Where I live in the UK, in November 2024, we had two solid weeks without seeing the sun. Not even one single glimpse.
This was caused by a weather phenomenon called “anti-cyclonic gloom”.
Why anti-cyclonic? In a cyclone, there’s a low-pressure system that sucks air (and moisture) up into the higher layers of the atmosphere. Here, we had the opposite: a low-pressure system that in simple terms, plastered the grey clouds and mist to the earth in my part of the world.
Every day, a foggy mist and uniformly one-colour grey greeted us. No visible shapes in the clouds. The plants were moist all the time because the moisture couldn’t go anywhere else — no sun to warm it up and let it evaporate.
It was okay-ish for 5 days — we’re used to clouds here. Then, a bit less okay. After a week of it, I couldn’t believe it when we woke up yet again with fog that lasted for hours. After 10 days, I wanted to cry in my hands. I needed to see and feel Father Sun!
When he finally did start showing his face ever so slowly through some breaks in the clouds, it was magnificent.
Finally…!
Late that Sunday afternoon, tiny breaks appeared in the clouds. I started feeling hopeful. How nice it would be to see the fireball again! On Monday morning when we woke up, there were more openings in the clouds. An hour later, the sun appeared. Glorious, glorious sunshine.
I couldn’t stop saying “Oh how wonderful to see the sun!” UK people posted about it all over social media as they celebrated.
Coming from a sunny country like South Africa, it was an ordeal! 😂
Similar to life and health issues
That got me thinking how I’ve felt in the past about a health problem that just wouldn’t lift. I’ve dealt with many different health issues. It felt like those ‘grey health skies’ were endless, like the sun would never shine for me again.
In the past 5 years I’ve had bladder trouble (just awful), hot flushes, interrupted sleep, fatigue, colon issues, a gallbladder and stomach issue (which lasted for years), anxiety about all the health issues…
I can distinctly remember a time for each of these issues when I experienced total gloom. They lasted so long; I tried everything I knew of… and it felt like I’d never, ever get over it.
One of the worst feelings at times was a sense that I was being punished. For something I didn’t even know about. Every time with a flare, I was despondent, disheartened, and anxious.
That’s a very difficult place to be.
Can you identify in any way, about a health or other life issue?
What to do during the Gloom
During the 2 weeks of gloomy weather, we had to do what we could to uplift ourselves. We chose to keep going for our nurturing walks in the woods and do other things that made us feel good.
Every time I was out there (even in the misty grey), I found myself enjoying something about the day… falling leaves, the stunning autumn colours, seeing a squirrel, hearing a bird hop in the fallen leaves, the gorgeous tall beech trees in the lane nearby. Even the fog has a special, quiet beauty to it.
If not for those walks, I would have started feeling pretty depressed. A girl needs her sunshine, serotonin and vitamin D!
It’s the same with a health condition
A health condition can take over our lives and make us feel like that’s all there is. I do know what that’s like… very unpleasant.
At times, I was hyper-focused on unpleasant symptoms. Every twinge, every increase in intensity, set me off into another spiral of gloom, anxiety and feeling hopeless.
It’s very hard not to do that. Our brain is designed, first and foremost, to help us survive. When it feels something isn’t right, it tries hard to figure it out and it watches out for danger to keep us safe. So of course we will become pretty focused on it — but unfortunately, it’s not very helpful.
Joy despite the Gloom
We need to remember to keep doing things that bring us joy, even if we can’t do everything we want. Trying different activities can help us focus less on the unpleasant stuff. Using our ‘Play Personalities’, connecting with people, and spending time in nature are great ways to feel better. (If you don’t know about Play Personalities — it’s really fun to discover how you ‘play’ as an adult and give yourself more of that!)
Nature and Change
Time in nature is healing… it helps us to reconnect to life’s rhythms and the Laws of nature. We are a part of it. Our bodies are nature — just as much as animals and plants are.
