Overview
Neurasthenia is a degeneration of cerebration ability resulted from psychic uapprehensiveness or trauma, long-term mental work load and insufficient sleep. The key feature of neurasthenia is mental excitement, aneuria and physical fatigue with any kind of soma discomfortableness and dyssomnia but has no foundation of structure disease. Neurasthenia is seen more commonly in intellectual workers. The onset of the disease is related to excessive contemplation, disorder of overtiredness and easefulness, innate weakness of the body or deuteropathic infirmity, Insufficiency of vital energy and blood in heart and spleen or asthenic yin causing excessive pyrexia, failure of the heart, kidney integrating as well as stagnation of Qi due to depression of the liver and internal stagnation of phlegm even blood stasis obstructing collaterals due to chronic disease are frequently seen in clinic. Make sure to discriminate deficiency and excess and recognize the location.

Treatment
1. Sishenchong (EX-HN1)
Insert the needle tip backward into the four points with a needling angle of 15°. Perform mild reinforcing-reducing method or reinforcing method. Electronic needle can be added after acupuncture, using saw-tooth wave and stimulating slightly for 20-30 minutes. 10 times form one course of treatment, one time per day or every other day.

2. Amnian (EX-HN)
EX-HN is an extra point located at the midpoint of the connecting line of EX-HN14 and GB20 in the posterior hair margin. After sterilized, puncture a 2 cun filiform needle vertically into the point. Then rotate the needle to diffuse the needling sensation peripherally. Retain the needle for 30 minutes. 10 times form one course of treatment, one time per day. Point-injection therapy can also be used. Angelica injection 4 ml, 2 ml for each point is used in the treatment. 10 times form one course of treatment, one time every other day.

3. Subcortex (AT 4)
AT4 is an ear point using needle-embedding therapy. After sterilize the ala auris, prick the intradermal imbedding needle vertically into the unilateral point, and fixed by coated fabrics. Tell the patients to press 3 times a day, each point 1 minute a time. Especially press the point the time before nap or sleep at night to feel the gas pain in the ear. The embedding needle should be replaced every 1-3 days, and do on each ear alternatively.

Note
The cause of Neurasthenia is always long. Patients are sensitive to the stimuli outside. So the points selection should be as few and accurate as possible, the acupuncture manipulation soft and light. The treatment can be combined with moxibustion, and has comparable efficacy.