In the immortal words of Beyonce, hey all my single ladies!
If you're looking for love while you work on securing the bag, this read will give you divine tips on how to secure your soulmate in 2018 based on your zodiac sign. In honor of the month of love, we are providing you with the secrets to attracting the love you deserve.
The love you've been waiting for might be closer than you think. Click through the gallery below to learn what the stars have in store for your love life this year, according to your zodiac sign.
1.Aries
Aries, indecision due to steep expectations and wanting to be in ultimate control will not lead you to finding the love of your life. Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad, and no one is perfect. Sometimes Aries will get stuck in between a rock and a hard place when it comes to love because of being unable to just go with the flow and let the cards fall where they may. I know you are a spit-fire when it comes to love, but you must allow the potential "one" to shower you with genuine love and passion. You may want to soar in love with the right person, but sometimes you have to let yourself fall into it.
Let down your guard and your soulmate will be there to catch you.
2.Taurus
The power in finding the one for Taurus lies in manifestation and affirmation. The one will come when you least expect it this year, if you set the right intention.
You are the magician in your world and you can speak this divine love into existence.
When you find this person, you won't have to play hard to get because this man or woman will be the partner you've been praying for. The power of the mind is not a joke, and the power of the heart is even stronger. Manifest through both mind and heart, and you will conjure your soulmate this year.
3.Gemini
Gemini, you might be holding onto someone you've been wanting for a long time, but he or she is not the one. If you can dissolve your lust for this person who is not for you, the right person will come along before you know it.
You have to allow emotional space for true love to come in.
If you are afraid to lose something that you know is less than what you deserve, you may miss out on the one that is made just for you. You deserve more, and you deserve reciprocation in love. Open yourself up to receive it.
4.Cancer
The one for you will be able to provide for you financially, emotionally, and spiritually. Stop entertaining people who only check 1 or 2 of 3 of those requirements because it feels good in the moment.
Affirm that your soulmate will check all the boxes, and not just the emotional or sexual ones.
Once you set these intentions, your soulmate will be delivered to you in a fairytale-like manner.
5.Leo
Leo, you have to get out there and be social. You will never meet the one staying home watching romance movies on Netflix, and apps like Tinder might not be the way to go.
You must be willing to get out of your comfort zone and expand your circle of prospects.
Travel, go to new places, and try new things. You will meet the right person if you put yourself out there. Stay away from bars and nightlife. Try speed dating, or look for a meetup with people who are into the same things as you.
6.Virgo
Virgo, you may often find yourself in fleeting relationships that run out of steam because you are in love with the idea of being in love. If you find yourself in one relationship after the next, ask yourself why the passion fizzles out so quickly.
In order to find "the one," you may need to cut off all your prospects that you are dating just for the sake of dating them.
Build up your self-control when it comes to wanting to date frivolously. Focus on your career and purpose and the one you will never lose a buzz for will come buzzing along.
7.Libra
Libra, you are a very independent and proud woman who wants and deserves the best...but you might be falling for partners who are flashy and present themselves as wealthy or worldly, but they may be superficial or egotistical. You may fall for the charmer who appears to be outwardly successful, but comes with baggage and emotional wounds that they expect you to mend. The one for you won't be a fly-by-night person and will show a level of emotional maturity that you're not used to.
"The one" will humbly show that he or she has sacrificed to get where they are, and that is the type of character you really need in a soulmate.
8.Scorpio
Scorpio, you tend to be a heartbreaker because of your alluring aura. You jump into relationships very quickly, and don't give the bond a substantial enough time to form a long-lasting and sturdy foundation before you bounce.
To find your soulmate in 2018, take your time.
Get to know anyone new fully. Pick their brain and create a deeper spiritual connection. Date someone who is spiritually aligned, creative, and free-spirited. This person is most likely to be the one for you.