Whenever I’m in nature, She reminds me that seasons come and go. Inevitably, there will be some kind of change. That always gives me hope. The leaves are falling now where I am, and we’re getting icy weather soon… that will only last for a while, though, because soon we’re on track for longer days, and the snowdrops, daffodils and crocuses will show their beautiful faces.
Nothing in nature is stagnant. And that reminds me that our bodies are designed to handle change and return to balance.
Yes, we don’t always know how! It can feel like a total mystery, and pretty frustrating. I’ve been there too, where I cursed the Universe/God/whoever for not letting me find the answer to have my problem disappear!
Natural forces and Healing
I don’t know or understand all the natural forces that created the anti-cyclonic gloom, nor what eventually lifted it again.
It’s often the same when we recover from a health problem. We usually don’t understand what created it — so many, many health conditions are ‘idiopathic’ — where the medical profession does not know what caused it.
Likewise… often, we don’t know what exactly helped us recover.
Some of my health issues lasted a very long time. — a painful stomach that took me 12 years before I looked for proper medical help, plus another 2 to solve it.
During those 12 years I tried so many things: homeopathy, naturopath, herbal remedies, acupuncture, cutting out certain foods, EFT, but nothing seemed to last.
What helped me to get out of my ‘Stomach gloom’
Two years ago after a trip to South Africa, my stomach pain was so intense that I knew I had to do something drastic. It took me on the medical route (that I’d tried to avoid for those 12 years!) and then, finally, I started looking at the emotional contributors with a helpful analysis tool called Meta Consciousness™.
And there, my friends, is where the possibility for relief and healing finally showed up. I was able to gradually wean myself off the PPI’s (Proton Pump Inhibitors) I was on for 2 years — because I now knew which emotional root causes and triggers to work on and clear.
My Stomach Journey
The stomach journey was a bit like when the sun returned in November: First, a little bit of relief… then longer periods of relief with patchy clouds. And finally longer periods of sunshine than cloud.
Sometimes I still experience a little flare. And thankfully I no longer have the big, bad panics I used to have — because I can usually trace the flare to an emotional trigger. Not a food (as I thought for so long) — and it’s never random. I can always find what triggered the episode — and thus feel less panic, less gloom. “Oh, it’s this thing I’ve not cleared yet.”
Usually, it’s something that I’m ‘trying to digest (process)’, or ‘couldn’t digest (process)’. Other times it’s about me feeling angry about my territory… either I didn’t set a boundary, or I did and the boundary was crossed — and I didn’t speak up.
Stomach issues can be about either of those (digesting/processing — or territorial anger) — it depends which part of the stomach we’re dealing with. That’s what I love about Meta Consciousness™ — it’s specific, and works together with a medical diagnosis so we don’t throw spaghetti at the wall.
Three Things: Empathy, Hope, and Companionship
#1 Empathy
If you, like me, have walked a long and frustrating road with a health issue and feel like you’re in an ‘anticyclonic gloom’ with yours, first accept my compassion and deepest empathy. I truly know what that’s like. It’s hard to explain to others the misery of that.
#2: Hope
And second — please know that there is always hope. Even when it seems dire. Sometimes we need more than a body-healing — we need a ‘life-healing’ — and our health condition can point us in the right direction.
#3: Free support
Third: I am offering, with a dear colleague and friend, Emma Reid, a free gathering every 2nd month as support. Emma is a fellow Meta Consciousness Coach. Visit this link and sign up if this speaks to you. It will be informative, confidential, and intimate. You might walk away with new directions to explore to regain your health.
Summary:
As I discovered on my journey:
The important thing is to keep going. Find small moments of joy and enjoyment every day. I can’t tell you the number of times my symptoms felt better when I went for my walks, or on a weekend away. That’s a clear sign that doing something enjoyable is very good for our health!
Reach out if you want to talk about your health privately. I offer private sessions to help you Journey towards balance.
