Depression: Acupuncture vs. Drugs
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine can enhance the health of anyone with any of these conditions: depression caused by chronic pain, chronic fatigue, normal grief, vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, folate deficiency anemia, viral disease, arthritis, an organic brain disorder, drug side-effects, cancer, and endocrine abnormalities.
Depression affects one in five people at some point in their life.
Because of its prevalence, many professionals consider depression to be the “common cold” of psychology. While there are effective medications for the treatment of depression, the possible side effects make considering a natural therapy such as acupuncture even more appealing.
Acupuncture is just the boost you need to break out of the place where you are stuck. This change in momentum is your key to feeling better.
If a person is depressed, in Chinese medicine this is a result of stagnant energy, a deficiency, or an imbalance of energy in the body.
Top 5 Reasons Acupuncture Should Be Your First Choice.
1) Acupuncture yields fast results: 3 - 6 visits or 1- 2 weeks of time with Acupuncture using my Anti-Depression Protocol instead of 1 - 3 months with antidepressant drugs.
2) Acupuncture has no side-effects, no drug dependence, no addiction.
3) Acupuncture yields lasting relief once completing your Anti-Depression Protocol. Once you get well, you stay well.
4) Acupuncture is cost-saving in the long run.
5) Acupuncture creates all-round better mood and a sense of emotional and physical well-being (better digestion, better sleep, more energy, better immunity).
Your Anti-Depression Protocol
Your Anti-Depression Protocol is an approach in treating depression that goes like this. The first appointment involves a full intake and diagnosis using your chief complaints, your answers to my inquiry, your tongue and pulse presentation. In follow-up appointments, I check in with you to see how you have improved since the last treatment. This is followed by tongue and pulse readings after which you can get settled on the treatment table, usually lying on your stomach. I often do a brief 10-15 minute acupuncture prescription involving points on your back. These are as follows: lung points if you have unresolved grief, heart points if you are lacking joyful moments in your life, liver points if you have anger, frustration or depression, gall bladder points if you lack courage to make important decisions in your life, spleen points if you are over-thinking, and kidney points if you are fearful. After this, you are turned over and made comfortable with pillow and knee bolsters as I choose points that increase and move your stuck energy and settle your mind and calm your spirit. For this, needles are usually placed on your lower arms, your lower legs, your stomach and your head. I often use points which correspond to your seven energy vortexes called chakras found in yoga. I also apply auricular/ear acupuncture to balance the brain neurotransmitters and create a deep sense of well being. The entire session can take between 45 – 90 minutes. You are often sent home with a personalized herbal formula chosen to extend your treatment.
Modern medicine typically treats depression with psychotherapy and/or anti-depressant drugs regardless of the specific symptoms you present. In contrast, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) does not recognize depression as a particular illness you have, but it aims to treat the specific symptoms that are unique to you causing you to feel depressed, using a variety of techniques such as Acupuncture and Chinese herbs to restore imbalances found in your body.
Studies around the world have suggested that treating depression with acupuncture has a positive and overall well being effect on depressed patients, particularly when used in combination with herbal treatments. Studies suggest that using acupuncture alone could be as effective as other types of treatments for relieving depression symptoms typically used in Western medicine, such as psychotherapy and drugs. The results are favorable for Acupuncture and the United Nations World Health Organization has approved acupuncture as a treatment for depression.
Acupuncture Proven To Decease Depression Symptoms
The National Institute of Health funded studies in 1998 that have shown a 43% reduction in their symptoms of a depression specific group compared with a 22 percent reduction for the dummy group. More than half no longer met the criteria for clinical depression. The NIH concluded that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and neuro-hormones in a good way.
Our body takes time to heal. Acupuncture guides our body to heal itself. Heal from what? Our bodies are working optimally. Our body does its best under any circumstances but after years of medications, ravages of depression and stress, excess food and drink - sugar, chemicals, smog - Acupuncture helps the body recover from these assaults
Depression: Antidepressant drugs
Medical doctors think western antidepressant drugs can be beneficial by focusing on maintaining the serotonin levels in the brain. But, in addition to the side effects, the patients need to take them all the time. Acupuncture, and Chinese herbs can be a very effective alternative to treat depression, anxiety, stress-induced fatigue and emotions swings resulting in long-term emotional and physical health benefits.
