Acupuncture for Stress and Anxiety

 

Life wasn’t always like this!  Our ancestors could scarcely have imagined the sheer number and constancy of stressors that each of us deal with every day, and it never lets up!  Work and school don’t quit, children don’t raise themselves, traffic doesn’t move fast enough, and the demands placed on us, both voluntary and involuntary, are enough to make even a strong person crumble.

 

All of that stress has an effect on your body. From a physiological standpoint, chronic stress keeps the sympathetic nervous system (your fight-or-flight response) active, even when it should be  giving way to your parasympathetic system (your rest-and-digest response).  The result is impaired digestion, difficulty focusing, increased blood pressure, headaches, irregular periods, and more.

 

Studies show that acupuncture reestablishes the parasympathetic nervous system (Li, 2013), allowing the body to rest and reset.  Even prisoners in prison psychiatric units have decreased levels of stress hormones, require fewer psychiatric medications, and report greater feelings of calmness after receiving this ancient, natural anxiety treatment (Berman, 2002).

 

At Lake Highlands Acupuncture, we will take careful note of how stress is affecting your body and will create a personalized treatment plan and fully customized herbal prescription to get you feeling like yourself again.  Stress is everywhere, but we can help your body process it more effectively, leaving you calmer and healthier.