What Is Autumn Anxiety And How To Help It

I’ve been feeling that funny mix of a yearning for autumn and crisper days with pretty orange colours, clashing with an anxiety of summer leaving and the worry over the hurtling toward the Winter season. I feel this way every year, and this is a huge part of why I actually started this blog as I am really in my feelings around this time. I don’t seem to know anyone who feels it as much as me. However I have stumbled across the term “Autumn Anxiety” in my reading as a real thing. I feel seen!

It is marked by a subtle but noticeable spike in worry or anxiety and general unease about the transition into the -ber months and tends to crop up during the late Summer months as we move toward Autumn. It is not an official diagnosis as such, but can be recognised as more of a psychological tension triggered by the shifting season. It can be described as being a “background hum” of anxiety that doesn’t really seem to have a clear cause, and that in itself can play a part in the overall weird dread sense around this time.

And there can be a few reasons as to why this is:

Biological factors

• Less daylight disrupts serotonin and melatonin balance
• Circadian rhythm has to adjust not to different light/dark cues

Psychological triggers

• We may have an ingrained “academic clock” from so many years living alongside a school calendar that the move to autumn signifies the end of summer freedom and return to structure, leading to anticipatory anxiety as if this is occurring now
• Subconscious awareness of the year ending and time passing can cause introspection about goals unmet or time running out 
• If you have felt “off” in previous autumns, your brain might be anticipating stress around this time and you may be experiencing a feedback loop

Evolutionary links

I like to discover whether how we feel now is linked to evolutionary adaptations from long ago, back when we may have been more connected to the changes cycles and seasons. Autumn anxiety may not just be modern malaise, but could echo deep evolutionary strategies.

• As once upon a time we came from equatorial environments, there are theories that we are not finely tuned to the higher-latitude light and it’s changes, and being sensitive to these light changes can trigger anxious and SAD-like reactions

• We may feel anxious as we know that ahead of us is a time when resources become scarce
• We may feel low energy and shut down as it was important to conserve energy and hibernate in the winter
• Another link for women around slowing down and conserving energy in Autumn was that this time was seen as favourable for reproduction (to make the most of late spring birthing), and so conserving energy and keeping tucked away would be helpful for an evolutionary perspective

So if you are feeling this way, you are not the only one! And there are a myriad of reasons, from psychological to evolutionary, as to why you might be experiencing this.

Here are some tips I’ve come across to help ease the transition somewhat:

Maximise light

• Open curtains first thing
• Morning walk, or cup of tea outside (if feeling brave on those chillier days)

Keep grounded in routine – anxiety thrives off of uncertainty

• Regular sleep and wake times
• Make sure to heals at regular intervals

Connect with nature

• Go outside and notice the seasonal shift, instead of resisting (this is what this blog is all about really)

Embrace the cosy

• Eat warm nourishing foods – think soups, roasted vegetables, hot cups of cocoa
• Time for rest and hobbies – perfect for some cosier past times like reading, knitting, baking

I read a quote that said “Making the most of the season you are in is key when darkness descends” (Rosie Steer, Slow Seasons) and I think this sums it up perfectly.