Feeling a Little Off Heading Into Summer? You’re Not Alone
Why this season can feel more complicated than expected - and how to reconnect with yourself
As the days get longer and spring moves toward summer, we often assume we should feel lighter, more energized, and ready to take on more.
But for many of us - especially those who’ve been holding a lot - this season doesn’t always bring ease.
You might be sensing it quietly:
Feeling overstretched even as you’re planning “restful” weekends
Struggling to set boundaries with others when your energy is already thin
Wanting to enjoy this time of year but finding it harder than expected
If you’re noticing that:
You’re not Alone - and nothing is wrong with you!
🌼 The Emotional Load of “Warmer Months”
Spring and summer often bring more social invitations, family plans, holidays, and logistical juggling. These can be great - but they also come with emotional weight, especially for those who tend to be the caretakers, planners, or emotional anchors in their relationships.
Even if everything looks “fine” on the surface, you might be quietly wondering:
“Why am I still so tired?”
“Why can’t I enjoy this more?”
“Why do I feel responsible for everyone else’s experience?”
These are questions I hear often from clients in sessions - and they make sense when you’ve spent years or decades showing up for everyone else first.
🧠 Why This Shows Up in the Nervous System
When we stay in a pattern of chronic stress, over-functioning, or emotional over-responsibility, our nervous system doesn’t get time to settle. This isn’t just emotional - it’s physiological.
Research shows that ongoing stress without intentional restoration can lead to emotional exhaustion, difficulty sleeping, irritability, and disconnection from joy and presence (American Psychological Association, 2023; Siegel, 2020).
We need rhythms that support recovery, not just survival.
🌱 What Therapy Can Offer Right Now
You don’t need a major crisis to benefit from support. In fact, many of my clients are high-functioning, self-aware adults who are simply tired of doing it all alone.
Therapy can help you:
Set and hold boundaries more easily
Shift old patterns of over-caretaking
Reconnect with your needs — even the quiet ones
Feel more emotionally steady heading into the summer months
Create space to rest and reflect without guilt
✨ Gentle Questions to Sit With
What would change if I didn’t have to earn rest?
What do I need more of right now - even if it feels small?
Where can I choose “enough” instead of “more”?
Looking Ahead to Fall 🧘♀️
If you’ve been thinking about ways to build more sustainable habits and reset your relationship to stress, you may be interested in joining my next Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) group.
It’s a structured, research-backed 8-week program that helps you:
✔ Reduce chronic stress with simple, grounding tools
✔ Build emotional resilience
✔ Learn to pause and check in with your needs
✔ Support your nervous system — without needing to escape your life
🧘♀️ The next group begins Fall 2025.
📩 Join the MBSR Waitlist to be the first to receive registration info when it opens.
Ready for Support?
🏠 I offer in-person therapy in Toronto, in a calming, nature-based space designed for deep connection, stillness, and healing dialogue.
💻 I also work with therapy and coaching clients virtually, across Ontario and beyond.
