What is a healing crisis? (and what you can do about it)
So, you’ve just taken your first leap into complementary / alternative / natural medicine - congrats!
You’ve most likely just had one of the most in-depth health-related consultations of your life, you’re excited to try some cool herbs, add some new foods into to your diet and [hopefully] have a fresh and motivated perspective of your health.
BUT - there’s a problem.
Within a couple of days of starting your new regimen, you’re overcome with nausea and aches, random digestive discomfort, headaches reminiscent of your worst hangover days and, to put it simply, just feeling like crap.
My friend, you’ve just encountered your first healing crisis.
What’s happening to me?!
The good news is, (1) it won’t last forever, and (2) this is quite a normal reaction when the natural process of disease and healing gets underway.
A healing crisis is an acute reaction that occurs when a healing force is introduced to a disease state. This can involve disruption to bacteria, fungi, viruses, inflammation or toxic metabolites that have settled into your body over a period of time and initiated a disease process. Think of it as a battle between the disease and the healing force (i.e. your treatments & medicines) — the aim of your treatment is to bring your body back to homeostasis, balance and health, but this is not what the illness wants.
This is especially true for chronic, longer-standing health issues that have had time to embed and spread within the body.
What the heck do I do now?
Firstly, use your common sense (and maybe the help of a health professional) to determine if any of your symptoms are red flags. These include fever lasting more than a day, localised sharp pains, or severe vomiting/diarrhoea for more than 24 hours.
Once you’ve determined that there are no life-threatening signs or red flags occurring, decide whether you are genuinely, whole-heartedly ready to get better, because it will involve persevering with the current discomfort, and this may be a lot to handle depending on your current circumstances.
It is vital to power through the healing crisis and maintain your treatment protocol in order to change the environment (your body) in which the disease once flourished, moving towards a healthier foundation for optimal health.
Stopping the treatment once these uncomfortable signs appear will ensure the disease or imbalance can continue to thrive in your body, even though you will feel better in the short term.*
The healing crisis is just the small speed bump you have to get over for health to prevail. The big picture is to create lasting, positive change for yourself & your life.
* If you believe that your treatment may be too intense for your current circumstances and health, please consult your naturopathic practitioner to modify this treatment
Tips
Start slow: especially if you’re doing a detoxification program on your own, it is always best to start (and maybe stay) slow. When there is accumulation of toxins over time, or your elimination pathways haven’t been functioning efficiently, hitting the body with therapies that improve these pathways & liberate these toxins *too quickly* will be too much for your body to handle.
Support your body: your elimination organs include your skin (integumentary system), liver (hepatic system) gastrointestinal tract (digestive system) and lungs (respiratory system). Taking any gentle measure to support these organs and routes while you’re healing will make it much easier for your body to deal with the liberation of toxins. Try gentle digestive bitters before meals to stimulate your digestive organs, dry skin brushing to encourage lymphatic drainage, deep breathing techniques to calm your nerves and increase your water intake.
Rest is best: know your limits. If the healing crisis has got you really run down, be cautious and look after yourself. Get more sleep if you can (afternoon naps can work wonders, especially under 30 minutes), call in sick to work if you can afford to, ask for help from those around you, and just take a day or two to allow your body to rest while your innate healing forces work their magic.
