Acupuncture & Hypnosis for

Stress Management

WARNING: Stress has been linked to most health problems, including heart attacks and strokes. In fact, WebMD estimates that 75% to 95% of all doctors visits are stress related. Being over-stressed can also lead to low work performance, sleep issues, absent-mindedness, decreased interest in life, addictions, and many other undesirable results.

Are you experiencing the signs of stress?

Feeling angry, irritable or easily frustrated

Feeling overwhelmed

Change in eating habits

Problems concentrating

Feeling nervous or anxious

Trouble sleeping

Problems with memory

Feeling burned out from work

Feeling that you can’t overcome difficulties in your life

Having trouble functioning in your job or personal life

If you’re having any of these symptoms, it’s important that you take care of yourself.

Acupuncture, Hypnosis and Tai Chi

The Stress Busters

A recent medical study published in Anesthesiology (June 2003) used ear acupressure to relieve stress and anxiety in patients being transported to the hospital in ambulances. Some got a real acupuncture points (acupuncture group), and some got a fake (sham) points (control group). At arrival, the stress level in the acupuncture group decreased 66 %. In contrast, the stress level in the control group increased .ten percent. Such studies indicate the effectiveness of acupuncture in-stress treatment.

How does Acupuncture work to relieve stress?

In Chinese medicine, stress, anxiety, depression or any strong emotion interrupts the smooth flow of energy throughout the body. According to Chinese medical theory, energy flows through our body through a network of “roads”, almost like a highway system. Stress, anger, or any intense emotion acts like a traffic jam, blocking the free flow of energy in the body. For example, many people who are very stressed out complain of upper back, shoulder and neck pain. This is because stress is causing tension in those areas, blocking the free flow of energy, causing pain, tightness, and often leading to headaches.

In a highway system, when there is road construction or an accident, traffic may be also backed up on other secondary roads that feed into or out of the affected area. This is true in the body, too. Stress may affect many other parts of the body, most notably digestion, the ability to sleep, pain conditions, and blood pressure. Stress can also aggravate an already troublesome health condition.

Acupuncture can unblock these energy blockages. Acupuncture points serve as the on and off ramps to the energy highway, and can help energy flow smoothly, and alleviate not only the symptoms of stress and anxiety, but the stress and anxiety itself.

From a conventional viewpoint, acupuncture works to alleviate stress by releasing natural pain-killing chemicals in the brain, called endorphins. In addition, acupuncture improves circulation of blood throughout the body, which oxygenates the tissues and cycles out cortisol and other waste chemicals. The calming nature of acupuncture also decreases heart rate, lowers blood pressure and relaxes the muscles.

Recent Article on WebMD Stress and Acupuncture

How Will Hypnosis Help?

Through hypnosis, which is a focused state of attention that increases suggestibility, you will be guided through exercises that help you learn how to adapt to stressful situations, resolve existing anxieties, and create new ways of looking at the world.

In a recent study at Ohio State University, medical students who learned just one part of what you will experience in our hypnosis sessions were able to significantly reduce exam-time stress. Furthermore, blood samples revealed that these students' immune systems became stronger the more they practiced the techniques!

SOURCE/REFERENCE: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2001; 69: 674-682.