9.Sagittarius
Sag, you may have some unresolved feelings attached to a past love that is energetically blocking "the one" from entering your life. If you compare a new prospect to an ex, then this person is not the one.
"The one" will have you saying, "ex, who?"
Listening to your inner wisdom, and gut feelings will lead you to your soulmate, but you have to completely cut the cord to any old flames. Learn from your past mistakes, and lessons in love, and leave the past in the past where it belongs.
10.Capricorn
It is likely that you find the one in a professional setting. Whether it's someone at the office, or at a networking event in your field, your soulmate will love how you take charge, lead, and are all about securing the bag. You may even work with this person in a professional way.
Don't be afraid to explore this option...just keep it professional and separate business from pleasure.
You may even meet this person in a place of business. So the next time you go to the bank and the teller is fine and doesn't have on a ring, give them your business card, wink, smile, then strut away.
11.Aquarius
In order for you to find the one, you actually have to make an effort to find him or her. They will not magically show up at your front door and you won't find them hiding underneath your bed. If you have been dating the same type of person, that is one of your problems right there.
"The one" will excite you and leave you enticed and wanting more.
He or she will break all of the rules, but you will be drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Take a walk on the wild side...that is where "the one" will be waiting.
12.Pisces
It seems like there is some kind of healing that needs to take place for many of the single Pisces out there. There is an energy of a "rite of passage," that must be taken before finding "the one."
Indulge in self-love and healing.
We all have energy that is exchanged when dating, and if there is any deficiency within the self, it will most definitely transpire through an ill-fated or karmic relationship. Once you fill any voids left in your heart and spirit, "the one" will come knocking on your door.
Featured image by Getty Images
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- Love Horoscopes for February 2018 ~ Chani Nicholas ›
- MONTHLY LOVE HOROSCOPE — JESSICA LANYADOO ›
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These days, it's for a completely different purpose, though. Now that I am in the hopefully latter stages of perimenopause (I’m not sure because my mother had a full hysterectomy at 29, her mother died at 53 and I don’t deal with my paternal grandmother because…chile… ) — although I have always had relatively easy cycles and I could definitely set my watch to them, about two years ago, my periods started to show up whenever they felt like it and it was damn near a crime scene once they did.
It was driving me crazy, and so, my nurse practitioner recommended that I take progestin-only pills to shorten, if not completely stop, my cycle: “After a year or so, we can wean off and see if you are entering into menopause on your own.” (Whew, perimenopause, chile.)
Although the first five months of being on this particular pill made me wonder if it was worth it to take this approach, I actually re-upped for another 12-month cycle because the extra progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone) has benefitted me in other areas as well because I am sleeping more soundly and my weight is more stabilized (by the way, when these things are “off,” they are signs of low progesterone levels). However, I did ask my nurse practitioner if, once I do decide to wean off of the pill, would there be any issues.
Her response is what inspired me to write this article because, until she said “post-birth control syndrome” to me, I had no idea there was such a thing. Anyway, if you give me a sec, I’ll explain to you what it is and why you should care if hormone-related birth control is currently a part of your life.
Yes, Post-Birth Control Syndrome Is a Very Real Thing
GiphyOkay, so it’s important to always remember that the way that birth control works is it “manipulates” your hormones so that you can significantly reduce your chances of conceiving. This means that taking them could result in some side effects including nausea; weight gain; headaches; irregular periods and/or spotting; increased stress; depression; blurry vision; breast tenderness, and/or a lowered libido.
That said, even though birth control pills are basically 99 percent effective (when taken correctly and consistently), if the side effects that you are experiencing are making you close to miserable, you should absolutely share that with your healthcare provider because…what’s the sense in preventing pregnancy when you don’t even feel up to having sex because you don’t feel good or your sex drive is shot? More times than not, your provider can find you another pill brand or option that will help you to feel more like yourself.
With that out of the way, think about it — if going on the pill can produce side effects, why would going off of it…not? And this is where post-birth control syndrome comes in.
