EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Treating smoking, drug, or alcohol addiction using Acupuncture has been well researched in the United States. The results show that the success rate is about the same as other methods.

The role of Acupuncture in nicotine cessation isn’t limited to reducing cravings. Acupuncture has also been shown to promote relaxation and better sleep. Moreover, Acupuncture can be used to treat many disorders associated with smoking, such as damage to the bronchopulmonary and cardiovascular systems and the symptoms from nicotine withdrawal. In our experience, the effectiveness of Acupuncture to stop smoking varies with many factors, including the length of time the patient has been smoking, their overall health, and the frequency of treatment. In many cases, we will also use Auricular (ear) Acupuncture to help the patient retain the effects of Acupuncture between treatments.

Depression and anxiety are two of the most common diseases we treat. In Chinese Medicine there are at least 10 different causes of these conditions. First, we determine the etiology (causes) for the problem using Pulse Diagnosis. Once we are certain of the cause, the treatment follows automatically. For mild forms of depression and anxiety, our success rate is encouraging. For more severe problems such as bipolar disease or schizophrenia, Western Medicine has a much better success rate. By properly diagnosing the causes of emotional disturbance, we assist our patients in finding the appropriate treatment.  The emotional imbalances are treated by rebalancing, removing blockages and restoring natural flow of energy and not by suppressing symptoms with potentially addictive medicines.

The inability to sleep properly is one of the worst maladies that a patient can suffer. Insomnia makes everything worse — pain, anxiety, digestive disorders and a host of other problems. In Western Medicine, pharmaceutical drugs are the treatment of choice. But they can cause severe allergic reactions, facial swelling and unusual behaviors, such as driving or preparing and eating food while asleep. Side effects of prescription sleeping medications are often more pronounced in older people and may include excessive drowsiness, impaired thinking, night wandering, agitation and balance problems.

In Chinese Medicine, insomnia is a symptom of lack of health and function, not simply a disease of its own.

Insomnia is often the result of a dysfunction in the heart or liver. If blood flow to the heart is slightly diminished the patient will have a hard time falling asleep. If the liver is inflamed or sluggish the patient will wake up a number of times at night. Both of these etiologies are treated very well using Acupuncture.

In Chinese Medicine, the most common causes of ADHD are either weakness of the lung, adrenal gland, and thyroid combined with slight anemia; or excessive heat/inflammation in the body causing enormous agitation. In either case, Chinese Medicine is effective and efficient, especially with children, in restoring the natural vitality and focus to the human body.