is easily fixed, medicated with FaceTimes, daily text messages, or even a road trip to visit.
But you don't just miss camp. You had a completely different lifestyle then and that is what you miss the most. Without your cell phone, you didn't have to worry about work or even social media. Not having your phone made falling asleep at night a whole lot easier. You miss your planned out schedule and you have no idea what to do with all this extra time. No matter how busy, tired, or stressed out you were, camp brought you peace of mind. At the end of the day, you were content with your hard work.
My best advice for you is to embrace all of those special moments you made at camp. Don't be afraid to cry flipping through camp pictures (I have way more than once). The one piece tan lines may fade, but the fond memories made at your favorite place on earth will always have a special place in your heart.
So how do you move on? All you have left to do is look forward to next year of course! Until then, it's perfectly acceptable to start brainstorming cabin ideas for next year, buy that costume that catches your eye, and start a countdown. I only have 347 days left.
