QUESTION: CAN ACUPUNCTURE HELP WITH REDUCING STRESS?

ANSWER: In this day and age excessive stress is a HUGE concern and a major cause of disease we see daily in our practice. Our modern culture has in the past 100 years changed dramatically to include almost everyone in the fast-paced society. So what is the solution??? Should you go live in a cabin in the woods and become a hermit? Well, that may be one option that seems to make sense. However, Asian medicine & philosophy knows that stress is created in the mind due to reactions to our environment. So don't retire - rewire!

What happens when one becomes stressed out is the activation of the sympathetic ("fight or flight") part of the nervous system. This part of the nervous system used to play a valuable role eons ago when one was being chased by a large animal or attacked from another tribe. Nowadays, many people are on on sympathetic fight or flight mode full-time to the detriment of their health and happiness. It can be a cause of adrenal fatigue and many other chronic diseases. Contrary to the fight or flight state many find themselves in, is the natural state of healing which happens when the parasympathetic nervous system is active. The activation of this part of the nervous system creates restful rejuvenation, healing and peace of mind. Acupuncture is one very powerful ways of activating this healing, restful rejuvenation.

One of the ways acupuncture is especially helpful in the treatment of stress is because of our unique diagnosis process emotional stressors. How we as licensed acupuncturists differentiate and treat the different types of emotional stressors is one of the keys to its long 2500+year history of success. Furthermore, the ability to address those negative emotions by shifting the body into parasympathetic mode is just part of the effectiveness.

In Chinese medical theory there is a concept called the 5 elements. This includes the 5 major elements in nature (water, wood, fire, earth, and metal) and how they relate to those same elements in your body/mind. Each of the elements corresponds to a different organ, season, emotion, taste, color, etc. So, if someone comes to our office and says "I worry all the time" then we know they have an issue with their spleen. This is true because the spleen is the organ associated with the earth element in this paradigm which also corresponds to the emotion of worry. Chinese medicine classically describes the "intellect" as associated with the spleen, and therefore the negative form of that "intellect" is the emotion of worry. Have you been over thinking about the recent election, the economy, war on terror, a family members health or safety, or your job security? If so, you are negatively impacting your spleen's energy which is in control of your digestive function. Having trouble losing weight? Upset stomach? Fatigue? Digestive problems? These are usually due to the spleen's energy being damaged by worry or overuse of the intellect (i.e. working too much , studying too long, etc.). Other stressors to the spleen are eating in a hurry, or while working (using the intellect). This is just one short example of how we acupuncturists can help "reverse the curse" of modern day stress.

The beauty of this medicine is the ability to use this information to make specific and unique recommendations for people to improve their lifelong health. As we customize these recommendations, we teach (and not just treat) to how you can not only reduce your stress, but how to change your life for the better with this knowledge for a lifetime!

If you know someone who is stressed out please forward this e-mail to them.

Sincerely,