Healing Crisis
Healing Crisis Symptoms and Causes
In natural alternative medicine, healing crises are to be expected, and are actually welcomed. This does not comfort those who are unfamiliar with the “Natural Law of Cures.”
Understandably, a healing crisis sounds like a bad thing; but when you are dealing with the reality of reversing chronic health diseases, it is necessary to revisit or “deal with your old stuff” before moving on to wellness, good health, and enlightenment.
The Law of Healing
In natural medicine, there is an understanding that the body is going to have to deal with any issues that have been suppressed before true wellness can be achieved. Many of our methods of dealing with chronic health conditions utilizing western medicine do not actually resolve the disease, but rather suppress the symptoms so that we can continue through life with relative comfort; a good example of this would be issues relating to the Metal Element.
This would be a common scenario:
Elizabeth, a small child, is close to her grandmother who passes away suddenly. Shortly after, she develops asthma that is treated with steroids. As an adult, Elizabeth rarely requires treatments for asthma, but has developed psoriasis. Seeking relief, she consults a licensed acupuncturist. After a few weeks of treatment her psoriasis is better, but she has a rare bout of asthma. After a few more weeks of treatment, the psoriasis and asthma are gone, but she finds herself feeling sad and crying for no apparent reason. After 10 weeks of acupuncture treatment with herbal therapy. Elizabeth feels well, both physically and emotionally.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the lungs, skin, sinuses are all part of the Metal Element and are closely related. The main emotion related to the Metal Element is grief. The emotional suppression of loss, the asthma, and the skin condition are all related to each other. It was not until Elizabeth actually treated these suppressed physical and emotional imbalances that she was able to experience true wellness.
The lesson here is that it is not unusual for past symptoms to re-appear while you are traveling your path to wellness. The symptoms are typically not as severe as they were in the past, and they typically last for only a few days.
Detoxification and Feeling Ill through a Healing Crisis
The body is ever so wise, even when we are not. In an effort to preserve the integrity of the whole individual, the body will store toxins away in fat tissue, far away from the vital organs necessary to provide the smooth flow of Qi and nourishment throughout our daily existence. We are able to traverse our daily lives and not consider the exposure that we may be encountering for many years with our young bodies as they shelter us from the reality of poor choices or poor environmental conditions.
In reality, most the body is able to filter out most of the toxins we encounter through the liver, kidneys, lungs and skin; it is only when we experience large amounts of toxins such as pollution, pesticides, chemical cleaners, heavy metals, or solvents that our systems overload and the body’s ability to eliminate them is compromised. For most of us, toxins build up in our bodies slowly over time.
A healing crisis involving detoxing would likely go something like this:
Bob has been feeling sluggish, and knows that he has not been taking care of himself too well for the last 25 years. He decides to “do a detox”. Bob loads up on detoxing herbs. After 2-3 days of taking the herbs, Bob feels worse than ever. He visits his doctor who scolds him for taking herbs.
Detoxification herbs are very cold and can disrupt the digestive system, so great care and some education on the matter can help avoid creating Yin Yang imbalance in your body and damaging the Spleen function according to TCM. Additionally, when utilizing herbs that detoxify your tissues, you are liberating toxins in to the blood stream; if this is done too quickly, your body may not be able to efficiently eliminate the toxins. The best practice is to go slow with the process and take time to work towards your goals of wellness.
Learn more about detoxing with herbs here
Healing Crisis and Uric Acid
When utilizing either pharmaceutical or herbal medicine to address gout, uric acid will be liberated in to the blood stream. This may result in flair ups and intense pain. This would be an indication to lower your dosage of herbs for gout while your kidneys have a chance to eliminate the uric acid from your system. You may also want to consider supporting your Kidney Qi with Yin Valley formula during this process.
More about address gout naturally here
This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.