The End of Summer Scaries: Why Going Back to School Can Feel So Overwhelming and What to Do About It

You've probably heard of the Sunday scaries, that uneasy feeling that can creep in as the weekend comes to an end and Monday gets closer. For many students, August brings a similar feeling as summer starts winding down and the first day of school suddenly feels a lot closer.

Maybe you've been buying notebooks, ordering a backpack, planning your first-day outfit, or texting your friends about seeing each other again. At the same time, you catch yourself wondering what this school year is going to be like.

You might be excited to start fresh, meet new people, join a club, play a sport, move into your dorm, or finally take classes you've been looking forward to. You might also notice your chest feeling tighter, your mind racing, or yourself lying awake thinking about everything that's about to change.

Whether you’re entering your senior year of high school, preparing to leave high school and start college, or returning to college for another year, August can bring excitement, anticipation, curiosity, and anxiety. Many students experience this as the end of summer scaries.

When the First Day Starts Feeling Real

The end of summer brings a lot of change in a short amount of time. Your schedule shifts, your sleep routine changes, your responsibilities grow, and your social life becomes busier again.

You may find yourself checking your schedule more than once, wondering who will be in your classes, thinking about lunch, roommates, teachers, or whether you'll be able to keep up. Your brain is trying to prepare for a future it can't predict yet, and that often shows up as anxiety.

At the same time, there can be plenty to look forward to. Seeing friends, buying new clothes or supplies, decorating a locker or dorm, joining activities, and having a fresh start can all be genuinely exciting. It's common for both excitement and nervousness to exist together.

If You’re Going Into Your Senior Year of High School

Senior year can bring a strange mix of excitement, pressure, and uncertainty. You may be looking forward to being one of the oldest students in school, seeing your friends again, attending senior events, and finally reaching a year you’ve thought about for a long time.

You may also be thinking about college applications, grades, recommendation letters, financial aid, graduation, and what happens after high school. Even casual questions like, “Where are you applying?” or “What are you doing next year?” can start to feel exhausting when you’re still trying to figure out the answers.

There may be pressure to make senior year memorable while also making decisions that feel connected to your entire future. Try to bring your attention back to the decisions directly in front of you. You can research one school, complete one section of an application, ask one teacher for a recommendation, or set aside one afternoon to review deadlines.

Senior year is made up of many smaller steps. You have time to gather information, change your mind, and learn more about what you want along the way.

If You’re Going From High School to College

The transition from high school to college can feel especially big because so many parts of your life may be changing at once. You may be preparing to leave home, live with a roommate, manage your own schedule, meet new people, and adjust to a different level of academic responsibility.

Maybe you’ve been shopping for your dorm, checking your class schedule, looking at campus maps, or watching move-in videos. You may be excited about having more independence and starting a completely new chapter. You may also wonder how you’ll make friends, whether you’ll feel homesick, or what it will be like when your family leaves after move-in.

You do not need to arrive on campus already knowing how college works. Much of college life becomes familiar through experience. You learn where to eat, which study spaces you like, how long it takes to walk across campus, and which people make you feel comfortable through the ordinary moments of being there.

Give yourself time to settle in. A sense of belonging often grows through small interactions, such as sitting near the same person in class, asking someone to get food, attending a club meeting, or talking with your roommate at the end of the day.

If You’re Returning for Another Year of College

Returning to college may feel familiar, although each year can bring a different set of pressures. You may be thinking about harder classes, choosing a major, applying for internships, balancing work and school, paying bills, or making decisions about what you want to do after graduation.

Maybe the previous year was difficult, and you’re already worrying about falling into the same patterns. You may want to stay more organized, meet more people, improve your grades, or take better care of yourself this semester. Putting pressure on yourself to completely reinvent your college experience can make the return feel heavier before classes have even started.

Think about what genuinely helped you last year and what you would like to approach differently. Maybe studying outside your room helped you focus. Maybe you needed more sleep, clearer boundaries, or support earlier in the semester. You can use what you learned without expecting yourself to have everything mastered.

There may also be plenty to look forward to, including reconnecting with friends, returning to familiar places, taking classes related to your interests, and feeling more confident navigating campus. You are returning with more experience, even if you still have questions about what comes next.

7 Things You Can Do This Week to Feel More Prepared

1. Ease Back Into Your Routine Before the First Day

If you've been staying up late, sleeping in, or spending your days without much structure, it's completely understandable if the thought of jumping back into a school schedule feels overwhelming. Your mind and body have adjusted to one routine, and they're about to shift into another.

You don't have to change everything overnight. Try moving your bedtime and wake-up time a little earlier each day during the week before school starts. If you're heading to college, practice waking up around the time your earliest class begins. If you're entering your senior year of high school, start getting used to the schedule you'll be following once school begins.

Small adjustments now can help the first week feel a little less exhausting.

Try this today: Set your alarm 15 to 30 minutes earlier than usual and stick with it for the rest of the week.

2. Stop Trying to Figure Out the Entire School Year

Anxiety loves unanswered questions.

Maybe your mind keeps jumping ahead.

What if I don't make friends?

What if I don't like my roommate?

What if I can't keep up with the work?

What if I choose the wrong major?

The problem is that your brain is searching for answers that simply don't exist yet.

