Our Collective Depression and How To Rise From It

I’m usually a glass half-full person who veers towards seeing the positive in people and situations. But something is amiss. And I don’t think it’s just me.

In talking with friends, acquaintances, and even strangers, there is a general malaise upon us that has the familiar scent of depression. For some, this feeling is more personal and realized in the form of a health crisis, being a victim of crime, sudden job loss, or even the suicide of a loved one. For others, even if life seems to be going well, It feels like a black cloud hovers behind the scenes.

Of course, you don’t have to look far to find reasons to feel depressed. Children suffering, potentials for war, climate change overtaking homes, and even though the economy is “good,” there is a general looming of the other shoe about to drop.

We are suffering from a Collective Depression.

We’ve done a good job at sweeping all of this under the rug while we go about our day and watch our 401k increase. It’s easy to stay in denial as to events that don’t seem to directly affect us.

This is our Collective Denial and Bargaining.

Meanwhile, the polarizing viewpoints are causing a collective anger to rise up and has expressed in the form of mass shootings and hate crimes. This is our Collective Anger.

Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression… these are all stages of grief with depression being the last stage before acceptance.

What are we grieving? What are we needing to accept?

In 2020 there is an astrological transit that explains why we may be feeling this Collective Depression and what it’s leading up to. Saturn and Pluto will be conjunct in Capricorn on and off throughout the year. Saturn can feel like a wet blanket on a good day. Pluto is the planet of death and rebirth. These two malefic planets together can wreak havoc. With this dark and depressing party taking place in the sign of Capricorn, expect its effects to primarily influence government, institutions, and patriarchy.

We’ve been witnessing the worse of patriarchy as it rises to the surface. We can no longer be in denial of how this power structure has brought imbalance to our planet. Even if you consider yourself a feminist, we are all experiencing a collective grief because we have been reliant upon this way of living for thousands of years. It’s no longer serving us or our planet and thus any and all patriarchal structures are up for review. The burning of Notre Dame is a symbolic representation.

Remember when we would look to leadership to feel good about our future. I grew up in the Reagan years when we looked to our president to feel hope. Regardless of partisan differences, there was an attempt at unification and positivity.

“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God.”― Ronald Reagan

“We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” ― Jimmy Carter

“No problem of human making is too great to be overcome by human ingenuity, human energy, and the untiring hope of the human spirit.”- George H.W. Bush

Instead of looking outside of ourselves to patriarchal institutions, we must now look to ourselves and each other for positivity and hope. The president is no longer our Santa Claus that we look to to bestow gifts upon us. It’s time to find our light within instead of looking outside of ourselves to be lifted up.

Regardless of how well your portfolio is performing, you will not have peace so long as there are children in cages and the planet is being ravaged of its resources. We are all encaged and encased in toxins in some way.

This is the reason for our Collective Depression.

It’s easy to feel helpless and a victim to the world. And like anyone suffering depression, just having motivation to do anything is difficult. Here are some ways to help turn the light back on with a positive ripple effect.

Interpersonal Relationships

This is one area in which we can have an immediate positive impact. Find peace and compassion in how you relate to your partner, your kids, your friends, your barista, and even strangers you come across daily. You really can be the change we want to see in the world. It seems the darker the world gets, the more amazing the people I come across with big hearts and a passion to change the world. We are more powerful together than we think.

Eco-Friendly Ways of Living

The old ways in which we destroy the planet are not sustainable. New technologies are being created daily that will change the way we live in a much cleaner and less expensive way. Any way you can contribute, from being a consumer to a technology inventor, will bring you more peace of mind and positivity.

Experiencing New Ways of Living

Relying less and less on a centralized government and looking to micro-communities is where we’re headed. There’s already a variety of currencies to choose from, not just one central currency. New companies are creating alternative ways of traveling, driving, and working. Co-working spaces, staying in peoples’ homes while traveling, and even having a stranger drive you across town are concepts we couldn’t have perceived several years ago. Support companies that think holistically about people and the planet.

Creativity

As the patriarchal structures fall away, the matriarchy is rising. You can see this with newly elected female presidents across the globe. Cooperation and peace will eventually replace division and violence. And so all things feminine, creative, and of beauty will help us pull out of this Collective Depression and provide the light we’re in need of. Tapping into your own creativity through art, writing, singing, dancing, cooking, or any form of expression, and enjoying that of others, will be an immediate feel good with ripple effects. For those in leadership positions, leading through heart is essential.

Taking Action

Feeling a victim to the world around you and closing down to denial will only feed the depression. Taking action is the best way to turn depression into a productive source of energy. Our most recent feel-good president said it best:

“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” ― Barack Obama