False Spring or False Alarm?

Spring is in the air- or is it? Here in our Pacifica- Rochester office location, I am typing out this blog post while glancing out of my office windows (beautiful windows, at that) to snow flurries falling on top of several inches of snow. As a southern transplant, I am both amazed and shocked by this weather. Do not get me wrong, in Georgia, we have a very temperamental climate. One day it could be storming in the morning and then be sunny and 75 by the evening. However, Roch takes that to a new level! I was introduced to the idea of a “false spring” at the start of the year. This is reflective of the inconsistent weather patterns that Minnesota experiences in which, after a long, arduous winter, we get a few days of beautiful sun and “dog walking” weather. I found myself even rushing home from work after my last client of the day to soak up some sun with one baby in a stroller and the other barefoot, running to the park. It was just enough promise of newness and energy that we needed. Then. The snow hit. And I do not mean just some flurries. As precious as those snow flakes started it kept going, and going, and going. It felt like it would not stop and the evening walks with some barefoot kids quickly turned into quick sprints from the driveway to the garage before Jack Frost got me. Much of my community and clients have been subtly snickering over this being a big ol false spring. I hear the laughter with an undertone of longing and desire. I cannot help but cross this over to mental health. There are so many times in life in which we are having prosperous fulfilling seasons, only to be met with a dark winter. When the winter hits, it is easy to stay indoors and isolate—thinking contemplatively of the “has been.” The energy and direction to keep moving through the winter or dark seasons is significant, particularly when we consider how mood and behavior can be impacted by environmental and seasonal changes. In fact, the DSM-5-TR includes a seasonal pattern specifier for Major Depressive Disorder, recognizing that recurrent depressive episodes can be linked to specific times of the year, often emerging in fall or winter months and remitting in spring (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). This highlights that what many experience as “just the weather” can have clinically meaningful implications on mood, motivation, sleep, and overall functioning.

This is where I would like to post the idea of rather than false springs, let’s view it as a false alarm.

I remember being in grade school and at least monthly there was a “false alarm” with the fire system. As a child of first responders and fire fighters, I always bolted from my seat and took it seriously, just like momma taught me. We learned, I did at least, that the school did a series of practice alarms in case there was an emergency one day. That way, rather than being flustered and caught off guard, students and faculty knew how to respond. They knew, whether it was a “real fire” or a “false alarm,” that the protocol and movements stayed the same in either case and that practicing for the emergency, not daily but quarterly or so, would best prepare the school, ease nerves, and potentially even save some lives. In many ways, this mirrors psychological preparedness and distress tolerance. Within cognitive and behavioral frameworks, repeated exposure to manageable stressors can build coping capacity and reduce reactivity over time (Linehan, 2015). How different would “false springs” impact our mental health in Rochester, Minnesota if rather than viewing them as crises, we chose to see them as “practice rounds”? Practice opportunities that are preparing us for potentially “harsher climates”; but more so practice for coping effectively so we can enjoy those beautiful Minnesota summers. The south has my heart and parts of my soul, yet these sunrises and corn fields have a magic to them in the summer, and the yellow of the leaves challenges the north Georgia mountains in the fall. I have never been a part of a climate that truly gets all 4 seasons. The transition of the season represents the mindfulness, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) idea of willing hands; whereas the negative outlook on “false springs” presents more as “willfulness.” Let’s break this down a bit more.

DBT, a skills-based approach to manage intense/ dysregulating emotion, has many invaluable ideas related to mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills. DBT is considered an evidence-based treatment, originally developed for individuals experiencing chronic emotion dysregulation and later recognized as an empirically supported intervention for conditions such as Borderline Personality Disorder, as outlined in the DSM-5-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2022; Linehan, 2015). However, I love leaning into the mindfulness and emotional regulation modules predominantly. I find that they can pair beautifully with an attachment-oriented, highly relational approach, aligning with broader research suggesting that secure attachment and emotion regulation capacities are deeply interconnected (Wallin, 2007; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016). The idea of willfulness versus willing hands expresses the importance to live life with our hands facing upwards, rather than us sitting on them. If my hands are turned upwards, I am accepting what the present moment is bringing me. Snow flurries and all. If I have willful hands, I am sitting on them and refusing to partake in what this moment is bringing me—and for good reason. It hurts, it is cold, and it can be painful to be “back in winter” again. Yet, just because there is good reason for something does not make it good enough to continue with if it takes me away from the moment. This distinction parallels experiential avoidance, a concept widely discussed in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), in which individuals attempt to avoid internal experiences (thoughts, emotions) at the cost of valued living (Hayes et al., 2012).

All this talk of “false springs” gives an impression that this moment is not enough, and for some of us with trauma in our past, depression at bay, that moment can be replaced with the intrusive thought of “what if I am not enough?” For individuals with trauma-related disorders, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the DSM-5-TR notes that intrusive thoughts, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and heightened reactivity can significantly shape how present experiences are interpreted (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). Thus, we sit on our hands and can turn away from what this moment has to offer. If I am willing, with upturned hands, to accept this cold moment, then there is a chance that this “false spring” could be simply a “false alarm” and can ignite me towards living presently and thoughtfully with anticipation for the future, honoring the past, without clinging to either. This posture reflects what DBT describes as radical acceptance, a core distress tolerance skill associated with reduced emotional suffering when individuals stop fighting reality and instead engage with it as it is (Linehan, 2015).

This post is meant for y’all who are living with seasonal changes. Whether it is a climate that supports Seasonal Affective Disorder (conceptualized in the DSM-5-TR as Major Depressive Disorder with seasonal pattern), episodic depression, or trauma symptoms and feelings that just cannot and will not “go away” no matter how much work we put in… I encourage you to, while using willing hands, to accept this moment. No matter how painful, because that radical acceptance of this moment of a “false spring” may just be the first step shifting you towards the life worth living that you deserve; and you may just see that beautiful midwestern sunset in a bit of a different light than before.

Stay warm & stay willing, Rochester. It is just a false alarm.

-Dr. C

References:

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.; DSM-5-TR).

Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy:

The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.Linehan, M. M. (2015).

DBT skills training manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2016).