Acupuncture for Emotional Support

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we see emotions as the biggest factor in internal disharmony, meaning imbalances that aren't caused by outside influences like injury or pathogens. Everyone experiences an array of emotions every day, and this expression of different feelings is healthy and normal. However when an emotion is too intense, isn't fully expressed (i.e. "bottling up" anger), or endures for too long, the body will react, often with physical symptoms. 

If you suffer from anxiety, grief, depression, over-thinking, worry, fear, or anger and can't seem to "get out of it," TCM is a useful tool in guiding the body, mind, and spirit back into balance. We say tool because sometimes TCM alone won't be enough. When your acupuncturist goes through your health history with you, she might make recommendations about meditation, counseling, exercise, or other therapies in addition to advising treatment with acupuncture, herbal medicine, and diet. Acupuncture guides the body to heal itself, regulates the stress and "feel-good" chemicals in the body, promotes relaxation, manages physical symptoms, and can even clear the head of busy thoughts and bring focus to what the underlying issues really are, but a lot of times it's up to you, the patient, to dig up the root cause of your suffering and release it in your own way. Acupuncture can facilitate that process and works very well with other methods of treatment, including medications. 

Acupuncture puts the body into the opposite "rest and digest" state. The needles tell the body to calm down and relax, and patients are often surprised at how easy it is to fall asleep during their treatments. With continued treatments the body becomes used to being calm again, and the organ systems begin to function normally, no longer needing to adjust for the anticipation of stress. In this way TCM can provide both immediate and long-term relief.

Photo credits: Sarah Anna Hansen Photography