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Yintang And Acupuncture For Stress An Anxiety

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Yintang is an acupuncture point that is located on the forehead midway between the eyebrows.  It is a wonderful point that calms the mind, reduces stress, and helps relax the sympathetic nervous system.  As such, it is a point that is excellent in treating anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, and headaches.  In combination with other points it can also treat hypertension, sinusitis, allergies and dizziness.  While the location may seem intimidating, having this point needled usually puts patients right to sleep! 

How does acupuncture actually work to reduce stress/anxiety?

In the most basic terms, acupuncture regulates the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.  The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the body’s “fight or flight response”, and the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “rest and digest” phase.  Most people with high stress levels or who deal with anxiety have an overactive sympathetic nervous system, which means their body gets stuck in the fight or flight response.  This results in symptoms like restlessness, insomnia, mind racing, and palpitations to name a few.  If left untreated, there can be more severe long term effects such as high blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke.  Acupuncture and TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) regulates your body’s hormones and forces it out of the fight or flight phase, into the more calm rest/digest phase. A study done at Georgetown University Medical Center found that “acupuncture blocks the chronic, stress-induced elevations of the HPA axis hormones and the sympathetic NPY pathway” (Eshkevari et al, 2013).  The acupuncture point Yintang is a cornerstone point for treating stress and anxiety, and will be used in almost all point prescriptions for those (and similar) conditions.

 

How quickly can acupuncture help me?

While acupuncture is not an immediate fix, most patients feel at least some mild relief after their first treatment.  The treatment plan, including frequency and number of visits, is customized to each patient.  Generally, for conditions which are acute (occurring for 6 weeks or less), it takes fewer treatments to see full resolution of symptoms.  For chronic conditions (occurring for 6 or more weeks), it will likely take between 3-5 treatments to see significant, lasting change in symptoms.   A full course of treatment could be between 8-10 treatments depending on the severity of the case.  For each patient, your acupuncturist will create a specially tailored plan based on your medical history and wellness goals.  

 

If you would like to know more about this point or acupuncture in general, contact us today at 780-455-2112 or info@ocwc.ca

Visit our website to learn more about our registered acupuncturist! www.ocwc.ca

References:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/gumc-sos031113.php

Acupuncture for Anxiety in Edmonton

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Anxiety disorders can develop for a number of reasons. The origin of Generalized Anxiety Disorder or panic disorder can be stress related, or it can be due to chemical imbalances associated with a developing health issue. While anxiety medication is helpful as a coping tool, it is not without some risk. If you have recently been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, considering acupuncture as part of your treatment is a good idea. Here are some of the reasons why.

How Acupuncture Works

Acupuncture is based on the understanding that health requires a proper emotional and physical balance in the body. The energy field of the body is in perfect sync when nothing interferes with that energy flow. Illness comes about when some sort of blockage takes place. The best way to deal with the situation is remove the block and restore the proper flow.

Acupuncture does this by using thin needles at various points in the body known as meridians. Inserting the needles at points understood to relate to the mind and the nervous system removes whatever is preventing the body from healing. As this relates to anxiety disorders, the treatments restore the energy flow needed to produce as reasonable amount of neurotransmitters and calm the mind.

What to Expect During the First Treatment

Many patients who seek acupuncture as a way to treat anxiety find that the mind racing associated with the condition begins to calm during the first session. The needles cause no discomfort while the calm and controlled atmosphere provides a sense of peace that anxiety sufferers find hard to achieve. This benefit alone makes the sessions worth the time and effort.

 How About Later?

As the sessions continue, the patient notices that the periods of feeling calm and back to normal last for a longer period of time. It is easier to return to places where panic attacks occurred and find that they do not happen again.

As first one and then another place is reclaimed as being what anxiety sufferers call safe places, the fear of an attack occurring begins to fade. What was reduced to a limited existence by the anxiety is suddenly a much larger world with nothing to fear and everything to look forward to enjoying.

If you are living with anxiety in Edmonton, contact the Oliver Chiropractic Wellness Clinic today by calling 780-455-2112. With the right combination of treatments, you’ll soon be on the way to feeling normal again.