How Acupuncture Can Help with Anxiety, Stress and Depression

Problems at work? Stomach in knots? Constant headache? Tight neck and shoulders? Anxious? Unable to sleep? Drinking too much? Uncontrollable acne? Don’t feel well but your doctor cannot identify a reason? You may be too stressed. In both the workplace and at home, stress cannot be avoided, it can be confronted and controlled.

To a degree, stress is normal and even expected. The body responds to stress with a series of reactions designed to improve strength, energy and alertness. These reactions, known as the stress response, include faster heart and breathing rates, higher blood pressure and increased muscle tension. For brief periods, the stress response is helpful.

However, when stress becomes chronic, this healthy response can produce anxiety, insomnia, depression, exhaustion, acne, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, headaches, muscle pain and even panic attacks. Chronic stress can also compromise the body’s immune system. Some studies indicate that as many as 60-90% of visits to ‘health care professions’ are for stress-related conditions.

What is the solution? There is no standard bottled formula for stress. To cope with stress, people often use “quick fixes” – alcohol, cigarettes, food and medications. Unfortunately, these “solutions” can be toxic. Antidepressants and anti- anxiety medications, although often prescribed to reduce stress, offer at best, only limited short-term relief and at worst, produce intolerable side effects and dependence.

Unlike medications and “quick fixes,” acupuncture can provide an effective tool for stress management. Most importantly, when performed correctly, acupuncture is extremely safe, minimally invasive and has no toxic side effects. Many acupuncture patients wean themselves from their anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications.

Acupuncture is not a panacea. It will not change the circumstances of a person’s life, but it will usually produce a feeling of well-being, enabling the person to better handle difficult situations. As the heavy feelings of stress resolve, a renewed confidence strengthens the ability to cope with life’s pressures.