Spring Fever?

As I am beginning to transition out of a fairly chaotic first quarter it is not lost on me that we are in full spring—energetically and the season. There’s an excitement, a anxiety and unease as the earth wakes up after winter. I am always a little surprised at how challenging spring can be for folks. Which is why I felt drawn to writing a little something about it. Which made me think of the term “spring fever”. A fever is something our bodies do to fight off sickness. Do we develop a little spring fever to burn off the winter blues? None of this is clinical of course but I can’t help but be distracted by the influx of anxious energy and life disturbances with my client’s lives and my own.

When I turn to the google (a most reliable source) I am met with some interesting hypotheses as to the origins of the term. Historians believe it refers to an influx in illness in the spring as many people were malnourished through the winter months. OBGYNs report an increase in unplanned pregnancies which links to another meaning of the term—spring fever means we are in the mood to procreate. This phenomenon is demonstrated in Bambi in the scene where Bambi and his friends all get “twitterpated”. And certainly we can see the flurry of action in the animal world as they all begin to wake up in the warmer weather. Additionally there are indications that there is a higher rate of suicides during the spring. While a sad statistic is does bring me back to my original thought.

My guess is that there is truth in all of these hypotheses. And spring certainly brings about a flurry of energy and emotion. So the important thing to remember is that this is a collective experience. We (here in the northern hemisphere) are experiencing a new beginning of sorts and that can be incredibly uncomfortable. Be gentle with yourself and be kind to others. We all have a bit of Spring Fever.

Joy xoxo