Healing Crisis After Energy Healing: Symptoms, Emotional Release and What to Expect

When we first start to receive energy healing work, it’s common to even question if all of this is real. “During the sessions I felt electricity moving through me and saw colours… am I making it up?” We question if what we are experiencing is even true. There sometimes comes a point when we are finally faced with what feels like the reality of energy healing when we encounter our first healing crisis.

“Healing crisis” is a term used within many energy healing traditions to describe temporary physical or emotional changes that can sometimes be experienced after a session, as the body and mind respond to the changes that have occurred during the treatment.

From an energetic perspective, the body is fundamentally influenced by the energy system of a person. If the energy system becomes stagnant, we may experience difficulty within our mind and body. As this stagnant energy begins to release through energy healing, we can sometimes start to experience certain physical or emotional symptoms. If there is stagnant energy in particular areas of the person, this may be experienced as imbalance or discomfort. These stagnancies can arise from a number of different causes, such as stress, trauma from the past and lifestyle factors, to name a few. It is understood that when these factors accumulate and aren’t dealt with, they can contribute to blocked or stagnant energy within the system.

If we think about having something like a cold or flu, many of the symptoms we experience are actually connected to our body’s efforts to deal with the illness. Nasal congestion, for example, occurs partly because of inflammation and increased mucus production as the immune system responds to infection. A fever is also part of the body’s immune response, and we can feel tired because our body is directing resources towards dealing with the illness. Our body is incredibly intelligent and has many in built processes designed to restore balance.

The same is true for energy healing. Energy healing is used with the intention of supporting our innate healing capabilities within the body and mind, and sometimes this can result in temporary symptoms that can initially feel non beneficial.

Physical Symptoms After Energy Healing

If you’ve recently received Reiki, energy healing or another form of energetic work and have noticed that you feel physically different afterwards, you may be wondering whether what you’re experiencing could be connected to your session.

Some of the physical experiences people report after energy healing can include:

• Tiredness or needing more rest than usual

• Feeling generally under the weather

• A blocked or stuffy nose

• Headaches or a feeling of heaviness

• Nausea

• Mild aches or bodily discomfort

• Occasionally, stronger physical symptoms such as vomiting or fever

Occasionally, people may experience stronger physical symptoms around the time of a healing session, including vomiting or fever. Some people may personally experience these symptoms as being connected to the healing process. However, symptoms such as a significant fever, persistent vomiting or becoming acutely unwell should not automatically be assumed to be a healing crisis, as they can have ordinary medical causes and may require appropriate medical attention.

From an energetic perspective, some people experience the process as though deeply held or stagnant energy is being released from the system. This can sometimes be followed by a feeling of lightness or improvement once the experience has passed. A temporary intensification of something you are already dealing with may also sometimes be experienced after a session and, within energy healing, this can be understood as something coming to the surface to be processed and released.

Emotional Symptoms After Energy Healing

There is also an emotional component to the healing crisis, as many people seeking healing are not necessarily looking for physical benefits but are instead looking to heal trauma or emotional difficulties. Generally, this can show up as emotional release.

Some of the emotional experiences people report after energy healing can include:

• Feeling more emotionally sensitive than usual

• Crying or experiencing an emotional release

• Irritability or temporary changes in mood

• Old emotions or experiences coming to the surface

• Becoming more aware of particular emotional patterns

• Seeing an old situation or experience in a different way

Tears can start to flow as old experiences begin to surface and be processed. You may notice after a treatment that a particular pattern comes to the surface to be understood in a different way. It’s also quite common to feel emotionally sensitive after a session, or perhaps more irritable than usual.

All of this, although it may initially seem negative, can actually be experienced as a hugely positive part of the process. Once these experiences pass, the body and mind have an opportunity to integrate the session, and positive changes may begin to emerge. From an energetic perspective, this can be understood as the release of stagnancy within the person’s energy field.

It’s truly remarkable to witness such tangible things happening for a person after a session when all that’s really occurred outwardly is the laying on of hands. What’s even more magical to witness is that treatments can be done without physical touch, and people can still report profound sensations, emotional releases and experiences during and after the session.

Our bodies and minds have in built healing processes, and energy healing can offer us an opportunity to reconnect with them. For me, one of the most beautiful aspects of this work is being reminded of the innate capacity for healing that already exists within us.