Navigating the Challenges of Healing Crises: Guidance for Practitioners and Patients

I have found that when patients are well-informed, they are better able to manage their expectations and avoid unnecessary anxiety. The focus of this blog is to shed some light on phenomena that may occur during the course of TCM treatment (acupuncture or herbal medicine). This is an important but often overlooked subject.

Introduction

In healthcare, one of the most important goals is to provide patients with peace of mind. In the practise of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), patients may experience unexpected or unfamiliar responses after recieving acupuncture or after taking herbal medicine. These post-treatment phenomena are often referred to as “healing crises”. In Kampo medicine it is known as “mengen”. In Chinese it is referred to as “ming xuan”.