Mindset Shifts for the ‘Ber Months – Finding Balance as the Year Winds Down

As we step into the “ber months”, September through to December, there is a noticeable shift in energy all around us. The mornings feel cooler, evenings draw in earlier and nature begins its gentle transition towards rest.

For some this time of year feels cosy and grounding. For others it can bring dips in mood, energy, motivation, overwhelm or even sadness as the shorter days and the thought of another year closing in bring pressure or reflection.

The truth is, it is natural to feel a mix of emotions. The seasons influence not just our environment, but also our mindset and wellbeing. Add in busy schedules and festive pressure it is easy to fee a little out of balance.

The good news is with a little awareness and some simple practices, we can move through this season feeling more balanced, resilient and well.

How the ‘Ber Months Affect Our Mindset

Seasonal changes in light can impact energy levels and mood. Colder weather may leave us more tired or vulnerable to bugs.
Shorter days may reduce motivation, making it harder to keep routines.
End-of-year pressure often triggers self-criticism about what we “should” have achieved.
Emotional shifts surface as we reflect, sometimes leading to stress or comparison.

Instead of resisting these changes, we can choose to flow with them just as nature does.

Nurturing Your Wellbeing This Season

Here are some gentle ways to care for your mind, body and energy as we move through autumn and into winter:

Seek the light: Make the most of daylight hours; get outside, walk and soak in natural light.

Move mindfully: Stretch, walk, dance, or practice yoga to shift stagnant energy.

Nourish your body: Enjoy warming, seasonal foods like soups, stews and root vegetables especially reds, orange and yellows like pumpkins, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and beetroot. Stay hydrated, even if you don’t feel as thirsty.

Make yourself cosy: Create cosy spaces with candles and blankets and lean into routines that feel supportive. Like reading a book, mindful colouring, having a bath in the afternoon (yes really give yourself permission to do it and see how it feels).

Pause & reflect: Journaling, mindfulness/meditation or EFT tapping can help process emotions and calm the nervous system.

Practice gratitude: Celebrate progress, no matter how small and acknowledge what you have navigated this year.

Set gentle intentions: Instead of pressure filled goals, allow space for reflection and alignment.

Holistic Therapies to Support You

Alongside lifestyle shifts, holistic therapies can give your mind and body an extra layer of support during the colder months:

Reflexology: By working on specific points in the feet, reflexology helps the body rebalance, reduce stress, improve sleep and strengthen the immune system.

Lymphatic Drainage Massage: A gentle, rhythmic massage that stimulates the lymphatic system, helping the body clear toxins, reduce swelling and boost immunity. Perfect if you feel sluggish or run down.

Reiki: A calming energy healing practice that helps release stress, support emotional wellbeing and restore balance. Many people find Reiki especially grounding in the darker months.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT Tapping): The autumn and winter months can stir up emotions: stress from busy schedules, sadness from shorter days or old grief that feels heavier in quieter seasons. EFT works by calming the nervous system, reducing anxiety, shifting limiting beliefs and reframing our thoughts. Regular tapping can help you feel lighter, calmer and more resilient as you move through the colder months.

Embracing the Invitation

The autumn months are an invitation to pause, reflect and realign with what truly matters. They remind us that slowing down is not a weakness, it is a powerful way to reset and honour our energy to support our health and wellbeing. Just as the trees let go of their leaves, we too can release what no longer serves us and make space for renewal.

Be gentle with yourself. Progress isn’t always about doing more, sometimes it is about creating calm, resting and allowing your inner world to align with the season’s rhythm.

How do the ‘ber months feel for you: cosy and uplifting, or heavier and reflective?

How do I want to feel by the end of this year? Calm, energised, balanced?

Ready to Support Your Winter Wellness?

Whether you’re looking for reflexology, lymphatic drainage massage, Reiki, EFT or Mindset coaching, I would love to support you in creating calm, clarity, and balance through the winter months.

Book a free no obligation call here: 30 min Nurturing Session for online sessions.

Or here: VitaliQi Holistic Health Clinic for in person sessions at VitaliQi, Barnstaple.

Develop your inner coach

Help your inner critic become your inner coach

Your inner critic is the internal dialogue that tells you:

– You are not enough

– You don’t know enough

– You are not smart enough

– You are not pretty enough

– You are lazy – you never finish things

Right now, that nit-picking voice could be stronger than ever and can come out with some very hurtful things, but the job of the inner critic is to keep us safe. Protecting us from shame, criticism, failure, and feelings you want to avoid. By getting in before others with the criticism it gives you a chance to adjust your behaviour and learn from your mistakes. The problem is if we only listen to our inner critic, it can stop us from taking action leading to procrastination, holding ourselves back and staying small. The trick is to know how to listen and turn them into helpful strategies for growth – allow it to become your inner coach.

There tends to be 3 things that can exacerbate our inner critic – you may have experienced any or all of these lately:

Ø You may be carrying around lots of emotion – if we are sad, grieving, angry or afraid our inner critic often takes charge, responding to the volatility and uncertainty that comes at times of intense emotions.

Ø You may have limiting beliefs – like “nothing I every do is good enough” or “I can’t trust anyone to do it right”. Your inner critic may want to protect you from perceived risk and this then makes things like accepting mistakes, asking for help, or handling criticism from others challenging.

Ø You may be tired from juggling more than usual recently and when we are depleted our inner critic often takes over. Have you found yourself saying “I’m just terrible at this, I’m hopeless, there’s no point?”

Imagine being able to turn down the volume and tap into your inner coach to improve your self-worth, create empowered beliefs, and live a life of joy. If your inner critic is consuming and overwhelming you and stopping you from living life fully then now is the time to take action.

Book a free 30-minute nurturing call with me:

calendly.com/samanthahardwickcoach

Navigating Our Emotions

Our lives are full of emotional challenges currently with the need to ‘keep up’, the fear of missing out, the desire for good relationships, pressure to succeed and work satisfaction which can elicit lots of emotions.

However, we have been taught to not work with our emotions but to suppress and avoid them. Using screen time, alcohol, or other addictive substances to help us avoid them. When we do acknowledge them, we tend to whisk them away with phrases like “mind over matter”, “get a grip”, phrases and patterns learned from childhood. Circumventing our emotions is not good for our mental or physical health. A bit like pressing the accelerator and brake at the same time in your car creating an internal pressure cooker.

Emotions have energy and we tend to block them by holding our breath or tightening our muscles as they can be overwhelming or conflicting but in doing so it puts stress on the mind and the body causing anxiety and depression and physical issues like heart disease, intestinal problems, headaches, insomnia, and autoimmune disorders.

Do you suffer with feelings of sadness, anger, anxiety? Have you also got physical symptoms like stomach issues but are not aware that your emotions may be causing them? Are there emotions that you are ignoring?

Recent neuroscience shows that the more emotions and conflicts we experience, the more anxiety we feel. This is due in part to the vagus nerve, one of the main emotional centres of the body. The vagus nerve responds to emotions triggered in the mid-brain and sends signals to the heart, lungs and intestines which triggers our fight/flight mode and increases our stress hormone levels. So many of us are in this increased state of stress which can cause trouble with almost all of our body’s processes increasing the risk of weight gain, sleep problems and anxiety.

So, if you want to get relief from your physical symptoms, enjoy freedom from your negative thoughts and feel good about yourself then I would love to hear from you.

Book your free call here: calendly.com/samanthahardwickcoach