Acupuncture and Anxiety
By Nancy A. Fisher, LAc., MS

Millions of people all over the world suffer from some form of anxiety or depression. Many resort to taking prescription medications. While helpful for some, many do not respond well to this form of treatment. Even talk-therapy has been exhausted with little change in the symptoms, even after many years.

In my practice, I have treated a number of patients with acupuncture very successfully and am confident that the approach that Chinese medicine has to offer is quite comprehensive and less invasive than using SSRI medications. By combining acupuncture, herbs, nutritional supplementation, meditation, yoga and lifestyle changes, patients are offered an array of services that tremendously support healing at very deep levels.

 
 
Acupuncture
Chinese medicine has been practiced for over 2,500 years and treats the human body and mind at deep energetic levels. Profoundly relaxing, most people are often surprised by the experience of acupuncture. Commonly described as dreamy, sleepy, altered and floaty, these feelings are often a good sign that the body is assimilating the desired treatment. These feelings become more continuous and longer lasting with repetitive sessions. Acupuncture helps to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety by balancing the flow of Qi (pronounced chee) in the body. It is said that the Qi that is affected and weak is the Qi of the heart or the kidneys. Other symptoms that may accompany the anxiety are lower back pain, insomnia, nightmares and irritability.

 
 
Herbal Medicine
I use a variety of commercial herbal formulas that are safe and effective for an array of symptoms. Some of these are:

  • Calm spirit by Health Concerns

  • Salvia and Amber by 7 Forests

  • Heavenly Emperor’s Formula

  • Free and Easy Wanderer

  • Suan Zao Ren Tang

  • Peaceful Spirit Formula by Golden Flower

  • Schizandra Dreams by Health Concerns

  • Zizyphus Formula by Golden Flower

 
 
Western Herbs
Purchased at the local health food store, Western herbs can also be helpful. They include:

Passion Flower: Hypersensitivity is possible in very rare cases. May cause drowsiness. One case of nausea, bradycardia and ventricular arrhythmia has been reported (ESCOPM, 4). Herbal sedatives such as passion flower are also contraindicated in patients with depression and insomnia marked by increasing restlessness during the early hours of the morning. Not to be used during pregnancy and lactation unless otherwise directed by a qualified expert.

Kava: Not for use by persons under the age of 18. If pregnant, nursing or taking a prescription drug, consult a health care practitioner prior to use. Do not exceed recommended dose. Excessive consumption may impair ability to drive or operate heavy equipment. Not recommended for consumption with alcoholic beverages.

Lemon Balm
 
 
 
Nutritional Supplements
A majority of patients suffer from low blood sugar. An important consideration here is that anxiety patients need to understand how hypoglycemia works against them. By starting out their day with a high-protein breakfast such as eggs, turkey bacon, whole oats or smoothies with whey or goat protein in them, the patient is off to a great start at maintaining stable blood sugar. Snacks of low glycemic value should be eaten every 2-3 hours. Avoiding allergenic foods such as wheat, gluten, pasteurized dairy, refined sugar and coffee and other forms of caffeine may reveal a significant decrease in anxiety.

As a practitioner of Chinese medicine, it is important for me to use nutritional medicine that is compatible with herbal medicine. High-dose synthetic drug/vitamins are incompatible with herbs because fractionated vitamins disrupt the delicate balance of micronutrients found in herbs and foods. Since we have not even discovered most of the substances in herbal medicine, it is impossible to know how these phytonutrients interact with synthetics. Unfortunately, nearly every multi-vitamin available is a synthetic or fractionated vitamin product.

I highly advocate whole food supplements manufactured by the company Standard Process. Its founder was Royal Lee, a dentist and an early pioneer in the field of nutrition. He knew that it was unwise to try to improve on what God created. He knew not to isolate any nutrient from its natural environment of food. Vitamins occur naturally in foods as complexes of enzymes, trace minerals and other synergistic nutrients. This is the form that your body can use. If you take only a fraction of a vitamin complex, separating it from its natural cofactors, your body must provide the missing parts from its own reserves. This creates a deficiency of these cofactors. Dr. Lee's philosophy was to find the food source of a nutrient and concentrate that food to a therapeutic dose.

Some nutritional supplements that Standard Process offers that can be helpful include: 

  • Cataplex B

  • Diaplex

  • Tuna omega3 Fish oil

  • GABA

  • 5 HTP

  • Valerian Complex

  • Withania Complex

 
 
Meditation and Yoga
Anxiety can be a symptom of something occurring much deeper from within. Perhaps it is time to address some of the deeper issues to which anxiety sometimes points. Regularly practicing meditation and yoga will bring about more control of oneself both physically and emotionally. In fact, many people find it to be their most powerful ally in healing anxiety. These practices can directly restore rest and balance to the nervous system and, on a deeper level, can help us instill an unshakable sense of trust and safety in the workings of the universe. This level of support gets to the root of the problem and induces a gentle course in a new direction of calmness and insight.