This post originally appeared on Pills to Paleo, my former website.
If you know my story, you know that I successfully healed severe depression and anxiety by changing my diet.
This is absolutely true — adopting a paleo diet completely transformed and stabilized my mental health. I often say that it improved my mood by 70%, and that’s also true.
But I haven’t been telling the whole story.
Aside from nutrition, there was another healing modality that I used to recover, and I’ve been keeping it a secret, because of, well … shame.
In addition to dissolving my debilitating mental health symptoms, my healing journey brought my true self to the surface. This has been the ultimate blessing, but it hasn’t been easy — practicing being myself and not giving a shit about what other people think is hard, but oh-so-worth-it.
(Side note: Maybe one day I’ll write about why I think not being myself was the original root cause of all my health issues.)
My true self has been coming out of the closet in layers, and now it’s time for the next layer.
MY NAME IS HOLLY, AND I’M AN ENERGY MEDICINE JUNKIE
Energy medicine. Maybe you’re familiar with it, maybe you’re not. There are many different modalities that fall under the umbrella of “energy medicine,” including acupuncture, Emotional Freedom Technique (a.k.a. “tapping,”), and Reiki, just to name a few. The basic idea is that these techniques work with our subtle energy body — our auric field, our chakras, and our energetic meridians — to bring our physical body and our emotions back into balance.
Lovely, right? Well, according to Wikipedia, a great deal of the scientific community, and a lot of opinionated and vocal people in my life, it’s all a bunch of hogwash and quackery.
My personal experience, however, is that energy healing is one of the most profound forms of healing available. It alleviated my remaining symptoms of depression and enabled me to truly address trauma in a way that talk therapy and medication never could.
THE C-WORD
Until now, I’ve only briefly mentioned energy medicine publicly, as a muffled aside.Here’s why: I’ve been afraid of ridicule. I’ve been afraid of eye-rolls. I’ve been afraid of being dismissed, called “woo-woo,” or worst of all, labeled as a quack.(By the way, I refer to “quack” as the C-word of the holistic health community. It’s what you say when you want to cut someone down, spit on them in disgust, and dismiss them immediately. Just like the C-word.) So, because of …
- The environment I grew up in (southern, conservative, and generally dismissive of anything “alternative”)
- Many of the people I’m surrounded by in real life (fervent about their personal beliefs and condemning of everything else), and
- Our current political climate (if you express your opinions, prepare to get in an argument, because it doesn’t feel safe to be yourself these days)
SCIENCE RULES
I’m also worried about not being taken seriously, because so much of what I talk about is based in “hard science.” Studying nutrition for mental health — and applying it to myself and my clients — has allowed me to dive deep into data, and there’s a certain level of respect that comes with that. When I talk about neurotransmitters, thyroid panel results, and biochemical pathways, people think I’m smart and legit. (Which, yes, thank you! I am.)
And for the record, all of that matters, and is extremely important. I am still fascinated by the more tangible sciences, and I apply them in practice constantly. But when it comes to healing, I believe science (as it stands today) can only take us so far, and I am exhausted by science worshipping. The exaltation, the arrogance. The black-and-white polarity. The idea that unless something’s been proven by a double-blind study — or you can back it up with lab results — it’s irrelevant.
On the one hand, there is evangelical zealotry. On the other hand, there is “irrefutable” science. (Actually, I think these are two sides of the same coin.) I’m ducking for cover on the sidelines in a bulletproof vest, like, “Hey guys, can we maybe admit that we don’t know a lot of things? Is that so scary? Please don’t kill me.”
My fear is this: If I start talking about blockages in the solar plexus chakra, y’all are going to run 80 MPH in the other direction, and I’m going to be over here all by myself, staring at my crystal collection and burning sage while my cat pukes on the floor.
I’ve realized this is just another version of not being myself. And I made a promise to always be myself.
Keeping my passion for energy medicine quiet — and even feeling ashamed for exploring it — isn’t going to do anything but eventually cause my health issues to resurface.
I can’t fully show up for other people unless I fully show up for myself. And that means being honest about who I am, what I believe in, and what’s worked for me. Energy medicine is an enormous part of that.
If you caught my recent Instagram post, you’ll know that I was recently certified as a Reiki Master Practitioner. I experienced several different energy medicine techniques over the course of my healing, and I found Reiki to be one of the most transformative. Eventually, I became so fascinated by it that I knew I had to learn it for myself and my clients.
You can even do Reiki on animals! Here I am performing Reiki on my friend’s cat, Sidney.
