Acupuncture and Emotional Health

The good news is that it is possible to naturally boost emotional health. At Health Solutions I regularly treat depression, anxiety, stress, mental acuity / focus, and more with acupuncture and herbal formulas that heal by truly promoting balance rather than covering up symptoms.

Acupuncture and oriental medicine have a profound understanding of the significance of emotions as related to health. From the perspective of oriental medicine the body and mind are related aspects of the same being on a spectrum from material to energetic. Moreover it is known that the mind can positively or negatively effect the body and specific organs. As well as stress or illness of the body can negatively effect the mind in specific ways. It is also known that we may inherit bodily weaknesses or imbalances of specific organ systems that can predispose us to certain emotional traits and qualities.

These relationships between the different aspects of the body and mind have been well mapped out through many centuries of experience of Oriental medical practitioners. It is common that when a deep level healing occurs one may experience an overall sense of well being and lifting of spirits. Sometimes a patient may not even be fully aware of how emotionally bogged down they were until after healing occurs and their spirit comes back to life and balance with an “I never knew I could feel so good” remark. Healing can effect ones life beyond just your own skin, work, relationships and social life may improve as well.

Through listening to patients concerns and careful evaluation of bodily and emotional signs and symptoms an acupuncturist can discern patterns of pathology that can be treated.

It has long been known that each organ system has specific emotions related to it. Here is a simplified overview:

Liver: stress, anger, impatience, depression.
Kidneys: fear, anxiety, lack of will / drive, feeling unsupported or a lack of solid foundation.
Digestion (known as spleen in oriental medicine): worry, over thinking.
Heart: anxiety, mania, memory, mental illnesses and cognitive disorders, the heart is also seen
as the seat of spirit in the body and has a role in all emotions.
Lungs: grief.

There are many physical conditions related to the organ systems as well. An acupuncturist collects as much unique information as possible from the patient and often can find correlations between physical and emotional symptoms. The appropriate therapeutic techniques are then employed to bring each patient’s unique system into balance.

Acupuncture itself is generally very relieving of stress as it profoundly effects the central nervous system. Acupuncture is known to down regulate the sympathetic branch (stress / fight or flight) of the autonomic nervous system and allow the parasympathetic branch (rest and repair) to take over. Part of how acupuncture works is to restore normalcy to a disturbed or over burdened aspects of the central nervous system, mind and energetic body of the person, opening the way for the persons own innate healing power to function.
It is no wonder that so many who receive acupuncture have a feeling of calm euphoria after their treatments.

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions about what acupuncture can do for you please call or email.

Miklos Hubay L.Ac. LMT

805 895-6015

sbacupuncture.com