Aries and Depression

Know the Causes and Learn Tips on How to Cope

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Aries is the sign that trumpets Spring and embodies the surge into a fertile growing season. Aries possess a natural momentum, along with an inherent ability to make a new start. Aries is also a fire sign which makes them less likely to fall into depression than others but it does happen, and when it does, it can be difficult for them to find their way back toward the light.

A Sedentary Lifestyle

Like a shark, Aries need to keep moving forward in order to remain healthy. They suffer more than most in jobs that lack a physical component. If an Aries' job requires that they sit in front of a computer, they'll need to take regular breaks to stretch and replenish their energy.

Couch potato and Aries are not a good match. While some leisure time spent watching TV or surfing the 'net is fine, prolonged periods of inertia can be highly detrimental to Aries' physical and mental health. If left unchecked, Aries can gain weight and fall into extremes of sloth. 

The good news is Aries is quick to rally. When inspired, they can actually turn things around in a day. A single bold (physical) action can be the spark that brings them back to life.

Lack of Inspiration and Challenge

An uninspired Aries is in shadowy territory. Their aggressive energy that's best channeled into the pursuit of a dream can be diverted toward alienating those around them. This negativity can become a vicious cycle that casts Aries in the role of instigator. Aries' relentless energy is most destructive when it's seeking to turn up the heat or get a rise out of someone who is irking them.

Aries is more outwardly directed than other signs but the road to diverting unhealthy energy is not usually found in challenging others. Rather than engaging conflict for the sake of conflict, Aries are best served by seeking ways to break the cycle and find solutions that lead to positive change. 

Loss of Momentum

Aries shine in the moment and suffer when others attempt to exert too much control over them. Aries can be driven mad when constantly taken out of the moment. Every time an air sign talks something to death, an Aries dies a little inside. When an earth sign stops to factor in every realistic consideration before making a move, Aries wants to bang his head against a wall. When a water sign throws a wet blanket of heavy emotion or manipulative behavior over an Aries' fire, they can't help but feel smothered.

The remedy for Aries is not to avoid people born under signs that hold them back, but rather to create situations and roles that facilitate momentum. This may take deeper introspection than Aries is normally accustomed to, however, knowing what it is that's truly bogging them down—whether it's a personal behavior, a relationship dynamic, a particular circumstance, or simply a feeling of being stuck—can set them free. 

The Road to Self-Harm

In an article titled "Aries Energy and Women," astrologer Kathy Rose reveals that Aries women who repress their natural assertiveness for any length of time often found that energy manifested itself unhealthy habits that included eating disorders and other compulsions or addictions.

"Eventually, when the energy is repressed long enough, and too much heat builds, the lava comes bursting forth," she writes. "The result is an out-of-control, ugly explosion that usually receives very negative feedback—which then reinforces the urge to stuff it; and then the cycle repeats and the inner heat builds up again."

Helping an Aries Cope

For Aries, depression often builds slowly, until it's almost like a gravitational force that is constantly pulling them further and further down into a dark pool of choking paralysis. When an Aries is depressed, they often suffer a sense of being isolated from others, cut off from life in some profound way. Their willfulness can add an edge that makes it difficult to let others help. 

If you're linked to an Aries—romantically or platonically—who is depressed, the best way to help is to avoid telling them what to do or passing judgment. Instead, share parallel experiences if you have them, not with a view toward pushing a solution that may have worked for someone else on them, but as a source of encouragement. The trick for Aries to finding the pathway out of darkness is to track what's alive, vital, and inspiring—and to take the first step. One small spontaneous action can lead to another, and so on until they're finally back in the light.