Seasonal Transition Support
Transition seasons require additional attention and slowing down to work through them with intention. I believe Autumn deserves the most attention, with back-to-school schedules changing, the shortening of daylight, and this year moving us into an election. Slowing down to welcome winter is not typically celebrated in our Western culture.
Teenagers experience the same transition stress as adults without years of experience regulating emotional behavior or compartmentalizing stress-inducing behavior like parental expectations, school, and peer exposure.
By becoming aware of the disruptions caused by seasonal transitions and what that looks like, you can help another navigate it. If there’s one suggestion you take away from this article, let it be to slow down. This means saying no more often to people, projects, and commitments that you feel require your yes.
Autumn is a time to set up support for the winter season. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is the element of metal. It’s a time of harvesting crops to sustain us through the cold. It is weeding in advance of dormancy, structural organization around business planning for the coming year, starting school and extracurriculars, a season of grief, and preparing us to be still.
Autumn can throw us from a state of flow because we’re putting on the brakes, in a way. Slowing down helps us move through our process with greater ease and allows us to get a clearer view of our participation in the world.
Detoxing is a fantastic way to enter this season, and support is helpful in any detox. Here are a few ways to introduce an intentional detox into your and your teen’s lifestyle during busy seasonal transitions.
Reducing phone access: When we remove a distraction we’ve been using to prevent us from feeling fully, such as media time, life shows up for us with impact. Having a therapist or support network helps ease the transition. MentalHealthLou.com offers a wide variety of support systems within our community.
Practicing a mono diet: Cleansing the body's physiology aids digestion and rebalancing and allows one to recognize dietary stressors one may need to avoid. Mono diets can be practiced for 1–3 days with a base diet of cooked fruits and vegetables. Kitchari is a beautiful Indian dish incorporating warming spices for the autumnal season.
Breathwork: Did you know that 70% of our waste is removed from our bodies through our lungs? Breathwork offers incredible insight to the self and doubles as a detoxifying experience. Only work with a trained professional and ensure you’ve practiced this modality before sending your teen to do it.
Salt: Whether drinking sole water to cleanse from the inside out, taking a salt bath, or utilizing one of our city’s salt spas, salt is a gentle and holistic form of detoxification. It also helps aid with seasonal fall allergies in respiratory applications. A weekly salt bath is a great way to soothe the nervous system, create rituals, and settle into slowness.
Spiritual Support: Tuning out the external world detoxifies stimulation. We are constantly engaged through media, work, school, and social platforms, so turning inward offers us a refuge. Meditation is my number one tool for consistently returning to center and finding balance. Insight Timer is my favorite meditation app and allows for healthy engagement with your mobile device.
With all of these options to be intentional with seasonal transitions, it’s critical that you set the example instead of expecting someone else to make these changes. You can show the way and allow yourself to be the inspiration. This can be a collaborative opportunity for the family to participate, setting temporary house rules for experimentation.
Keeping it fun and giving yourself a reward at the end of whatever timeframe you set for yourself are ways to keep engagement up. As the stars align and we move through an election and the seasonal transition, there’s never been a better time to be intentional with our thoughts and energy.