Yep, I was just chatting with a friend about our experience with this kind of thing; each of us has done large amounts of subconscious healing work over many ye

Yep, I was just chatting with a friend about our experience with this kind of thing; each of us has done large amounts of subconscious healing work over many years, and each of us has experienced some (at-times quite serious, in my case) anxiety as we progressed, to the point where you really start to question whether it's beneficial or if it's doing more harm than good. With continued work things turned around, and each of us can now confidently say we're better for having done it, but it's very tough when you're in the thick of it. This phenomenon is well known in traditional/unconventional healing practices; it's often referred to as the "dark night of the soul" or in Jung philosophy it's the confrontation and integration of the "shadow" [1]. In their work with LSD and holotropic breathwork, Christina and Stan Grof described this as part of what they called the "spiritual emergency" [2]. For me it was the developing awareness about the worst aspects of myself and feeling great shame over past actions and fear of committing wrong deeds in the future. It started passing when I was able to start forgiving and accepting myself and trusting that I could function in the world without succumbing to destructive impulses. But that work is ongoing. One thing it makes me realise is that it's unwise to proselytise this kind of work to others, as you may be pushing them to undertake a journey they're not ready for. People really have to be highly self-motivated, in order to be able to endure the most challenging parts of such a journey. [1] https://healthypsych.com/navigating-the-dark-night-of-the-soul/ https://healthypsych.com/navigating-the-dark-night-of-the-so... [2] https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Spiritual-Emergency%3A-The-Understanding-and-of-Grof-Grof/6ab67d26226533a24dc81a29686d6e1d9791b400 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Spiritual-Emergency%3A...