Have you ever felt \u201coff\u201d during a certain time of year, but couldn\u2019t quite explain why, Neighbor?
That very topic came up in a conversation with a client last week.
As we explored what she was feeling\u2014unexplained anxiety, fatigue, a lingering sense of emotional heaviness\u2014I shared my own experience with what I now call \u201ctrigger months.\u201d The realization was eye-opening for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It reminded me just how common (and underrecognized) this pattern is\u2014and how validating it can be to finally connect the dots.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve ever felt waves of emotion surface out of nowhere, surges that seem to linger for long periods of time, I hope it helps you better understand your own cycles\u2014and reminds you that what you\u2019re feeling makes perfect sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Triggers… and what you might want to know about them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of us have heard of trigger events\u2014those moments when something generates a powerful emotional response tied to a painful memory… photos… couples gazing into each other’s eyes… a movie or greeting card or even the threat of a company layoff…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Triggers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n But years ago, I noticed something different happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every year, sometime between mid-August and early September, I\u2019d start to feel off\u2014a little more anxious, a little more tired. Sadness would creep in randomly. Whereas I normally slept like the dead, I experienced endless sleepless nights. My moods would shift with the wind. But I couldn\u2019t always point to a specific cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, I realized it wasn\u2019t \u201cjust a phase.\u201d It was a pattern.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I began tracing things back, I discovered that many of my Significant Life Loss Events had happened in September, October, and November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Affairs\u2014both suspected and confirmed\u2014surfaced during those months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An early, second-trimester miscarriage, after I’d been told there was less than a four-percent chance I’d lose the baby. This on the heels of my first-born’s death, following unexpected complications during delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One fall in particular, I realized that my high “functioning” abilities couldn’t outpace\u2014or outrun\u2014the emotional pain I\u2019d been masking. A daily onslaught of suicidal ideation, sleepless nights, and overwhelming fatigue were constant companions. It felt like every one of my Five Facets\u2014the Academic, Emotional, Physical, Social, and Spiritual parts of me\u2014was crumbling at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even when I wasn\u2019t consciously thinking about those events, my body was remembering<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t have the words for it at the time, but when I later read this quote by Bessel van der Kolk in The Body Keeps the Score<\/em>, I could look back and make sense of it all:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s what was happening. My body was carrying the imprint\u2014even when my mind had moved on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once I recognized the pattern, I started working with it instead of against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I began putting notes in my calendar that said things like: And each year, when I transferred birthdays and appointments into my new planner, I\u2019d also transfer that reminder\u2014because I knew I\u2019d need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That awareness helped me rewire the way I moved through those trigger months. At the time, I didn\u2019t know about holistic tools like energy healing, acupuncture, or meditation\u2014but I did what I could with what I had: massage, long walks in nature, time with my dog, time alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These days, I can recognize the signs much earlier, before the trauma triggers carry over\u2014and I do use a mix of mental, physical, and spiritual healing modalities. And that has absolutely accelerated my healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I now understand that a big part of the overwhelm is because what was happening literally encompassed every aspect of my being… those Five Facets. And now I know how to support them. Energy medicine is one of my go-to tools for creating healing for myself and for supporting my clients through their healing journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So here\u2019s what I want you to know:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If there\u2019s a time of year that always feels heavier, harder, or hazy for an extended period\u2026 Have you ever noticed a certain time of year when you feel \u201coff\u201d\u2014but can\u2019t quite explain why? What might your body be trying to tell you?<\/strong> With love, Have you ever felt \u201coff\u201d during a certain time of year, but couldn\u2019t quite explain why, Neighbor? That very topic came up in a conversation with a client last week. As we explored what she was feeling\u2014unexplained anxiety, fatigue, a lingering sense of emotional heaviness\u2014I shared my own experience with what I now call \u201ctrigger […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":380120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1904,1387,1929,1903,1035,32],"tags":[87,1651,14,19,1878,536,39,1450,1498,69,1181,1880],"class_list":["post-380119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-and-healing","category-grief","category-infidelity-relationships","category-loss","category-mental-health","category-spirituality","tag-child-loss","tag-emotional-triggers","tag-healing","tag-inspiration","tag-mental-fitness","tag-mental-health","tag-motivation","tag-seasonal-affective-disorder","tag-suicide","tag-the-five-facets","tag-the-five-facets-of-healing","tag-trigger-months"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/trigger-months-for-blog-post-ChatGPT-Image-Aug-2-2025-10_51_03-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n\n\n\nAwareness Is More Than Half the Battle<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUP SELF-CARE THE NEXT TWO MONTHS.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
You\u2019re not imagining it.
Your body might just be remembering something your mind forgot.
And that\u2019s not weakness. That\u2019s wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Annah <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"