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Acupuncture for anxiety

On this page

  1. Overview
  2. Symptoms
  3. Causes
  4. Treatment
  5. Factsheet

1. Overview

Anxiety is excessive worrying, often about things in the future, which haven't happened yet. It is classified as a mental health issue.

2. Symptoms

People can find being anxious a disability. They are unable to leave the house, go to work or use public transport. I've helped people with this level of anxiety lead a normal life again.

3. Causes

The mind lives in the future worrying about what's to come, whilst the body lives in the past, storing all our stresses and woes and the senses are in the now, where we live. Anxiety sufferers live a lot in the future and are not present in the now.

Thousands of years about, it was useful to be anxious when we lived in a more dangerous world, with predators and uncivilised people. Today, however we live in a world where there are less threats yet more people suffer from anxiety. This is probably due to technology.

Anxiety is a common generalized anxiety disorder in today's non-stop world and many people suffer from it. When it's left untreated, people can suffer from panic attacks.

With social media and the internet, people's minds are more over used than ever before. We have trained our minds to be addicted to information, cookies of data that it eats up like crack, unable to rest and switch off. Essentially, the mind becomes addicted to information, which causes anxiety.

The more we use our minds, the bigger it gets, like going to the gym and exercising a muscle to make it bigger. Instead of making it bigger, we need to make the mind smaller, so it stays fresh and agile for problem solving. If the mind becomes too big it can weaken the body and uses up a lot of energy. In traditional Chinese medicine this is an imbalance of mind, body and spirit.

Anxiety can be caused by an underlying health issue, such as a lack of blood. This is one type of anxiety. Women can be more anxious when they are on their period as they are losing blood.

4. Acupuncture for anxiety

Conventional treatment to relieve anxiety symptoms is anti-depressants. People can take this medication for several years.

A lot of people take prescription drugs to reduce their anxiety. However, they can have side effects. Alternative treatments include acupuncture, an alternative medicine, which is very effective at reducing stress and treating anxiety even when it's severe anxiety. Acupuncture helps to calm the mind and reduce anxiety. Specific acupuncture points are stimulated for anxiety relief. Scientific evidence shows that acupuncture works on the sympathetic nervous system thereby reducing anxiety.

Other activities such as mindfulness or meditation can be used to help the effects of acupuncture treatment and reduce the size of the mind and anxiety. Also, not watching the news helps to reduce stress and anxiety as most news is bad news.

To make sure you are getting the best treatment option always see a licensed acupuncturist.

5. Anxiety factsheet

For further information, read the acupuncture for anxiety factsheet.

References

Wang, S, et al. Auricular Acupuncture: A Potential Treatment for Anxiety. Anesthesia & Analgesia: February 2001 - Volume 92 - Issue 2 - p 548-553. doi: 10.1213/00000539-200102000-00049
Wang, S, et al. The Use of Auricular Acupuncture to Reduce Preoperative Anxiety. Anesthesia & Analgesia: November 2001 - Volume 93 - Issue 5 - p 1178-1180. doi: 10.1097/00000539-200111000-00024
Sniezek, D, et al. Acupuncture for Treating Anxiety and Depression in Women: A Clinical Systematic Review. 2013 - Medical AcupunctureVol. 25, No. 3. doi: 10.1089/acu.2012.0900
Errington-Evans, N, et al. Acupuncture for Anxiety. CNS - Volume18, Issue4, April 2012. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-5949.2011.00254.x
Eich H, et al. Acupuncture in patients with minor depressive episodes and generalized anxiety. Results of an experimental study. Fortschritte der Neurologie-psychiatrie, 01 Mar 2000, 68(3):137-144. DOI: 10.1055/s-2000-11624
Pilkington, K. Anxiety, depression and acupuncture: A review of the clinical research. Autonomic Neuroscience - Volume 157, Issues 1-2, 28 October 2010, Pages 91-95. doi: 10.1016/j.autneu.2010.04.002
Warren Spence, D, et al. Acupuncture Increases Nocturnal Melatonin Secretion and Reduces Insomnia and Anxiety: A Preliminary Report. Neuropsychiatry - Volume 16 Issue 1 February 2004, Pages 19-28.
Matthias, K, et al. Auricular Acupuncture for Dental Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Anesthesia & Analgesia: February 2007 - Volume 104 - Issue 2 - p 295-300. doi: 10.1213/01.ane.0000242531.12722.fd