What is a Healing Crisis?
by Donna Thomson
You may have heard of the term 'healing crisis', especially in relation to natural therapies and vibrational medicine. It has a horrible sound to it but it refers to the process your body goes through to get from its current state to one of better health. Healing on any level is about restoring harmony within yourself and you'll feel much better for it.
What starts a healing crisis?
A healing crisis is usually initiated by a visit to someone who facilitates healing, e.g. a reiki practitioner, homeopath, colour or sound therapist and so on. When you visit a healer it's important that they inform you of what to expect from your healing session. It might surprise you to find out that you can sometimes get a little worse before you get better. This is what's known as a 'healing crisis'. Of course this isn't always the case but is quite a common reaction to healing. It can also happen without having seen a practitioner of some sort, such as when life brings you events and situations that help you heal on some level.
Healing the Whole You
Holistic therapies and vibrational medicine work on healing you at all levels of your being, including the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. When you make the decision to undertake this type of healing you cannot predict how the treatment or experience will affect you. Often what you think needs healing is a symptom of something much deeper - something you aren't consciously aware of. For instance, a painful back may be a symptom of feeling unsupported by others and this is what needs to surface so you can work through it and heal the true issue.
The Physical Healing Crisis
Physically, once the healing process has been initiated your body may start to clear out toxins. Unfortunately the clearing of toxins can cause a bit of discomfort in the short-term but it will soon pass and should leave you feeling better than ever. Your body may have a general build-up of toxins, for example from an unhealthy diet. In this case you might get a cold, headaches or have a general feeling of being run-down. On the other hand you might have a build up of toxins relating to a specific aggravation such as a sore knee which could initially flare up and become more painful as the healing process begins. Remember that this is not always the case and many people will find immediate relief and a sense of overall wellbeing from a healing session.
The best thing you can do during a physical healing crisis is make sure you drink plenty of water and look after your health by eating as much fresh, natural food as possible - fruit, vegetables, whole grains and other non-processed foods. Yoga and other gentle movement activities may also be beneficial to increase circulation, therefore encouraging any toxins to move out of your system faster.
The Emotional Healing Crisis
On an emotional level you may have issues, fears, memories, etc. that surface as the result of healing, whether due to a visit to a practitioner or simply reaching a time in your life where you are ready to deal with these emotions. Sometimes emotional issues need to be dealt with consciously and sometimes the emotions simply need to rise to the surface to be released. These situations can catch us off-guard because we have suppressed our emotions or don't realise the impact certain events have had upon us throughout our life. It could be the loss of a loved one such as a child or a parent, pain relating to how you were treated as a child, or your own perception of who you are and your sense of self-worth. The healing may bring these sorts of emotional issues to the surface to be worked through.
When you find yourself having to deal with an emotional healing crisis, the best thing you can do for yourself is to acknowledge the pain and look for the lesson you can gain from it. If possible it can be good to take some quiet time away for contemplation and healing, especially in the surrounds of nature. If you can't get away then perhaps you can buy a few plants and create a small sanctuary in your home or garden. Pink and green coloured crystals are another aspect of nature that can support emotional healing. In some cases however, you may have to deal with issues head on and make some decisions about what you will and won't accept in your life from that moment onward. Just know that once you work through the emotions that have arisen you will feel like a weight has been lifted and much stronger as a person.
The Mental Healing Crisis
Mentally you may have habits, attitudes, beliefs and values that no longer serve you. We tend to go through life not questioning how we think and the basis for it. As a child we take on a lot of what our parents valued as our own values, their attitudes as our attitudes and their habits as our habits. Then comes a point in life when you realise that these ways of thinking no longer serve you. They don't reflect who you are. In order to move into the next phase of your life you need to shed those old patterns.
A healing crisis in this case might bring up frustration or discontent with yourself. You may become more consciously aware of things you do that actually conflict with the way you want to think and behave. Perhaps you find yourself with a pessimistic outlook on life, use sarcasm too often, or find yourself judging and criticising others.
To assist you in working through such changes, try creating a list of your attitudes, values, beliefs and patterns. Examine those that work for you and those that don't, then make a plan of action to create a more positive, balanced person. For instance, when you need to remove a bad habit (such as smoking) you need to replace it with a new positive one (such as going for a walk). Become aware of what sets you off so you can recognise the cues and have a plan of that you will do instead. If you go to the fridge when you are bored, place a large photo of someone who is fit and healthy as a visual cue to catch your attention and remind you of your goal. It's likely that you aren't even hungry but you've created a pattern that you do without thinking too much about it. It's these types of things that you can work on, to lead to a better you.
The Spiritual Healing Crisis
Perhaps you have an imbalance where your spiritual needs are not being met. Your healing session or a certain time on your life might leave you wondering if you have a greater purpose and what that might be. You might realise that you feel disconnected from the universe - the big picture. Many people build up a world around themselves that appears fulfilling on the surface but upon closer scrutiny they are not following their heart and may be off the track in terms of their life path. A healing crisis of a spiritual nature therefore leads you to ask some big questions of your life and its direction. While it can be a tumultuous time it can lead to much greater fulfilment if you listen to your inner wisdom and guidance.
Working through this type of crisis basically requires getting to know yourself or getting back in touch with the true you. What are your passions? What makes you happiest in life? What do you feel you should be doing in your life? If you feel nothing in your life reflects your true self then make a commitment to make some changes that allow you to achieve more fulfilment. Many people feel they are not meant to be happy, they're just meant to work hard. But you can work hard at being happy. See the article, Guidance for Daily Living for ways to get back in touch with your inner self.
It's a Process
As you can see, entering into the healing process can bring up things of a physical, emotional, mental and/or spiritual nature that need to be worked through and may involve a 'healing crisis', where symptoms or issues temporarily 'flare up' as they come to the surface. This then allows the release of the negative symptoms/issue so wellness can be restored.