10 Simple Self Care Tips To Manage This Mercury Retrograde

(SPECIAL FOR EMPATHS AND HIGHLY SENSITIVE PEOPLE)

This week we are in the first week of the first Mercury retrograde cycle of 2018 which is a perfect time to retrace your steps and have a look at some of the ways in which you need to reaffirm your self-care. It’s also a great time to focus on ways to manage your experience especially if you identify as a highly sensitive person or empath. This particular retrograde in Aries is highly charged and can be quite combustible and combative. That said it’s also perfect for rigorous self-honesty, and really determining what you are enthusiastic about!

So, if you’re sensing the edge in the air and it starts to feel overwhelming you need to find a way to manage your experience. You don’t want to end up feeling like the energy of the world is assaulting you (and it really can feel like that sometimes.)

I’m going to include a video from Nick Ortner at the end of the blog to support you too since he has a great way to dial down anxiety. Bottom line is that intuitive people can suffer if they don’t have tools to manage their boundaries and feelings. (and they can also find it hard to release excess body weight, manage fatigue too etc. but that’s a whole other story)

So I wanted to offer up some simple easy to follow tips especially since we’re in the first Mercury retrograde phase of 2018 which empaths, in particular, need help navigating.

First off here is an interesting article about empath traits to see if you relate. It’s pretty much the best one I’ve run across (even though its 5 yrs old!) so if you’re curious you should answer the 30 questions. (I got 28 out of 30) http://themindunleashed.org/2013/10/30-traits-of-empath.html  

So here are 10 simple self- care tips for the upcoming retrograde (which work all the time)  

1. Meditate on gratitude every day for min 20 mins. (this focus releases feel-good hormones that counterbalance the stress hormones that our bodies are addicted to)
2. Get enough sleep (if you’re tired it’s harder to set calm boundaries)
3. Manage media exposure (limit the news since you will feel like it’s all happening to you.) If you have to immerse yourself in world events you should counterbalance it by watching videos of cute cats and puppies, or other things that make you smile, laugh or be happy – (yes I am perfectly serious- my faves are cute owls and otters)
4. Stay as local as you can. (when you start to feel overwhelmed deal only with your immediate surroundings.)  Ask “ Is what I am feeling about related to this condition now, in front of me, or am I tuned into something else?” ( an example of this is you might get triggered by a condition but you begin to relate it all to something that happened to you in the past causing everything to be exaggerated and distorted.)
5. De-clutter your surroundings. (remove all chatty objects that remind you of unresolved emotional stories) Yes, that means you get to put the vase from your condescending sister in law in a box!
6. No Drama. Curtail conversations with gossipy friends, people who dump on you, stir up trouble so they get attention, and do not do it yourself to others.  (it will just make you feel worse and escalate the overwhelm)
7. Ask yourself when you begin to feel too much empathy, or get super tired or overwhelmed “ Is this mine?” If the answer is no, and 9 times out of 10 it will be NO, it means you’re identifying with the emotional energy of others. Just by identifying this, if you’re tuned in, diminishes the impact considerably and you get instant relief.
8. Learn to say No. Many empathic people fear reprisal if they say no, or feel like they are not worthy of refusing to take on the burden of the world’s energy. Many of us want to fix it and/or completely bolt at the same time. Keep the focus on you. You are worthy of self-care.
9. Go outside. (I get it- if it’s winter and going for a walk outside is the last thing you want to do- bundle up and do it anyway. Unless you’re Down Under in which case this will be easy so go barefoot in the grass.) It’s been proven that being out in nature is healing and grounding. Even 10 minutes a day walking and being grateful will keep you sane.
10.  Lighten up!  Make sharing joy and laughter a daily practice. Laughter also reduces the stress hormones commonly associated with empathy overwhelm. Find the ridiculousness of life, share the cute and funny, heartwarming and silly. (You will be so much better at managing your sensitivity)

These seem simple but for highly sensitive people they work to keep us balanced so we can release the weight of the world and manage our days with happiness, grace, and peace not just in a mercury retrograde but all the time!

With love and laughter,

P.S. Here is the link to Nick Ortner’s video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyHxuTG6jRk with an introduction to tapping which will help you deal with stress.