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This article reveals the Dark Night of the Soul symptoms, mental, emotional, and physical and the causes and cures of these symptoms of spiritual depression.
To understand the Dark Night of the Soul symptoms we first need to understand that there are two types of Dark Night.
The first of these is ‘growth-oriented’ and is caused by our own actions or inactions, or negative situations in our lives.
The second is a hard-wired part of the spiritual awakening journey and occurs at a very specific stage of the awakening process.
The symptoms of each type of Dark Night of the Soul manifest slightly differently, however there is a common theme of low mood, fatigue, listlessness and depression.
(Find out more about the two types of Dark Night of the Soul in this blog article or watch the video below.)
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The Dark Night of the Soul symptoms are linked to chakra health
Both of these types of spiritual depression are caused by chakra constriction or blockage.
The seven major chakras: root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown, are our means of connection to the seven universal energies.
Without this connection, the human system cannot survive.
When our chakras are working optimally – towards the end of our spiritual awakening journey for example – we feel great.
We are in the best of health, bursting with energy, and feel calm and content.
However, when they become blocked or energy flow is constricted, the opposite is true.
Not only can we be negatively impacted in an emotional, mental, and physical way, but we can also experience a downturn in life events.
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Why the Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul occurs
As I mentioned, the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul is an unavoidable stage of the spiritual awakening journey.
Spiritual awakening is the process of reintegration of our earthbound soul with its higher self, which has remained in the higher dimensions.
(Watch the video below to understand more.)
At fifty percent integration, we enter the Dark Night.
It almost always occurs after a period of intense connectedness when energy is flowing freely through our chakras.
So we experience the sudden constriction – sometimes down to as little as 5% energy flow – as a ‘switching off’.
All of the connection we had previously enjoyed disappears and for this reason, a spiritual Dark Night of the Soul is easy to spot.
This difficult stage of awakening is largely designed to (re)teach us self-reliance.
During the earlier period of deep connection we will have made contact with our guides and come to lean on the for help and direction.
However, the human journey is about learning.
And how can we learn if someone is always giving us the answers?
So the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul is intended to help us detach from our reliance on our guides and learn once more to stand on our own two feet.
We are supposed to make our own mistakes, that is one of the abiding rules of human existence.
Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul mental and emotional symptoms
The most obvious symptom is the sudden decline in connectedness and communication.
Typically this disappears within 24 hours, as though your internal radio has suddenly ‘de-tuned’ itself.
This leads to other, related symptoms, such as:
- a sense of loss;
- loneliness;
- anger;
- frustration;
- disorientation; and
- self-doubt.
Because our energy levels are seriously depleted, due to a wholesale chakra constriction, we will typically also experience:
- lack of motivation;
- lethargy;
- apathy; and
- a desire to withdraw from society.
All of this ultimately results in a type of depression.
Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul Symptoms: Depression
Having been through the Dark Night of the Soul myself (twice), I can vouch for the fact that this is not an ordinary depression.
For example, the overwhelming sense of sadness that usually accompanies this condition is not there, at least not to the same degree.
Rather there is a feeling of pointlessness and a general lack of motivation.
The best way I can describe the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul is that you feel as though you have been lobotomised.
You have the sense that something deep and important has been ‘cut out’ of your being, which in a way it has.
(Not sure if you’re having a spiritual awakening? Discover the 7 major signs of awakening in this blog article.)
Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul physical symptoms
During the spiritual Dark Night it is typical to feel intense fatigue.
You may need to rest far more than normal and spend protracted periods of time sleeping.
However, other than this, it is unusual to experience many other physical symptoms, such as a specific illness.
(This is not the case for the self-induced Dark Night of the Soul.)
It seems the universe protects us during this period, which is only fair if you think about it, as it has imposed it on us!
Similarly, we shouldn’t experience too many negative life events. Perhaps some small instances of ‘bad luck’ but nothing too serious (so there is some good news).
How long does the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul last?
Generally speaking you can expect it to last a few months, at least on the first attempt.
(My first time lasted four months but I slid backwards; my second time took just two weeks.)
Three months is typically the shortest amount of time it takes to reach the other side, but four or five months is more common.
People often fail to get through the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul the first time around, or give up on the spiritual journey altogether.
How you approach this stage of awakening dictates how long it lasts, and whether you exit out the other side or back the way you came.
One notable feature of this type of Dark Night of the Soul is that the symptoms remain constant throughout.
