The Emotional Detox

In the hotel industry, detox retreats are growing in number and boast many benefits. Our modern lifestyles come with great perks, but also a deeper need to look after our wellbeing. Detoxing is a good way of enhancing our wellness and anyone who’s experienced a spa detox programme will tell you, that upon completion they have felt more svelte, energised and uplifted. These health benefits are the result of positive dietary changes and various detoxification methods, as well as physical and emotional reactions.

Whilst most people are familiar with the physical detox symptoms, such as headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, breakouts and digestion issues; less commonly understood is the emotional release. Understanding and supporting this response is imperative for any spa that seeks to maximise the benefits of their detox offerings.

Those who have completed a detox may anticipate discomfort and physical symptoms due to toxicity cleansing from their system. However, during this process, associated emotions can also come to the surface and need to be felt and processed: Fear, anger, irritability, sadness and grief are the most common emotions known to arise during a detox. These, in turn, can cause further physical and emotional symptoms, which often get worse before they get better. This is known as the ‘healing crisis’. It is vital to understand this process fully, as well as to be supported and guided by an experienced therapist, both during the detox programme and after the retreat. It is also important to know that emotional release is part of the healing journey and should not to be supressed, medicated or overanalysed.

In fact, in the East, detox reactions are viewed positively, as a release of both stored toxins and stagnant emotions. According to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), emotions are directly connected to organs in the body. This is a truly holistic view, which is important to be aware of during a detox. The liver is the main organ of detoxification. The liver is associated with anger, irritability, resentment and rage. As you cleanse and clear away old toxic debris from your body, this will tax the liver, making the subject of detox more susceptible angry and irritability. If you have the right emotional and therapeutic support during and after your detox programme, such as being advised on the best emotional release for you, then you will feel calmer.

Hoteliers should be looking to train spa staff to fully appreciate these facts, in order to put them in the best possible position to support their intensive detox clients, both during the cleansing process and after they return home. Here are five strategies for handling the emotional rollercoaster:

1. Learn From Your Emotions

Do not resist your emotions, as whatever you resist persists! Each emotion has a positive intention and message. It wants to be heard, felt, addressed and released. We feel anger when our values, boundaries and agreements have been violated. Once we openly communicate these without the expectations of others to read our mind, the emotion goes away. Sadness can arise when we perceive to have lost something or feel that something is missing. Crying provides a soothing release of stored sadness and grief.

2. Prepare for the Detox Progress

It is vital that you prepare for the detox both physically and emotionally. This means ensuring that all your routes of elimination are functioning well and booking extra time off after your retreat. A colonic is great for escorting the toxins out of your body. Drink plenty of water and spa detox teas. Do only light exercise and yoga. Remember that detox is taxing on the body, so ensure that you get plenty of rest and sleep. This will also make the emotional release smoother.

3. Observe your emotions

Instead of identifying with your emotions and attaching meaning or judgement by saying, “I am an angry person,” Buddhists have a lovely way of doing it by saying, “I am with anger”. This enables you to disassociate from the emotion, to see it from another perspective, and to release it.

4. Get out of your head and into your body

When we are stuck inside our heads, we are more likely to over-analyse and become emotional. Our emotions hijack our brains and we cannot process our thoughts clearly. Deep abdominal breathing connects us to our bodies, makes us feel more centred and better able to process emotions.

5. Get the right support during and after detox

Remember that you can experience an emotional release not just during but also after your detox retreat. This is why having the right therapeutic support such as emotional freedom therapy, neuro-linguistic programming, CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), hypnotherapy and coaching, both during and after your detox programme, is absolutely vital. It will help to ease your symptoms, to balance your emotions, to maximise the benefits of the whole detox experience and most importantly, to empower you to improve the quality of your life.

Akcelina Cvijetic Dip NN Reg CCH MPNLP TFT Dx

Wellbeing Specialist & Performance Coach

Bio: Akcelina Cvijetic is the Ultimate Wellbeing Specialist™ who uses a multi-disciplinary approach of Eastern and Western therapies to treat your mind, body and spirit. These therapies include: Nutritional Therapy, Thought Field Therapy (TFT), Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Clinical Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching.

After a thorough dietary and lifestyle assessment, she will create a bespoke programme to enhance your health, beauty, weight loss, energy levels, emotional equilibrium and spiritual wisdom. What you get when you see Akcelina is the Ultimate Wellbeing Experience™.

Akcelina has done years of research and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. She is a nutritionist extraordinaire and an unbeatable expert on natural supplements. Her expertise, inner wisdom and warm, nurturing personality make her clients feel special. After a session with Akcelina, you feel refreshed, inspired and empowered to tackle anything!

Having grown up with a nutritionist mother and a naturopathically inclined grandmother means Akcelina’s holistic health knowledge is in her genes. She is greatly passionate about her calling and works with utmost integrity. Because she has been through many challenging personal and professional experiences herself, she is able to share her wisdom and provide the support and advice you need. Due to her skillful use of hypnotherapy, life coaching, NLP, TFT, she is able to enhance your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing. Her highly personalized recommendations are simple, practical, effective, easy to follow and incorporate into your lifestyle.

With a flourishing private practice in prestigious Harley Street, Akcelina is sought after by business people, celebrities and royalty. As well as running her busy practice, she is also a columnist who writes a health column for the luxury lifestyle magazine Hi Living. In addition, she gives regular talks and workshops to large audiences both in the UK and abroad.