3 things you can do if Mercury retrograde is making a mess in your head.
Oh well. It’s still January and it feels like 100 days of the year have already passed. But not. It has been only 28. I was wondering why this slow motion feeling? Someone told me: Mercury is retrograde.
Astrology enthusiast that I am, I investigated it. Apparently during this time we are invaded by a feeling of wanting to pause, even go back in time, and analyze introspectively what is affecting us and its roots in the past. It makes a lot of sense.
These days I’m transcreating into Spanish my book The Anxious Mom Manifesto that I originally wrote in English and launched almost a year ago. In it, I describe my story with the anxiety monster and how I have managed to transform it into a master of life instead of being afraid of it. As I experienced when I first wrote it, this book has made me take a trip to memory lane and relive both joyful and painful experiences. I’ve had to update, edit, and change some parts and references, and I’m falling in love with the book all over again. But… going back to the past takes a toll.
A sense of melancholy has entered me and I am questioning things from the past that perhaps I have not managed to heal completely. So, I have chosen to resort to old methods to prevent this time travel from starting to mess with my head.
If the same thing is happening to you, I recommend that you take steps to protect your energy and your mental health. Introspection and time-tripping are not necessarily bad. They are even necessary, because they help us understand what we are experiencing today, in the present, and also motivate us to make changes to create a better future. The problem is staying there frozen in the memories, in the past, and in the painful situations that we can no longer change.
To avoid this, this is what I did and I recommend you do to protect your energy and mental health:
1. I went to Spotify and created a private playlist of songs from the past.
Music is a way of remembering and through it exploring feelings and situations. It can also put you in a better mood. If you do the same, I recommend avoiding overly melancholy songs. Put the ones that bring back incredible memories, that make you sing them at the top of your lungs while driving, and make you feel like you were in your 20s again.
2. I relied on the best weapon of self-exploration: meditation and free writing exercises.
I have followed my own method of pray-meditate-journal for several years. These days, what I have tried is to have a clear intention, to heal past wounds. I say a prayer for the intention, connect with my spirit guides to help me explore, and spend a few minutes in meditation. Then I open my diary and write freely. Here my only advice is to let your hand flow and write without stopping, without even thinking about what you are writing. Sometimes your guides connect with you and may send you messages with this type of exercise. Or sometimes it is your inner self that communicates and lets you know what you need to know.
3. I moved my body again.
After the holidays, I had a few days in which I was static in a sedentary lifestyle. Coupling my energy to the new year. But when I realized that I was entering this melancholic cycle, I understood that it was time to move my body and let the energy begin to flow. In my case, running or walking is an exercise that benefits me incredibly when I want to protect my mental health. The movement makes your body create endorphins but also clears your mind and thus allows you to find that creative part that is part of all human beings. If you accompany it with good nutrition, it is the perfect combination and the best way to take care of yourself.
I believe that this cycle will end in a few days, but it will repeat again during the year. It is in your hands to make sure that it does not affect you negatively. While you think about it and tell me in your comments if you’re experiencing something similar, I’m going to listen to Shakira’s Pies Descalzos album for the umpteenth time.
Paola is the author of The Lake of Miracles/El Lago de Los Milagros, Shorty Tales (Cuentitos), and The Anxious Mom Manifesto: 18 Lessons to Control your Anxiety Monster. Find her books HERE.
Follow Paola @paobsur
