As summer fades away and fall sets in for good, you may find yourself feeling more and more anxious. Why?
Every year when September rolls around, you can feel an added stress and you don’t know how to deal with it. There is no reason to worry because the change of seasons is completely normal psychology to us.
The bad mood can last for a while or even throughout the fall, Christmas and winter. A special era that affects us differently.
Seasonal stress is called seasonal affective disorder. When it comes to autumn, there can be several reasons for increased stress.
Why are we more stressed in autumn?
First, the weather starts to change and there is less sun and heat. This means two things. First, because we don’t get enough sunlight, our serotonin and vitamin D levels decrease and we don’t have as much energy. Second, we begin to spend more time indoors, lose touch with nature, and exercise less (be it hiking or swimming in the summer).
Stress increases when you realize that the carefree, relaxing days of holidays are behind you and we need to get back to business. Obviously, we can’t go back to our daily routine overnight and it takes a toll on our psychology.
If you feel like you didn’t do everything you set out to do or achieve over the summer, the end of summer can also leave you feeling sad and anxious.
As long as serotonin levels decreaseour body reacts by producing more cortisol, the substance “responsible” for negative emotions and stress.
These changes lead to physical symptoms such as sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and increased anxiety.
You don’t have the same appetite and have lost interest in doing your daily activities. Sleep quality decreasesas a result, you feel even more tired and in a bad mood during the day.
And autumn is such a time viruses and colds “bloom”. Getting kids back to school makes it easier for viruses to spread, and if you get sick and are stuck in bed, your stress is likely to increase.
How to deal with autumn stress
If you understand that the stress that started in September is caused by all the above changes, you have a better chance to “beat” it, cheer yourself up and have a wonderful “stress-free” autumn.
- Wake up earlier and go for a walk in the nearby park in your neighborhood. Contact with the sun and nature, gentle exercise, will inspire you before going to work.
- Try to go to bed earlier and practice ways to improve the quality of it so you can combat the symptoms of fatigue you are experiencing.
- Make exercise a part of your daily routine. Exercise is the key to mental health disorders in general, and all the research shows a link between exercise and good mood.
- You may have overindulged in pubs and ice cream over the summer, but in the fall it’s time to pay a little more attention to your diet. Try to eat vitamin-rich foods every day, especially vitamin D, which you can’t get from the sun, like egg yolks, fish, beef liver, and milk.
- Start a new activity that interests you. September is the month of new “beginnings” as a new season begins. Sign up for a new sport, dance class, art activity, or anything else that excites you and lifts your spirits.