Understanding Anxiety and Panic, and How Acupuncture Can Help
Let’s face it: modern life is stressful. Navigating a busy schedule, managing responsibilities at work, keeping up with the bills: it’s no wonder that we always seem to feel stressed. For most of us, this type of stress comes and goes over time, without really interfering with our ability to get through the day. Yet for some individuals, feelings of stress, anxiety, and panic are more than a temporary response to a specific stressor. Instead, the feelings of anxiety and panic actually grow stronger over time, even when the source of the anxiety seems to have faded.
If you suffer from excessive worry or anxiety or experience frequent panic or recurrent panic attacks, you know just how difficult it can be to cope with even normal activities such as school or a job. Even everyday social interactions or managing a relationship can be challenging. And anxiety and panic don’t simply impact your emotional well-being; it can undermine your physical health as well, causing physical discomfort and symptoms such as shortness of breath, elevated heart rate or chest pain, muscle tension, dizziness, trembling and/or numbness in the fingers and toes, and nausea.
Standard treatment for anxiety disorder and panic disorder varies greatly from individual to individual, depending on the severity of disorder and each individual’s unique physical and psychological health and well-being. Traditional treatment approaches usually involve some combination of therapy and medications such as antidepressants. Increasingly, however, many medical practitioners are recognizing that traditional Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture, may also play a role in treating anxiety and panic disorders. For some individuals, regular acupuncture treatments alone can relieve anxiety and enable them to manage both physical and emotional symptoms; for others, acupuncture may work best when combined with therapy and/or medications.
How Acupuncture Works for Anxiety and Panic
Acupuncture is premised on the belief that many mental health concerns, as well as many physical ailments, are brought about by an imbalance in our vital life energy (chi or qi). When our body and our mind are in balance, our chi flows freely through energy channels called meridians. If our body is not in balance, chi becomes blocked or congested.
The root of anxiety and/or panic disorders can also be described as an imbalance between the sympathetic nervous system, our “fight or flight” response, and the parasympathetic nervous system, our “rest and recover” response. For individuals suffering from anxiety and panic, the “fight or flight” response controlled by the sympathetic nervous system takes over, while the “rest and recover” response controlled by the parasympathetic system is stifled.
Acupuncture helps relieve anxiety and panic by addressing this fundamental imbalance in the body, restoring the proper flow of chi along the body’s meridians and enabling the “rest and recover” response to appropriately counter the “fight or flight” response. A licensed acupuncturist will place small, sterile needles at the appropriate points along the body’s meridians, known as acupuncture points; for anxiety, for instance, the acupuncture points are usually believed to be the breastbone, between the eyebrows, and/or along the insides of the wrists. And while it can sounds scary, when done properly, the treatment is not painful and should not hurt; in fact, most patients find it both soothing and relaxing!
If you suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, or anxiety or panic disorder, how do you know if acupuncture is right for you? The first step is to talk to your doctor. Acupuncture is generally considered to be risk-free for most people, when performed by an accredited, licensed acupuncturist, so many practitioners may encourage you to incorporate it into your comprehensive treatment plan. And while it may not be appropriate as a stand-alone approach, many patients do feel the relaxing impact of acupuncture immediately. If you think acupuncture might help you cope with anxiety and stress, we encourage you to contact Urban Acupuncture Center to schedule your appointment today.
For more information about how acupuncture, massage therapy and other treatments can help you, please contact the Urban Acupuncture Center Board Certified Licensed Acupuncturist’s team at Indianola Ave, Clintonville (614) 725-2488 | Main St, Westerville (614) 426-4406 or click here. Taking new patients in and around greater Columbus, Ohio.