There are 13 special acupuncture points indicated for treating mental and mood disorders, known as the 13 Ghost Points. Although I know it's probably not lending a lot of credence to our profession to refer to them in this way, I feel like I can relate to the name. When you're suffering from a disease like depression, you can certainly start to feel like a ghost of yourself, that something has taken hold of you that's very difficult to free yourself from.
"Can acupuncture help me with my mood?" This is a question I hear all the time, and as an acupuncturist specializing in mental wellness, my answer is an emphatic "yes!" I can say this because I have read the studies. I have witnessed the changes in my own patients. But most importantly, I have experienced them firsthand.
I've struggled with anxiety all my life. I come from a long, storied history of "nervous nellies" and "worry worts," and, even as a child, I remember working myself up into an anxious frenzy and losing sleep about homework assignments the same way my parents undoubtedly worried about paying bills and meeting deadlines at work (I like to joke that I was the only first-grader with crow's feet). As I approached adulthood, I tried my best to "change my attitude," laboring under the assumption that my constant anxiety was a personality flaw instead of a physical problem. I hated the way it made me irritable and less able to be present in my own life. Even though I knew that things were good, I felt a nameless apprehension. In a way, my anxiety was like a ghost always hiding around the next corner, impossible to see, but a creepy presence that was always felt, no matter how often people reminded me nothing was wrong.
One of the advantages of being an acupuncture student is being able to receive treatments for free. I found that acupuncture left me feeling calmer and more centered in a way that meditation never could. And, I found that acupuncture drew me back into my body, so to speak. I feel like other people with anxiety can probably relate - you feel so caught up in your own head that you forget you have any connection to the physical world at all. Your anxiety is so consuming it can seem like it's all you are.
But perhaps, more profound than the relief I received from the treatments were the lessons that I learned about the the union of mind and body. Western medicine has tended to overlook this connection, whereas Chinese medicine sees the body and mind as more than just connected - they are one and the same. You really can't be physically well and mentally ill, simultaneously. Mental illness is often a sign that something in the body is misaligned, and conversely, many illnesses of the body are linked to our mental states. As we come to better understand the effect that stress can have on our body from a scientific perspective, it seems like modern medicine is finally catching up to this idea.
Armed with this knowledge, I felt less embarrassed about my anxiety and started to view it as an actual physical problem with physical solutions. I made some lifestyle adjustments, took herbs and supplements, and received regular acupuncture. The change was gradual, yet profound - it was like a fog lifted off my life and I could see the world as it truly was. I knew that I had turned a corner two years ago, when I was able to remain cheerful and lighthearted even when our Minnesota winter "ran long," and we had snow falling in May. What would once have left me dispirited was somehow novel and beautiful. I was able to truly feel the way I'd always wanted to - not just looking, but living on the bright side of life.
"Can acupuncture help me with my mood?" This is a question I hear all the time, and as an acupuncturist specializing in mental wellness, my answer is an emphatic "yes!" I can say this because I have read the studies. I have witnessed the changes in my own patients. But most importantly, I have experienced them firsthand.
I've struggled with anxiety all my life. I come from a long, storied history of "nervous nellies" and "worry worts," and, even as a child, I remember working myself up into an anxious frenzy and losing sleep about homework assignments the same way my parents undoubtedly worried about paying bills and meeting deadlines at work (I like to joke that I was the only first-grader with crow's feet). As I approached adulthood, I tried my best to "change my attitude," laboring under the assumption that my constant anxiety was a personality flaw instead of a physical problem. I hated the way it made me irritable and less able to be present in my own life. Even though I knew that things were good, I felt a nameless apprehension. In a way, my anxiety was like a ghost always hiding around the next corner, impossible to see, but a creepy presence that was always felt, no matter how often people reminded me nothing was wrong.
One of the advantages of being an acupuncture student is being able to receive treatments for free. I found that acupuncture left me feeling calmer and more centered in a way that meditation never could. And, I found that acupuncture drew me back into my body, so to speak. I feel like other people with anxiety can probably relate - you feel so caught up in your own head that you forget you have any connection to the physical world at all. Your anxiety is so consuming it can seem like it's all you are.
But perhaps, more profound than the relief I received from the treatments were the lessons that I learned about the the union of mind and body. Western medicine has tended to overlook this connection, whereas Chinese medicine sees the body and mind as more than just connected - they are one and the same. You really can't be physically well and mentally ill, simultaneously. Mental illness is often a sign that something in the body is misaligned, and conversely, many illnesses of the body are linked to our mental states. As we come to better understand the effect that stress can have on our body from a scientific perspective, it seems like modern medicine is finally catching up to this idea.
Armed with this knowledge, I felt less embarrassed about my anxiety and started to view it as an actual physical problem with physical solutions. I made some lifestyle adjustments, took herbs and supplements, and received regular acupuncture. The change was gradual, yet profound - it was like a fog lifted off my life and I could see the world as it truly was. I knew that I had turned a corner two years ago, when I was able to remain cheerful and lighthearted even when our Minnesota winter "ran long," and we had snow falling in May. What would once have left me dispirited was somehow novel and beautiful. I was able to truly feel the way I'd always wanted to - not just looking, but living on the bright side of life.
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