Feeling anxious lately? Join the club! Anxiety levels are at an all-time high! Good news, acupuncture can help. I’ve done thousands of hours of treatments for anxiety and my acupuncture works wonders for anxiety. How do you know if you’re anxious? Symptoms of anxiety include restlessness, rapid heartbeat, upset stomach, difficulty concentrating, headache, irritability, sleeplessness, fatigue, sweating, and muscle tension. It’s been said that nearly 30% of the world’s population will suffer from symptoms of anxiety at least once in their lifetime, regardless of their gender, age, or stage of life. It’s no wonder then that a Google search for anxiety treatments results in 415,000,000 web pages.
I’ve treated a lot of it. I love treating patients for anxiety because my acupuncture works so well for it. People are amazed and that makes me happy. When Lisa, a 28-year-old accountant of Chinese ancestry, admitted to feeling mounting symptoms of anxiety to her mom, she was encouraged to try acupuncture. Her family had been loyal patients of acupuncture and herbs for everything from bowel problems to knee pain, but she never considered acupuncture for stress or anxiety as a legitimate treatment. She wasn’t exactly an eager participant – or even a believer - at first. Lisa said, “Even though I knew my parents and aunts and uncles believed in acupuncture, I’d never gotten a treatment myself and didn’t know what to expect. I figured it would be some placebo thing, or some crazy unhygienic thing with no science behind it.” After she met me for the first time she said this about my office, “It looked like a cross between a doctor’s office and a medical spa,” she comments. “It was sterile, but warm and beautiful at the same time.” Lisa was put immediately at ease when she recognized how thorough I was in researching her background and healthy history. “It felt less like this mysterious, ancient practice where I might be asked to put my faith in voodoo,” says Shin, “and more like an authentic procedure, which I discovered, is exactly what acupuncture is.” I asked about her history with anxiety, as well as her diet, exercise regimen and even her likes, dislikes, and her phobias. The beginning of the treatment is a bit like a talk therapy session, Lisa told me about her struggles at work and in her personal relationships. I told her that many people were hesitant to share about anxiety; her willingness to share was actually leaving her more open to healing.
After the interview, I led Lisa to a beautiful room with a bed that resembled a massage table, with a thin pillow at the head. I taught her a very effective breathing exercise for stress & anxiety. She relaxed while I did the acupuncture treatment and said, “I felt absolutely nothing. I mean, I knew something was there, but it wasn’t painful.”
I left Lisa to relax for about half an hour. When I returned, Lisa said she felt tranquil, calm and rested.
“I didn’t feel like, ‘Whoa, that was life changing!’ after the first session, but I have to admit I slept so well that night. But after the second session, that week really did feel different… things were more tolerable somehow.
I went for three more sessions, so initially I went once a week for five weeks. I think for anyone thinking of acupuncture, I have to say you can’t go into it thinking that after half an hour everything is going to be different. Dr. Annie reminded me that this is natural medicine and nature takes some time.
But what’s interesting is that it does change, gradually. It may not be noticeable at first. But when something happens that you typically have a panic attack over, and you don’t - I’ve discovered that acupuncture has a hand in that.”
Today, Lisa makes an appointment once every four weeks for maintenance. Why deal with anxiety for longer? Make your appointment today.