Why Anxiety Gets Worse in Winter and How Portland Therapy Helps
Finding a sense of warmth and resilience during the colder months with anxiety therapy in Portland.
Are you beginning to notice that annual sense of dread as the daylight shrinks and everything slows down? As a therapist offering anxiety therapy in Portland and across Oregon, I work with clients who feel that shift in their emotional landscape changing during the colder months. For many of us, the shift into winter brings a subtle (or not so subtle) change in our energy. There’s less motivation as social shifts lead to less connection in combination with less daylight for outdoor activities. We hear a lot about seasonal depression but what often gets overlooked is how deeply that seasonal shift impacts our nervous systems…especially if you already live with anxiety.
Some of us will observe a spike in self-criticism. Others will feel isolated in the struggles, wondering why social connection feels so much harder. While it’s tempting to dismiss this change as “just the season,” it’s worth slowing down to get some clarity around what’s really happening inside.
First, I’d like to remind you that you’re not making it up. You’re not overreacting. And most importantly, you’re not alone in this.
Why Winter Hits So Hard for Anxious Systems
The nervous system is constantly responding to the environment. Less sunlight affects everything from our circadian rhythms to our mood-regulating neurotransmitters. This can make even small daily decisions feel more daunting or heavy. If you add in some cold weather, way more time indoors, and the cultural introversion and isolation that often intensifies in Portland’s winters, is it any wonder that your system feels more activated? Or more shut down?
I’ve noticed that we don’t often realize how much heading into winter contributes in this shift. We may just notice that our fuses feel shorter, or that we’re more irritable and annoyed, withdrawn, or stuck in loops of self-doubt and self-blame. And because we live in a culture that doesn’t always name seasonal shifts as valid (not to mention the contradiction in tone from all the “cheerful” holiday marketing), we may direct blame toward ourselves and question our choices that put us into this pickle to begin with, instead of recognizing this as a very human reaction to a major seasonal shift.
The Parts of You That Struggle More in the Cold Months
During the winter months, certain parts of ourselves tend to get more pronounced. We may notice protective parts pushing us to stay productive, even when we’re feeling exhausted or craving more downtime and rest. We could also be noticing more critical voices ramping up, blaming us for feeling sluggish or withdrawn. Some parts might go quiet altogether, leading to numbness or a sense of disconnection, these could be those parts that flourish in those warm, sunny, generative months.
What if these parts aren’t trying to hurt us. What if they’re doing their best to protect us, often from very old fears…of being unlovable, of being left behind, of not being enough or of being way, way too much. In counseling for anxiety in Portland, we begin to build relationships with these parts, so that instead of feeling like we are helpless and at their mercy, we can begin leading them with more compassion and steadiness.
Why Portland Culture Can Make Winter Feel Harder
There is so much beauty and so much to love about living in Portland, especially when you think of the diversity of the natural beauty across the state of Oregon. There are also challenges to living here (as there will be anywhere we find ourselves): it can be hard to build consistent connection here, especially in the winter. I’ve heard many clients find their own ways of describing Portland, our community, as chilly when it comes to social connection. How many of us have found that plans are hard to nail down and that our vulnerability isn’t always met with reciprocal warmth? These experiences can get even harder when it’s raining more than it’s not, when it’s dark by 4:30pm, and when isolation feels easier than reaching out. The path of least resistance may be more appealing during these shorter days.
This is particularly impactful for those of us in the Queer community, or who otherwise find ourselves already navigating a “complicated” relationship with community. The loneliness that comes up isn’t only about not having people physically around us; it’s also about longing for spaces where we feel understood without having to over-explain ourselves or keep our defenses up. That’s it’s own special kind of ache, and it deserves our care.
How Anxiety Therapy in Portland Helps You Work with the Season, Not Against It
Clearly, therapy and counseling aren’t going to fix winter or magically rewire our natural human responses to it. How it can support us is in helping us respond differently to what seasonal shifts stir up.
Through awareness of our experiences and curious exploration of them, we may begin to notice what is happening in our bodies before it escalates further; that clenched jaw, the heaviness in our chests, or the parts of us that want to disappear under the covers until the spring equinox, or at least until that cursed time change ends. From this awareness, we can start developing more intentional, supportive ways of moving through the season. You’ll learn how to meet those protective parts with curiosity instead of reflexive judgment. You’ll practice creating small anchors of support; perhaps a brief walk when the sun is out? Maybe a mall walk if it’s wretched out. Or maybe reaching out even when you don’t “feel like it?” Or discovering an ability to give yourself permission to rest without guilt…or maybe a little less guilt?
One of the most beautiful shifts I witness in therapy is when clients stop waiting to feel better before they care for themselves and start caring for themselves as they are, especially in the depths of winter.
You Can Start Now
You don’t have to wait until spring to feel more like yourself again. You don’t have to push through the heaviness just to prove something. In fact, the sooner we begin tending to the inner world that’s stirred up during the winter months, the more ease and resilience you’ll feel…not just in December or January, but what if these changes can lead to even more shifts throughout the year?
Therapy offers you a supportive environment to bravely explore the subtle shifts, the deeper patterns, and the parts of you that just need a little more care and consideration right now. Whether you’re noticing anxiety ratcheting up or you’re feeling off in a way that’s hard to name, we can start where you are. The first step is finding the right therapist for you!
Together, we’ll build toward supports that show up even when the days are short.
Author Bio
Eric Goodwin (he/they), offering IFS-informed, LGBTQ+ affirming anxiety therapy across Oregon.
Eric Goodwin (he/they) offers LGBTQ+ affirming anxiety therapy online in Portland and throughout Oregon. With a grounding in mindful self-compassion, IFS-informed parts work, and trauma-aware nervous system care, Eric helps clients build sustainable inner relationships, especially during the shorter winter days. If you're ready to relate to your anxiety with more clarity and compassion, reach out for a free 15-minute phone consultation by calling (971) 533-5590 or clicking here.
FAQs About Winter Anxiety and Therapy
Why does my anxiety get worse in the winter?
The colder, darker months will naturally activate the nervous system. We experience less light, fewer social connections, and disrupted routines…these can all contribute. Beyond these experiences, winter can stir up older patterns of self-criticism, isolation, or survival-mode functioning (especially when we’re anticipating that one solid winter storm of the year). In anxiety therapy, we will slow down to understand how your system is responding to the season, not pathologize it, but tending to it with care and clarity.
Can therapy really help if I feel too shut down to talk?
Definitely! You’re not expected to come in with all the answers or even with words. In our work together, I will meet you wherever you are and work to foster open communication so you’re feeling confident about letting me know if we start going too fast for your system. Whether you need room for silence, somatic grounding (fancy way of saying tending to our physical responses), or help reconnecting with parts of yourself that have gone quiet, we’ll go at your pace. You’re not expected to feel ready; you just have to be open to beginning.
How is anxiety therapy in Portland different from general counseling?
In this practice, anxiety therapy is attuned not just to your symptoms, but to the systems, identities, and internal dynamics that shape your experience. We look at how seasonal shifts, cultural isolation (especially in Portland), and relational patterns affect your well-being. And we build support from the inside out so you're not just surviving the season, but reclaiming your ability to respond with care.