Anxiety

Do you experience anxiety with such frequency and/or intensity that it interferes with your daily well-being? People experience anxiety differently but common symptoms include: 

• feelings of panic, fear, or general unease 

• difficulty sleeping 

• heart palpitations 

• racing thoughts

• inability to be still 

• muscle tension 

• nausea 

• dizziness 

• rumination and worry 

If you are exhausted by all this and longing for peace there is hope.  Acupuncture is extremely effective in relieving anxiety and there are no negative side effects.  In a recent study of the effect of acupuncture on Generalized Anxiety Disorder researchers note that “a number of meta-analysis and system evaluations point out that acupuncture treatment has more advantages than drugs in the treatment of anxiety disorders.”

Depression

Depression is the thief of joy.  It can make formerly happy people feel like nothing is good in their world and they have no energy to do anything about it.  I have had patients tell me they are too depressed to cry, that they just feel empty.  If you feel this way you are far from alone.  Whether you have lost your joie de vivre, or joy of life, or are filled with angst, despair and an overwhelming sadness or are brooding and stuck in your thinking acupuncture can address the root cause of depression and get you on your way to feeling a greater sense of peace and emotional lightness.

Traumatic Stress

As a former social worker who spent over 20 years working in the arena of sexual violence I am very familiar with the impact of trauma on the body, mind and spirit. We hold trauma memories in our body, often unconsciously, and acupuncture can offer a way of healing that trauma on a deep level.  Regardless of the nature of your traumatic experience and whether it happened recently or long ago it can impact the quality of your daily life. Some common manifestations of traumatic stress include: 

• feeling unsafe or ill at ease

• startling easily or being hypersensitive to your environment

• difficulty concentrating 

• sleep difficulties and nightmares

• intrusive thoughts, visual images, sounds or smells

• feeling numb and disconnected

• easily irritated or enraged

• feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt or shame

Acupuncture helps balance the nervous system to resolve where you may get stuck in flight-fight-freeze patterns. It supports greater emotional equilibrium and harmony. Acupuncture is a wonderful adjunctive support for psychotherapy and other trauma interventions.