Why Do I Feel Worse After Reiki? Healing Crises, Emotional Release & What You Need to Know
Sometimes Reiki leaves us feeling peaceful and renewed. Other times, we feel exhausted, emotional, angry, or suddenly unable to ignore something in our lives. Here’s what I’ve learned from experiencing both.
I’ve been practising Reiki for many years, and there’s something I think we need to talk about more openly.
Sometimes you feel worse after Reiki.
I know. That’s probably not what you expected to hear from a Reiki Master!
But I’ve experienced it myself. More than once, actually, and for several different reasons.
I’ve had Reiki sessions that left me feeling peaceful, restored, and wonderfully connected to myself. I’ve also had sessions that left me emotional, uncomfortable, unsettled, or suddenly facing something in my life I would have preferred to keep ignoring.
And there was a time, years ago, when I actually became afraid to get back on a Reiki table.
Imagine that! A Reiki practitioner who was frightened of receiving Reiki.
But those experiences taught me something important about healing, personal sovereignty, and the relationship between a practitioner and the person receiving a treatment.
Not every uncomfortable experience means something is wrong. But not every uncomfortable experience should be celebrated as evidence that healing is taking place, either.
Sometimes we need to look a little deeper.
What Happens to Your Body After Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese energy healing practice traditionally understood as supporting balance within the body’s energy system.
As a Reiki Master and Teacher, I approach Reiki as a spiritual practice that can encourage relaxation, awareness, and a greater sense of connection with ourselves.
From a scientific perspective, Reiki’s proposed energy mechanisms haven’t been established, and research into its health benefits remains limited. It should be understood as a complementary practice rather than a replacement for medical care.
But there’s another part of the Reiki experience that I find fascinating.
We spend so much of our lives rushing around, responding to responsibilities, solving problems, and trying to keep everything together that we often don’t recognize how exhausted or overwhelmed we’ve become.
Then we lie down on a Reiki table.
For perhaps the first time in weeks, nobody needs anything from us.
We’re not answering messages, cooking supper, solving someone else’s crisis, or worrying about what needs to happen next.
We’re simply receiving.
And sometimes, when we finally become quiet enough to notice ourselves, we discover that we aren’t feeling nearly as wonderful as we’ve been pretending.
That realization can be uncomfortable.
Why You Might Feel Worse After Reiki
There isn’t one explanation that fits everyone’s experience.
Some people feel tired after a session. Others become emotional, irritable, restless, or unusually sensitive. Some report physical symptoms, while others find themselves suddenly questioning situations they’ve been tolerating for years.
These experiences don’t necessarily mean Reiki caused the symptoms or that an energetic release has occurred.
But they can still be worth exploring.
In my own life, I’ve experienced several different kinds of discomfort following Reiki, and each taught me something different.
One of the most important lessons had nothing to do with energy at all.
It had to do with trust.
Sometimes You Don’t Feel Safe with the Reiki Practitioner
This is something I don’t think we discuss nearly enough in energy healing circles.
There have been times when I’ve received Reiki from someone I wasn’t entirely confident in.
Perhaps I didn’t know them well enough. Perhaps something about their approach didn’t feel comfortable to me. Or perhaps I simply wasn’t ready to relax and trust the experience.
Whatever the reason, I felt as though I had handed over my power.
And I didn’t like that feeling.
I was lying there, allowing someone to work with me in a very personal way, while part of me was questioning whether I trusted the person doing it.
That matters.
Your comfort matters.
Your sense of safety matters.
And your relationship with the practitioner matters.
We sometimes talk about surrendering during spiritual healing, but I think we need to be careful about what we mean by surrender.
You can relax without giving away your personal sovereignty.
You can be open to an experience without agreeing to everything a practitioner says.
And you can receive Reiki while remaining completely in charge of your own body, boundaries, and decisions.
If you don’t feel comfortable with a practitioner, you’re allowed to say so.
You’re allowed to ask questions.
You’re allowed to stop a session.
And you’re allowed to find someone else.
In fact, that’s exactly what I eventually did.
The Time I Became Afraid of Receiving Reiki
Years ago, after some difficult experiences, I reached a point where I was genuinely nervous about getting back on a Reiki table.
I associated receiving a treatment with the possibility that something unpleasant might happen afterward.
And I wasn’t particularly eager to volunteer for another round of that!
