Due to hectic lifestyles and various life issues of today’s world, many people face depression and anxiety issues nowadays. Some people believe that it is possible to use acupuncture for anxiety and depression related problems.
For those who are wondering about acupuncture, it is an alternative medicine, which originates from China. Dating back to 5,000 years ago, it also includes other areas such as diet, lifestyle and herbology counseling for treatment purposes. Considering the strong link between the body and mind, the state of the mind may influence a person’s physical health.
Since physical health can also affect a person’s emotions or mind, anxiety and depression could be the result. Without proper treatment and care, anxiety and depression may cause other serious physical sicknesses especially after some time. Even simple worries are classified as anxiety issues. Ones that are more serious are like post-traumatic stress and panic attacks. If a person suffers from chest pain, shortness of breath and a higher heart beat rate, these could be indications of anxiety.
Normally, the pulse and tongue of a person are checked to determine the pattern of anxiety in acupuncture. In most of the anxiety cases, it involves the heart and kidney. In acupuncture, heart is considered as the Fire Organ while kidney is categorized as the Water Organ. Hence, both of them need to be kept in balance. If there is excess of Fire, much heat is caused in the body, causing disturbances of the mind.
Anxiety can be treated by using body or auricular acupuncture. In the case of depression, it is estimated that twenty percent of a population suffers from depression at one point or another. Some of the physical symptoms are extreme tiredness and the feeling of lack of energy. In acupuncture, the liver is considered responsible for distributing vital energy.
Vital energy is normally called as qi in acupuncture. For depression cases, the primary focus is on the liver followed by the heart and spleen. If the flow of vital energy from the liver is low, it causes many problems like lack of sleep, indigestion and low energy level. There are more or less 14 main channels or rivers of energy from the liver.
The cause of low vital energy flow could be due to a stagnant or blocked area in the body. As such, the objective is to bring about proper energy flow into the affected area of energy. The blocked area is unblocked for proper energy flow from the liver. For better results, taking any mind and body exercises such as yoga, tai chi and qi gong with regular acupuncture treatments would be a good idea.
Normally, hair thin and sterile needles are used in acupuncture. These needles are usually not used twice. Although it might seem painful with the using of needles but generally, acupuncture is painless. Apart from treating anxiety and depression, acupuncture can also be used for treating other illnesses. It has been practiced in the East for years to cure many forms of ailments faced by people, bringing back their vitality and energy.
An experienced acupuncturist can use acupuncture for stress and anxiety. Acupuncture is defined by ancient principles and is natural and safe.