Anxiety can make you feel like death is near. It can shorten your breath and make your heart race. Terrible thoughts may even flood your mind. If you’ve experienced anxiety, you probably know just how helpless it can make you feel.
Luckily, there’s a way to treat anxiety without popping pills. Acupuncture is one of the oldest ways to effectively treat anxiety, and it comes with little side effects. If you’re interested in acupuncture and want to learn about using it to treat your anxiety, our experts at Family Wellness Acupuncture can help. We explain this ancient form of medicine that provides endless health benefits.
Acupuncture involves inserting tiny needles into strategic points of your body to help alleviate pain, stress, and anxiety. Traditional Chinese medicine describes the technique as a way to create harmony within your energy (also called qi or chi) which flows through various pathways in your body.
This practice of inserting needles into specific points is believed to help balance your energy and promote self-healing. One of the ways acupuncture is specifically used to treat anxiety is by placing the needles in areas which activate your brain’s emotions.
Research shows that acupuncture is a beneficial treatment in reducing anxiety. A study published in the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies showed that patients who underwent acupuncture experienced less anxiety and improved memory compared to participants who didn’t receive acupuncture. Another study, involving rats as subjects, also linked acupuncture to reduced anxiety.
Researchers believe that acupuncture helps regulate one’s “fight or flight” process which is often associated with anxiety. It may also promote healthy changes in neurotransmitters, the autonomic nervous system, and immune function.
One of the best reasons to try acupuncture for anxiety is because you don’t have to take unnecessary medications. Many of the medications used to treat anxiety have unwanted side effects like dry mouth, drowsiness, nausea, and depression. Plus, anxiety medications can be addictive, and they fill your body with unnatural chemicals. The types of drugs often prescribed for anxiety may make you not feel like yourself anymore.
Besides treating anxiety, acupuncture has many other health benefits. That means while you reduce your anxiety with acupuncture you can also address pain, migraines, depression, and allergies. Most patients experience increased relaxation and improved mood from acupuncture that extends to days or even weeks following the session.
Unlike medications or other forms of therapy, patients often see an improvement in their mental and physical health even after the first session. That means you may save time and money by experiencing change right away.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest forms of traditional Chinese medicine and is a completely natural way to promote healing, so your body won’t be exposed to harmful chemicals that are found in many other medical procedures.
Make a positive change for your mental health today. Call one of our offices in Irvine or Newport Beach, California, to schedule your acupuncture appointment. Or you can book online while you’re here on the website.