But rather than giving up on Reiki, I began exploring what made certain experiences feel supportive and others feel unsettling.
I tried different practitioners.
I paid attention to how comfortable I felt in their presence.
I noticed whether they respected my boundaries, whether I trusted their approach, and whether I felt confident enough to relax.
Eventually, I found practitioners I felt safe with and respected.
People I was comfortable listening to.
People whose presence helped me feel supported rather than vulnerable.
And that made an enormous difference to my experience.
I learned that the relationship between practitioner and client is not an insignificant detail.
It’s part of the experience itself.
I don’t believe we should have to abandon our discernment in order to receive spiritual healing.
In fact, I think our discernment is one of the most important things we bring with us.
What Is a Reiki Healing Crisis?
You may have heard the term healing crisis used to describe feeling worse after Reiki.
Within some energy healing traditions, a healing crisis refers to a period of discomfort that practitioners interpret as part of a process of change, clearing, or adjustment.
Some describe it as energetic detoxification. Others understand it as the release of emotional patterns or the surfacing of issues that need attention.
It’s important to recognize that a Reiki healing crisis is a spiritual interpretation, not a medically established diagnosis. There isn’t reliable scientific evidence that worsening symptoms after Reiki prove that healing or detoxification is occurring.
But I also think there’s value in exploring what someone means when they describe their experience this way.
Because I’ve had moments after Reiki when something in my life became so glaringly obvious that I could no longer ignore it.
Something I’d been avoiding.
Something I’d been tolerating.
Something I’d been trying to convince myself wasn’t really that bad.
And suddenly, it felt impossible to keep going the same way.
Within my own spiritual understanding, I’ve sometimes thought of those experiences as healing crises.
Not because Reiki was punishing me.
But because I was becoming aware of something that needed my attention.
And I have a very personal story about that.
When Reiki Made My Already Overwhelming Life Feel Even Worse
When I was younger, I was a single mother raising two young children while managing a career.
I had an enormous amount of responsibility, and it seemed as though everyone needed something from me all the time.
My cellphone was constantly ringing.
Someone was having a crisis.
Someone needed help.
Someone needed me to solve a problem, make a decision, or take care of something.
And I responded.
Of course I responded.
That was what I did.
I was so accustomed to being the person who handled everything that I didn’t really understand how much pressure I was living under.
Then I would go for Reiki.
For a little while, I would experience what it felt like to slow down, relax, and receive some care myself.
And afterward?
Oh my goodness.
It seemed as though my phone rang louder and more often than ever before!
Every demand felt bigger. Every interruption felt more intrusive. Every crisis seemed to arrive with a little extra urgency.
I remember feeling as though the universe was punishing me.
Here I was, trying to do something good for myself, and everything seemed to get worse!
I didn’t understand it at the time.
Looking back, I can see that the problem wasn’t necessarily that my life had suddenly become more demanding.
It was that I had become more aware of how demanding it already was.
I didn’t know how to decompress.
I didn’t understand the importance of self-care.
I didn’t know how to create boundaries around my time or recognize when I was taking responsibility for things that didn’t belong to me.
I was in over my head, and I had been for quite some time.
But because I was so busy managing everything, I hadn’t stopped long enough to recognize it.
Within my spiritual understanding of Reiki, I see this as a kind of healing crisis.
Not because the universe was deliberately making my life harder, but because I had reached a point where I could no longer comfortably continue living the way I had been.
Something needed to change.
And the discomfort was getting my attention.
The trouble was, I didn’t know that yet.
All I knew was that I felt awful.
I felt more pressured than ever.
And I was beginning to wonder why something that was supposed to make me feel better seemed to leave me feeling worse.
Fortunately, I had a wonderful Reiki teacher who helped me understand what I was experiencing.
She didn’t judge me.
She didn’t tell me I was creating my own problems or that I had somehow failed spiritually.
She lovingly pointed out the ways I was overextending myself and helped me recognize that I needed to begin taking better care of myself.
Not by changing everything overnight.
Not by abandoning my responsibilities.
But by taking small steps.
Learning to decompress.
Recognizing when I needed rest.
Understanding that I didn’t have to answer every call or solve every crisis.
And slowly beginning to make room for myself in my own life.
Eventually, I found the relief I needed.
But it took time, awareness, and a willingness to change some very familiar patterns.
