Feeling All the Feelings: Your Emotional Reset for September
This time of year brings a lot.
Let’s be honest: September can feel like a second January — but with more admin, more emotional weight, and more packed lunches.
There’s the back-to-school energy, even if school was decades ago. There’s the quiet ache of summer’s end and the creeping sense of time speeding up again. There’s planning. There’s pressure. And then there’s everything else happening in the world that doesn’t pause just because the new school year has started.
It can be a lot. And in our experience — it’s not just you. If you’re feeling a bit wobbly, untethered, wired, hopeful, or uncertain, you’re in good company.
The 5 “emotional buckets” of September
Sometimes it helps to name what we’re feeling. So here’s how we’ve been sorting ours:
The Back-to-School Feelings
New shoes, sharpened pencils, and… unexpected anxiety. Even if you’re not the one in the classroom, the energy of this time is palpable.
Will I make new friends?
Did I get it all that preparation “right”?
Is it OK to be excited for a quiet coffee alone?
The End-of-Summer Feelings
That soft sadness of saying goodbye to sandals and sunlight. The curiosity about jumper season. The unspoken dread of tights. The wistfulness that comes when leaves start to turn and you’re not quite ready to let go.
The New-Energy-of-September Feelings
This moment has its own kind of spark. There’s something quietly energising about fresh notebooks, new planners and the idea of small resets. We’re flirting with new classes. Reconnecting with good habits. Getting gently curious about what’s next.
The Almost-the-End-of-the-Year Feelings
Wait — how is it nearly the end of the year?
Are we where we thought we’d be?
Is there still time for something more?
What happens to the dreams from January that are still waiting patiently?
The Being-in-This-World Feelings
The beauty and the burn of just life. The memes that save us and the headlines that break us. The reality that even as we plan our week, we’re still holding grief, uncertainty, frustration, hope — often all at once.
So what can we do with all these feelings?
The goal isn’t to tidy them away. (You don’t need to get all your emotions “sorted” by Monday.)
But you can offer yourself a little more space, and a little more care, in how you hold them.
Here are three gentle ways to work with whatever’s coming up:
1. Name what’s here
Try writing your own version of these emotional buckets. (Or draw them. Or voice-note them.) Naming your emotions helps your nervous system regulate and allows you to meet yourself with compassion.
2. Pick one area to reset
You don’t have to overhaul your life — but is there one small thing you’d like to come back to? A walk before work? Five minutes of journaling? Saying no to one thing that drains you? September loves a small, thoughtful something.
3. Talk it through
You don’t have to carry it all alone. Whether that’s a friend, a walk-and-talk, a therapist or a coach — speaking things aloud can help you feel less tangled and more clear.
However you feel — it’s valid.
You’re allowed to feel uncertain.
You’re allowed to feel hopeful.
You’re allowed to feel all of it — even if it doesn’t make sense.
And if this moment feels like a bit too much, we want you to know this: it’s OK. You don’t need to be ready, or productive, or totally “back.” You just need to be here. Start where you are.
Need a space to explore your next step?
Our coaching sessions are designed to meet you right in the middle of it all — whether you’re feeling stuck, curious, hopeful, or a mix of everything.
If you’re ready to feel a little clearer or more anchored this season, have a look at our coaching options. We’d love to meet you there.
