ANXIETY, INSOMNIA and
STRESS MANAGEMENT
"When you change your mind about stress, you can change your body's response to stress"
ANXIETY
Anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress. It’s a feeling of fear or apprehension about what’s to come and if these feelings last longer then six months you might have an anxiety disorder. In the case of an anxiety disorder, the feeling of fear may be with you all the time and can be very intense and sometimes even stops you from doing what you love. Anxiety disorders are the most common form of an emotional disorder and can affect anyone at any age.
COMMON PATTERNS IN ANXIETY DISORDERS:
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Catastrophic thinking (overestimation of danger)
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Concentrating on how horrible something would be as opposed to how unlikely
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Underestimating your ability to cope
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Avoiding whatever you fear
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Safety behaviours (strategies used to temporarily reduce anxiety, including repeatedly asking for reassurance)
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Intolerance of uncertainty
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Intolerance of discomfort
These patterns of thinking and behaving may reduce anxiety initially but lead to more anxiety in the long term.
ACUPUNCTURE CAN HELP REDUCE STRESS AND ANXIETY
Acupuncture is proven to reduce stress and even reverse the effects of stress - which then affects how your body responds. Research shows that acupuncture stimulates the release of oxytocin, a hormone that signals and regulates the parasympathetic nervous system. Extensive case reports from the Chinese medical literature suggest that different acupuncture protocols reduce the severity of generalized anxiety and panic attacks.
RESOURCES
Here are some great articles to help understand how acupuncture can help with anxiety:
Acupuncture is the Natural Anxiety Remedy
Acupuncture for Anxiety Relief
INSOMNIA
Multiple studies have demonstrated acupuncture to be an effective treatment for insomnia. Acupuncture lessens anxiety, stimulates melatonin production, induces sleep onset, and reduce sleep disruption and arousal during the night. All of these effects amount to an overall increase in total sleep time.
When you come in for an initial assessment, many questions will be asked, and the ones related to sleep will be on if you have trouble falling asleep, if you are waking up at a similar time every night, waking up early during the night or later. All of these represent different imbalances in the body and the acupuncturist will then focus on the meridians and disharmony that is leading to that imbalance that is disrupting your sleep.
SLEEP ISSUES TREATED BY ACUPUNCTURE
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Difficulty falling asleep (sleep-onset insomnia)
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Interrupted sleep, waking during the night
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Waking up too early
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Vivid nightmares
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Extreme insomnia
RESOURCES
Here are some great articles to help understand how acupuncture can help with insomnia:
How to Cure Insomnia with Acupuncture
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response - work stress, money worries, relationship struggles, and feelings of resentment, sadness, and anxiety. As change is constant, stress is a normal part of life, but how your body handles the stress can vary and sometimes you need additional support to manage the stress. Your body reacts to stress either physically, mentally, emotionally or all of the above. The constant stress our bodies are under inhibits the body’s ability to return to equilibrium. Chronic stress can cause headaches, muscle pain, fatigue, insomnia, digestive problems, infertility, and a variety of emotional conditions. This long-term stress increases your chances of hypertension, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and a host of other conditions.
ACUPUNCTURE CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR STRESS REDUCTION
Acupuncture is proven to reduce stress and even reverse the effects of stress. Research shows that acupuncture stimulates the release of oxytocin, a hormone that signals and regulates the parasympathetic nervous system. Acupuncture also addresses the effects of stress, like high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose levels, and insomnia.
RESOURCES
Here are some great articles to help understand how acupuncture can help with stress management:
10 Reasons Acupuncture Can Ease Stress and Anxiety