Acupuncture provides tremendous support in resolving anxiety

For millions of people in Western societies, anxiety has become a regular part of their lives. The feeling of being overwhelmed and having no control of your life can result in apprehension about the future, uneasiness, obsessive thoughts, sweating, and palpitations.

Acupuncture Can Help with Anxiety
A lot of acupuncturists have successfully treated patients who firmly believed they have exhausted every option after finding counseling and drugs to be ineffective in treating their anxiety. Most of these patients only try acupuncture as a last resort. It is found that aromatherapy, counseling, Qi Gong, Chinese herbs, and other traditional Chinese medicine modalities can provide tremendous support in resolving the underlying causes of this problem. These modes of therapy are much less invasive and much more comprehensive then taking SSRI drugs. They all take into account not only the biochemical factors of the patient, but also his/her spiritual, nutritional, and energetic aspects, as well.

A little less than 40 million Americans suffer from chronic anxiety depression and almost all of them are taking prescription antidepressants. These drugs may have certain benefits and can provide support for some, but others don’t benefit well from this type of treatment. Some of the reasons for this are:

-Some of the patients believe that their anxiety is not caused by a biochemical imbalance but by some kind of spiritual problem

-Hypersensitivity to the extremely potent nature of the drug

-A developed tolerance to the drug that results in the diminution of its potency

-Side effects that outweigh the drug’s benefits

Acupuncture
A component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has been used as far back as 3,000 years ago, acupuncture balances the energetic levels of the human mind and body. A lot of people are surprised when I tell them that acupuncture is more often than not an incredible relaxing therapy that establishes and/or restores normal balance to the central nervous system. Patients feel sleepy, dreamy, relaxed, or altered after the end of the treatment. Initially this feeling lingers around for a few hours but with repetitive treatments, it starts to become longer and more common. Acupuncture helps balance the circulation of vital energy known as Qi, in the body. Weak kidney or heart qi can lead to anxiety which can lead to symptoms such as nightmares, irritability, insomnia, heart palpitations, and low back pain.

Yoga and Meditation
Regular practitioners of yoga and meditation find these activities to be incredibly helpful for the treatment of anxiety. Various yoga postures and breathing techniques can be achieved with regular practice making people feel that they now have a better handle of their anxiety thus making it less of a concern than what it used to be before. Yoga and meditation can bring balance to the nervous system. They also can help aid in forging a spiritual connection with our lives and the universe.

Nutrition
It is really important to keep your blood sugar at a normal level throughout the day. Most anxiety sufferers are hypoglycemic and so when it comes to nutritional needs, they need to eat or drink high protein foods and drinks such as such as turkey bacon, eggs, oats and goat protein or whey. The need to consume low-glycemic snacks every couple of hours. They should avoid refined carbohydrates coffee to start the day because it may cause them to ‘crash’ later in the afternoon. Abstaining from refined sugar, pasteurized dairy, gluten, and wheat for a month is advised to determine if the anxiety of the patient improves.

The following is a list of nutritional supplements that may aid in the treatment of anxiety:
-B vitamin complex
-Fish oil
-GABA
-5HTP

Essential Oil Therapy
The following is a short list of Essential oils considered potent for the treatment of anxiety disorders:
-Marjoram
-Jasmine
-Neroli
-Rose
-Chamomile
-Lavender

Chinese Herbs:
Several herbal Chinese formulas can work wonders for anxiety symptoms. Listed below are just a few of these formulas that acupuncturists and other TCM practitioners in Portland use to treat anxiety:

-Calm spirit formula
-Peaceful spirit formula
-Hsuan shao ren tang
-Amber and salvia
-Free and easy wanderer
-Heavenly emperor’s formula