According to a CNN poll, they say around 323 million people viewed the recent total solar eclipse. On Monday, August 21, a total solar eclipse was visible from coast to coast in the United States. This was the first time it had happened since the year 1918.
Understandably, Americans were very excited about the opportunity to see this rare celestial event. So I had the 
chance to take a break from the work I was doing to observe this once in a lifetime event. I watched in safety with my approved eclipse glasses as the moon began to eat up the face of the sun. At first I thought of how interesting this was. I watched as dusk crept over the sky from the horizon, and darkness crept over the land. But I started to feel kind of weird as the light changed and my shadow looked strange.
As the moon moved over the face of the sun, there was a strange light as though from a kerosene lamp in a cabin. In began to feel sick and had to lean against a truck to keep from losing my balance. In the deep sky where there had been a sun, I and those watching with me saw a ring of white silver; a beautiful ring, and all the light was silver too. It was unbelievable. And who had ever seen the sky this color! 
Not in the earliest morning or at twilight, never before had I seen or dreamed this strange deep blue in the sky in which a few large stars and planets now sparkled as though for the first time in creation.
By this time we had safely removed our glasses since we were in totality. I remember looking around at my surroundings in the strange light. I was feeling worse but in a way that is hard to describe. It was almost like having one foot in another world and I was about to step through. It was almost like feeling faint. So weird right? At that moment, the world seemed infinitely greater….a moment when anything can happen, anything be believed in. It was a still moment when the movement of life seemed to droop and falter for a few precious minutes. Then it was over. The moon moved on and the light returned to normal.
But I still didn’t feel better. My head began to ache. I also noticed several other folks on Facebook describing similar symptoms after viewing the eclipse. So I started researching the effects the eclipse may have on the human body. Is getting a headache after the eclipse a sign of something more serious?
There isn’t a lot of information out there. Star Sign Style reported that having physical symptoms before, during, and after an eclipse is totally normal. In fact, you might experience everything from headaches and fatigue to vivid dreams, sleepwalking, flu-like symptoms, seeing colors more vividly and sensitivity to electronic devices. This is often called eclipse anxiety or eclipse sickness. I’ve noticed others have been having different symptoms — from tiredness and headaches, to feeling generally run down or crazily sparky sort of electrically charged.
Your balance may be affected, or you may feel out of sorts, you may also feel extra sensitive to the energies and emotions of those around you. You can feel annoyed, anxious, frustrated, and confused. There are several ways it can affect our mood and emotional stability. For most, the effects seem to last for a few days. But for those more deeply affected, it could last for up to 10 months. The solar eclipse stress is only experienced by some, while others find the solar eclipse interesting with no noticeable effects.
But it is thought that 25 percent of those who viewed the eclipse have had some type of symptoms. This could be explained by a number of factors, including temperament, belief systems, or past experiences. It is unclear if solar eclipse anxiety could have a physiological cause, but most scientists, like the ones at NASA, don’t think so.
Yet, I know my symptoms were not just in my head and I don’t think others experiencing it would agree with that either. Certainly more study needs to be done on this intriguing effect the eclipse had on us. But, if you’re feeling a kind of pain you’ve never experienced before, or you viewed the eclipse without protective eyewear, and now feel ill — it’s best to err on the side of safety and check in with a doctor. Feel free to comment on this post and be sure to hit the “Like” button at the end.