Hello, Fall: Coping with the Seasons

Most of us here can’t help but notice the abrupt change in seasons we experienced at the end of summer. Many people walked into my office feeling “off” – for some, this was a subtle feeling of strangeness, while for others, it was a more profoundly felt environmental grief. We’re a part of nature and so of course, it makes sense that we’re deeply impacted by it, emotionally and physically.
 
I was sent a beautiful article that touched on environmental grief that you can check out here. For this post, I’m going to focus on how we can cope with change of seasons more generally.

Take the Time to Reflect

For me, fall equinox was a time to slow down and set some new intentions: rest, support, and self-regulate. Not because I’ve met all my goals for the year (that would be nice) or have somehow otherwise “earned” it. I don’t believe that we need to earn rest. I’m listening to my body now because I’m tired. Now is a time for me to keep slowing down, to let extra work fall away (just as the leaves fall...) and focus on these 3 intentions so that I can continue offering the presence of self with my clients that’s so important to my work.
 
Many of my colleagues who live South of here speak about letting ourselves move with the rhythm of the seasons. For example, there may be a naturally “turning in” or cozying that we do in the winter months. At the same time, this is my perspective: as residents of Edmonton we’re in kind of a unique situation. Yes, it makes sense to move with the seasons to some degree. At the same time, I think we can really start to suffer when we’re alone or in our beds for too long, and the winter IS long here. We miss out on social connection, we miss out on being with nature, and if a lot of that time in our homes is in front of the tv, we can really miss out on being with ourselves.
 
It seems like a real balance – allowing ourselves to cozy in at times, while also stretching our comfort edges and ensuring we get outside at times too. The change of seasons gives us a clear chance to reflect on what we need and how we want to move into the next few months.

Get Your Routines in Place

Okay, so now you know that winter is coming. Time to get your routines in place. Bring your SAD lamp out of its hiding place. Sign up for the dance class that’s going to get you out of the house over the winter and keep your body warm. Organize that book club that helps you keep connected. Okay serious note. If your depression symptoms are worse over the winter, I’d seriously consider investing in a SAD lamp. If seasonal depression is truly at play, it’s one of the most supported treatments in the research.

And did you catch the three other things I put in there? Movement, being in nature, and social connection. These are often missing in winter and worth thinking about how you might integrate them. Of course, it’s up to you to consider the routines you need in place to feel whole.
 
I think it’s also super important to actually carve out time for this daunting task. Personally, I spent an entire day getting the routines in place and on the calendar. From my perspective, it’s worth the investment, and best to do early, before it’s hard to find the energy for.

Give Yourself Something to Look Forward to

Okay, while you’re planning all those necessary daily and weekly routines, are there parts of fall and winter you can actually look forward to? Maybe you love making your way through the corn maze and listening to the sound of the leaves crunching under your feet. Perhaps the quiet of the snow is really peaceful for you, and you’re looking forward to some cross-country skiing this year.
 
If finding something about fall and winter specifically seems to daunting at the moment, you can still find things over the next 6 months to look forward to. It might be a trip to the mountains, a vacation somewhere warm, tickets to the ballet, or some good local craft shows and holiday festivals. And of course there’s Halloween – a lot of my clients love dressing up, carving pumpkins, and having an excuse to get together with friends. If there’s even one thing a month you can look forward to, that’s wonderful. Again, I really encourage people to take the time to sit down and plan this out. Often, we can fall into a trap where we don’t end up organizing the things we need until we’re already in need of them, and then we’re more likely to run into barriers.

None of the things I’ve suggested are mind-blowing, I realize that. But I wanted to be the Psychologist in your ear saying, “you’re allowed to have things to look forward to. You’re allowed to take this time for yourself.” I hope it helps.