For the most part, it’s what can happen to your body once you decide to come off of birth control. Typically, the symptoms will last anywhere between 4-6 months and, although the symptoms seem to present themselves most intensely as it relates to going off of the pill, any hormone-related birth control (like IUDs, injections, patches, the ring or implants) could produce similar outcomes.
Outcomes like what?
- Irregular cycles
- Breakouts
- Excessive gas and/or bloating
- Weight gain
- Anxiety and/or depression
- Fertility issues
- Migraines and/or headaches
- Shifts in your libido
- Sleeplessness/restlessness
- Hair loss
Whoa, right? And if a part of you is wondering, “Okay, if this is indeed the case, why have I not heard of this syndrome before?” It’s because it’s not a term that conventional method uses nearly as much as alternative medicine does. Still, it makes all of the sense in the world that if your body has to adjust to an uptick in hormonal intake, it would also need to adjust to removing those extra doses of hormones from your system as well. COMMON. DAMN. SENSE.
Anyway, if you were thinking about taking a break from birth control and taking all of this in has you feeling a bit…let’s go with the word “trepidatious” about doing so, I totally get it. There are some things that you can do to make experiencing post-birth control syndrome either a non-issue or a far more bearable one, though.
7 Home Remedies That Can Make Coping with Post-Birth Control Syndrome Easier
Giphy1. Take a multivitamin.Something that’s fascinating about what going off of birth control can do is it sometimes has the ability to lower your nutrition levels as it relates to certain vitamins and minerals; this is especially the case when it comes to vitamins B, C, E and minerals like magnesium, selenium and zinc. So, if you don’t currently take a multivitamin, now would be the time to start (along with consuming foods that are particularly high in those nutrients as well).
2. Up your vitamin D intake. Speaking of nutrient levels, a vitamin level that commonly drops after going off of birth control isvitamin D. This is hella critical to keep in mind as a Black woman since many of us tend to be naturally deficient in the vitamin as-is and vitamin D is important when it comes to fighting off diseases, regulating weight and keeping your moods stabilized (for starters). So, make sure that your multivitamin has vitamin D in it. Also make sure to consume vitamin D-enriched foods like fatty fish, eggs, mushrooms, yogurt and fortified orange juice.
3. Drink herbal teas. Since going off of birth control will cause your hormones to be all over the place for a season, consider drinking some herbal teas that will help to stabilize them. Black cohosh contains phytoestrogen properties, Chasteberry can help to level out your prolactin levels and green tea can help your hormones out by helping to balance out your insulin (which can sometimes directly affect them).
4. Keep some ibuprofen nearby. The headaches and migraines? Until those subside, you and ibuprofen are probably going to become really good friends; although I will add that ginger tea and inhaling essential oils like chamomile and lavender can help to ease migraine-related symptoms too.
5. Do some meditating. Waiting for your hormones to get back on track can be stressful as all get out. That said, something that can get your cortisol (stress hormone) levels to chill out is to meditate. If meditation is new for you, check out “7 Meditation Hacks (For People Who Can't Seem To Do It).”
6. Get massages. As if you needed an excuse to get a massage, right (check out “12 Different Massage Types. How To Know Which Is Right For You.”)? However, there is some evidence to back the fact that regular massages (somewhere around once a month) can help to lower your stress, boost your dopamine, increase blood flow and drain your lymphatic system so that you will have more energy.
7. Sleep/rest more. There is plenty of scientific research out here which says that sleep deprivation can throw your hormones out of whack — and since your hormones are already trying to stabilize themselves, you definitely need to get 6-8 hours of sleep and not feel the least bit guilty about taking naps sometimes too.
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Post-birth control syndrome may not be the most pleasant thing about getting off of birth control yet it is manageable. So, now that you know all about it, you can feel more confident about taking a birth control break (or getting off altogether) — without the surprises that can come with doing it. Give thanks.
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