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Original poster

Does anyone else find this time of year unsettling?

65 replies

Stranged · 01/09/2018 18:20

Every year at this time I feel out of sorts and unsettled. This feels more like new year to me than actual new year, always has done.

I like autumn and winter, and in a month’s time i’ll be fine. Just hate this changeover period. I don’t know what to do with myself :(

OP posts:
TheBigFatMermaid · 01/09/2018 20:01

I think it is to do with starting school in September, I well remember this feeling from back then. Now I have children of my own, one home educated and one at school. It is still all about preparation for the new school year. New uniform for one, new curriculum down to me for the other.

Rach5ll · 01/09/2018 20:04

I love the cooler misty mornings that often give way to lovely sunshine.
But...I do feel that impending doom of the clocks changing. I hate it with a passion, both ways actually- it just messes with me Sad

VioletCharlotte · 01/09/2018 20:11

I find August unsettling. It's still Summer, but I feel like I've had enough of summer. The weather's changeable, the nights are getting darker. Everything feels tired and worn out some how! However I love September and October when it feels like proper Autumn m.

Inertia · 01/09/2018 20:14

I hate this time of year- nights getting darker, winter coming, back to school with huge to-do lists to tick off. I hate going to work in the dark and getting home in the dark , and being cold, and the knowledge that that's on its way feels oppressive. It's a heaviness hanging over your heads.

SapphireSeptember · 01/09/2018 20:18

ReanimatedSGB I think you're right. For me I am having some new beginnings of my own, turning 30 and finally moving out of my in laws! I do feel funny in September, I also get the same sort of feeling in March, I think for me it's linked to the equinoxes, in March the days become longer than the nights, the reverse is true in September.

mrwalkensir · 01/09/2018 20:18

Isn't Halloween the old Celtic New Year? You just have deep instincts.....

Livelovebehappy · 01/09/2018 20:18

To wear summer clothes or autumn clothes. That’s the dilemma. As soon as 1st sept arrives everyone seems to dig out their dark jeans and dark tops; no matter that the weather is still very summery, as has been today. Felt a bit silly walking around the supermarket in my Bardot off the shoulder flowery summer dress today with flip flops.

StellaRockafella · 01/09/2018 20:19

There's a certain melancholy about September as summer's 'over', and new school terms/years are starting. I always find August Bank holiday rather depressing/unsettling for a myriad of reasons including the weather is usually dreadful and it's the last 'holiday' before the long slog up to Christmas - it always seems like summer hasn't really happened. Work is always crazy after the relative calm and slowness of late July and August.
Also, the evenings seems to be drawing in far too quickly, it's now almost dark by 8.15pm and the air is starting to feel crisper. Every September and October I long for an Indian summer, and this year is no different.

It's also worth noting that Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) always falls in September, and to me the timing seems far more appropriate than in January. I'm Jewish, and much prefer the Jewish approach to New Year, it's far more contemplative and reflective than the New Year's I observe on 31st December!

RedneckStumpy · 01/09/2018 20:20

September is the start of winter prepping!

Haworthia · 01/09/2018 20:23

I definitely feel melancholy this year. Usually I don’t, but this year I feel more acutely aware of how fast time is going. I feel really new to the whole school mum thing, and yet DC1 goes into Year 2 this week. And my baby starts preschool. I don’t like it.

Pre-winter dread as well. All the relentless fucking illness.

HalfGreekBitch · 01/09/2018 20:25

You have hit nail on head!

thenightsky · 01/09/2018 20:28

God yes. All that worrying about are we going to have a bad winter. At least this year I don't have to go work in snow and ice and risk my neck (early retirement).

Itsatravesty · 01/09/2018 20:29

September is the start of winter prepping!

Yes this^. I started mine with a bang this weekend. Yesterday I cleared out all my dying summer plants, prepared pots and baskets ready for my winter ones and tidied up the garden. Today I had a massive bedroom and bathroom clear out/deep clean, put summer stuff up the loft and bought some winter plants and bulbs for the spring. Also bought my 'winter' candles for the darker evenings and tomorrow I'm attacking the kitchen. Am easing in nicely much as I miss summer, I think it's easier this year as we had an actual summer for a change so not feeling the usual melancholy I do as winter approaches.

haverhill · 01/09/2018 20:29

I’m a teacher so definitely am feeling unsettled and a bit tense at the minute! DS also starts secondary school which is a bit scary. It’s my birthday however, so it’s not all bad Grin.
I actually love September birthday or not. It’s often beautifully golden with a hint of crispness in the air.