Instead of trying to predict how the entire year will go, bring your attention back to what's actually in front of you. Maybe today's job is ordering your textbooks, finding your classrooms on a map, packing your backpack, or looking over your class schedule.

You don't have to solve the next nine months before the first day even begins.

Try this today: Ask yourself, What's one thing I can do in the next 15 minutes that will help me feel more prepared?

3. Make Room for What You're Looking Forward To

When we're anxious, our brains naturally focus on everything that could go wrong. Before long, it's easy to lose sight of the things you're genuinely excited about.

Maybe you can't wait to decorate your dorm room, reconnect with your friends, experience more independence, join a club, take classes you're actually interested in, cheer at football games, or finally start this next chapter of your life.

Giving those moments your attention doesn't make your worries disappear. It helps you stay connected to the reasons you're looking forward to this new chapter.

Try this today: Write down three things you're genuinely excited about this school year and keep the list somewhere you'll see it.

4. Remember That Almost Everyone Is Adjusting

It's easy to look around and assume everyone else feels confident while you're the only one who's nervous.

The student laughing with a group may have spent the night before wondering if they'd make friends.

The person who seems completely comfortable may still be figuring things out one day at a time.

Most people are carrying questions you never get to hear.

You don't have to compare your private worries to someone else's public moments.

Try this today: The next time you catch yourself assuming everyone else has it figured out, remind yourself that you're only seeing one small part of their experience.

5. Support Your Nervous System

Back-to-school stress doesn't just show up in your thoughts. You might notice your shoulders feeling tense, your heart racing, your chest feeling tight, your stomach feeling unsettled, or your mind refusing to slow down at night.

Supporting your nervous system can make a real difference during times of transition. That might mean getting enough sleep, eating regular meals, moving your body, spending time outside, creating art, listening to music, practicing slow breathing, or talking with someone you trust.

You don't need a perfect routine. A few small habits you can actually stick with often make a bigger difference than trying to change everything at once.

Try this today: Pick one activity that usually helps you feel more grounded and make time for it this week.

6. Give Yourself Permission to Need Time

The first day may feel awkward.

The first week might, too.

Friendships don't usually happen overnight, and feeling comfortable in a new environment takes time. You don't have to know where you belong, have your schedule memorized, or feel completely confident right away.

Most people settle in gradually, one conversation, one class, and one routine at a time.

Try this today: Instead of expecting yourself to have a perfect first day, aim for one meaningful conversation or one small win.

7. Reach Out Before You're Overwhelmed

You don't have to wait until you're falling behind or feeling completely overwhelmed before asking for help.

Talking with a parent, trusted adult, teacher, professor, school counselor, therapist, resident assistant, or friend can make the transition feel much more manageable. Reaching out early gives you the opportunity to work through challenges before they begin affecting other areas of your life.

Asking for support is one way of taking care of yourself during a season of change.

Try this today: Think of one person you could reach out to if this school year starts feeling heavier than you expected. Save their number or make a plan to check in with them.

A Quick Reality Check

Starting a new school year can bring excitement, hope, uncertainty, pressure, curiosity, and nervousness all at once. Give yourself room to experience the full mix of emotions while you adjust.

You don't have to have everything figured out before the first day. One class, one conversation, and one day at a time is enough.

When Anxiety Starts Getting in the Way

Feeling nervous as the school year approaches is common. Pay attention to whether anxiety is affecting your sleep, appetite, concentration, attendance, relationships, or ability to enjoy daily life. You may also notice yourself avoiding preparations, withdrawing from people, experiencing frequent panic, or spending hours caught in the same worries.

Reaching out for support early can help you understand what is fueling the anxiety and develop tools that fit your situation. Therapy can also help with academic pressure, social anxiety, homesickness, perfectionism, and the uncertainty that often comes with a major transition.

Moving Into the New School Year

The beginning of a school year comes with experiences you cannot fully predict yet. There will be people you have not met, routines you have not settled into, and moments that may surprise you in a good way.

Give yourself room to learn as you go. Preparation can help you feel more grounded, and you are allowed to adjust your plans once the year begins. Focus on the next step in front of you and stay connected to the parts of this new chapter that you are genuinely looking forward to.

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About the Author

Attiya Awadallah, LCAT, ATR-BC, is a licensed psychotherapist and board-certified art therapist who specializes in helping adults navigate anxiety, trauma, chronic stress, and major life transitions. She is trained in EMDR, art therapy, somatic approaches, and evidence-based treatments that help clients move beyond coping and create lasting change.

Through her private practice, Lenora: Art Therapy and Counseling, Attiya provides virtual therapy sessions and intensives for adults across New York. She is passionate about making mental health information approachable, practical, and grounded in real-life experiences.

LCAT | ATR-BC | EMDR Trained | Anxiety, Trauma, College Students, Life Transitions

Ready for Support This School Year?

Starting a new chapter can bring excitement, uncertainty, and everything in between. If anxiety is making it difficult to enjoy this season or feel like yourself, you don't have to work through it alone.

I offer virtual therapy for adults across New York, including college students and young adults navigating anxiety, life transitions, and the challenges that come with new beginnings.

If you're ready to take the next step, you can schedule a free 15-minute consultation to see whether we're a good fit.