For many people, September brings a strange feeling that can be difficult to put into words. Its all about seasonal change. Perhaps you’ve noticed yourself feeling a little flatter, a little less motivated, or even slightly anxious, despite life carrying on much as normal. The long evenings are beginning to disappear, the mornings feel cooler, and suddenly it seems as though summer has slipped away before you had a chance to hold onto it.
If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “I don’t want summer to end,” you’re certainly not alone, many of us find it hard to adjust to the changing seasons.
We notice more than we realise
As human beings, we’re deeply connected to the world around us, even if we spend much of our lives indoors.
The amount of daylight changes.
The temperature changes.
Our routines change.
The sounds and colours around us begin to shift.
Our nervous system notices all of this, often before our conscious mind does. For some people, these changes simply feel cosy. For others, they bring an unexpected sense of loss.
Sometimes we’re not grieving summer…
…we’re grieving what summer represents.
Summer often carries ideas of freedom.
Possibility.
Holidays.
Being outdoors.
Seeing friends.
Long evenings where life somehow feels a little bigger.
As autumn approaches, we may find ourselves wondering:
- Did I make the most of this year?
- Where has the time gone?
- Is another year disappearing too quickly?
- What have I not yet done?
It’s often less about the weather than what the changing seasons symbolise.
Nature doesn’t resist change
One of the most remarkable things about nature is that it never argues with the next season.
Trees don’t cling desperately to their leaves.
Gardens don’t apologise for slowing down.
Fields aren’t productive all year round.
Everything has its season. Yet many of us expect ourselves to keep operating with the same energy, optimism and productivity every month of the year. Perhaps that’s where some of our struggle begins.
What if autumn offers something different?
How would it be if rather than seeing autumn as the beginning of something to endure, we viewed it as an invitation?
An invitation to slow down.
An invitation to become more intentional.
An invitation to spend less energy doing and more energy noticing.
An invitation to swap constant activity for moments of reflection.
Many of us are surprisingly good at filling every available hour. What would it be like if we stopped, just for a minute and noticed Autumn quietly asking us another question:
What do you want to make space for now?
A few gentle ways to welcome the season
Instead of fighting the coming of autumn, perhaps you could experiment with adjusting to seasonal change by moving alongside it.
You might:
- create one small autumn ritual that you genuinely enjoy
- notice the changing colours on a daily walk
- plan something to look forward to during October or November
- allow yourself slower evenings without feeling guilty
- embrace the idea that rest can be productive too.
Time to Reflect
We can’t stop seasonal change, but perhaps we don’t need to. Just as nature moves gently from one season to the next, maybe we can allow ourselves to change too.
Instead of asking, “How do I hold onto summer?” perhaps a kinder question is:
“What might this new season have to offer me?”
If the changing seasons bring up difficult feelings for you, you dont have to navigate them alone. If you’d like help to explore how therapy might help, please feel free to get in touch via the website or book a free telephone consultation here.