It switches on, and a few months later it switches off.
For this reason it will be very obvious to you when you have exited the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul.
How to cure the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul
You can’t ‘cure’ the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul per se, but there are steps you can take to get through it as quickly as possible.
The absolute focus should be to continue the process of integration of your soul with your higher self.
We exit the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul at around sixty-five to seventy per cent integration.
Integration occurs when we take part in what are traditionally considered ‘right brain’ activities.
These include things such as:
- Creating art
- Making or playing music
- Spending time in nature
- Meditating
- Practicing yoga
The two most impactful things you can do are 1) meditate every day and 2) get out into nature, any kind of nature.
(Watch the video below for a super-easy daily meditation you can do in just five minutes.)
The more time you spend on healthful, ‘spiritual’ activities, the more quickly you will exit the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul.
You should also make sure you get lots of rest. Don’t push your body at this time, just go with the flow.
Why the ‘growth-oriented’ Dark Night of the Soul occurs
Again, the root cause is chakra blockage, however this is not imposed by the universe, but is something we have facilitated ourselves.
We can do this in one of two ways: either by living in a way which impacts our chakra health, or allowing detrimental situations in our lives to continue.
Examples of the first are:
- Eating badly;
- Not exercising;
- Over-indulging in alcohol or drugs;
- Living in an unethical or mean-spirited way;
- Becoming unhealthily fixated on money or sex;
- Not having a regular spiritual routine, such as the practice of meditation or yoga.
 Examples of the second are:
- Staying in unfulfilling or abusive relationships
- Remaining in a job we hate
- Not following our dreams
- Failing to process past traumas
- Not dealing with financial worries
Growth-Oriented Dark Night of the Soul mental and emotional symptoms
The symptoms of this kind of spiritual depression can be widely varied.
This is because, unlike the spiritual Dark Night, only some of our chakras may be severely blocked, and to varying degrees.
Also, unlike the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul, it may creep up on us slowly over time.
In fact this is typical, unless we experience a severe trauma.
Generally speaking, we will feel depressed.
This will be a more ‘typical’ depression, including low mood, sadness, and a feeling of hopelessness.
If our root chakra is impacted then we may also experience anxiety which in its most severe forms can lead to phobias or OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).
Growth-Oriented Dark Night of the Soul physical symptoms
A growth-oriented Dark Night often leads to physical illness.
This is your body drawing attention to the fact that there is an imbalance in your energy system.
The severity of illness will depending on how long the growth-oriented Dark Night continues, and how severely your chakras are constricted.
You may just experience an ongoing ‘niggling’ problem, or you may have a full-blown breakdown, or anything in between.
Every single system in your body can be affected so the list of physical symptoms is too long to list here.
If you are experiencing physical symptoms then take note of the area of your body which is affected and which chakra it relates to.
This is the chakra you should focus on bringing back to health.
Bear in mind that more than one chakra may be affected.
(I plan to write a series of articles on exactly how to do this and will update this page when I do – it’s a big topic!)
Growth-Oriented Dark Night of the Soul negative life events
This type of spiritual depression can often trigger negative life events, especially if it continues unchecked and spirals downwards.
(Our universe is built in spirals.)
Again, these will depend on which chakras in your system are constricted.
Also the severity of the events will depend on the degree to which they are constricted.
You may have a minor run of ‘bad luck’ or you may experience life-changing events, such as bankruptcy.
This is one reason why maintaining chakra health should be a priority (for all of us).
How long does the growth-oriented Dark Night of the Soul last?
How long is a piece of string?
Unless you address the root cause of this kind of spiritual depression, it will continue.
If you are prepared to make the necessary changes, then you could come out the other side in as little as a week or two.
If not, then it will continue ad infinitum.
Finding a counsellor or coach who can help you examine your life is a great way to start the process of change.
Cures for the growth-oriented Dark Night of the Soul
All of the ‘right-brain’ activities recommended for the spiritual Dark Night will help alleviate the symptoms of this type of spiritual depression too.
However they will not ‘cure’ it. Only change and growth will do that, internal and external.
As well as leaving negative situations, you may have some deep inner work you need to do – perhaps focus there.
Again, a third party can be very useful in aiding this process, a coach or therapist, depending on what you need.
The growth-oriented Dark Night is often a springboard into a more spiritual way of life and can even trigger a conscious spiritual awakening.
So whilst the path is difficult, the rewards are (literally) endless.