Can You Prevent Autumn Anxiety

Autumn anxiety is a form of anxiety you get seasonally, often between the end of 
summer and beginning of fall. Different people get it for different reasons, though it is 
often a type of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Preventing it comes down to 
understanding what it is, and what you believe is the cause for you specifically to get 
this disorder. 

Here are some tips to help you prevent autumn anxiety, or at least reduce its effects.


Don’t Make Things Harder for Yourself

It can be hard to accept at first, but sometimes you are doing things unintentionally to 
make your anxiety worse. If you have had autumn anxiety before, and you fear it 
happening again, try to rationalize what these fears are. Do they come from a place of 
experience, or unrealistic fears? Are you overly stressed out and not taking care of 
yourself? Have you stopped going to therapy? These and many other choices can 
possibly make your anxiety worse and increase the risk of it coming back this season.


Release Anxious Thoughts with a Journal

Another way you might be able to prevent some of your seasonal anxiety is to write in a 
journal more often. When you turn this into a regular practice that you do each and 
every day, it can really help you to stay de-stressed and reduce some of the generalized 
anxiety. At the very least, start writing in your journal near the end of the summer when 
you start experiencing those anxious feelings. 


Switch Up Your Daily Routine

Getting a jumpstart on your new fall routine might be just what you need to prevent the 
dreaded autumn anxiety. Start around the end of the summer, when your schedule 
starts changing, you get the kids ready for school, and you consider how your own 
routine is going to change. This is a good time to embrace what you love about fall, find 
some fun activities for the family, and put some of those anxious thoughts aside.


Get as Much Light as Possible

This is going to be really important throughout the fall and winter seasons. Many people 
associate their autumn anxiety with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which means 
similar treatments can help. If your anxiety seems to be from the extreme weather shift 
and lack of sunlight, then you know what to do – get more light! When it’s a dark and 
gloomy day, try using a light therapy box indoors. 


