I have a question about Reiki.

[hopeful harry]

Long story very short. Depression and anxiety since I was 19 (Now 46). Huge mental breakdown (I mean huge), suicidal, the lot 2 years ago.
Dabbled with Reiki and Shamanic healing for a while about a year ago. Now back trying Reiki again. Found myself a practitioner, just got home from my third session.
I feel so much worse. It's like all the symptoms that took me back to Reiki in the first place are all increased.
Is this normal?
If things are starting to shift, is it normal to feel this amount of unease?
If I've got all these years to work through, is the journey going to be this bumpy?
Any help gratefully received.

[Catsquotl]

Hi Hopeful,

Short answer would be yes.
Not necessarily because of Reiki, but because of the nature of your depressive streak.

Mental problems tend to touch the core of who we think we are. Shifting those tends to shake us up quite a lot.

Is Reiki all you do to overcome this, because if so, I would also try and find a "professional" I have dabbled with depression light myself and found Reiki as a practitioner to be very supportive, but as an energy based healing modality lacking in providing me with the skills to overcome depression itself.

[hopeful harry]

Thanks for the reply @catsquotl
I have seen many therapists over the years, none of whom seem able to help me.
Do you mean to overcome your own depression or that of people you've performed Reiki on?

[Catsquotl]

I did over ome my depression/ burn out. Although there is a slight difference between practising reiki ryoho or just receiving reiki from a practitioner. Also in my case it helped to have several outlets and help. Some standard anti depressant medications were very helpful even though I suffers some side effects and needed to take less, which made some of the depressed symptoms return.

I guess what I'm saying is, that there is some work that needs doing when you want to overcome your depression. Reiki can support, help and even heal a great deal. But as with most mental problems you will have to do some work as welll.

In the end I feel that Reiki is better equiped to help if one practises it as a healing and spiritual practise. Which is a little more involved than just receiving a series of reiki sessions.

[hopeful harry]

In the end I feel that Reiki is better equiped to help if one practises it as a healing and spiritual practise. Which is a little more involved than just receiving a series of reiki sessions.

Agreed. Any suggestions as to how I can do that? I do realise I have work to do, but I don't know exactly what that is.

[Catsquotl]

Is there a way you can do a reiki level one course?
Or at least get someone to initiate you to level 1 reiki.

If at all possible I would look for a Usui Reiki Ryoho course, But any will do.
Then learn a meditation practise. Traditionally Usui taught a form of zen like meditation called Jyoshin kokyu ho. But again I feel that any breath based meditation will suffice.

Then daily alternate meditation, However long is comfortable, and then maybe a little longer. and a reiki self treatment. At least the head and then wherever you hands would feel really pleasant for another few minutes.

This does 2 things.
It establishes a practice that gives you the idea (and after a while the certainty) that you are practicing to get back some control over your mental health. The Reiki treatments will fill you up energetically so you will feel as if you aren't alone in this. The meditations will slowly but surely create some room for seeing and acknowledging what is there.

In my experience not everything that we people are made off or see as ours is pleasant. Some of it is kinda dark an extremely unpleasant. Other parts are beautiful though. Just sitting there and seeing it for whatever it is that comes up and experiencing that after something came up you can still sit their and give yourself a reiki treatment iI felt s very empowering in itself.

I hope that helps..

[hopeful harry]

Thank you for the advice. I will have a look into all that.
One more question, I feel like I've got the flu as well as all the emotional stuff. I've done some reading and that sounds like classic symptoms of a healing crisis. Do you think that's likely or just coincidence? I've done two covid tests in the last few days and both are negative.

[Catsquotl]

Hi There,

Just as a disclaimer, I am not a doctor nor do I have a reiki practice. I am just a guy with a depressive streak, A thirst for esoteric knowledge and to much time on his hands so I could do the odd reiki course or 3, or 3 or several...

That said. Healing crises do seem quite common. When you experience flu like symptoms. Do whatever you would do as if it was the flu. If symptoms persist for longer that a week or so or suddenly become worse. See a physician.
Western medicine may not be the end al, and they may not know everythingl, But they sure do know a whole lot.