Prepare Yourself for the Melancholy and Sadness of Fall
Seasonal transitions can be welcomed or bittersweet. Here’s how to handle this one.
In late summer, when I was young, the early evening air filled with music from the local high school’s marching band practice. The sound of drums and strident brass wafted down the hill to our home. Those “big kids,” who seemed impossibly wizened and mature to me, were prepping for the fall.
Even as a young child, this bittersweet reminder of summer’s end left me with sadness and longing, but also hopeful expectation for the season ahead.
As a psychologist, I see a variety of reactions to the changing seasons among clients — sometimes filled with hope and wonder, and other times, frustration and even dread. Although fall may herald a new start — a new school year, a busier time at work, or at least, a reprieve from heat and humidity — it also can evoke a sense of loss. The beauty of September’s crystal blue skies taunt us with the reminder that beauty and joy are fleeting, change is inevitable, and winter (physically or metaphorically) will arrive soon.
How seasonal transitions affect us
The paradox of seasonal change — how nature’s transitions herald both joy and sadness — can create a…
