"During its transit, Rahu [North Node] and Ketu [South Node] slow down and almost crawl at a particular degree for more than two months, twice a year...The impact of Rahu and Ketu at a degree where it is at a slow and crawling speed falling exactly on a particular house or a particular planet brings very stressful results to the significations ruled by the house or the planet" (p. 108 in the book, entitled,
Impact of Rahu and Ketu, by Krishan Rajesh Chaudhary and V.K. Choudhry).
From August 1, 2016, to October 16, 2016, the True Nodes remained at 18 degrees Leo/Aquarius (sidereal zodiac, lahiri ayanamsha). Thus, anyone who has a Jyotisha planet at 17-19 degrees in Leo, Aquarius, Aries, Gemini, Libra, or Sagittarius will have been afflicted by the transiting True Nodes.
Now, let's look a bit closer at the North Node, that is, Rahu, and some of its likely manifestations...
"...Rahu eclipses the mental energy, creates strong negative tendencies, and gives an undesirable direction to one's life..." (p. 33).
"...the snake Rahu...seems to pour out its poison into the brain. This can create mental aberrations...Such people need very strong control over their negative tendencies, impulses, and opinions" (p. 34).
"Rahu is the point of obsession in your horoscope which may be a point of...downfall" (p. 45).
These three quotes come from the book,
Karma and Rebirth in Hindu Astrology, by K.N. Rao.
These negative manifestations of Rahu are what I'm currently seeing in those who have a natal planet in one of the aforementioned degrees and signs. Hopefully, now that the two-month plus period is over, things will become more normal again. On the other hand, too much damage may have been done for that to occur--at least, anytime soon.
It's very sad to see...