I feel like I can no longer read cards because of my mental illness

[Saule]

Hi guys, not sure if this has been discussed before, so bear with me.

 

I struggle with anxiety. I am getting medicated but it is not helping. I have noticed, that in every reading about my daily life, all of the cards point to me being anxious and worrying rather than telling me what will actually happen. For example, I asked my cards about an interview yesterday and I got 'negative' cards pointing to sadness and anxiety and burdens. And well, I was stressed, but the interview went very well and I was offered a place! But I did not see this in the cards. All they focused on was stress. Same issue about whether I will get housing or not - cards are pointing to my feelings rather than the actual outcome. So, no matter what I ask, because anxiety is such a big part of my life, the cards only focus on it, rather than the good aspects. It seems like my anxiety is clouding all my readings. And I mean, they are correct, the good outcomes are always accompanied by anxiety because I find something else to worry about. But I would much prefer to get straightforward answers. I suppose the only solution is to stop reading for myself. But I don't really want to stop 😞

 

Does anyone have any advice or things that they'd like to share?

Edited July 23, 2022 by Saule

[KiMo]

Hi @Saule, I'm sorry you're struggling with anxiety, as one sufferer to another, I understand how hard it is to work with ❤️

 

I have a couple of suggestions of methods that I personally use in my practice, but bear with me as I'm still a new reader!

 

The first thing I always do is, for lack of a better way of describing it, is perform a little ritual when I first pick up the cards. I do this, just holding them, before I shuffle. For me this is a very simple process, I take a few slow and full breaths with my eyes closed and in my mind's eye I envisage a light or energy around the cards in my hands. I suppose you could call it a mini meditation and a way to centre myself, I find it always works to balance me and take me out of my head somewhat. You could use whatever ritual feels right for you, as long as it helps you to feel more balanced and grounded.

 

The next thing I would ask is, how are you phrasing your questions? You may have come across this guidance already but it's often suggested that a reader phrase their questions from a place of personal empowerment, so rather than asking 'how will my job interview go' you could try asking 'what can I do to ensure I will do well in my job interview', or something along those lines. I know very well that life just happens sometimes but I feel that if we put ourselves in the driver's seat when asking for guidance, it puts us in an active rather than a reactive place and the cards can then reflect this in turn. Apologies if this is something you already do.

 

Otherwise I do hope you're getting the support that you need, take care ❤️

[DanielJUK]

I am sorry you are having a difficult time @Saule. When I was first learning tarot I was going through the worst mental health of my life and it did help me with learning it but also some parts were really unhelpful to me and maybe worsened the situation.

 

- when you are really anxious or emotional, you often read if everything will be okay. I know I did but often you repeat this question a lot and you start to get confused readings. Also I kept getting readings like you, that matched my mood and state, it didn't really help. I would be careful of predictive readings or reading to get good news. I learnt that you have to just say to yourself, things will get better, I don't need the tarot tell me! and they did for me, in the end! Like it's about faith rather than looking it up in cards. You can get really addicted to them and I would have a break or put them away in that case.

 

- sometimes you cannot read for yourself in a situation, emotions and feelings will cloud the reading. Some people can never read for themselves at any time. Get a reading from someone else, buy a reading, get another view from someone impartial. Post your readings in our interpretation areas here and get a second opinion.

 

- @KiMo had some excellent ideas there. Change how you use it and how you ask questions. Becareful of predictive stuff when you are anxious because really it's a crutch. Instead of how will this day/ month/ year go? why not do review readings, to analysis and also self development readings. Try to avoid future type questions for a while.

 

This spread really helped me, I used to do it quite a lot for advice.... I can't find it exactly but it was like 3 cards. 1. what will help me? 2. what will make things worse? 3. what is something new I should try / throw in the mix?

 

- Final point, sometimes you need to have some time out of tarot and come back to it.

 

sending hugs your way 🤗

 

 

 

[MuninnMissinHuginn]

@Saule,

 

I came to TM&M with a desire to learn to read for myself, and am an example of what Daniel has said.  I can not read for myself, it makes me anxious and I don’t have the addition of anxiety as a health issue.  However, participating in the monthly exchanges has helped me grapple with some issues I was having, and helped strengthen my reading abilities (I feel like that is true).  In time, it feels like I maybe able to read for myself. I say this in hopes that it is helpful to know you are not alone in this problem.

 

And congratulations on being offered the position!🎉

[happysquirrel]

I can relate to this issue. When I am very anxious, I tend to pull cards which merely reflect my current state ( 9oS, 10of S, 5 of S etc). I am not sure this advice is of help, but maybe you could try some other divination method in such situations? I Ching work for me, maybe runes or something else would work for you at such times?

Just my 0.2 cents, sorry if I am coming across too directly (((((

[ilweran]

Just sharing an experience I had - I have anxiety and take medication for it, but a few years ago there was something happening that I was particularly anxious about and all my readings ended up answering that. I came to realise that no matter what I thought I was asking this one thing was so loud in my mind that it was what the cards picked up on, it just drowned everything else out.

 

Something like a little ritual as suggested by @KiMo above is definitely worth trying. I always try and have that quiet moment now, just to check in on myself and to see if I'm actually asking the question I think I'm asking.

