The In-Between Season: Why the End of the Year Feels Heavy (and How to Move Into the New Year Gently)

The end of the year has a strange energy. It’s not quite an ending. It’s not quite a beginning. It’s the in-between — a time when you’re carrying the weight of the past 12 months while also feeling the pressure to plan the next 12.

If you’ve been feeling reflective, restless, hopeful, anxious, or all of the above at once… you’re not alone.

This season brings up a lot emotionally, even for people who usually feel grounded.

Why the End of the Year Hits So Hard

As the calendar changes, your brain naturally:

• Starts reviewing the year like a highlight reel

• Compares reality to the expectations you had last January

• Feels the pressure to “fix” or “start fresh”

• Notices what didn’t get done

• Wonders what needs to change

It’s normal to feel behind. It’s normal to feel unsure. It’s normal to feel both hopeful and overwhelmed.

The in-between season is emotionally crowded.

You Don’t Need Dramatic Goals — You Need Gentle Clarity

While the world pushes “new year, new me,” your nervous system usually needs something softer:

• Small adjustments

• Realistic intentions

• Sustainable habits

• Emotional space

• Permission to start slow

The best changes rarely come from pressure. They come from clarity — the kind you build gradually.

A Therapy Tool for the In-Between Season: The Three Lists Exercise

This simple reflection can help you move into the new year with calm, not chaos.

1. What I’m Letting Go Of

This could be:

• Old stress

• Unrealistic expectations

• People-pleasing

• Burnout patterns

• Shame about things you “should’ve done”

  
  

Release isn’t forgetting — it’s choosing lighter.

2. What I’m Keeping

Your strengths, progress, boundaries, healthy routines, or insights that actually supported you.

3. What I’m Making Room For

Not giant goals — just possibilities:

• More rest

• More connection

• Better balance

• A healthier pace

• Clarity

• Joy

  
  

This creates direction without pressure.

Why “Starting Slow” Might Be the Healthiest Trend of 2026

More therapists and wellness providers are encouraging people to start the new year slowly instead of jumping into drastic resolutions.

Your body doesn’t magically reset on January 1st. Your patterns don’t instantly change. And you don’t need to transform overnight. A gentle start gives your nervous system time to settle, think clearly, and set changes that actually last.

Soft beginnings grow stronger roots.

If You Feel Behind — You Aren’t

You might be comparing yourself to:

• your January expectations

• other people’s highlight posts

• unrealistic cultural pressure

• a version of yourself you wish you could be

  
  

But growth isn’t linear and it definitely isn’t seasonal. You’re allowed to enter the new year confused, tired, hopeful, grieving, excited, or cautiously optimistic. There is no correct emotional timeline.

A Healthier Way to Move Into the New Year

Try this mindset:

Instead of “New Year, New Me,” try “New Year, More Me.”

More honest. More grounded. More aligned with the life you’re building — not the one you think you’re supposed to have.

You Don’t Need Perfection. You Need Permission.

Permission to start slow. Permission to not have a plan yet. Permission to be proud of the quiet progress you made this year. Permission to grow gently into whatever comes next.

The in-between season is not something to rush through.

It’s something to honor.