Are you currently experiencing stress, depression, anxiety or insomnia?
Have you not responded well to other stress, depression, anxiety and insomnia medications?
Are you also experiencing some of the following feelings / symptoms and finding it hard to manage them?
- Irritability, frustration, anger and impatience
- Lack of motivation
- Loss of libido
- Muscle tension, joint pain
- Digestive system problems such as constipation and diarrhoea
- Significant decrease in interest of previously pleasurable activities
- Significant weight gain or weight loss that was unintended
- Insomnia, inability to sleep or excessive desire to sleep
- Fatigue or loss of energy, including feelings of being worthless (includes feelings of excessive guilt)
- Diminished ability to think or concentrate
- Suicidal thoughts or thoughts of death, or attempted suicide
If you have experienced any of these then we can help you. We provide the best Chinese Acupuncture, herb treatment, diet and mental health advice to help you make changes to your life.
How Western Medical Treatment for Stress, Depression, Anxiety and Insomnia Works
The most common medications prescribed to treat these symptoms are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of antidepressant drugs that help to increase serotonin, a chemical responsible for communication between nerves in the brain. In an effort to manage these symptoms, medications such as anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, anti-anxiety drugs, sedatives, or sleep agents are commonly prescribed. Unfortunately, these drugs frequently cause unwanted side effects, such as weight gain or lethargy, and others. In addition to the negative side-effects many experience while taking these drugs, SSRI withdrawal syndrome, also referred to SSRI Discontinuation syndrome, has been shown to affect individuals who abruptly discontinue SSRI’s. Common withdrawal effects include: dizziness or light headedness, vertigo, unstable gait, headache, fatigue, insomnia, bizarre or unsettling dreams, confusion, poor concentration and memory, gastrointestinal distress, electric shock sensations, anxiety and irritability.
How Acupuncture Can Help With Stress, Anxiety, Depression And Insomnia
Acupuncture, as a typical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been applied for thousands of years. The rapid development of acupuncture both in China and all over the world during the last few decades has itself led to great innovations in practice.
A large history of clinical practice demonstrates that acupuncture appears to have an effect in treating depression, anxiety, insomnia and its symptoms.
Emotional presentations cannot be separated from the physical body, and vice-versa, according to Chinese medicine. Therefore, treating the physical body directly impacts the emotional symptoms.
The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, written over 2300 years ago, discussed the aetiology of depression. Mental or emotional problems such as depression, anxiety and insomnia are the result of an imbalance or blockage in one or more of the internal organs and their corresponding meridians (energy pathways). Deficient or excessive emotions will affect specific organs.
Deficient symptoms may include: fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss or low body weight, insomnia. Postpartum depression is frequently due to excessive loss of blood resulting in Qi (vital energy) and blood deficiency. Similarly, menopausal symptoms are often due to deficiencies of Qi, blood and yin.
Excess symptoms may present as: mania, weight gain, anxiety and irritability or agitation.
Anxiety and depression are more often than not a combination of both deficient and excess symptoms.
In contrast to being prescribed a medicine to “relieve” symptoms, an acupuncturist will complete a comprehensive medical evaluation and diagnosis which may contain patterns such as: Liver Qi stagnation; Spleen Qi deficiency; Kidney essence deficiency; Lung-Heart meridian disharmony; Kidney-Heart meridian disharmony.
Acupuncture treatment for stress, depression, insomnia and anxiety to address these patterns would include: smooth liver Qi; tonify or strengthen spleen Qi, clear stagnant heart.
Acupuncture also can open these blocked pathways and allow Qi and blood to flow smoothly through your organs—namely, the Heart, Liver, Kidney, Spleen, and Lung—which supply the nutrients necessary for proper brain function. By regulating the organs in this way, a state of balance is fostered in the body, mind and spirit, leading to peacefulness, clarity of mind, and a return to the homeostasis necessary for good sleep.
What benefit do patients report after acupuncture treatment for stress, depression, insomnia and anxiety?
Most people report feeling incredibly relaxed after their needles have been inserted. Some people state their signs and symptom have been greatly reduced after regular acupuncture treatment. Some even stop their medication without any withdrawal symptoms (please do not stop taking any medication without first consulting with your GP).
How man treatments are recommended?
Regular, weekly treatment, including acupuncture, Chinese herb, and dietary modifications, for a period of a few weeks may be recommended for optimum results.
It should be noted that acupuncture works most quickly and effectively when used early in the progression of a disease or symptoms. The earlier the problem is addressed, the speedier the recovery. Long-term depression and anxiety may take regular treatments of 6-12 months, or more, before balance is restored. However, someone experiencing feelings of depression or anxiety for less than one year can usually expect a much quicker response.
If you think you may be dealing with feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, mental fatigue and insomnia, and are interested in returning to a state of balance and health naturally, our Acupuncturist, Caroline, would love to help you achieve that goal, with acupuncture treatment for stress, depression, anxiety and insomnia.
For more information about Acupuncture, visit our Acupuncture Caulfield page, or you can make an appointment by calling 9193 2170 or booking online here.
Centre 4 Health – All your health needs in one place
Acupuncture Treatment For Stress, Depression, Anxiety and Insomnia
Centre 4 Health
Acupuncture Caulfield
368B Hawthorn Road
Caulfield South
VIC 3162