Looking back, I think that experience taught me as much about healing as anything that happened on the Reiki table.
Because sometimes the thing we need to heal isn’t an invisible energetic blockage.
Sometimes it’s the way we’ve organized our entire lives around everyone else’s needs.
And when we finally recognize that, it can be terribly uncomfortable.
When Your Body and Soul Seem to Be Saying No
There’s another kind of experience I’ve come to recognize through my years of Reiki practice.
Sometimes, after a treatment, something in our life begins to feel almost intolerable.
A workplace we’ve been enduring suddenly feels unbearable.
A friendship we’ve been maintaining out of obligation begins to feel exhausting.
A relationship in which we’ve repeatedly compromised our boundaries becomes impossible to ignore.
Or an activity we’ve been participating in simply doesn’t feel right anymore.
I sometimes describe this as a kind of rejection.
It’s as though something inside us is saying, “I can’t keep doing this.”
Within my spiritual understanding, I might describe that feeling as recognizing something that is insulting to the soul.
Something we’ve been agreeing to, participating in, or tolerating that no longer feels aligned with who we are becoming.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean we should immediately quit our jobs, end our relationships, or walk away from every uncomfortable situation.
It means we may need to pay attention.
Why does this feel so wrong now?
Have I been ignoring my boundaries?
Am I participating in something because I genuinely want to, or because I’m afraid of disappointing someone?
Have I been convincing myself to accept circumstances that are leaving me depleted?
Sometimes anger accompanies this awareness.
Sometimes sadness.
Sometimes resentment or a powerful desire to withdraw.
And sometimes we experience physical sensations alongside emotional distress.
Stress and strong emotions can affect our digestion, appetite, sleep, muscle tension, and overall well-being.
Within energy healing traditions, these experiences may be interpreted as the body rejecting what no longer serves us.
I understand that interpretation, and I’ve experienced moments that felt exactly that way.
But I also believe we need to be thoughtful about how we respond.
Listening to ourselves doesn’t mean acting impulsively.
It means becoming curious about what our discomfort may be telling us.
Why You Might Feel Angry After Reiki
Anger is an interesting emotion.
We’re often taught that anger is something negative, something we should overcome or release as quickly as possible.
But I don’t think anger is always the enemy.
Sometimes anger is the emotion that finally gets our attention when we’ve been ignoring our own boundaries.
Perhaps someone has been taking advantage of our kindness.
Perhaps we’ve been saying yes when we desperately wanted to say no.
Perhaps we’ve been accepting behaviour that doesn’t feel respectful.
And suddenly, after a period of quiet reflection, we recognize just how unhappy we are about it.
We may feel angry.
Really angry.
Within my Reiki practice, I may understand this as part of becoming more aware of what needs attention.
But I don’t think we need to assume that Reiki created the anger or that an energetic blockage has necessarily been released.
Sometimes we’ve simply become aware of feelings that were already there.
And anger can carry useful information.
It may be telling us that a boundary needs to be established.
That a conversation needs to happen.
Or that something in our life needs to change.
The goal isn’t to act impulsively on every emotion.
It’s to listen to what we’re feeling and decide how to respond thoughtfully.
Why You Might Cry After Reiki
Sadness is another experience people sometimes describe after Reiki.
And sometimes we don’t even know why we’re crying.
I’ve seen people become emotional during spiritual healing experiences, and I understand how surprising that can be.
Sometimes it’s a few quiet tears.
And sometimes it’s what I affectionately call an ugly cry.
You know the kind.
The kind where your face is all scrunched up, your nose is running, and you’re fairly certain you’re never going to look dignified again.
But perhaps dignity isn’t what we need in that moment.
Perhaps we simply need permission to feel.
Within energy healing traditions, people sometimes describe these experiences as releasing emotions that have been stored in the body.
I understand that language spiritually, although we don’t have reliable evidence that Reiki physically releases stored emotions through a specific energy mechanism.
What we do know is that emotions can be connected with bodily sensations, stress, memories, and experiences.
And sometimes a quiet, supportive environment gives us an opportunity to notice feelings we haven’t had time to acknowledge.
You don’t always need to know exactly why you’re crying.
You don’t always need to attach a past-life story or a spiritual explanation to the experience.
Sometimes it’s enough to let yourself feel sad, be gentle with yourself, and see what becomes clearer over time.
