It seems like there has been a rash of people suffering some pretty acute depression lately. Not that there aren’t some pretty heavy events going on in most of their lives. And still, it’s more than a small handful of people.

On Thursday, the news broke that our magnetic North Pole seems to be on the move, and at a much faster pace than usual. If you have been reading this blog for a while, you’re already aware how much the human body is affected by shifts in the Earth’s electromagnetic field. I usually talk about this when there’s solar activity mucking things up. This time, it’s the Earth herself.

The comparison between this shift in magnetic energy and one generated by the sun is important, because your symptoms will most likely be different. You may be feeling ungrounded or unfocused. You may feel like you’ve lost your sense of direction. Solar activity tends to make people jittery; this is more likely to make you feel like you’ve lost your footing.

On top of that, there’s some astrology at play (isn’t there always?). The Sun, Mercury, Saturn, and Pluto are all in Capricorn right now. That’s some serious business. Capricorn is non-nonsense and doesn’t really care about your feelings. So there is going to be a tendency to feel small and easily wounded. Because Mercury is about how you think and communicate, and Sun refers to your overt personality, the committee in your head is probably treating you poorly, and you may be running roughshod over other people’s feelings as well. Saturn is about structure, discipline, and responsibility, which means no one is cutting you any slack. And Pluto is about transformation, so it’s pretty much change or die right now; I don’t know about you, but my resistance is strongest when I’m up against big changes, and my resistance to growth sometimes manifests as depression.

I think all of this is also making us tired. I mean bone-weary. This can also get interpreted as depression. The Mayo Clinic defines depression as “The persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest that characterizes major depression can lead to a range of behavioral and physical symptoms. These may include changes in sleep, appetite, energy level, concentration, daily behavior, or self-esteem.” We think that’s pretty clear until we see that The Mayo Clinic defines fatigue as “a nearly constant state of weariness that develops over time and reduces your energy, motivation and concentration.” So it’s not as cut and dried as all the Capricorn energy might hope.

So let’s look at solutions:

• Make sure you’re grounding every day. All the way into the heart of the planet.
• Focus on the chemistry (which is verifiable fact), rather than on the thoughts (which are, essentially, just opinion). You can do this by asking yourself where in your body the sensation of depression/fatigue/overwhelm/hopelessness is centered. Ascertain if the sensation is hot or cold. Is it tight or loose? Smooth or prickly? Dull or sharp? Steady or throbbing? Does it feel empty or full? These are the sensations of the chemical reactions in your body.
• If you keep pulling your attention, no matter how often it returns to your generally less-than-helpful thoughts, into the sensations, doing your best to stick to the simple identification of those sensations, until those sensations subside, you will have ridden out the chemical wave. It no longer has you hooked, and your mind will be much clearer.
• At this point you can ask yourself if there’s anything you need to do about whatever is going on. Chances are, you don’t. If you do, the solution might be as simple as having a bite to eat, drinking more water, or taking a nap. Yep, that stuff you learned as a toddler still works.

Don’t let the imaginary bastards win. Heck, don’t let the real ones win either. Take your power back by taking control of your focus as outlined above.

This too shall pass, whether you want it to or not.