Commonly referred as ‘healing crisis’, is a temporary worsening of symptoms after having a massage or Ayurveda or any alternate/natural health therapy. You may also see it called a detox reaction, or a cleansing reaction.

In a healing crisis, symptoms briefly worsen before beginning to improve. This is different from an adverse effect of treatment, which is a harmful or undesired reaction that doesn’t improve as treatment continues.

Accurately interpreted, Healing Crisis is seen as a confirmation of successful detoxification and regeneration. Unfortunately, as this rather confusing experience presents symptoms similar to illness, it is therefore easily misinterpreted as deterioration in health. 

Stay the course…you are on the healing path.

Why does it occur?

Detoxification:

The healing crisis is believed to be caused by elimination of toxins or waste products from your body in response to treatment. It’s viewed as a natural part of your body’s healing process. However, scientific research to support this mechanism is very scarce.

The healing crisis is very similar to another type of reaction called a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction (JHR) which is a temporary worsening of symptoms that happens after beginning antibiotic treatment for specific types of bacterial infections.

Awakening of bodily intelligence:

When any system has been out of balance for a long period of time, the body can start to feel powerless, helpless, or numb. The bodily Intelligence (the Intelligence which governs all internal functions and systems without we knowing- also called as body’s innate healing ability) gets covered per se by the accumulated toxins and symptoms.

A concept from the founders of naturopathy is similar that “there’s a suppression of symptoms as the body goes deeper into a diseased state. With therapies we actually start removing obstacles to cure”.

The Ayurveda therapy intervention stimulates or re-awakens the Intelligence, which then points out at what is wrong in the body. That’s when this process of awakening can feel terrible. We might want to retreat and shut down again.

A healing crisis is a temporary worsening of symptoms that arises as we go through the healing process. Coming out of numbness, we increase our awareness and awaken ourselves to how much pain is actually there.

A metaphor

Imagine a clogged water pipe. As we put pressure from behind to unclog it, the accumulated stuff starts to come out, the water appears muddy. When the stuff clears off, the clean water starts to flow. That’s what is happening with body’s energy channels or other systems during this healing crisis.

What to expect during a healing crisis?

It varies from person to person and depends on many factors like stage of disease, intensity of trauma, blockages, personal immunity, sensitivity and energy field, intensity of energy treatment, openness or resistance to healing process etc.

It could be old symptoms, like a return of a rash from when you were younger or anything that you experienced and then suppressed at one point, whether it was with pharmaceuticals or maybe you didn’t fully heal from it because you pushed through and didn't get the rest you needed. Sometimes you may re-experience all your old disease symptoms, sometimes more acutely (though generally more briefly) than the original disease.

Healing crises can also be a return of prior symptoms that may seem unrelated to the treatment. A list of what one may experience can be:

• Headaches, aches, fatigue, nausea, fever and other flu- or cold-like symptoms,

• changes in bowel motions, heartburn, joint pain, swelling, rashes, itching, lung congestion, shooting pains,

• disorientation, mental fogginess, dizziness,

• emotional releases or even return of unresolved emotions

Typically, the onset of these symptoms is very rapid. One may experience some symptoms immediately after a treatment, or up to 2 to 3 days later. The worst of the symptoms may last as little as a few hours or as long as several days. The longer the symptoms last, the stronger the healing crisis. But it is also characterized that when the symptoms have passed, you will feel better than prior to the crisis.

Understanding emotional healing crisis

Whenever an emotional trauma or situation happens it is stored in the nervous system. Learning to suppress our feelings typically causes them to go into our physical bodies. Associated repressed, strong negative emotions get stored in various organs as per Ayurveda. Because emotions are a form of energy, this buildup can cause physical symptoms.

Though we may think we are over it and not even remember it, the mark or impression could still be there and during any form of bodywork it is possible to release these stored emotions, issues or traumas.

An emotional issue (associated with a particular layer of healing) may arise during the physical healing. An emotional release may give rise to feelings of anger, grief or another emotion. It may emerge alone or in combination with a healing episode that is physical in nature. This can be seen as an opportunity to achieve healing on more than one level. 
You can interpret the emergence of a specific emotional issue as a gentle signal from your psyche that it is time to deal with it. In some cases, it is essential that we address both the emotional and physical issues in order to successfully pass through the next layer of healing. If we address one part but not the other, the healing may be incomplete and have to be addressed again at a later date. 

Such emotional release is indicative of a healthful body transformation, where the body clears itself of the negativity previously stored within.

How do I know I am having a healing crisis and not aggravation of disease itself?

Healing crisis is not disease crisis.

Both may look alike by their outward manifestations, but they are taking place under different conditions.

A disease crisis is when the body is loaded to its toleration point with toxins and waste. And these accumulate & inhibit the organs from performing their normal functions until finally a chronic disease manifests.

A healing crisis develops because the healing forces are in the ascending. Through natural living and a balanced diet, the body gets stronger and digs into crisis.

During a healing crisis, you’ll usually feel a sense of well being about symptoms. Despite feeling ill, you will not likely develop any deep dread or resistance to the experience.

For example, you may be nauseous and even perhaps even vomiting (which is never fun), yet you are able to maintain a sense of peace with these sensations. You may be vaguely aware of an inner confidence that the vomiting is a healing and cleansing event.

During an emotional healing event or the emotional component of a whole-body healing event, you will most likely feel the symptoms, but identify with them less than usual. It’s hard to imagine that you could have anxiety without being anxious about having it.

You will still experience the emotion, but you will be able to accept it without allowing it to take over your whole being. You will feel a confidence that it is temporary and will be short lived.

How to navigate the healing crisis?

Even though it can be emotionally and physically difficult to deal with a healing crisis, here are some suggestions to help support you through this process.

• See it as a positive sign of progress

• Book a Shirodhara treatment as it will help heling.

• Keep hydrated with warm, pure clean water (alkaline). You may add lime.lemon juice, to aid cleansing.

• Your diet should consist of light, easy-to-digest meals and heavy, hard-to-digest foods should be avoided. Eat a large variety of vegetables

• Sufficient rest is very important since your body is under a great deal of stress during the healing process. Cut back on strenuous exercise.

• Decrease alcohol and stimulant intake.

• Avoid stress exposure as much as possible.

• Increase fiber intake

• Meditation can help to manage symptoms

• Stick with your detoxification programme.

• Give self-care a priority; you can be your own nurse during this time.

• Light exercise is often helpful especially if the crisis presents itself on an emotional level. Because many toxins leave the body through the skin, light brushing of the skin with a natural bristle brush can help stimulate blood and lymph flow

• Soaking in a warm bath with Epsom salts or Sea Complex Bath TM salts may also be helpful.

• Keep the lines of communication open with your therapist

• Positive attitude can be one of the most beneficial factors in coping with healing crisis. It will allow you to relax and to recognize that the symptoms are temporary and your treatment is on target.

As your energy and body integrate, you’ll likely find new insights and levels of conscious awareness to unpack and embody healing.

What is the expected outcome of healing crisis?

Generally, a person’s quality of life is improved and the immune system is strengthened on many levels. It also enables the body to remove the obstacles to cure. Experiencing a healing crisis does not guarantee a person will be cured of all conditions straightaway. But its significance lies in a better understanding that allows the body to move through layers of disturbed metabolism and realign itself with its innate cellular memory and stimulates the body’s innate healing ability.

Improved Health is the ultimate goal of a healing crisis.

As Albert Schweitzer so aptly expressed it, “a good therapy is one that stimulates the healer within.”