Acupuncture For Anxiety, And How It Can Help You.
Written by Licensed Acupuncturist Tom Watson, Lic Ac, MBAcC, BSc.
Many of us are prone to anxiety and almost all of us are familiar with the feeling. It’s no surprise, then, that anxiety is said to affect more than 8.2 million people in the UK – although that’s likely an under-representation – and the numbers continue to rise.
In a digitally-connected world, where we are always ‘on’ and available, it’s hard to find internal stillness and peace. Whether caused by overwork and stress, demanding family life, or just an attempt to understand the barrage of continuous information constantly streaming our way, anxiety (and its cousins: panic attacks, depression, paranoia, OCD and PTSD) is the result of our bodies and brains attempting to regain some illusion of control over external events.
What happens to the body when we’re anxious?
Symptoms of anxiety can include poor sleep, low energy, shortness of breath, sweating, cold hands, palpitations and digestive disturbances. But what is happening in our bodies to create these reactions?
Generally, anxiety stems from our minds scanning various real and imaginary scenarios, both past and present, for threats, in a healthy attempt to keep us safe. Sometimes there is a glitch in this process and we tend towards a pessimistic outlook, exploring various worst-case scenarios, often on a repetitive mental loop.
The body perceives this thought pattern as fear. In Chinese Medicine, this adversely affects our kidney qi and has a detrimental effect on our overall energy and particularly on our immune system. On a chemical level, this thought cycle disrupts the hormonal balance of adrenaline and cortisol. On a physiological level, it tends to tighten our diaphragm, causing the breath to become shorter and shallower, and generally squeezing our energy ‘up’ so that we lose our sense of ground and stability, get stuck in our heads and are subsequently prone to further repetitive thought patterns. And so the cycle continues.
How can acupuncture help treat anxiety?
So, how can acupuncture help? Well, as we can see from the description above, once we are in an anxious loop it can be quite difficult to break the cycle without support.
Acupuncture can help the body to move into a state of relaxation – and once our body relaxes, it’s actually quite hard to feel anxious! You can read more about Acupuncture and its benefits here.
Why not give it a try now?
Take a moment to sit up a little taller – but not rigid – and let your shoulders drop as far as they comfortably can. Let go of any tension around your eyes, neck and jaw, and take a nice deep breath. Relax any unnecessary gripping in your belly and allow your sit bones to sink into the seat beneath you, aware of the ground beneath your feet. Take another deep breath, letting the body relax even more as you exhale. Finally, soften around your diaphragm (more or less the middle of your torso) and let your breath become smoother, softer and deeper.
There. How do you feel? Surely more relaxed and hopefully free from anxiety, even if only momentarily.
By using very small needles inserted into particular places on the body (typically the lower arms and legs), acupuncture can induce this same relaxed state on a much deeper level.
What to expect from an acupuncture session for anxiety?
Anxiety can have a range of root causes and each individual will present slightly differently.
In a consultation with an acupuncturist, we would start by asking you some simple questions about your sleep and digestion to understand how we can make the treatment most effective for you. We may also feel your pulse and ask to look at your tongue.
As anxiety starts in the mind, I often include some guided meditation and affirmations within a session – but it’s the needles that do the work
In principle, acupuncture acts to ‘unblock’ the body. As we reconnect to this feeling of internal freedom, our circulation improves, our breath deepens and our thought patterns relax. Often after a session patients will tell me they feel “so much more relaxed” and this blissful feeling has knock-on effects throughout our health, be it better sleep, more energy, stronger immunity and, over time, becoming less prone to worry and anxiety.
How quickly will I feel better after acupuncture for anxiety?
Treatment times for anxiety can vary but in most cases, people see significant improvement within only 4-6 sessions.
For chronic cases, sometimes combining acupuncture treatments with CBT or talking therapy can be helpful and looking at patterns of diet, sleep and exercise will always be beneficial.
About Tom Watson
Tom is a highly skilled acupuncturist with almost a decade of clinical experience across several busy London locations, including in the NHS and Age UK. He has foundational training in Classical, TCM and Stems and Branches styles of acupuncture and continues to develop his skills across a breadth of specialities. Click here to learn more about Tom and to book a session.
Find An Acupuncturist for Anxiety
On Circe, you can book your treatment with qualified acupuncturist who have expertise in treating anxiety, easily online. All practitioners on Circe are registered with a regulatory organisation and vetted by our team.
