Can Acupuncture Help My Anxiety?
Acupuncture is a mind-body medicine. When treating a person, we do not separate physical and mental symptoms, but rather, we look at how they are connected and address them both during our treatments. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, many physical symptoms have their roots in emotional and spiritual imbalances. Oftentimes, when someone comes in with a “purely” physical complaint, we can find emotional factors involved that are either an underlying problem, or at least exacerbating the condition. By treating both physical and emotional realms, we provide long-term relief and optimized well-being.
Acupuncture has been shown to regulate neurotransmitter and hormone levels in the body. Unlike pharmaceuticals which tend to push these levels up or down, acupuncture works to encourage the body to balance these hormones on its own. This also explains why acupuncture rarely causes any side-effects, as it is working with the body, instead of forcing the body in any particular direction.
Acupuncture treatments have also been shown to reduce the fight or flight response by calming down the autonomic nervous system. This helps to address the physical symptoms of anxiety such as shortness of breathe, shakiness, tension, difficulty focusing, and even digestive symptoms and headaches.
