Mercury in Retrograde 🪐

If you know me well, you know I don’t believe in anything. I don’t believe in God, Buddha, Allah or any other mythical individual. This is why it isn’t surprising that I also don’t really believe in astrology despite this article’s title.

I do believe in energy. Not in a kumbaya way but rather that if you give out positive energy, chances are more positive things will come to you. I also believe — or rather know — that there’s people and situations that completely drain you out. But why are there times where everyone is feeling the same? Could the answer really rely on astrology?

Photo by Eileen Pan on Unsplash

Over the last few days all my friends have been feeling weird and sad. No one really knows why but they lack the energy to complete simple tasks and they feel depressed for no obvious reason. And I feel the same.

I’m not sure if it’s Mercury, a coincidence or just adult life, but the truth is I sometimes struggle to keep myself motivated. And May is Mental Health month, so I think we should all be more open about this. While I’m definitely not a specialist nor am I equipped with giving advice, I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve tried to do that helped me feel a little better.

Be as kind to yourself as you are to others. I suffer from imposter syndrome so no matter how hard I work, I always think I could have done better. This gets worse when I’m not feeling my best so now, if I don’t finish all my tasks, I analyse if I was setting myself for failure from the beginning by adding too many things to my to-do list.

It’s easy to forget we’re human too and sometimes we are our worst enemies so I’m trying to be kinder to myself and think about how I would react if it was another person. Instead of overthinking a situation, I now think about it for a while, think about how I can be better in the future and just let it go.

Your time is just as valuable as others’. You see, I’m afraid of conflict and I pride myself on being a good friend and co-worker. That’s why I like to always be available for whoever needs me at any time. In fact, my friends have told me that if I take a bit longer to reply to a text they get concerned something happened to me because I’m usually very responsive.

If you’re feeling a bit down, don’t worry if you’re not your bubbly self or if you have to say no to a friend’s invitation. You wouldn’t get mad if someone declined your invitation for not feeling well, so you should expect the same from others, especially if they’re your friends.

Also, don’t tell women to smile more. We don’t need that.

This too shall pass. While sometimes it may be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, everything eventually passes, even Mercury in retrograde. Life is too short to dwell on small things so allow yourself to feel your sadness and know it will eventually be replaced for happiness.

I used to hate feeling sad and wouldn’t know how to deal with being moody, but I now embrace it without letting it overpower me. Sometimes it’s good to cry, yell and just feel all the feelings.

Lastly, try new things. You should absolutely know when to say no but don’t forget to say yes to things you normally wouldn’t and allow yourself to have as much fun as you can. Also, don’t worry about what others will think about it and just live your life according to your rules.

For me, this looks like a lot of different things, from taking mirror selfies, to traveling to new places every month, meeting new people, revisiting old friends, going out two nights in a row, reading poetry or finally writing a children’s book.