by Justine Myers, Lic. Ac.
This is part 2 of a series on acupuncture for stress. Our first article addressed acupuncture for stress-related health conditions. Now we’d like to talk about the use of acupuncture for acute stress relief and chronic stress management/prevention.
Acupuncture is an effective treatment for the relief of acute stress as well as the prevention and management of chronic stress. For acute stress – days when you feel stressed out, overwhelmed, edgy, irritable, annoyed, tense, etc. – popping in for an acupuncture treatment is almost certain to soothe your nerves, leaving you feeling more relaxed and comfortable in the world and in your skin. Acupuncture is very calming for the nervous system – activating the parasympathetic nervous system’s “rest and digest” function and relieving the sympathetic nervous system’s “fight or flight” response. This occurs instantly during your treatment and puts your body into a more relaxed mode, particularly for the first 24 hours following a treatment.
Acupuncture is also a helpful tool for stress management when received on a regular basis. Regularly scheduled acupuncture could be once a week, twice a week or once every other week, depending on your needs and response to acupuncture. With regular acupuncture it is likely that you will find that the things that used to make you feel stressed, tense or angry will not affect you so strongly. When you’re feeling more relaxed in general it’s easier to handle difficult situations without strong emotional responses or bodily symptoms associated with stress. Others around you may also notice something different about you, too – in a good way!
If chronic stress is a problem for you, why not experiment with some regular acupuncture to see if you notice an improvement?
Or, if you don’t necessarily suffer from chronic stress, but you do (as everyone does) experience the occasional bout of stress, remember that acupuncture is a great way to relieve stress. We usually have same day appointments available on short notice, so if you’re feeling stressed and want to get some acupuncture for quick relief, just make an appointment and we’ll be happy to treat you and help you to feel better as soon as we’re able.