Ellieboolou27 · 01/09/2018 20:32

I’ve been wondering why I felt unsettled, it’s definitely this!
I hated this summers oppressive heat, I didn’t enjoy it at all, however I do feel a bit out of sorts, like an impending doom.

I should be happy as dd2 starts pre school so for the first time in 6 years I’ll have a few hours to myself every day.

Saggital · 01/09/2018 21:12

Love it, most beautiful time of the year, mists, trees poking above, apples, blackberries, dahlias abloom, mellow fruitfulness, smell of iron as earth is turned over, warmth from the sun, yet cool air through the nostrils, butterflies and bees, swallows congregating, chattering, brainstorming and motivating their young. It’s alive.

DorisDay88 · 01/09/2018 21:18

Got to admit I feel out of sorts too
September is my birthday month and I'm going to be 60 - in my head I'm maybe 40, lots of bloody regrets, what ifs, could I have done better etc swirling around my head
I'm lucky, got family and friends to 'celebrate ' with but yes I feel very odd too

TryItAndDieFatLass · 01/09/2018 21:21

Another one here feeling apprehensive - DS is off to Uni and DD2 is off to college, both living away and we have just moved home so it's a real empty nest feeling this year. Trying to make plans for my spare time but the house will be so quiet (and clean!)

Paddybare · 01/09/2018 21:24

I’m glad I’m not alone in this. I feel it at the change of each season but summer into autumn is definitely the strongest of them all.

The light changing, the evenings drawing in, the new crispness to the air, back to school, winter looming. All of that is quite tangible but there is something ‘else’ which I just can’t put my finger on.

littlegecko · 01/09/2018 21:25

OP - I get exactly the same feeling, and have always thought it was exclusive to me.

I feel really sad when the summer ends and I think it's getting worse as I get older. I guess it is the mix of the children going into a new year group/getting older; the end of the warm weather and the general summer feeling; and the fact that I will just wish life away until the next spring/summer. I love the holidays and always feel a bit lost when the kids go back to school.

I'm usually fine by the time the clocks go back - but the initial transition period makes me feel really flat.

Maidsrus · 01/09/2018 21:32

I’m dreading autumn/winter/Xmas

My dad died last December so that’s part of it

But I’ve had 3 weeks off over the summer holidays which have been amazing and dreading going back to work for the long spell to Xmas,then dreading Xmas too

I’m a single mum so I hate the pressure of making Xmas magic

I hate work. And now I hate xmas.

But I do like sunny autumn days

PrefabSprouts · 01/09/2018 21:40

It is a bit unsettling this year, DC2 starts high school and isn't looking forward to it, so that's unsettling me. DC1 is back to university soon too and I'm not looking forward to that either.

On the other hand, I always see this time of the year as a new start, I still buy an academic diary and start making plans for the 'new year' and Christmas from now. Mixed feelings this year.

MrsDeaconClaybourne · 01/09/2018 21:48

I nearly started a thread about this the other day - there was a bit of a chill in the air here and it felt really autumnal. I always get an odd melancholic feeling this time of year and it seems to be getting stronger every year. I actually quite like autumn and the run up to Christmas but love summer and hate it being over. I work term time myself so back to school for me as well as the DCs. I always feel a really acute sense of timing passing and everyone being another year older. I think it also is a nostalgia thing as it brings back all the memories of going back to school as a child too.

Anise7438 · 01/09/2018 21:53

Every year.
Pre winter blues and it's not really autumn yet.

I just hate winter.

PasteSandwiches · 01/09/2018 21:58

I feel this every year too and describe it as my "back to school" melancholy. Like a lot of pp's, I love autumn in all its glory but the change from summer to autumn makes me feel down. I think it's worse this year as summer has been so glorious and the shift so quick.