[Justkeepushing12]

I find that I can only clearly read cards when I am not anxious. But at the same time reading cards can cause anxiety. I don’t read  card at night because it causes a spike in my anxiety. This happens specifically when I read for myself. 

[Cthulhu2024]

You could also try to use a sage candle.  Traditionally, those are known as calming and able to bring peace.

[Wyrdkiss]

On 7/23/2022 at 10:24 AM, Saule said:

Hi guys, not sure if this has been discussed before, so bear with me.

 

I struggle with anxiety. I am getting medicated but it is not helping. I have noticed, that in every reading about my daily life, all of the cards point to me being anxious and worrying rather than telling me what will actually happen. For example, I asked my cards about an interview yesterday and I got 'negative' cards pointing to sadness and anxiety and burdens. And well, I was stressed, but the interview went very well and I was offered a place! But I did not see this in the cards. All they focused on was stress. Same issue about whether I will get housing or not - cards are pointing to my feelings rather than the actual outcome. So, no matter what I ask, because anxiety is such a big part of my life, the cards only focus on it, rather than the good aspects. It seems like my anxiety is clouding all my readings. And I mean, they are correct, the good outcomes are always accompanied by anxiety because I find something else to worry about. But I would much prefer to get straightforward answers. I suppose the only solution is to stop reading for myself. But I don't really want to stop 😞

 

Does anyone have any advice or things that they'd like to share?

Perhaps set them aside somewhere special until you find the proper type or combination of medication with your doctor?  I can relate to mental health issues and there were times in my life when the stimulation was just not a good fit.  Glad to hear that you are taking care of yourself and exploring the matter, regardless of what you choose to do 

[Pretzel]

I'm sorry to hear this, anxiety is horrible 😞 I have no advice regarding tarot and anxiety, other than to ask if you've ever watched Youtube videos by Katey Flowers?

She doesn't post anymore but has a playlist for mental health and Tarot. And there's a video specifically for anxiety and tarot. I haven't watched any of the mental health tarot videos, but they might be helpful for you.
 

 

[Eric13]

It might help us to help you to know what cards you may have had in your readings. I found once when I did a reading where I was not in a good frame of mind and the reading did make it worse. Try to meditate, calm down before a reading. Meditate anyway! The cards aren't a magic pill. And when using them for advice, don't use them to see how something will go, before it happens. Instead ask what can the cards show me to help me gain an advantage. 

[euripides]

Some lovely advice already.  I had a similar thing for a while there, finding it impossible to see anything positive in the cards and even reading the shadow when I don't actually do reversals.

 

I find the right deck helps me a lot - I really love the Gaian Tarot, and I also love the Tarot of Enchantment. They tend to give wise, positive advice. So maybe consider looking at a different deck with a good guidebook, if you can, or even just accessing interpretation guides that have a more positive focus to help you reframe things. Perhaps even consider an affirmation-style oracle for a while.

 

As others have suggested, I find framing the right question also helps. 'What should I focus on today' or 'what positive action do I need to take next'.

 

 

[Chariot]

I will add to what others have said about framing the question—which is very important.  I'd say always frame the question around how best to approach the situation, and design the layout with at least one card specifically designed as an 'advice' card.  No matter what the other cards show, the advice card is always positive.  If it's a negative card, the positive advice is NOT to do whatever that negative card shows. And if it's a positive or neutral card, it's encouragement to go ahead and do what that card stands for.

Also, maybe avoid reading cards for yourself when you are feeling particularly down and negative.  I know that's exactly when you probably want reassurance, so avoiding the cards won't be easy to do.  But maybe try?  That might be a good time to get somebody else to read for you, if you can.  

[Andrea_Luna]

thanks @Saule for making this Q in the first place as i was looking for a thread about tarot and dealing with anxiety. 

 

in my experience... as i mentioned in my intro post, im not yet reading but i'm 'collecting' information about tarot and such. i once read a blogger saying is imprtant to be in a good place mind & body to read, and if you don't feel you're there yet then try another time. 

thanks for the advises they helped a lot and the yt vid too, watching it now :))

[SlightlyMagic]

Tarot and Anxiety are both very personal things, what may work for someone might not necessarily work for others.  I was a big ball of anxiety when I first started reading and found the cards to quickly reduce mine, I dismissed outside influence and found a fun method that worked for me.  I avoided direct questions, just asked for daily/weekly vibes as I built up an understanding and learnt to trust my intuition and unlike that woman in the video posted above was able to avoid projecting my anxiety into the cards.  I put it mostly down to my relaxed yet respectful approach, its very easy to take tarot too seriously, when see as a conversation between friends (all my decks have names :D) I found the experience extremely fun and therapeutic.

[SlightlyMagic]

Occured to me this morning I recently bought a deck for someone who has struggles with anxiety. I was looking for a deck that wasn't 'too busy', a subtle, elegant design not too bogged down in symbolism or numerology with a detailed and helpful book. It will be their first deck and felt it was a gentle approach to tarot that shouldn't overwhelm them too much. Thought it may be beneficial to others. 

 

The Linestrider Tarot - Siolo Thompson