How Astrology Can Help You Understand Your Anxiety and Depression

To wake up with that uncomfortable feeling of: “oh, no, not another day” is just awful. To walk through life as if you are carrying an invisible backpack filled with rocks makes everything an uphill climb and weighs heavy on the soul. To wonder if you will ever find that bounce in your step, or a sparkle in your eye eventually becomes discouraging. A constant malign sense of beige, tiredness, or sadness as your ‘norm’ is called depression.

North America has unprecedented numbers suffering from what is now an epidemic of sadness and depression. Antidepressants have become a billion-dollar industry. Why? Because while you can’t see depression, it's dangerous. It’s a silent killer. Like a thief in the night, who you only realize was there in the morning - depression, too, sneaks around.

Feeling sad is an insidious and embarrassing emotion. For too many, they finally get used to it as though that was the ‘norm.’

I know all this because I, too, used to live in the basement of my mind with that stale scent of sadness hovering. You would never have known - I acted happy. I hardly ever told anyone how tired I was with life.

I was starring in a pretend game, when I was sent a life raft called Astrology.

Here are 3 things to remember when starting your journey of self-discovery through Astrology.

1. Look to The Elements

Even though Astrology is the study of the stars, it is rooted in the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These elements affect our varying personalities and how we relate to the world – especially emotionally. We are all so different and many of us are far more sensitive than others, but this is not a “bad” thing or an issue to be solved. It is an aspect of yourself you may have not fully acknowledged, reconciled or integrated.

For instance, many of us who are more naturally sensitive or emotional, usually have an excessive amount of Water in our Astrological charts. For me, this was a big ah-ha moment! No wonder I suffered from depression! I am so sensitive. And that’s okay.

2. Review Your Full Chart

The remedy for my long struggle with depression began with a simple understanding. Over a period of a few short weeks, that vague, unsatisfied feeling started to lift as I came to understand my Astrological chart.

Learning your entire chart in depth - not just your Sun sign, as many of us stop there – can help you understand how you relate both to the outside world and to yourself. As I reviewed all of the different signs that make up ME, their meanings and placements, I began to see myself in a whole new light that finally made sense.

3. Cultivate Compassion

These insights had changed my view of my self and encouraged me to cultivate compassion for what I once considered an impossible personality trait that would never leave my side. Sure, I still feel a lot – nothing wrong with that!

But now that I have an integrated understanding of Astrology, I have developed tools and methods designed to best help me when I feel overwhelmed by my watery, emotional depths. That old stale scent has left, and the bounce in my step has returned. Understanding who I am, and why I am the way I am, has lightened my load immensely.

Taking the time and making space for deep self reflection through Astrology can be immensely healing and transformative in all areas of your life. Anxiety and depression can feel so overwhelming and confusing at times, especially when your mind tells you you have few reasons to feel this sad – yet you can’t help it! It feels innate to who you are and yet maybe, you have never fully understood why.

You have to know your stars to know your soul. I am so much closer to my real self - minus that low grade sadness that followed me around for all those years. What a game changer.

Debra Silverman is part astrologer, part psychologist, part comedian and ALL REAL. Debra’s mothering approach to understanding people has earned her international fame and admiration, including from celebrities like Sting, Madonna, and Shailene Woodley. Her online school, Applied Astrology, is open for registration twice per year, and will be opening for registration soon. You can get on the waitlist here, and in the mean time you can start learning Astrology with her today with this FREE Moon PDF.