I recently completed a 28-day detox recommended by my chiropractor / functional medicine doctor. The program helps reset/reboot your body by safely and effectively clearing it of toxins. As expected, I experienced the usual detox symptoms like fatigue, slight nausea, sleep disturbance, acne/breakouts, and brain fog. An unexpected symptom for me, however, was the emotional experiences associated with old memories that arose while on the program. Guilt, sadness, and empathy were among those felt emotions.
Seemingly random memories from my youth came up. I thought of some friends from elementary school through college that I lost touch with and wondered what became of them. I even tried to find them on Facebook.
Thinking of one of my grade school friends, I recalled how we had lost touch when we got older and went to different schools. Her mom asked me to come to a birthday party she was throwing for her daughter. I said I would, but then didn’t show up. I felt awkward because we hadn’t talked in a long time, yet I felt guilty that I missed the party after I said I would go. This probably happened thirty years ago.
On another occasion, I began to feel empathy for my late mom who experienced a betrayal. While I sympathized with her when it happened, it wasn’t until this detox program that I put myself in her shoes and imagined her pain. I felt bad that I wasn’t able to hold space for my mom and her emotions back then. Initially, she was vocal about what happened, but eventually stopped talking about it. It saddened me to think how she may have internalized her experience and felt alone or not heard.
Detoxing for me helped with my energy and brought mental clarity, among other benefits. It also recalled memories I thought were long forgotten and allowed for forgiveness and healing.
