The Healing Crisis: Don’t Fret; You Get Worse Before You Get Infinitely Better!

Lately I’ve been writing a lot about spring cleansing being that it’s a seasonally appropriate topic. The component of cleansing that I’d like to highlight here is the healing crisis. A healing crisis occurs when there are more toxins making their way out of the body than the body can deal with all at one time. The result is a compilation of adverse symptoms, the most common ones being: headaches, body odour, joint and/or muscle aches and pains as well as general aches and pains, digestive disturbances such as diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, bloating and heartburn, nausea, skin eruptions including boils, rashes, acne and hives, fatigue, lack of energy, difficulty concentrating, irritability and intensity of emotions.

I’ve always thought it really important to mention the possibility of any or all of these symptoms that may or may not accompany a cleansing process (though more often than not at least some symptoms will go along with cleansing). The reason this is so important is because people often get discouraged when embarking upon a cleanse only to come head-to-head with nasty symptoms, sometimes right from the get-go. More important than being aware of the healing crisis is knowing that, as crappy as it feels in the moment, it’s an indicator of progress.

We store toxins primarily in our liver and our fat cells. When we cleanse, all of the organs and systems of the body work together to clear toxins out from storage via the systems of elimination. The end result is a replacement of tissues with healthier, more effective ones. Part of this process involves toxins getting dumped into the bloodstream, causing adverse symptoms known as ‘cleansing reactions’ or a ‘healing crisis’. Also, be aware that a detox will often bring about repeats of former conditions and their symptoms. For example, if you formerly got strep throat frequently, when you cleanse, you may experience the same symptoms of strep throat from before.

Healing crises usually occur quite quickly at the onset of a cleanse, though sometimes will set-in after 1-3 days of cleansing, and typically last anywhere from 1-5 days and sometimes more. To help ease you through a healing crisis be sure to apply the following tips:

• -          Drink plenty of water! Water is essential to flush toxins out of the system and moreover, removing toxins also means removing some water from the body.

• -          Rest as much as possible and as much as your body indicates that you need it if you are getting fatigued.

• -          Soak in a hot tub with Epsom salts, which will work to further remove toxins from the body.

• -          Be aware of the frequency of your bowel movements. Yucky symptoms of a healing crisis are almost always relieved by having a good bowel movement. If your bowels are not moving regularly, try using supplemental fibre such as products from RenewLife, or consult an herbal practitioner (such as myself) who can recommend herbs to help move the bowels. Also, consider pursuing colon hydrotherapy (I can provide recommendations for colon hydrotherapists within Edmonton).

• -          JOURNAL! Part of toxic upbringing includes thoughts and emotions stored in our cells over time. When cleansing, a person could find themselves feeling unusually angry, grievous, sad, depressed or restless. Journaling provides an avenue by which these seemingly unproductive emotions can be excavated as well as insight for later review.

• -          Call Prana Holistic to book massage, reflexology, infrared sauna, emotional freedom technique, flower essences, reiki, manual lymphatic drainage, acupuncture or NLP, all of which would be conducive to helping you process toxins more quickly and effectively, including emotions and self-defeatist thoughts.

As I wrote in my recent column on spring cleansing: cleansing reactions are temporary experiences that mean movement towards better health. On the other hand, accumulated toxins in the body lead to diseases that can be permanent and devastating. With that in consideration, surely some temporary, uncomfortable symptoms are worth the improved experience of health that internal cleansing imparts. Check out the full column at the following link: http://www.seemagazine.com/article/city-life/lifestyle/holistic-0318/

If you are interested in pursuing a cleanse and would like guidance or are already cleansing and looking for more guidance, please call me at Prana Holistic and I will be happy to set up an appointment with you to offer help in any way I can.

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic