It's incredible how many people still believe that acupuncture is only for hipsters. However, the reality is that more and more researchers have been showing that acupuncture can actually help treat a wide range of conditions including stress and anxiety.
The truth is that anxiety disorders are growing each year. This is the most common type of mental illness and it is said that about 30% of the world population experiences an anxiety disorder at some point during their lives.
You should keep in mind that there are many different anxiety disorders. Some are clinical and others non-clinical. Clinical anxiety disorders usually have similar signs and symptoms. These may include:
Non-clinical anxiety is considered a natural and normal reaction to specific types of circumstances or events you may encounter. For example, when you are faced with a threat, you may feel anxiety. This is just your body reacting and activating your protective mechanism. But not all anxiety comes from bad moments. It can also appear in good moments as well. You may feel anxious before the birth of a child or before your wedding, for example.
Simply put, you need to see if the anxiety is proportional to the problem and if it ends when the situation ends. When it's not, you need to treat it and you can do so by turning to acupuncture.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the Qi, which is an energy force, regulates your body’s overall health. Just like blood in the circulatory system, Qi moves throughout the body via meridians. When factors like injury, stress, poor nutrition, or a change in environment disrupt the flow of Qi, health issues follow.
The problem can be tackled by inserting needles at specific points in the body. When this is done, acupuncturists restore the balance of Qi and the body’s overall health.
But more than this, traditional Chinese medicine is individualized and unique medicine that treats each patient according to his or her unique needs. This means that all treatments are tailored to each patient’s specific signs and symptoms, medical history, constitutional tendencies, and other relevant lifestyle factors.
This means that two patients who have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder might receive different treatments and they may not even share the same diagnosis.
One of the best things about using acupuncture to treat anxiety and stress is that it works. Some studies have been conducted showing that this link exists. For example, in a study published in October 2013 in the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, students who underwent a 20-minute acupuncture session were found to have less anxiety and better memory immediately afterward than those who didn't have acupuncture.
Overall speaking, acupuncture slows the body’s production of stress hormones which also decreases anxiety.
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