Acupuncture for Anxiety

Constant stress at the workplace, among your peers, and at home can lead to persistent problems of anxiety. Anxiety is often defined as a constant state of fear related to an object or situation.

Although mild forms of anxiety can affect anyone, there are a large number of people who are now afflicted with chronic anxiety disorders and general anxiety disorders. This overwhelming feelings of depression and anxiety leads not only as a social and mental impairment but can have a negative effect on your health as well.

Acupuncture is known to be an effective remedy for reducing anxiety and stress-related disorders in people. Usually used as a safe and effective method of relieving pain by aiding the release of powerful endorphins, acupuncture is known to harmonize and calm the sympathetic nervous system of the body.

The age-old Chinese oriental medicine has regarded the mind and body connection as an inseparable and a deep one. While external factors do cause quite a number of problems, the mental and emotional problems are associated with the five Yin organs of the body.

When there is an imbalance in the organ, then the emotions such as anger, worry, stress, and joy develop over a period of time. Acupuncture treatment seeks to address these Yin imbalances in the body and prevent the diseases that may afflict the diseased organs.

The acupuncture theory and method seeks to balance both the mental and physical manifestations of this condition returning you to an easy-going life. The needles create a sense of relaxation and calm during the course of the treatment, allowing not just the body but also the mind to rest and heal.

Anxiety attacks are often accompanied by physical health problems such as chest pain, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, stomach ache, nausea, and headache. Depending on these health conditions and other manifestation of problems, the acupuncturist can determine the pattern of anxiety that afflicts you and decide on a suitable treatment for it.

The treatments using acupuncture use both the body treatments as well as the ear or auricular acupuncture treatments to heal the imbalances of the heart and kidney. The heart is considered a Yang energy source so over-excitement can create "heat" in the heart. This leads to feelings of insomnia and anxiety.

While the heart is considered as the fire organ, kidney is the water organ that seeks to cool the excess "fire" in the heart. An imbalance or deficiency in the kidney can lead to the excess heart "fire" disturbing the mind and leading to anxiety attacks.

To harmonize the imbalances occurring in the body, acupuncture treatment points include the kidney, heart, and the spleen. This allows the positive Yin energy to cool the organs.

To soothe the excessive heat in the heart, the heart points eight and nine are considered the soothing points. In addition to the body acupuncture treatments, auricular points such as the spirit gate can reduce the anxiety.

One of the persistent anxiety disorders is depression which can feel more like constant exhaustion and lack of energy. In oriental medicine, depression is the result of "Yu" imbalances in the body. In this case, the primary Yin organ is the liver. The heart and the spleen have secondary roles to play in this case.

Since liver is the primary source of Qi (energy) as the energy organ in the body, a malfunction can result in low energy levels and other sleep and digestion problems. For allowing the circulation of Qi ,The Four Gates are targeted.

Acupuncture helps in releasing the endorphins and serotonin in the body and improves the blood circulation of the body. It also helps in lowering blood pressure and decreasing the heart rate.