The Spring equinox: Why everyone in your life is acting so goddamn weird at the moment.

Excuse me, but everyone is acting a little… weird?

My mum keeps tagging me in irrelevant memes on Facebook. I almost left the house with two different shoes on this morning. Just last night, my dog stood on his hind legs like he was a human. 

But weirder than any of that, Pete Evans and his wife Nicola Robinson took pictures of each other naked, head to head with horses in a paddock.

Look, it's fine. They're not hurting anyone. The horses look content, if not slightly confused. But it is, I'd argue, a strange thing to do.

One picture features Evans with shorts on, and when one commenter asked why he isn't completely naked (which is a strange question in itself) Robinson replied, "He was [naked] for most of the day, but Zorro [the horse] is somewhat nibbly because he's young & curious & he loooooves carrots!"

What... the hell... is going on? 

Well, the answer lies clearly within Robinson's Instagram caption.

It reads, "We gratefully spent the Spring Equinox in the ultimate organic attire... our free & bare Earth Suits! I must admit, yes I was at first apprehensive about posting this image of Baby Z & I, so I asked myself why??? Of course my programmed ego promptly stepped in & replied 'for fear of judgement,' to which my innate self replied 'let that crap go honey bee... be free, judgement is nothing but an illusion!!!!!!'"

The Spring equinox is responsible for everyone in your life acting bizarrely over the past few days.

The equinox refers to the moment in which the sun crosses the earth's equator, and there is a short period where night and day are approximately the same length all over the world. This year, Saturday the 23rd of September marked the Spring equinox in the Southern hemisphere.

I spoke to psychic Megan Aleen about this apparent phenomenon, and she explained, "We are made of the same stuff as the sun and the earth. Whatever happens outside happens inside."

Because the equinox is the only day of the year where darkness and lightness is equal, some believe it is a process of restoring balance.

So, for a time, everyone is just a little out of whack.

Megan told me people tend to be particularly moody, and it's a time for rebirth.

Interestingly, seasonal rhythms in humans is backed up by science. In a paper published by CNS Spectrums, which looked at Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), it was found that the rate of suicide spikes at the beginning of Spring, as do diagnoses of depression.

The Scientific American has also corroborated that 'Spring fever' is a real phenomenon, where people experience a sense of restlessness, their mental state changes, and many people "walk around randomly smiling at strangers". Furthermore, it's been found that while some feel euphoric, people are more likely to experience allergies, migraine headaches, insomnia and fatigue. One study even suggests a man's sperm count increases.

The fact our moods are affected by the seasons isn't altogether surprising. The sun is out, the weather is warm, and most of us are spending more time outdoors. It's staying lighter for longer, which could certainly influence our sleeping patterns.

But the fact remains: Everyone is acting batshit crazy.

And I blame the equinox.

You can listen to the latest episode of Mamamia Out Loud, here. 

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