Healing Crisis
Arnold Ehret once said "Disease is merely Nature's effort to start performing the process of healing - the elimination of wastes and disease matters that clog up your tissue system." Vaccinations, medications, pesticides, fertilizers, pollution, poor diet, processed foods... anything that goes in must be cleaned out by the organs. A body not given the proper nutrition and/or supplementation has no choice but to deposit toxins wherever it can, like sweeping trash under a rug. Eventually these built-up toxins manifest as cancer, tumors, systemic yeast infections/skin allergies, and imbalances that might appear in the form of kidney stones, Cushing's, Diabetes, IBS, liver failure, joint pains and more.
When the body decreases its daily toxic burden (by bettering the diet and decreasing environmental toxins) it often provokes a deep cleaning to empty out anything that has been suppressed or otherwise "settled" in the body. This purge of toxins is an indication that the body is healthy enough to regain a balance; this is called a Healing Crisis. The most common symptoms of a healing crisis include diarrhea, vomiting, nasal discharge, pneumonia, pustules or a rash, and excessive thirst and urination, hair loss, and more. Dr. John Sherman, D.N. notes that the most distinguishing feature of a healing crisis is "The vital force is on the 'ascendency' in a healing crisis (your pet feels frisky before a healing crisis), whereas there is a lack of vitality in a disease crisis... when the vital force intrinsic to the body has finally worked up to this acutely reactive event, taking a suppressive medication, even an aspirin, could damage the immunity and vitality of an individual."
It feels "safe" to reach for a symptom suppressive drug when we, or our pets, feel sick. Fear tells us to listen to the "what if..." and play it safe... that giving a medication is the best option to prevent discomfort of the threat of real illness. However, Dr. Martin Goldstein, D.V.M. said, "Fear is such a terribly destructive force in medical care. So often, it inhibits us from letting the patient heal himself." Arnold Ehret said if the body could speak it would say, "Give me a chance to eliminate; to repair your bodily mechanism!' Take time to be 'sick' for a few days or even weeks, and I will help you! 'Remain still, quiet, rest, sleep and DON'T EAT!"
Medications can be suppressive and prevent actual healing. They do have their place and in the case of an old or weak person or pet they should be used sparingly, or when no guidance or alternative is available. But for most, suppressing an uncomfortable illness is like putting all your trash in the closet so you can take it out later when its more convenient. The trash is still there to be dealt with... you are just choosing to deal with it when there is enough for a dump truck rather than a single trash can. In order to regain health, Hering says, "a patient must go through a crisis. Expect it, look for it, and work toward it," he declares. "No doctor, no patient, no food or medicine can bring it on... The body provokes its own crisis; it does so when it's ready, and not before. In some instinctive way we don't begin to understand, it tends to wait until it has enough strength to handle the force of the pain and eliminations associated with a crisis - thus the calm before the storm, that period of improved health after the body has been at it's weakest - and to match the severity and pace of the crisis to what its own constitution can stand."