Fall is a season many of us love for cozy sweaters, crisp air, and warm drinks. But for some, it also brings a noticeable increase in seasonal anxiety. If you’ve ever felt your mind racing, your heart pounding, or tension creeping in as the days get shorter, you’re not alone.
Fall anxiety is a real, common experience. Changes in sunlight, routine, and energy levels can all trigger anxious feelings, making this season particularly challenging for those prone to worry. The good news? By understanding the biological and energetic signals behind anxiety, you can work with it consciously instead of letting it take over.
What is seasonal anxiety?
Seasonal anxiety is anxiety that follows a seasonal pattern. But to clarify, anxiety is a natural human emotion characterized by feelings of fear, worry, unease, and apprehension. It can show up physiologically, as increased heart rate, sweating, and muscle tension, or cognitively, such as in racing thoughts, rumination, or difficulty concentrating.
All humans have a predisposition to anxiety. It’s not inherently a mental health condition but a natural survival response, helping you anticipate and prepare for threats or dangers.
Sometimes, however, anxiety can spiral into generalized anxiety disorder, which is more excessive, persistent, and difficult to control, interfering with daily life. Normal anxiety, by contrast, is temporary, proportional to the situation, and manageable. Unfortunately, many people lump all anxiety together, which can unnecessarily magnify mild anxiety, labeling it as something more than it needs to be.
Disclaimer: If anxiety is affecting your daily life or feels impossible to manage, it’s important to speak with a doctor or health practitioner. This post is not a diagnosis — it’s about reframing anxiety from a conscious, whole-body perspective.
Shifting Your Perspective on Anxiety
I don’t want to diminish the power of anxiety, but rather invite a new understanding – one that is more holistic in nature. Anxiety is not a malfunction. It’s a signal or sign that something is out of tune and needs realignment. It’s not a problem to be “fixed,” but an awareness pointing you toward what your body, mind, or energy may need.
I like to think of anxiety like a stoplight. If your body were the stoplight, anxiety is the yellow light, cautioning you of a potential threat or imbalance. Most often, this “threat” originates internally, signaling that something within your body or energy system requires attention.
Viewed this way, anxiety shifts from being a problem to being an energetic signal. It becomes a guide letting you know when something in your life is misaligned. Often, the source is internal, such as physiological dysregulation, nervous system imbalance, or misalignment between mind, body, and soul, rather than something external, like an actual threat.
However, external threats still do occur. Regardless, the key is recognizing anxiety as a guide rather than a problem. Doing so opens the door to quick regulation and realigning yourself to disperse the anxiety.
Instead of labeling anxiety as “bad,” ask: What is this anxiety trying to tell me? What feedback is it offering, and how can I support myself?
By sitting with anxiety in this way and learning from it, it transforms anxiety from a challenge into a source of insight and potential. Anxiety can actually become the thing pointing you in the direction of what your body needs. But that requires reframing anxiety.
Try this Seasonal Anxiety Shift:
Considering that fall marks the start of anxiety season, I think it’s essential to usher in a reframe. Enter the seasonal anxiety shift.
The seasonal anxiety shift is a conscious framework for working with anxiety as a signal of dysregulation rather than a problem to be fixed. Instead of running from it, you can use it to understand what your body, mind, and soul need and move toward resourcing yourself to regain alignment.
Learning how to create alignment helps establish a sense of predictability that calms the nervous system, while supporting the body with the nourishment it needs to change its energetic patterns and, in turn, influence the mind.
This approach overcomes the common misconception that mental health is purely a brain issue. In truth, your mind, body, and soul are all connected and interdependent, working together as one whole, complete system. That means your mind is only as healthy as your body, and your body is energized and guided by your soul.
Regulation happens through the nourishment and connection of your whole system, not just a single part.
Take Action: Make the Shift
As sunlight patterns change and energetic rhythms naturally decline in fall and winter, it becomes essential to implement other tools of nourishment to support your body, mind, and soul. By doing so, you can significantly shift your anxiety, creating regulation through grounding, restorative practices, and mindful nourishment.
But first, you have to understand your anxiety and ask it what it’s trying to tell you.
- Notice it. Observe the anxiety in your body and mind. Where do you feel it? How intense is it? Simply acknowledging it begins the process of awareness.
- Sit With It. Instead of distracting or suppressing the feeling, allow yourself to sit with it for a few moments. Treat it as a messenger rather than the enemy.
- Ask Questions. Gently inquire, what is this anxiety trying to tell me? What part of me needs attention? This helps you shift from reactive fear to curious observation.
- Listen to Feedback. Pay attention to the sensations, thoughts, or insights that arise. Anxiety often points to areas where your energy, routines, or nourishment are out of alignment.
- Respond Powerfully. Use the tools you have – eat a snack, get sunlight, take a nap, pray, or practice felt gratitude to help realign and restore balance.
Your response doesn’t need to be perfect. The simple act of tuning in and taking action helps bridge the gap between your mind and body that anxiety works to break. Doing so can help release the anxiety, moving you through it rather than feeling stuck in it.
Five Actionable Shifts For Fall
Anxiety doesn’t have to follow statistics and heighten in the fall. By shifting your perspective and treating it as a signal rather than a problem, you can move from tension into alignment, grounding your energy and restoring balance.
To make this practical, I’ve created five actionable fall shifts designed to ease seasonal anxiety, stabilize energy, and support your body, mind, and soul. These shifts focus on sleep, movement, nourishment, gratitude, and light, helping you harness the season’s energy instead of resisting it.
Get the full guide in this week’s The Weekly Fill newsletter, including your Fall Refresh, a step-by-step framework to move through the season with clarity, nourishment, and presence. Don’t let seasonal anxiety take over. Take control of your fall energy and make the shift today!