And if emotions feel overwhelming or persist, reaching out for appropriate mental health support is a caring choice, not a failure of spiritual healing.
Can Reiki Make You Sick? Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea and Detoxification
This is another part of the conversation that deserves care.
I’ve had experiences that I understood, within my own spiritual framework, as my body trying to release something that wasn’t serving me.
Some people report nausea, headaches, digestive upset, or even vomiting or diarrhea after a Reiki session.
In energy healing circles, these experiences are sometimes described as detoxification or a physical healing crisis.
The spiritual explanation is that the body has been supported toward balance and is attempting to release what it no longer needs.
But it’s important to distinguish that belief from what has been medically established.
There isn’t reliable scientific evidence that Reiki causes the body to expel toxins, release harmful chemicals, or enter a special detoxification state.
Vomiting and diarrhea can have many causes, including infections, medications, food-related illness, and other health conditions.
So while I respect that people may understand their experiences through an energetic lens, I wouldn’t want anyone to ignore a physical symptom because they’ve been told it’s proof that Reiki is working.
If you become physically ill after a session, take care of your body and consider ordinary medical explanations.
Persistent, severe, or concerning symptoms deserve medical attention.
And you should never feel pressured to return for more treatments to complete a supposed detoxification process.
Your physical health matters just as much as your spiritual well-being.
What About Alcohol and Drugs Before or After Reiki?
Alcohol and recreational drugs are another consideration.
In my own practice, I encourage people to avoid alcohol and recreational drugs for approximately 24 to 48 hours around a Reiki session when it’s safe and appropriate for them to do so.
My intention is to help people arrive feeling clear, comfortable, and able to be fully present for their experience.
Within the energetic framework I work with, I believe it’s helpful to give ourselves an opportunity to experience Reiki without introducing substances that may alter our awareness or leave us feeling physically unwell.
But I wouldn’t want someone to believe that Reiki will necessarily make their body reject those substances or that becoming ill afterward proves a detoxification process has begun.
Alcohol and drugs can affect the body independently of Reiki.
And suddenly stopping alcohol or certain drugs can be medically dangerous for someone who is physically dependent on them. In those circumstances, medical guidance is important.
What matters to me is that people approach their Reiki experience thoughtfully.
And that they understand the difference between spiritual interpretations and physical health concerns.
Be Careful What You Ask to Release!
There’s something almost humorous about the way we approach spiritual healing sometimes.
We lie down on the table, close our eyes, and announce that we’re ready to release everything that no longer serves our highest good.
Everything!
All of it!
We’re ready!
And then we discover that some of those things are relationships, responsibilities, habits, expectations, or beliefs we’ve become rather attached to.
Oh.
Those things too?
Within my spiritual practice, I sometimes reflect on these experiences as part of releasing old patterns.
But the important part is what happens when we become aware of something.
We still have choices.
We can decide whether an old belief is useful.
We can examine a relationship honestly.
We can recognize where we’ve been abandoning our own needs.
And we can begin making changes at a pace that feels manageable.
I don’t believe healing requires us to dismantle our entire lives overnight.
Nor do I believe every uncomfortable experience is a message that something must be removed.
Sometimes we need time to understand what we’re feeling before we know what to do with it.
And that’s perfectly fine.
How Long Should You Feel Worse After Reiki?
There isn’t a medically established timeline for how long someone should feel tired, emotional, or unsettled after Reiki.
Some people feel relaxed immediately.
Others report noticing changes later that day.
And some don’t experience anything unusual at all.
If you feel mildly tired or emotional, it may be reasonable to give yourself time to rest, eat, hydrate, and observe how you feel.
But don’t assume that symptoms lasting several days are a normal or necessary Reiki response.
If symptoms persist, worsen, or concern you, speak with an appropriate healthcare professional.
Severe or sudden symptoms, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, fainting, or new neurological problems, require urgent medical attention.
You don’t need to interpret a medical warning sign as a spiritual breakthrough.
Your physical well-being matters.
How Do You Know Whether Your Reiki Experience Was Helpful?
I think this is one of the most important questions we can ask.
Rather than assuming that feeling worse means Reiki is working, or that it means something has gone wrong, consider the whole experience.
Did you feel safe with your practitioner?
Were your boundaries respected?
Did you feel comfortable asking questions?
Were you free to stop or change the session?
