Anxiety is a mental disorder which many adults today grapple with. It is marked by excessive worrying which is almost impossible to control; at least without the help of some type of medical assistance.
The extreme negative thoughts associated with anxiety, like depression, can greatly impact a person’s life, work and relationships, and make it impossible for them to participate in social activities. When ignored, the sufferer’s quality of life can deteriorate rapidly. Patients suffering from different stages of anxiety turn to medication and psychotherapy to deal with it.
Apart from the use of psychotherapy and medication, acupuncture is also employed in the treatment of anxiety. Acupuncture has been known to reduce anxiety significantly and for the long term. Apart from that, it can eliminate the physical effects of the condition like organ damage, weakened immune system, and tendencies for cancer development. Here are ways acupuncture helps in the treatment of anxiety.
Relaxing the body
Acupuncture can help relax your body to the point of clearing your mind of all thoughts, especially the negative ones. This way, the patient is relieved of their anxiety, at least for some time. With subsequent treatment, one can learn to keep the overreacting part of the brain shut down. By targeting the analytical part of the brain, acupuncture can effectively reduce over-thinking, which is what causes and heightens anxiety.
Acupuncture has a significant effect on every stress and nerve-related disorder, including anxiety. By altering the neurotransmitters of the brain and its stopping autonomic response, it leaves it more relaxed. This way, it rids the mind of the symptoms associated with anxiety.
Reducing the immune system’s response to anxiety
Anxiety does more than affect a person’s mind. It can trigger some serious physical reactions. When you are anxious, your brain puts your body on danger alert by releasing the stress hormone cortisol everywhere in your body. When there is a large amount of this chemical in the human body, the immune system is remarkably weakened. This leaves the body vulnerable to all kinds of illnesses.
Acupuncture can effectively reduce the immune system’s response to anxiety by stabilising the inflammatory cytokines and cortisol levels of the body. Most patients report feeling healthier after a few acupuncture sessions. Further tests often reveal the reversal of the levels of this chemical to those usually found in people who do not suffer from anxiety disorder. To get a better picture of how acupuncture can generally boost your immune system, there are detailed articles on the many health benefits of acupuncture.
Regulating body chemicals
In acupuncture treatment, the idea is to release the blockage in targeted parts of the body. Using acupuncture, one can effectively balance the chemicals of the body. Anyone suffering from anxiety will always be under immense stress caused by the imbalance of the body’s chemicals. When not properly treated, this results in different levels of physical illness depending on the amount of exposure.
When applying acupuncture in the treatment of anxiety, the aim is to reverse this condition by reducing the body’s sensitivity to stress. All the acupuncturist will need to do, once it is determined that the imbalance is resulting from excessive stress, is to formulate a treatment plan. This includes identifying which of the acupoints to target to balance out the body’s chemicals.
Positively altering the brain
When the brain is under undue stress, the neurotransmitters and hormones in the body become unbalanced, thereby leading to negative moods and illnesses. With the help of acupuncture, the patient’s mood will be greatly improved. Acupuncture can lead the brain to release endorphins, which are known to induce feelings of happiness and excitement. The chemical makes the patient feel more at peace and restful without any of the adverse effects that medications might have, like addiction. By positively altering the brain, acupuncture helps patients with anxiety disorder get better sleep, focus more clearly and, generally, improve their quality of life.
Acupuncture Can Sooth Your Brain’s Response to Stress
By affecting behavioural change in a person, acupuncture can effectively eliminate anxiety disorder. Stress is what anxiety feeds on. As a person living with anxiety disorder, you are going to over analyse and overreact to normal situations. Using acupuncture to treat anxiety disorder will also work by changing how the individual views stress. This is basically the goal of anti-anxiety medication, but acupuncture provides the needed results without any side effects (unlike medication) and the sessions are affordable.
Conclusion
Acupuncture is an effective treatment for anxiety with little to no risk. The effects of the method are long lasting and the conclusions of most research into it promise future improvements. The best news is that there is nothing to lose when you employ acupuncture for treating your anxiety. But you have everything to gain, including a significant chance of achieving wellbeing of your mind and body, all at an affordable price.