Anxiety ▪
Depression ▪ Smoking Cessation ▪
Stress
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Traditional Chinese Medicine
is very effective at
treating problems of emotional health. Currently in the US, many patients are using acupuncture, herbal medicine, and homeopathic medicine to help combat stress, ease anxiety and
help restore a sense of joy in their lives. It can help resolve not only emotional discomfort, but the physical symptoms surrounding it, such as insomnia, digestive upset, fatigue and chronic pain.
Acupuncture by itself is very calming and there are many ways in which it works to help relax the
nervous system. If you are currently in some kind of therapy or counseling, acupuncture is a wonderful adjunct therapy to help support the work you are all ready doing with your therapist. Chinese herbs can be a helpful tool to naturally balance mood
swings, sleeplessness and many other symptoms.
Whether you are suffering from depression, anxiety, panic attacks or even stress, you can use Chinese
medicine to help not only relieve symptoms but permanently resolve your condition.
Most Americans are surprised to learn that acupuncture has been used in this country to treat
addictions for over thirty years. In 1974, Lincoln Hospital, located in the South Bronx in New York City, began a substance abuse program to replace methadone treatment with acupuncture. Over the next ten years Dr. Michael Smith developed a simple yet effective
acupuncture protocol that eliminated withdrawal symptoms and significantly decreased relapse rates. At first it was used solely on Methadone addicts, but then expanded in the treatment of all drug, alcohol and smoking addictions.
Based on the success of the Lincoln Hospital model, in 1985 the National Acupuncture Detoxification
Association (NADA) was formed as a national non-profit organization. Its mission is to train health care workers in various settings to use the NADA protocol as part of any substance abuse program. Today, people across the United States receive detoxification
acupuncture in hospitals, prison systems, through drug court alternative sentencing, alcohol and substance abuse counseling agencies and other private clinics.
Anxiety
Anxiety and panic disorders are
crippling problems. Symptoms can be as severe as a panic attack or as basic as an overall sense of feeling unsettled and anxious. Western treatments generally consist of drug therapies which are often extremely helpful but may have debilitating side effects.
Chinese Medicine provides safe and effective ways to relieve anxiety with both immediate and long-lasting results.
The sympathetic nervous system is the part of our body that is responsible for the “fight or flight”
response. Normal anxiety, stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system, has its root in fear and serves an important survival function. However, when anxiety occurs at inappropriate times, occurs frequently, or is so intense and long-lasting that it interferes
with a person’s normal activities, it is an indication that the sympathetic nervous system is over-working.
From a Chinese medical perspective, acupuncture works to restore a calm and centered state of mind.
Acupuncture points are inserted into specific locations in the body to help regulate the autonomic nervous system. When acupuncture needles are inserted into specific points, it has an immediate, regulatory effect on the nervous system. The parasympathetic
nervous system, which has a counter-balancing effect on the sympathetic nervous system, is stimulated so that the heart rate slows down and the body and mind can begin to relax. Treatments are relaxing and in general, you should experience almost immediate relief
of any acute symptoms.
The Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto performed a study on 18 adults with anxiety and
insomnia. After 5 weeks of acupuncture treatments, the patients experienced a significant reduction in the severity of their anxiety.
Whether you are having panic attacks or experience general anxiety, over the course of regular treatment,
symptoms will decrease in severity and frequency. How long or how often you will need to follow up depends on how long and how severely you experience anxiety. Once symptoms have been alleviated, monthly or quarterly treatments are helpful to maintain the
balance.
Depression
Acupuncture and Herbs are used all over the world to address issues of mental health. Depression is
extremely common and it varies in severity from one person to the next. Symptoms of bipolar disorder, mild to severe depression and general dysthymia are all treatable with Chinese Medicine. In fact, patients receiving treatment for depression will see improvements in the other symptoms they may be experiencing as a result of their depression, such as insomnia, fatigue, pain or others. For those people who would
like additional help in dealing with their depression, Chinese Medicine can be a safe and extremely effective therapy.
By allopathic medical standards, it is unclear how exactly acupuncture is able to effect depression.
However, there is growing evidence supporting acupuncture’s effectiveness in the treatment of depression. A study done by the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona found that acupuncture was effective in reducing relapse rates of women with
depression. In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, 26 women with major depression received regular acupuncture treatments for 8 weeks. At the conclusion of treatment, 17 women achieved full remission of their condition and only 4 of those women
experienced a relapse of their depression symptoms six months later. This small study suggests that acupuncture, when used specifically to treat depression, produces results that are comparable to other empirically validated treatments.
It is known that when acupuncture needles are inserted into the body, endorphins are released. Endorphins
act in the body as natural calming and pain-relieving agents. This helps with the emotional effects of depression, as well as the physical symptoms that can often accompany it. Acupuncture also helps to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby
helping to relax the body and mind. But the effects of acupuncture go beyond just working on the nervous system. The physical body, the emotions and the spirit are inextricably linked. Acupuncture has long been an effective method of treating these three levels
of the human being. Treatment incorporates, but is not limited to, addressing issues of neurotransmitter deficiencies; it works with the whole person to treat the physical, mental and emotional aspects of this condition.
Smoking Cessation
When a person decides to quit
smoking, various withdrawal symptoms occur. Emotional imbalances include irritability, anxiety, decreased threshold for stress, emotional outbursts, crying and/or a vague but strong sense of dis-ease. Physical symptoms vary greatly from increased food cravings,
constipation or diarrhea, insomnia, decreased energy, palpitations, night sweats, digestive discomfort, muscle tightness to dryness. These withdrawal symptoms occur as the body attempts to re-adjust itself to no longer processing nicotine and the various
addictive and harmful substances found in cigarettes. It takes most people at least two weeks to re-establish systemic harmony and feel at ease again without cigarettes, even though their bodies will continue to release and expel stored substances for months or
years to come. But it is the first two weeks that is the most difficult period for smokers to get through. After that it is usually emotional triggers (or reminders) that need to be dealt with to prevent relapses.
During an acupuncture session, patients are taught how to apply acupressure to the tiny seeds that are
placed on the ear. This gives people a proven tool to use on their own, to help decrease cravings and increase detoxification between treatments.
Stress
When you visit your doctor and
she/he tells you that your condition is being caused by stress, what does that really mean? A person can feel “stressed” at work or by their relationships; yet, stress is more than just an emotion that arises in certain situations. It is a state of being that,
over time, can have a serious physical impact on your health. Continuous stress can cause physical pain, insomnia, high blood pressure and any number of problems. If you are someone who deals with stress on a regular basis and are starting to feel its
consequences, you may benefit from a natural, holistic approach.
There are several ways that acupuncture reduces stress and restores the body. The first is that acupuncture is very relaxing. After
treatment, many people feel calm and at the same time restored to their more natural self. Secondly, while you are resting, the acupuncture needles are working to balance your whole body. For instance, if, because of stress, you experience chronic neck and
shoulder pain, the treatment will focus on relaxing muscle tension and increasing circulation to tight, ischemic areas. Or, if your reaction to stress is more emotional, treatments will help to balance mood swings and release pent-up feelings. If your health is
beginning to suffer because of stress and disease is occurring, acupuncture can treat and reduce or eliminate the problem (see specific disease conditions on this site to understand how acupuncture treats these problems). Finally, often times, because of long
term stress, many different symptoms are occurring at once. Acupuncture helps to address the origin of the problem, while at the same time reducing the painful symptoms that are affecting your health and well-being.
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