Many people primarily think of acupuncture for pain management and headaches, but the truth is that acupuncturists can help resolve mental-emotional issues as well.
Acupuncture for Stress
Acupuncture treatments affect the body across many different levels, including the function of the organ systems, cellular communication, and the signals between the brain and the nervous system. Acupuncture research has shown that treatment affects the brain and regulates the signals sent between neurons. It can balance and regulate the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which are responsible for the “fight or flight” response to stressful situations and the “rest and digest” response which allows for relaxation and optimal function of the organs. Imbalances between these systems can cause you to feel jittery or “wound up” because your nervous system has learned to be on-guard with an excess of the stress hormone cortisol. This overactive stress response becomes chronic and ultimately contributes to feelings of burnout as well as suboptimal function of your organ systems, since cellular energy production and regeneration depends on the parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode.
Relaxing acupuncture is effective for calming the nervous system, therefore it reduces the physiological symptoms that accompany anxiety and chronic stress. Acupuncture for panic attacks is also extremely helpful, as it can help your body re-learn how to manage stressful situations so you can live your life more fully without the experience of panic or fear.
Acupuncture for Hormones
Acupuncture for hormone balancing also reduces anxiety by reducing the production of cortisol in the body. This hormonal approach is also beneficial for other concerns such as menopause, fertility, and hypothyroid disease. This effect was confirmed by a clinical research study by Eshkevari at Georgetown University, published in the April 2013 Journal of Endocrinology.
Acupuncture for Depression
Furthermore, acupuncturists can help to re-balance the neurotransmitters in the brain such as serotonin, dopamine, and GABA. These neurotransmitters are the foundation of your emotional wellbeing, and deficiency or excess can contribute to depression and anxiety. Acupuncture research shows measurable changes in the levels of serotonin and dopamine following treatment. to improve the mood, reduce anxiety, regulate appetite, harmonize sleep patterns, and more. Natural medicine is an important part of this approach, and our South Asheville acupuncture clinic offers safe and effective supplements that support the neurotransmitter system to improve your outcomes and help you reach optimal wellbeing more quickly.
Chinese Acupuncture
So far we have covered the effects of acupuncture for anxiety from a western medical perspective, but many patients are also interested in understanding the Chinese medicine roots of this treatment system. This medical paradigm was developed thousands of years ago, at a time when people looked toward nature to understand the workings of the human body.
According to the Five Element philosophical system, each category of emotion is related to a certain organ in the body, and can therefore be understood in terms of balance or imbalance in that organ system. See below for Five Element correspondences that show relationship between organ systems, emotions, and physical symptoms.
Knowing the relationships between the emotions and the physical body helps the acupuncturist pinpoint the underlying imbalances that give rise to your symptoms. When treating from a Five Element perspective, the acupuncturist chooses acupoints along the pathway of the organ system that is out of balance. Choosing the correct points allows the treatment of the emotional manifestation at the same time as the physical symptom.
This allows for a customized treatment that takes into account your whole being. This is why we use the term holistic medicine, because we are considering the whole system including physical, mental, and emotional health as interdependent factors that cannot be separated. This means that one acupuncture treatment can address a multitude of symptoms at the same time, because it treats the underlying disharmony in the organ system instead of just numbing or masking the emotional manifestation of that disharmony. The result is longer-lasting results that create a greater sense of wellbeing and feeling comfortable and settled in your mind and body.
As we have seen, there are many ways of understanding how acupuncture works for the treatment of anxiety, depression, or emotional imbalance. Whether you consider the scientific perspective of regulating the nervous system and endocrine system, or whether you delve into the philosophical origins of the mind-body connection, the important point is that the treatment has reliable and measurable success. Does acupuncture work for anxiety? You can answer that question by receiving a series of relaxing treatments and feeling the results yourself!
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