Did the experience help you understand something about yourself, or did it leave you feeling frightened and powerless?
Are your symptoms mild and temporary, or are they persistent and concerning?
These questions matter.
A supportive spiritual experience should never require you to surrender your judgment.
And a practitioner should never use your discomfort as evidence that you need to become dependent on their services.
Sometimes an experience leads to meaningful reflection.
Sometimes it simply wasn’t a good fit.
And sometimes what you’re experiencing has nothing to do with Reiki at all.
You are allowed to make that distinction for yourself.
Seven Gentle Ways to Care for Yourself After Reiki
Whether you leave a session feeling wonderful or a little unsettled, I encourage gentle, ordinary self-care.
1. Drink some water. Not because Reiki has been scientifically shown to flush toxins from your body, but because staying hydrated is part of taking care of yourself.
2. Eat something nourishing. If you’ve skipped meals or have been running on coffee all day, give your body some proper fuel.
3. Rest if you’re tired. You don’t have to earn your rest by completing another dozen tasks first.
4. Spend a little time outdoors. Fresh air, natural light, and a gentle walk may help you feel more connected to your surroundings.
5. Notice your emotions without judging them. You don’t need to analyze every feeling immediately. Sometimes acknowledging it is enough.
6. Write down anything meaningful. If an insight, memory, or question came up during your session, journaling can help you reflect on it later.
7. Give yourself permission to return to ordinary life. Make supper. Fold some laundry. Call someone you love. Sit with your cat. Watch something comforting on television.
You don’t have to remain in a heightened spiritual state to benefit from a meaningful experience.
Sometimes integration looks very ordinary.
And I think that’s beautiful.
Choosing a Reiki Practitioner You Trust
After all these years, I think this is one of the most important lessons I’ve learned.
The person providing your Reiki session matters.
Not because they need to be famous, have a long list of certifications, or make extraordinary claims about their abilities.
But because you need to feel comfortable with them.
You should be able to ask questions.
You should understand what will happen during the session.
You should know that your boundaries will be respected.
And you should feel free to communicate if something doesn’t feel right.
When I was younger and struggling with my own experiences after Reiki, my teacher helped me enormously.
She didn’t frighten me.
She didn’t judge me.
She helped me recognize patterns in my life that were contributing to my exhaustion and encouraged me to begin taking small steps toward change.
That loving, nonjudgmental guidance made a difference.
And it’s something I’ve carried into my own work as a Reiki practitioner and teacher.
I don’t believe someone should leave a spiritual healing session feeling that they have surrendered control of their life.
I believe they should feel respected, supported, and free to decide what comes next.
Reiki Should Never Require You to Give Away Your Power
After all these years, and after experiencing Reiki from both sides of the treatment table, I think this is one of the most important lessons I’ve learned.
Your comfort and well-being matter.
Your confidence in the practitioner matters.
Your boundaries matter.
And your ability to make your own choices matters.
I believe Reiki can be a meaningful spiritual practice. I’ve experienced it that way many times, and it’s one of the reasons I’ve continued studying, practising, and teaching it.
But I also believe we need to be honest about the full range of experiences people may have.
Not every Reiki session feels wonderful.
Not every uncomfortable feeling means something profound has happened.
And not every practitioner will be the right person for you.
Sometimes a session gives us an opportunity to notice what we’ve been avoiding.
Sometimes it reminds us how exhausted we’ve become.
Sometimes it brings emotions into our awareness.
And sometimes it teaches us that we need to be more discerning about who we allow into our personal space.
I learned that lesson myself when I was afraid to get back on the Reiki table.
Finding practitioners I trusted helped me rediscover my comfort with receiving Reiki.
And that experience has stayed with me.
Because I don’t believe spiritual healing should make us less connected to ourselves.
I believe it should encourage us to become more aware of our own needs, our own boundaries, and our own capacity to make choices.
You don’t have to give away your power to receive healing.
You never did.
With love,
Sue Crielaard
Reiki Master/Teacher | Vital Village Metaphysical
Continue Exploring Reiki and Gentle Integration
If you’d like to learn more about the experiences people sometimes notice after a Reiki session, you may enjoy my related article:
Signs Your Energy Is Shifting After Reiki: Navigating the Gentle Path of Integration
You can also explore my Reiki sessions and spiritual services at Vital Village Metaphysical.
