How can I avoid August anxiety?

For Dr Brewer, it’s all about exercise. As well as encouraging good sleep, exercise helps to burn off stress hormones and transition us from ‘fight or flight’ mode to ‘rest and digest’ mode, she explains. “Scientists have found that following a six-week long aerobic exercise program produces biochemical reactions in the brain that help you remain calm under stress compared with those who did not exercise.”

As for the rest, Dr Brewer keeps it pretty simple: “avoid excess caffeine, alcohol and smoking,” she says.

A study by Harvard Business School shows that reframing anxiety as excitement can shift the brain into a new, more positive way of thinking.

Psychologist Alison Wood Brooks suggests doing this with so-called self-talk. It might sound strange, but simply saying “I am excited” out loud can help us adopt what Wood Brooks calls an ‘opportunity mind-set’. In other words, faking it ‘til you make it really does work!

How can I manage it?

And if we don’t manage to prevent it, what can we do when we’re already feeling the seasonal blues?

Seek out sunlight

If the weather is particularly rotten, low light levels towards the end of summer may be contributing to your anxiety.

But it’s not all bad news. An Australian study that measured levels of brain chemicals flowing directly out of the brain found that people had higher serotonin levels on bright sunny days than on cloudy ones (and this effect remained the same regardless of temperature). Investing in a light box which mimics daylight may help you maintain a sunny disposition all year round.

Already mourning summer? It looks like you’ve been hit by August anxiety