September stress is real but there are ways to cope: Jennifer Moss

September Stress is real.

According to Google's Misery Index, our stress peaks in September and October. Experts suggest that adjusting to change in a short amount of time causes anxiety and stress. Add in a pandemic and it's making this September particularly challenging.

But there are ways we can cope.

Researchers have found that times of abrupt and concentrated change can make us feel anxious and stressed. September happens to be a time filled with that kind of shift. According to Stats Canada, roughly six million students including public elementary and separate schools would normally return to school this September. But the pandemic has thrown normal out the window for many of us.

For some, change is exciting and represents new beginnings. For others, it can cause anxiety — particularly when it feels like it's happening all at once.

September stress has been a studied phenomenon for some time now. Also known as "Stresstember," it was originally just anecdotally expressed by therapists claiming their patients were showing increased stress in the fall, but with more analysis, it was determined that stress drops significantly during the holidays.

There seems to be two peak seasons for stress — in the spring and in the fall, with fall showing the highest peak in stress. The reason for this is multifold.

Weather, changes in routine

Weather can play a major role in September stress. Despite the seasons being such a fixed part of our experience in Canada, it still throws us for a loop.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – a mental illness that is linked to a reduction in Vitamin D impacts around one million Canadians each year. The farther north you go, SAD becomes more prevalent.

Rapid change in routines is also a factor, particularly for parents. Whenever we experience change in our daily schedule, it can be highly disruptive to our physical and mental health. Since most schools in Canada are broken out into semesters, it is a distinct shift between summer and fall.

When you compare schools that are broken out into trimesters or even quadrants, there are shorter but more frequent breaks. This changes how families have to adjust to new routines. Plus, parents and students are heading into this September without closure from the previous year, so it feels like there are still loose ends to tie up.

Then there's the obvious stress around sending kids back to school in general because of COVID-19 health concerns.

It's also a time that employees feel they should "get back to work" after being off in the summer. But the reality is — especially in this COVID-impacted workforce — people haven't been taking a break, so they just tend to overwork and put themselves at risk of burnout. Some people were planning to retire this year and now they can't, so they are back working through another winter.

Plus, we are also coming into this September with low reserves — nearly 80 per cent of the population is dealing with increased stress, so that saying "the straw that broke the camel's back" is resonant here.

Sometimes it can be that final thing that overwhelms us. This is why I want to make people aware that September stress is a real thing — so it can be labelled — and we can try to prevent our communities from collectively hitting that emotional wall. If we can separate the acute September stress from the chronic COVID-19 stress that has been plaguing us for months, we can better tackle both.

Setting goals to help with stress

Although there is definitely some crossover in how we manage all stress, September stress is mostly a result of discomfort with change and a fear of the unknown. We may recognize that we're feeling more anxious than before, ruminating on "what if's" that are specifically tied to issues that present themselves now, like school planning. We're using more negative language about winter approaching.

Positive psychologists would focus on interventions that home in on those stressors.

Dr. Charles Snyder, an American psychologist who specialized in positive psychology, came up with the concept of Hope Theory in the late 1990s. He suggests that we can develop our psychological fitness specifically related to cognitive hope by connecting hope to goal setting. 

Goal attainment reduces our anxiety by making us feel more in control. This is the perfect antidote to stress from uncertainty. We can build hope by accomplishing small tasks at the start of the day. Setting reasonable priorities for the day and working hard to stick to them.

Small goals are important right now because so much is changing, and we don't want to feel defeated. Setting a one-month goal, like a day of self-care (or a day that is about your happiness) at the end of September. By booking it off now with work and family, spending time to plan it then prioritize in on the day and execute it as planned, that can be a very healthy approach to developing your hope skills.

Developing cognitive optimism is another great approach. We can improve our optimism skills by changing our language and our mindset. If you find yourself already commenting on how much you hate that summer is ending, you'll miss the last few weeks of the weather you love. Try to move your mind back to the present moment by noticing and actively appreciating the really special parts of summer and early fall.

Give yourself space

Give yourself margins. That means the space to manage the added stuff coming at us. This might mean a year of not trying to do more. Being able to press pause on something and pick it back up later can release some of the pressure we put on ourselves or others.

Personally, I've reduced the amount of extracurriculars the kids are engaging in this year until I can wrap my mind around what school will look like. I plan to continue eating more dinners with my family and spending time in the kitchen, slowing down the process by hanging out with my spouse.

We need to prioritize sleep and rest — reduce the noise of a life that is too crowded with lesser priorities.

I believe COVID-19 has tested us in so many ways. We've been forced to reassess what is most important in our lives, what we need to covet in order to maintain our wellbeing.

Ask yourself right now: What can I remove from my life to ensure I have the margins to handle stress in all its forms? This will make it easier to stay mentally well in September and all year round.