How Acupuncture Treats Stress
Stress seems to be an unavoidable part of life, especially with the recent events of the 2020 pandemic. Our natural stress responses, including increased heart rate, blood pressure, mental sharpness, and focus, allow us to respond in emergencies. With so much additional mental strain and tension in your daily lives, you can turn to acupuncture for stress and anxiety relief to bring you emotional balance and physical health.
In small doses, stress can help when it comes to us engaging in and accomplishing tasks. However, when you are always stressed, the stress chemicals our bodies release (like cortisol, adrenaline, norepinephrine) can cause harm over time. Common effects of chronic stress could include:
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Upset stomach, nausea, heartburn, or other gut issues
Increased heart rate or chest pain
Loss or reduced sexual function
Clenched jaw or teeth grinding
Tension in the neck and shoulder muscles
Constant worry or racing thoughts
When stress is chronic, you are higher for depression and anxiety, heart attack and heart disease, obesity, eating disorders, and more severe gut problems like GERD, colitis, and IBS.
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An Acupuncturist’s Approach to Stress
Acupuncture treatment sessions are useful for relieving severe anxiety and can provide mental health benefits for frontline healthcare workers. Healthcare workers on the frontline deal with overwhelming tasks as they handle patient care. OF course, it is not surprising that they are experiencing increased stress, along with depression and anxiety.
To restore the body’s stress equilibrium, the use of fine needles inserted just under the skin can help stimulate the body’s acupressure points and meridians. Acupuncture improves the flow of Qi or vital energy within our systems. After an extensive evaluation, we will determine the best points to place the needles on your body. These needles are so subtle that you will barely feel less than a small pinch.
Acupuncture is a drug-free treatment modality, so you do not have to worry about the side effects many drugs have or that there will be adverse reactions with your current medications. This therapy assists the nervous system in achieving balance, alleviating stress and anxiety symptoms. In addition to regulating those pleasure neurotransmitters in your brain, it can also decrease stress markers and lower blood pressure (overall anxiety treatment). Acupuncturists have brought people relief and balance for thousands of years.