How can Acupuncture Help Anxiety?

The word anxiety is used a lot in our society, and everyone defines it a bit differently based on their experience of it.  Anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress. It works as an alarm system to let you know that things aren’t quite right.  It serves a helpful purpose in our lives.

However, if you find that you experience the following symptoms for more than six months, then you might be suffering from deep-rooted anxiety and it may be time to reach out and get some additional help.

Some of these symptoms include:

• Feeling nervous or tense 

• Feeling weak or that you tire easily

• Issue with sleep

• Trouble with concentration

• Trembling

As an Acupuncturist, I want to help you manage these symptoms so that you feel like you have more say in how your life is going, and help you manage the anxiety rather than have it managing you.  You may be wondering what acupuncture is?  And how can acupuncture help anxiety?  

For the physical manifestation of your symptoms, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Theory and modern anatomy complement each other. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that each part of our body serves more than one function. For example, the heart delivers blood and is in control of the circulation of blood in the body; but in TCM, the heart system not only delivers blood and is in control of the circulation of blood in the body, it also stores your spirit and is in charge of your mental activities. TCM believes that the liver system stores your blood and also contributes to your experience of emotions.

As I work from this perspective, I provide acupuncture by using very fine needles inserted to specific points on the body, which stimulates the meridians and acupoints. You can think of meridians as highways that are the pathways for cars (Qi or energy) to move around to different cities (or organs) in your body. If you picture anxiety, or other physical struggles, as a traffic jam on that highway, the needles I use provide a way through that traffic jam.  This is done by stimulating the central nervous system at different acupoints (think of these as intersections along the highways). Choosing the right acupoints is very important because different acupoints belong to different meridians and some acupoints have special functions. All of this can help you regulate your emotions and physical responses to the anxiety you are experiencing. 

Since the liver system and the heart system are the organs most related to anxiety, I will primarily use the acupoints on those meridians and some other acupoints related to your unique experience of anxiety. Acupoints can be different for different people, just like prescriptions, and it is important that I work with you to tailor the acupuncture experience so that it meets your unique emotional and physical needs.

As a team member at Panorama Wellness Group, I work from a trauma-informed and holistic approach, so it is important to me to provide you with some practical ways that you might be able to complement the work that we do together in your daily life.  Here are three quick tips that can help supplement the work that we will do together.

• To help with anxiety, it is very important to maintain a healthy sleep regimen. For example, go to bed before 10:30 pm and fall asleep before 11 pm. Between 11 pm to 1 am, is the time where the liver meridian is the most active, and this is the period that the liver system heals the best. You can help your body maximize this time by ensuring you are sleeping by this time.

• Going to sleep is important, but getting enough sleep is just as important. The average adult needs six to eight hours of sleep per day. Your experience of anxiety can be aggravated due to insufficient sleep.

• If you have difficulty falling asleep, listening to relaxing music before you fall asleep is a very good way to prepare the body for sleep.  The calm of the music helps your brain and body relax so that you set yourself up for the best chance of rest possible

I believe that acupuncture can help you find a voice in your life again and find relief from anxiety.  Using acupuncture can help your body and emotions work together to speed up the healing process and help you reach your goals for your wellbeing.

As a registered acupuncturist, I, Peter Lin, am passionate about the effectiveness of acupuncture and how it fits into the overall vision and mission of Panorama Wellness Group. One of the things I love about acupuncture is that it is effective for any age and can help alleviate some of the physical and emotional difficulties that you may be experiencing, whether that is anxiety or something else.  If you are looking to use acupuncture in Langley, I would be honoured to serve you in either English, Cantonese or Mandarin.