Anxiety... Acupuncture Can Help!
Having trouble combatting anxiety? Conventional treatments not working? Learn how acupuncture may be a solution...
Anxiety - A Common Concern
Struggling with anxiety is a common concern for many people. As various daily stressors to extreme traumatic events arise in life, the body’s response is to “fight or flight”. Such a response comes from the sympathetic nervous system trying its best to protect. But this protective response can get into an unhealthy loop and patterns of anxiety can wreak havoc with our ability to relax, cope, and function properly.
Anxiety can feel different for each person. It can result in fatigue, nervousness, trembling, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal issues, difficulty concentrating and much more. These can be related to a perceived stressful occurrence in life or directly linked to a specific disorder.
Acupuncture Can Help!
The good news is that Traditional Chinese Medicine has proven to be effective at treating the sympathetic nervous system, leading to an alleviation of suffering related to anxiety. The ancient TCM practice of acupuncture is a safe and reliable way to exchange anxiety for calm. Acupuncture specifically involves inserting small needs into meridian points to unblock the flow of Qi. According to TCM theory, the body contains a flow of vital life energy called Qi. Acupuncture helps to release blockages of Qi, brings natural homeostasis and restores function to the nervous system.
Research has shown that acupuncture can:
have beneficial effects in treating those with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Yang et al., 2021)
improve symptoms of anxiety for women suffering with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (Carvalho, 2013)
Help alleviate preoperative anxiety which refers to anxiety concerning an upcoming surgery (Tong et al., 2020)
Reduce anxiety in women following embryo transfer (Smith et al., 2019)
Acupuncture can help reduce anxiety for all of the above circumstances and any other source of stress. It is difficult to avoid certain forms of anxiety when things feel out of our control. Acupuncture is an easy way to adjust the “fight or flight” response when self-will won’t do the trick.
When anxiety becomes difficult to regulate, consider acupuncture to shift your state!
References
Carvalho, F., Weires, K., Ebling, M., Padilha, M., Ferrão, Y. A., & Vercelino, R. (2013). Effects of acupuncture on the symptoms of anxiety and depression caused by premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Acupuncture in Medicine : Journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, 31(4), 358–363. https://doi.org/10.1136/acupmed-2013-010394
Smith, C. A., de Lacey, S., Chapman, M., Ratcliffe, J., Norman, R. J., Johnson, N. P., & Fahey, P. (2019). The effects of acupuncture on the secondary outcomes of anxiety and quality of life for women undergoing IVF: A randomized controlled trial. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 98(4), 460–469. https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.13528
Tong, Q. Y., Liu, R., Zhang, K., Gao, Y., Cui, G. W., & Shen, W. D. (2021). Can acupuncture therapy reduce preoperative anxiety? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Integrative Medicine, 19(1), 20-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joim.2020.10.007
Yang, X. Y., Yang, N. B., Huang, F. F., Ren, S., & Li, Z. J. (2021). Effectiveness of acupuncture on anxiety disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Annals of General Psychiatry, 20(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-021-00327-5