Falling into Fall: Finding Peace & Presence Through Seasonal Stress
By Demi Schmieder, LPC | November 18, 2025
When I think about the month of November, a romanticized montage of falling leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, cozy sweaters, crisp air, and happy times with loved ones comes to mind. However, the reality for many of us is that the fall season often looks much different. Planning for the holidays can bring feelings of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and financial insecurity, to name a few. In addition, the pressure to give thanks can result in feeling guilty instead of grateful. I find it interesting that National Stress Awareness Day, the first Wednesday of the month, and Thanksgiving both fall in November. To me, this perfectly demonstrates the dichotomy of this season. Many of us feel friction between the expectation to celebrate, be grateful, pleasant, jolly, and the reality of stress, exhaustion, loneliness, nostalgia or longing for things to be different than they are. If you find yourself in heaviness this month, let me tell you something that helped me.
When we look to nature, fall is not the time to be speeding up, but slowing down. It’s a time to let go of things that we don’t have the energy for, refocus our attention internally, back into our roots, and conserve energy. Yet most of us are encouraged to do the opposite - push through, do more and sleep less. I’ll never forget those long fall days in college, drinking espresso and studying for finals all day in a coffee shop, willing myself to finish the semester. Many people are also working more in November to meet end of year deadlines or in preparation to take time off for the holidays. And plans for Thanksgiving might mean the stress of traveling, or spending time with family that is difficult or uncomfortable to be around.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed this month, I encourage you to pause and remember that slowing down is not laziness, it’s wisdom. Just as trees release their leaves to conserve energy for the winter ahead, we can also release what no longer serves us. Maybe that means saying no to an event that drains you, loosening the grip on perfection when it comes to holiday plans, or letting go of the guilt that you’re not feeling as festive as you “should” be.
It’s okay if your November doesn’t look like a Hallmark card. Gratitude can be quiet, subtle, and grounded. It can look like acknowledging the simple fact that you made it through another day, that you’re learning to set better boundaries, or that you’re allowing yourself to rest without justification.
If you can, find small ways to honor slowing down. Take a walk in the crisp air, journal about what this season is asking of you, or simply make yourself a warm drink and sit in silence for a few minutes. These little moments of presence can help you reconnect with yourself, and that inner stillness can often lead to the most authentic form of gratitude.
So this November, instead of pushing through the noise, I’m choosing to embrace the quiet. To let things fall away. To trust that rest, reflection, and even heaviness have their place in the rhythm of the year. Maybe that’s what this season is really trying to teach us: that gratitude and grief, joy and exhaustion, can all coexist, and that’s not only perfectly okay, but beautiful in its own way. Wishing you a fruitfully dark, cozy, restful, and possibly insightful fall and winter.
