This page offers some suggestions as to what may help during spiritual crisis.
What Helps?
The following suggestions have been gathered from listening to people who have been through spiritual crisis and seeing what they have found helpful. Bear in mind that what works for one person may not for another. Each person's experience is unique and they will have their own sense of what feels right and what is needed.
Normalising
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Spiritual crisis can be overwhelming and confusing. However, many people consider it to be a recognised part of spiritual growth. "The Tribe " by Matthew Stewart |
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It can be reassuring to know that other people have experienced something similar. It's useful to have a context for understanding the experience. Finding a framework could be supported by talking to a spiritual teacher or through reading. (See the book-list under resources).
Grounding
Consider the basics…eating… sleeping...exercising…gardening…being in nature.
Food: The general consensus seems to be that heavier foods are useful for grounding such as grains, root vegetables, pulses, dairy products and meat. Remembering to eat really helps. Fasting often makes things worse. Avoid sugar and stimulants such as caffeine.
Sleeping:
| Normal sleep patterns may be interrupted, which may be OK for a time especially if it's possible to rest as and when it's needed. However, prolonged loss of sleep is a problem. Consider sedating herbs such as Passiflora, Scutalleria, Avena Sativa or Chamomilla. | 
"The Darkness" by Matthew Stewart
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If possible ask a medical herbalist for a herbal tincture as these are much stronger than herbal tablets. We recommend not taking herbs while on prescription medicines or pregnant or breast feeding without seeking advice from a qualified herbalist. If herbs don't help consider seeking medical help, taking a sleeping tablet for a few nights may help re-establish a normal sleep pattern.
Exercise: Some people find vigorous exercise, like running, very helpful because of the amount of energy they are experiencing in their bodies. Others find gentle walking or yoga to be more what they need.
'Doing ordinary': In an 'extra-ordinary' time, 'doing ordinary' can be very grounding. By this we mean focusing on ordinary every-day tasks such as cleaning the house, chopping vegetables, weeding or digging the garden, walking the dog etc.
Being creative: Many people have found this to be a time where their creative energies become powerful and can be used as a way of expressing their experience, releasing emotion and grounding and focusing.
Support
Not many people can go through this on their own. There is a need to be supported. This can take many forms, from someone cooking dinners, a friend who offers a listening ear, a therapist who understands spiritual crisis, to a whole community offering 24/7 support. Having people around who understand what is happening can make all the difference.
Community resources: Many people have found the following resources helpful:
Environment
| The environment has a huge effect
on someone who is in a heightened sensitive state. Reducing stimulation is
thought to be helpful. Consider what may be over stimulating, such as
television, noisy busy places, situations of conflict and high emotion,
etc. This will vary from person to person.
"The Sanctuary" by Matthew Stewart |
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Spiritual practise
Some consider it wise to temporarily stop practises such as meditation, yoga or Qi gong which potentially intensify the experience of inner processes. Spiritual practise can be deceptively powerful at times of spiritual crisis.
However some people find that with insight and care, gentle practise can provide a sense of safe space and enable integration of the crisis experience. The important element is whether the practise in question is grounding and therefore helping to create 'balance'. Anything which opens an individual up even further to intense spiritual energy is potentially going to increase the experience of feeling overwhelmed.
A mid-way approach is to practise light, non-religious meditation or focusing. Pam Boaden, a hypnotherapist, has kindly allowed us to offer two of her relaxation sessions as audio files. These are based on the work of Dan Custer in The Miracle of Mind Power (Glendale CA: Westwood Publishing Co, 1960):