September has a way of making everything feel like it is beginning again.
Schedules change. Children head back to school. Work routines shift. Summer comes to an end. There may be new commitments, new expectations, and a long list of things that suddenly need your attention.
Even when these changes are positive, transitions can take something out of us.
There can also be a quiet sense of grief as summer ends. We may miss the slower mornings, the extra time outside, the spontaneity, or simply the feeling that there was more room to breathe.
And sometimes, we find ourselves somewhere in between.
Not quite where we were, but not yet where we are going.
The discomfort of the in-between
There is a word for this space: liminal.
Liminality refers to being in a threshold or transitional space. It is the space between one thing and another—a doorway, rather than a destination.
You may have started something but haven't reached the other side yet. You may have made a decision, but haven't seen what comes from it. You may be waiting for something to resolve, change, begin, or become clearer.
And that uncertainty can be uncomfortable.
We often want to move through these spaces as quickly as possible. We want answers. We want plans. We want to know what comes next.
But some things simply cannot be rushed.
There are periods of life when there is very little to do except wait, notice what is happening, and allow things to unfold.
That doesn't necessarily make the waiting easy.
You don't have to be in crisis to need support
Therapy is often associated with moments when something has gone seriously wrong—with crisis, trauma, loss, or a significant life disruption.
Those are certainly reasons people seek support. But therapy doesn't have to begin at the point where everything feels unbearable.
Sometimes, you simply need a place to slow down and make sense of where you are.
September can be one of those times.
When life becomes busy again, it can be easy to move straight into doing mode: organizing schedules, answering emails, getting everyone where they need to be, and trying to keep all the pieces moving.
But beneath the busyness, you may also be carrying uncertainty, overwhelm, disappointment, grief, excitement, or a sense that something in your life is changing.
You don't need to have a crisis to talk about those things.
Therapy can offer a space to pause, reflect, and become more aware of what you need as you move through a transition.
What if you don't have to figure it all out yet?
One of the challenges of a liminal space is that we can mistake uncertainty for something that needs to be fixed.
We might think:
I should know what I'm doing by now.
I should have this figured out.
Why am I still feeling unsettled?
When will things finally feel normal again?
But feeling unsettled doesn't necessarily mean that something is wrong.
Sometimes it means that something is changing.
There can be value in learning to tolerate the uncertainty of the in-between—to recognize that not every question needs an immediate answer and not every unfinished thing needs to be resolved today.
Giving an experience a name can sometimes help us relate to it differently.
Instead of thinking, Why can't I get it together?, you might recognize:
I'm in a liminal space right now.
There is something powerful about realizing that you are not necessarily stuck. You may simply be in transition.
The Things Worth Carrying Forward
Transitions aren't only about managing what is difficult.
They can also be an opportunity to notice what you want to carry forward.
As summer comes to an end, you might ask yourself: What did I enjoy this summer that I want to make room for in the months ahead?
Maybe it was spending more time outdoors. Maybe it was being more present with your family. Maybe you read more, rested more, laughed more, or finally gave yourself permission to slow down.
The end of a season doesn't mean those experiences have to end with it.
Instead of treating September as a complete reset, consider what you can bring with you.
What parts of the summer do you want to hold onto?
What mattered to you?
What do you want your days to have more—or less—of?
Finding your footing
You don't have to know exactly where you're going to begin paying attention to where you are.
During a season of transition, it may help to start small:
Notice what you're feeling, without immediately trying to change it.
Identify your priorities rather than trying to do everything at once.
Give yourself permission to grieve what is ending, even when the change is a positive one.
Pay attention to what you want to carry forward from the previous season.
Accept that some things may remain unresolved for a while.
Reach out for support when you need somewhere to process what is happening.
There is no requirement that you arrive at September with everything figured out.
You are allowed to be somewhere in the middle.
To be beginning something. To be waiting. To be uncertain. To be excited and sad at the same time.
The in-between can be uncomfortable, but it can also be a place where we begin to understand ourselves differently.
And sometimes, having a space to talk through that uncertainty is enough to help us find our next step.
You don't have to wait for a crisis to seek support. Sometimes, you can begin simply because you're in a season of change and you'd like some help finding your way through it.