Crying during or after Acupuncture treatments. 2.0
by | June 9, 2022
Categories: Acupuncture, Neuropathy
Have you ever had a really good cry and felt like the weight of the world lifted off your shoulders? I have. It was after I received the results from my acupuncture licencing exams. There were five exams over several months and I needed to pass all five to go from Melanie Morrill graduate of MacEwan University’s Acupuncture program to Doctor Melanie Morrill Acupuncturist.
Getting those results in the mail several weeks after writing those exams felt like the most stressful thing in the world and I was full of pent-up emotions. I knew that if I didn’t pass I would have to wait a whole calendar year, 12 months to rewrite the exam. The stakes were high. I had already spent five years in school, and half a year of studying, and I was ready to get to work and support patients. I didn’t go to university for the joy of going to university, I went so I could become an acupuncturist and help people.
After getting my snail-mailed results, I thought I would feel relieved and have a really good cry. I thought I would feel better and I would go back to being the happy-go-lucky self I was before I started studying for the five most soul-sucking exams of my life. I studied for those exams from June until the end of January the next year. Six months of studying for exams that covered the last three years of my education. I was done, but the tears just wouldn’t fall. I knew they were there, I could feel them, but they were stuck.
So what to do when you want a good cry and it just isn’t happening? I figured that rewatching Marley and Me would get things unstuck and I would have my good cry. Marley and Me was just as lovely and touching as usual, but no tears. It was the first time in my life that I watch that film with dry eyes. Now I know what you are thinking, what kind of heartless monster can’t cry for Marley and Me. I still felt sad and choked up, but the tears didn’t flow. I tried the introduction to Pixar’s Up and still, I was choked up and sad, but no tears.
Mental health was one of the topics covered in Acupuncture School. We learned about depression and anxiety and joked that we all had it from being in school. Hilarious, I know. Acupuncture school was hard and we knew it. I started with a class of thirty-two and thirteen of us graduated. One of the things that was covered in school was an emotional release after acupuncture. An emotional release or crying during acupuncture or crying after acupuncture is exactly what it sounds like. You enjoy a restful acupuncture treatment and during or after you cry. The crying can be emotional or it can be tears flowing.
It is unclear why some people cry during and after acupuncture but usually, people who cry have some emotional concerns they need to work through. Depression, anxiety, rage, sadness, or other repressed emotions come up to the surface and are expressed as tears. Knowing everything I knew about emotional releases with acupuncture I knew they could be unpredictable. There isn’t a specific acupuncture treatment you can give someone to make them cry. There are acupuncture points that can be helpful for moving stuck emotions, but you need to tailor the treatment to the stuck emotion. The treatment doesn’t guarantee an emotional release and sometimes you can have treatments for unrelated things that cause an emotional release.
I gave myself an acupuncture treatment. Yes, it is common for acupuncturists to treat themselves, I often practiced on myself so when I worked on patients I would give better treatments. (I wanted to do a good jab.) I picked a treatment to move stuck fear and anxiety and I am very please at how well it worked. I cried like a baby with colic. Afterwards, I felt amazing. Light, free, and ready to take a few weeks of vacation.
I needed a few more treatments before I felt like I was back to my usual self but once I felt better it was amazing. You don’t know how stressed and tense you are until you release that tension and feel better. My shoulders were unknotted, my digestion improved, and I felt fantastic. I don’t feel amazing every day, but when I am stressed, overwhelmed, or I just need to cry I know that a few acupuncture treatments are exactly what the doctor ordered.
Have you ever cried after acupuncture?
Many people experience an emotional release during or after acupuncture.
This can look like
- crying during acupuncture
- crying after acupuncture
- tearing up during or after your treatment
- having strong emotional reactions after acupuncture.
All these reactions are normal. They can be very uncomfortable, but they are normal and they will pass.
Acupuncture treatments can be profoundly relaxing for the body, the mind, and the soul. During an acupuncture treatment, people often feel physical relaxation as their shoulders unclench, their muscles relax, and the tension in their tummy fades away. That relaxation and unclenching can extend to our emotions as well.
This can be felt like an emotional release. This may include crying, feeling suppressed emotions, or it can feel like a weight being lifted away. In the moment, it may feel overwhelming or it may feel soothing.
Crying or tearing up is the most common and it can happen during or after acupuncture treatment. It is more common when a person is working through an emotional upheaval or a stressful life event.
After an emotional release, most people feel better. Crying and feeling your feelings helps with emotional regulation and processing. There is no need to hold your emotions back during an acupuncture treatment, let your emotions flow.
Each treatment room has a box of tissues because tears happen. Accessible Acupuncture is a non-judgemental place for you to heal and feel your feelings.
When you are ready to try acupuncture you can click the Schedule Now button in the top right corner of your screen or call the clinic at 587-879-7122.
Here is a wonderful review from a patient who had an emotional release after her acupuncture treatment at accessible acupuncture.
I have known Melanie a few years now! She’s always wonderful to see! I just started seeing Melanie for anxiety just over a month ago and the difference her treatments have made on my physical symptoms of anxiety have been magical really! I am feeling like my body is floating at the joints instead of the constant dull aches that I had just got used to. I don’t think I realized how much tension was in every inch of my body until I started recognizing the breaks from the anxiety and the brief moments of peace in my nerves.. almost hard to describe in words! She’s brought me to tears after each treatment and the release is like the best cry of your life but you feel refreshed and more free afterwards! Incredible experience seeing Melanie! She is SO intelligent and knows her stuff! 100% have her business card up in my op at work for my patients to see! Thank you Melanie!
Five star google review from Kelsie Oliver.
For those of you still wondering, I passed all five licensing exams the first time. It was the hardest thing I had ever done until I decided to open my own business.