Sometimes the body does its own thing because it needs to. It grabs the reins and takes you for a ride. Once in a while I see it happen; it doesn’t happen often. A person can experience a physiological reaction or an emotional release or what can seem like a mental breakdown.
By a healing reaction or crisis, I’m not talking about when we get “triggered” or upset although this can have its origins in a subconscious trauma.
A healing reaction can have multiple forms. It can feel like we’re getting sick with a cold or flu, we can have a fever, feel nauseous, have diarrhea or even vomit. It can be in the form of body shakes or quivers or pain. It can feel like we’re re-experiencing an old injury or trauma.
A healing reaction can take the form of an emotional outburst, even when there’s no apparent reason for the emotion. Another form can be experienced as a mild to severe mental breakdown, where you feel like you’re literally losing your mind.
And an even more intense healing reaction can be felt as “the dark night of the soul” where a person may feel lost at times, uncertain, doubtful and detached from life.
Sometimes the body needs to go through a period of instability in order to find a new higher, more integrated level of stability; Just like an organization can go through a restructuring in order to become more productive and efficient.
The key, when having a healing reaction, is to reaffirm trust in the body’s wisdom, trust that it knows what it’s doing and even maybe enjoy the ride that it’s taking you on:). Keep breathing if you can and remember that if you’re going through hell, keep going.
I do remember one time coming back from a vacation out east, having a panic attack on the plane. We hit some mild turbulence and I couldn’t stop seeing the plane crash in my mind. It kept playing over and over. I felt my heart clench and I was doing everything I could not to yell out loud. Poor Magdalena felt it all with me including having the blood squeezed out of her hand.
I did not enjoy that ride:). Having a healing reaction challenges us to let go of control and trust the intelligent wisdom that gives us life. The more we can do that, the more we can create a prosperous life that aligns with a healthy body, mind and spirit.