Human beings are Earth creatures, assembled from the same materials that the rest of our planet is. Our bodies are tuned to exchange information with the natural world, through transmissions of frequencies.
Just as a wave on the Pacific Ocean ripples energy towards the shores, we are awash in energetic waves, most of which we cannot detect consciously with our ordinary senses.
These waves come in many languages – the imperceptible humming of sunlight, the silent songs of stars located lightyears from us. These vibrations surround us and create our forms.
The natural laws of the physical world are sustained through this constant circulation of energy as waves. The waves carry information – such as the shape of the wave (which rules how it will look to us, what it will sound like to us) – from particle to particle.
We cannot separate our experiences from the communications of the natural world. These waves of information rumble past our synthetic materials, transcend our traumatized nervous systems, and benevolently haunt the halls of our bodies with memories of our natural belonging to the family of all living beings.
We are governed at deep, cellular levels by the same ancient, reliable rhythms and cycles that tell birds when to sing in the morning, trees when to shed their leaves and the wind when and where to blow. Our bodies instinctively respond and relate to nature’s laws.
What is the connection between spring and mental health?
Spring was considered the New Year in ancient civilizations, before the Julian calendar we use today was adopted. Spring is the start of the astrological calendar, which tracks the ancient migrations of visible stars across our night sky. For plants and the animal kingdom, it’s a time of new beginnings.
What happens to us humans in the spring? How does this time of emerging from the inwardness of winter into the outwardness of new leaves spiraling toward the light affect us? What wisdom is captured in the folkloric illness referred to as “spring fever”?
The feverish increase in energy that floods us in spring can show up as a sudden desire to initiate new things, to embark, to begin. Spring fever may show up as moodiness, feelings of intense restlessness, and a loss of balance.
The persistent warming of the sun, the more generous hours, and the greening – all showing us our own capacity for rebirth, our own spiritual fertility – can stir us up, light the fires of yearning deep within, fill our sails with auspicious tailwinds.
Spring is not a time of stability. It is a time of sparks, initiations, and fire. For some of us, it’s when the soul callings and stirrings we swept under the ashes in winter start knocking on our doors with surprising insistence. Projects want to be dreamed up. Locations need to be visited. Ideas need to be acted upon. Love becomes urgent.
For those of us whose spirits are on the mercurial side, spring can be a rough time, of choppy seas, rises and falls, stops and starts. A season of unpredictability and potent activations.
Like all transitions from one phase of life to another, spring can put us in states of wobbly, uncertain vulnerability as we navigate our passage through narrow straits.
What mental health disorders peak during the spring?
The disruptive unrest of spring that shoots up in us naturally can create some practical difficulties in our self-care and mood management. We must keep our heads on straight, and keep our energy and inspiration levels from leading us into paths we know better than to walk.
For people with a history of substance abuse, we need to mind that the carefree, reckless feelings of springtime stay with a kind, patient hand. It’s not wise to give ourselves over to sweeping and sudden urges or forget where we come from. Nature requires respect, after all, for her dangerous side.
Spring is a wonderful time to redouble our efforts at mindfulness, to see if we can witness the riot of life energies inside, without getting pulled into identifying with one or another side of our nature.
For people who are prone to mania, such as those of us with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, it’s important to know that mania has been observed to spike in the spring, bringing an uptick in agitation, impulsiveness, and grandiosity.
For us, springtime should be a time of paying extra attention to compassionately observing our thoughts and moods, using our centering tools, and diligently guiding ourselves to stay seated in the grounding containers of our bodies.
Why do these mental health disorders occur during the spring?
Research into why certain disorders (chiefly mania, addiction, and some variations of seasonal affective disorder) spike in the spring is inconclusive so far. One pet theory is that the natural increase in sunlight combined with the sudden jump in light exposure due to daylight saving stimulates changes in hormone production, sleep, digestion, and all of the laws of the body that are affected by circadian rhythms.
The powerful, life-force-activating effects of the sun’s rays, while positive and healthy for our neurobiology, disrupt our previous balance and raise our level of energy, kind of like a gust of fresh wind that disorders a pile of papers on our desk.
The challenges of springtime may be largely a question of returning to balance again and again, as we integrate the influxes of change. We can think of spring as a time for holding onto our hats in a strong wind, while nature powerfully recharges our bodies, minds, and souls with potent life force energy.
Villa Kali Ma helps women be healthy in body, mind and soul
We take what we’ve verified, through science, study, and hard knocks, and teach it to other women. We work always to recover ourselves and the women we help, from the burdens and shackles of trauma, addictions, and suffering. If this sounds like what you need, give us a call, sister. We’re here in every season.