Western medicine treats depression and anxiety as symptoms of abnormal brain chemistry. Pharmaceutical drugs are often prescribed to alter this chemistry and mimic a sense of normalcy.
The difference is that with Acupuncture and Chinese herbs is that the root cause of your disease - the internal imbalance caused by the exposure to external stress, is addressed. Such stress, if not treated, can cause energy "blockage" or changes of the neurotransmitters such as a decrease of brain concentration of the serotonin levels-resulting in symptoms such as anxiety, poor sleep, fatigue, and eventually, depression. It must be treated rather than masked with drugs. It would be like putting a huge piece of tape to mask your bright "check engine light" in your car, or taking the battery out of your smoke alarm because the smoke keeps making it ring.
Depression Symptoms
For the most part, my patients have anxiety, poor sleep and stress. I have refined a unique selection of acupuncture points and Chinese herbal formulations to treat the root cause of your symptoms. You can experience relief in 3 - 6 visits. When my patients with depression receive acupuncture, they generally experience a reduction of anxiety, insomnia, as well as an increase in energy, and over all well-being. Best of all there is no side effects from acupuncture treatments. On top of these benefits, once patients get well, they will remain well even when they stop taking the herbs and acupuncture treatments.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) views your depression and anxiety, not as brain problems, but more as chest problems. Emotions associated with loss, repressed expression, and other stressful events cause us to tighten our chest, restraining flows of energy and fluids to our Liver, Heart and other organs. TCM calls this condition Liver Qi Stagnation. In the West we call it depression.
Constraint of chest energy can build up, leading to a feeling of agitation known as Heat in the Heart. In the West, we call this condition anxiety or panic disorder.
Relieving Liver Qi Stagnation or Heat in the Heart requires moving the Qi in your chest. Relief can be obtained by physically freeing your chest Qi. That's why laughing and crying help. Many people find that push-ups work as well as Prozac.
Other ways that you can release your chest include boxing, breathing exercises, yoga, massage, forced wailing, and virtually any upper body exercise. Results are quick and can last for hours or days. Expressive use of the hands stimulates the channels that nourish the chest, so that activities as varied as gardening, giving massage, swimming the breast stroke, and playing basketball can offer relief.
Herbs for Depression and Anxiety
Chinese herbs used to relieve depression and anxiety generally move the Qi of yourchest. Herbal medicines are considered extremely safe and reliably relieve depression and anxiety for most people who use them. Effects are generally felt within a few weeks, but can be experienced more quickly by some.
When under stress, qi (energy) tightens in your chest. This protective reaction is triggered by events in our life or events in our memory.
If constrained qi has resulted in anxiety or insomnia, we add herbs to relieve anxiety, insomnia, irritability, or restlessness. Chinese herbs do not make you sleepy and are taken several times a day as well as at night if you are awake.
If insomnia, anxiety, dream disturbed sleep, irritability, restlessness, or a rancorous disposition are symptoms that indicates that the spirit is unsettled, which disturbs and agitates the mind and nervous system. Chinese herbal formulas have been around for centuries for these very symptoms.
Acupuncture for Depression and Anxiety
Acupuncture for Depression and Anxiety Protocol balances the organ systems so energy gets unstuck and moves freely in a smooth and balanced way throughout your body. When your Acupuncturist inserts needles into points specific to your imbalance, your body's energy starts its own healing process and restores its own natural balance. depression is a result of stuck energy in the body. Acupuncture and herbs with move the energy and lift the depression and alleviate the anxiety. When you choose acupuncture depression and anxiety naturally subside. Acupuncture and depression anxiety protocol is extremely successful in generating the energy needed to lift one's spirit and help them gain momentum to propel them forward in life.