In a nutshell, Reiki is a gentle, hands-on energy healing method that brings balance to the mind and body. It is deeply relaxing, and being in a state of parasympathetic relaxation allows the body to heal. Reiki can also help to release stuck emotions that become trapped in the body over time.
Discussing my traumas in traditional talk therapy made me feel like I was experiencing them all over again, but addressing them on an energetic level helped me let go of them without feeling re-triggered. Some of my memories used to send me into a complete, full-body panic, but since I’ve embraced energy work, they just feel neutral, and I can think about them without feeling a surge of intense emotion.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A REIKI SESSION?
While every Reiki experience is different, and there is no way to predict exactly how you’ll feel in a session, here are some general guidelines about what to expect.
A standard, complete treatment is about an hour in length. You lie on a massage table fully clothed, and there is usually soft, ambient music playing. There is absolutely nothing for you to do except relax. Sometimes, the practitioner may guide you through a visualization or meditation, or you might do this on your own.
Every practitioner has a different style. Some start the treatment at the head, while others start the treatment at the feet. Some work a few inches off the body, while others apply a very light touch. The practitioner will lightly position their hands on (or slightly above) different areas of your body, and when they do this, the Reiki energy flows.
Over the course of your treatment, you may:
- Be deeply relaxed (you might even fall asleep, and this is OK!)
- Feel tingling, heat, or pulsation
- Experience a sense of weightlessness, lightness, or floating
- Twitch, shake slightly, or move involuntarily (this happens to me every time with Reiki, and it just means that energy is flowing — it is not unpleasant at all)
- Notice memories coming to the surface (if they are painful, you can tell your practitioner, “I am having a painful memory,” and they will guide you through it and help you release the emotion without you having to discuss the memory)
- Feel the urge to cry (if this happens, do not hold back your tears, and cry until it is complete — usually, this only lasts a couple of minutes in a session, and it is deeply healing … your practitioner will guide you through it, and you will not be the first person to have cried in a session!)
- Experience a feeling of bliss, full-body “buzzing,” or total calm and peace
- Feeling physically or emotionally lighter
- Reduced pain and reduced physical symptoms of all kinds
- Emotional balance and a sense of calm
- Reduced symptoms of anxiety or depression
- Being less reactive and more “in the moment”
- Feeling more connected to others
- Having an easier time with forgiveness
- Troublesome memories and past traumas bother you much less
The effects are cumulative, and how often you receive Reiki is up to you. If you are in an intense stage of healing, daily or weekly Reiki can be extremely helpful. In “maintenance mode,” some people aim for monthly treatments, or they just schedule an appointment as needed.
While this description will prepare you for what to expect in a session, the only way to really comprehend Reiki is to actually experience it. It is truly magical and incredibly healing. If you’re even the slightest bit curious, I encourage you to schedule an appointment with a practitioner!
And psssst … if you’re local to the Ann Arbor, Michigan area, you can schedule a session with me — just contact me if you’re interested.
While I offer Reiki sessions separately from Nutritional Therapy, I also offer them jointly. A combination of nutrition and energy work is how I healed myself (now you know!), and I believe it will have a profound impact for my clients, too.
And now that the shame has been cast into the fire, the real magic happens.
Take care of you and be true to you, my friends. Staying in the closet is bad for your health!
Welcome to the club!! It’s a wonderful thing to combine modalities and be in awe of our own selves and our miraculous abilities to heal and thrive. I am a hypnotherapist and currently studying to become an NTP. There is an incredibly body of research supporting “alternative” healing. But we practitioners tend to be a quiet bunch so we are generally preaching to the choir. I’m so glad I found your site (through Kelly Brogan). Keep doing your fabulous work!! Love and blessings from Australia!
Thanks, Donna! It really is miraculous. You’re going to love being an NTP. Blessings to you as well — soak up some sun for me!
My best,
Holly
Loved and appreciate this post and the honesty of being your true self. Thank you
Thank YOU, Daniela! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Love this post. I too tread the line between the scientific world and the “we don’t know enough yet” world. I’ve been receiving energy therapy in the form of Reiki and IET and Aqualead and they have been deeply nurturing and healing! (and I think not being myself led to my ill health too. No more 🙂 But it’s scary being who you really are, for sure. Worth it, no doubt ❤️
Thank you for the kind words, Adrienne! I can definitely see how this would be applicable to you as a physician. So glad to hear you are receiving energy work! It’s my drug of choice. 😉 Keep being true to YOU … we will talk a lot more about this in PHB. So happy to be on this journey with you.